By the time Paz returns with Lailani, I’ve just stepped in to check on Evie. “I’ll be back in a second. Wait here. Paz needs something,” I tell her.
“Where would I go?” she asks me.
“Nowhere I wouldn’t find you,” I say as I walk out of the room.
I jog downstairs to my office. The quicker I deal with Lailani, the quicker I can get back to my girl.
“Enjoying yourself?” I ask when I find Lailani sitting on my desk, drinking my tequila. Anyone else would already have a bullet between their eyes.
“Sure,” she says, kicking her feet back and forth.
“Get off my fucking desk, Lailani,” I grunt, as I maneuver around the furniture and drop into my chair.
Lailani jumps off and plops into one of the seats opposite me. “You summoned me?”
“No one summons you,” I say.
“You seem to. Quite often actually. What do you need?” she asks.
“Can’t a friend just want to check in with a friend?”
Lailani rolls her eyes. “E, are you lonely? Do we need to schedule lunch dates or something?”
“The woman you saw tonight. She’s his mother,” I explain.
“I know.”
“Then why the fuck are you hiding out in a hotel room?”
“Because I like my peace.”She’s lying.
“Right, well, I’m gonna need you to find him tonight and make sure he’s not falling apart.”
“Why?” Lailani narrows her glare at me. “I mean, why would he be falling apart?”
“He has a… difficult relationship with that woman,” I tell her.
“I’m not going to bother him when he’s spending time withhis mother.” She shakes her head.
“He’s not spending time withhis mother. She’s here. For tonight anyway.” I don’t know how I’m going to convince Ms. Russo to leave town, but I will find a way.
“Why is she here?” Lailani asks.
“Like I said, he has a difficult relationship with her and it stresses him out. A distraction, such as yourself, is exactly what he needs right now,” I suggest.
“Yeah. I’m not a whore, E. I’m not going to goand find your friend to distract him from his mommy issues,” she snaps at me.
“No, you’re going to findyour boyfriendand distract him from his mommy issues, because that’s what good girlfriends do,” I correct her.
“I’m not. He’s not.” Lailani shakes her head back and forth until she relents, huffing out a breath. “Fine. I’ll find him.”
“Great. Now, pretend you’ve never been here,” I tell her.
“Gladly.” Lailani stands and smooths out her clothes.
“Oh, and Lailani,” I call out before she makes it to the door. “When Sammie asks you to babysit for Carlo’s kid, accept the offer.”
“What? I am not babysitter material, E.” Lailani’s eyes go wide.
