“Yes. She’ll sit in on our meetings from now on.”
“From now on,” echoes Logan, more surprised than ever.
Meanwhile, Vincent opens his laptop, leaning it against histhighs. “Let me just bring up the files.”
“Nice place, by the way,” says Everest, who’s been busy admiring the living room.
And I must say the interior decorator did a good job. It’s a different style than the modernist Devil Tower. Not exactly traditional either. Cream couches with light blue touches and dark, antique furniture.
“Lots nicer than before,” he adds. “And I like all the space you have outside. You couldn’t have picked a better place for your retirement.”
I grunt, placing my legs on the coffee table in front of me. “What’s this about retirement?”
Logan freezes. “Well, this meetingisabout your retirement from Devil… I mean, the company…”
“Still don’t have a new name for it,” adds Vincent with an awkward smile.
“Again,” I mutter. “Who said anything about retirement?”
Everest coughs awkwardly. “You did. You said you were done with Devil. You wanted to keep the name, be called the Devil, or whatever… and you’ve been pretty checked out lately…”
“I suppose I did say a lot of things,” I say easily. “Vincent, how about a cup of coffee?”
He clenches his jaw, but gets up and goes to the kitchen.
“He’s not your assistant anymore,” Logan reminds me. “You promoted him, remember? And he’s really outdone himself.”
“Except when he got my girl kidnapped,” I growl.
“He didn’t know Alice was a rat,” Everest defends him. “By that logic, you also got her kidnapped, by trusting Lucy.”
I glare at him, and he casts his eyes down, confused. A moment later, Vincent comes back, carrying a tray with coffee. He’s clearly heard everything, but he knows better than to say a word. Guess he isn’t so stupid after all.
“Okay, so,” comments Logan, getting us back on track, “aboutyour retirement. Or non-retirement, or whatever.”
“No retirement,” I snap. “I’m not fucking sixty, am I? I’ve got my girl back, Angel is dead, so there’s nothing keeping me now from getting back into the thick of it.”
“Fine. And how exactly are you planning to work from all the way out here?”
“Work from home. It’s a thing now, you know?”
“You can’t possibly conduct all your work from here,” protests Logan.
“I won’t. I like this house, but again, I’m not fucking sixty. Seraphina and I will return to Devil Tower every other week. We’ll divide our time between Astley and here.”
From the corner of my eye, I watch her reaction. I hadn’t kept her in the loop of my decision, and I’m wondering now how she’ll take to this news. If anything, she seems… relieved. Which is good, because if she really hadn’t wanted us to go back to Astley, or for me to resume my role at Devil, I guess I would have gone along with her wish. I really have turned into the world’s biggest sap.
But no, she’s relieved. I guess she doesn’t entirely take to the boring country life, and neither do I. I look forward to the prospect of being able to fuck like rabbits without anyone bothering us. But I know I’ll miss the thrill, the power, even the danger that comes with being head of Devil.
And my Seraphina seems to enjoy stabbing people a little too much to turn into the kind of person who bakes pies in high heels or whatever the fuck housewives are supposed to do.
“Seraphina and you?” repeats Logan. “So, she’ll be sitting in on meetings going forward?” He turns to her with a kind smile. “No offense. It’s just that, well, girlfriends don’t usually have that kind of access.”
“She’s my wife,” I correct him. “And going forward, she won’t be leaving my side anymore. Not even for a minute. No one willtake her away from me again. Anyway, I’m the boss, and what I say goes.”
There’s a silence and I suddenly remember that I had promised Logan the leadership. But he’s loyal, and after a beat, he smiles.
“Sure. Got it. Well then, since you’re back in Devil, let’s talk about business. The acquisition of Colzer…”
