“What makes you think I’m going to get hurt?” I ask.
“Anyone who puts their heart out there is subject to getting hurt,” she says softly. “If you’re getting involved with Ellie’s kid now…that tells me you might be getting involved with her too.”
My eyes slice away from hers, and I go back to my computer. I am done with this conversation, and if Jocelyn knows me as well as she says she does, she’ll get the hint. After a moment, she clicks her tongue.
“Right. Well, I think it’s safe to say I’ve overstepped.”
She makes her way out of the office, but just before she’s gone, I look back up at her.
“Jocelyn, wait…” I say, and she turns back around.
“Yes?” she asks softly.
I bite my lip for a moment. She needs something to do. I don’t need her poking around in my personal life like this. “I need you to find out everything you can about Dylan Decker.”
“Why?” she asks quickly.
“Because I think he’s fucking with me. More than that, I think he’s hiring people to fuck with me. And anyone who does that is going to pay,” I answer.
For a moment, Jocelyn just stares at me. Then she blinks and nods. “Yes, sir. I’ll find out everything I can.”
After she leaves, I let out a breath. I am perfectly capable of sniffing around Dylan’s bullshit myself. But if there’s anything I’ve learned about Jocelyn, it’s that she’s good at digging dirt up on people. She’s smart and focused, often to the extent of being obsessive. Figuring out what Dylan is up to is the perfect job for her, and it keeps her nose out of my personal life.
Chapter 34
Damien
“Damien,” Ellie’s shock calms all of my nerves when she opens the door. Honestly, I am just as surprised as she is that I am standing in her doorway, my hands full of bags. “What are you doing here?”
“I brought dinner,” I tell her, holding up one of the bags. “And wine. I know you love wine.”
“That’s so…I mean, wow, but um…Luca–” Ellie is cut off by Luca, who opens the door the rest of the way and slides in between us, “...is here.”
“That’s what I assumed,” I say. “Which is why I was thinking homemade mac and cheese.”
“Mac and cheese for dinner? That’s my other favorite…besides grilled cheese. Cheese is my favorite. Mommy, can Damien have dinner with us?”
“I also brought this,” I say, holding out one of the bags. Ellie gives me awhat’s that?Look, but I make her wait for Luca to pull the box out.
“A slime kit!?” he exclaims, and Ellie’s eyes widen.
“Oh yay…slime,” she says dryly.
“From scratch,” I say as Luca runs off with the box, and I bite back a smile. “What? You said he likes science and things like that.”
“Right,” she says, taking a few of the bags from me. “You know you better be glad there’s wine in here or I’d be slamming the door in your face right now,” she says. I wait until she turns around to walk inside before allowing myself to smile.
I watch Ellie as she nervously picks things up around the home. She wasn’t expecting me, so I’m not surprised to see her house in disarray. Laundry is dumped out on the living room floor, half of it folded. A 90s sitcom is playing on the TV, and she grabs the remote, turning it down. A train set is tracked from one room to another. It’s messy, but it isn’t dirty, and I don’t expect any different now that I know what her life entails.
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting company,” she says, and I set the rest of the bags on the counter. I open one of the drawers that is not surprisingly well organized and pull out a bar key. I smile at that. Only people who have worked in the restaurant business use bar keys instead of fancier corkscrews.
“That is exactly why I don’t expect you to clean up for me,” I say as I take the piece of laundry from her hands that she is frantically folding and place it on the couch, handing her a glass of merlot instead. “In fact, I don’t want you to do anything but relax.”
Ellie giggles at that. “I don’t remember the last time I relaxed. In fact, it’s been so long I wouldn’t put it past myself to do it wrong.”
“Try.” I tell her, and I’m sure she knows my tones well enough to know it’s not a suggestion.
Her lips pucker in an attempt to hide her smile, and she sits down on one of the counter stools. As I take the groceries out of the bag for the mac and cheese, I notice the drawings on the fridge.
