“Like I said, it’s been nice.”
Ross shook his head, and I could see it there—thefear—but of being out to the public or just of the unknown, I couldn’t be sure. My heart did a weird little twist for him, and I was fucking appalled that I gave a damn about what the idiot wanted to do. He was probably one of the closest things I had to a friend, though.
He waved a hand at me as he straightened in his seat and then lounged back into it again, lazily kicking his feet up onto my desk. “I’ve got my boy at the Courtesan.”
“Yeah, and he has twenty other dicks a week,” I pointed out.
Ross shrugged. “Some weeks, so do I. Anyway, can you and Jaxson keep this thing up for a few more months? Do you think he’ll cooperate?” He pouted at me, as if I could answer for Jaxson.
Smiling, I twisted my ring around on my finger. The weight and feel of the metal had me nodding my head. “Yeah, he’s good for the long haul.”
Ross lolled his head back and cackled. “Excellent. At least through next year?”
“He’s with me. For real.”
Ross straightened in his seat again, his feet falling heavily to the floor. “Don’t fuck with me.”
“I’m not. He’s going to marry me.” I sounded far more confident than I felt.
“He said that?”
Shrugging, I walked closer and leaned against the side of my desk. “Not yet. Not exactly, but he will.”
Ross rose and laughed his way out of the office, obviously thinking I was full of shit, but I knew in my heart I wasn’t, so I didn’t let him rile me up.
Kalinski shocked me—sort of—when he nearly bowled Ross over and managed to squeeze around him through the doorway into the room. He was prone to little fits, I’d already learned, and by his red face, this one was going to be entertaining.
“Why yes, new hire, what can I do for you?”
He slammed the door closed behind him. “I can’t stand that man!”
Tilting my head, I waited until Kalinski looked ready to fly apart into a thousand pieces, and then asked, “Who?”
“Jean-Paul.” He slapped his hands to his head and dug his fingers into his longish dark hair.
Smiling, I walked toward him, and he must have realized there was no one left on this floor to care about his screams once Ross got on the elevator because he backed himself against the door and planted his hand on the knob. It was kind of pathetic how I could see his pulse flutter at the crook of his neck when I got close enough to lean in and glare directly into his eyes.
“Gee, well, you either get used to it or fucking quit because you can’t hack the pressures of the position. Your mother, Georgina Kalinski? She donates to my campaign. Took me a while to figure out why your name sounded so familiar, but I never forget a dollar. It wouldn’t take much to swing by the courthouse and have a chat with her. She’s a judge, right? What do you think she’d say about your bullshit?”
He froze. “Was this your plan all along? Trap me here?”
Laughing, I blew a kiss at him and stepped back. “You trapped yourself, dipshit. JP has work for you to do.”
His lip curled in a snarl and then he spun and huffed his way back into the outer office.
Jean-Paul sauntered into view and said loudly, “I have so much work for him to do, Vane. I think he might have to come in on Saturday.” There was a crash and some cursing that had us both trading silent laughter. I twisted the ring on my finger as Jean-Paul left to do his real work and closed the door. I couldn’t wait to go home tonight and tell Jaxson all about this.
Epilogue
Jax
Four Months Later
Iran my hands over my flat belly and glanced down at what I wore—a simple blue T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and white sneakers. My black jacket was slung over my arm. February had just finished, which meant the weather could go either way in terms of being cold or slightly warmer, but I should have worn a suit. “Fuck, maybe I underdressed?”
The door to the elevator opened at the second floor, but no one was there, so I pressed the button to close the door, making it head up again.
Vane laughed and dragged me closer, the metal of his ring a cool reminder on my bare arm that we were engaged. Engaged.Fuck. The insides of my stomach did somersaults, and I snuggled farther into him. “Elsie is your best friend, Jax. You’re seeing her baby. You don’t need to wear anything fancy.”
