Apparently they hadn’t listened because when I walked in, she and her boss were having a grand old fucking time while he sat on the edge of her desk, both laughing. He was a little too damn close to her. He’d clearly seen the pictures and thought my woman was fair game.
“Excuse the fuck out of you, but what is going on here?”
I didn’t miss the shift, and I understood it more than even Elizabeth did. “You,” he whispered. A predator just found his prey. I believed I just lost my most valuable assistant while I planned to steal his.
“We have a problem, Hernandez.”
“No problem at all. Ava was just getting her shit, right?”
“I thought you said I didn’t have to quit?”
“By the look on Keaton’s face, I’m guessing he says otherwise.”
“Damn right, unless you want our contract terminated,” I told him.
He raised his hands. “Not at all. Go ahead. She’s a good assistant, but sorry, not irreplaceable.” He spoke to me, but his eyes hadn’t left Elizabeth.
“I wondered how you got out,” he growled.
“Are you ready to go?”
“Yeah, we should go.”
“Are you coming, Elizabeth?”
“Yes, I’m ready to go.” She left ahead of us.
“That’s okay.” Hernandez nodded and smirked.
I wondered what that was all about, but I had other problems to handle.
“You’re not going to ask me about him?” Elizabeth questioned as she drove away from the warehouse.
“Not unless you feel like sharing.”
“Good. I’d rather not.” She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the headrest.
“You and I have a lot to talk about, though.” I squeezed Ava’s hand in mine.
“Yes, like how you just forced me to quit my job.”
“A job you didn’t care for,” I reminded her. “Also, I’m pretty sure you want to finish your book.”
“How did you know about that?” she asked, her mouth falling open in shock.
“Sweetheart, it was on your nightstand and all over your kitchen table. Just because I didn’t ask, doesn’t mean I didn’t observe. Now you have the time to write it without interruption.”
“Soon without money for bills, either.”
“We’ll discuss that all when we get home.”
“Are you dropping me at the office so I can get my car?” Elizabeth asks.
“Sounds great to me.” We stopped at the office, and Elizabeth went in to get her things. Afterward, Ava and I headed to my house where I planned on enticing her into staying forever. I’d only known her for a short time, but I was beyond obsessed. I wasn’t sure how she felt, but I’d try to get her on the same page no matter what it took.
“I thought we were going to my place.”
“You thought wrong. I said home. Your apartment is nice, but we’re going to mine and hopefully the place we’ll be calling our home for the foreseeable future.”
