“That’s because I am,” I said, pulling Lena’s pajamas out of her closet.
“No, wear flowers,” she cried when she saw the purple unicorn pajamas I’d chosen.
“Sötnos, the flower pajamas are dirty,” I said, cursing myself for not doing a load of washing earlier today.
“I wish I had pretty unicorn pajamas like you,” Stella said, taking the pants and putting her arm through one leg. “They even fit me, don’t you think? Can I borrow them tonight?”
Lena giggled and pulled the pants off her arm. “They’re mines.”
“Of course they are. Want to show me how you put them on? I think I did it wrong.”
Lena nodded, looking serious. She pulled her pants up, putting both legs in one hole. Stella tickled her and fixed her legs when she was distracted. It didn’t take us long after that to get both kids dressed and sitting on the couch, ready for their stories.
I couldn’t read to them tonight because of our detour, but I knew they were in good hands with Stella, even if she was a pushover and would read about twenty books before she made them go to bed.
“Love you guys,” I said, kissing both kids and then Stella on their cheeks.
Sebastian took my hand and waved at them. “See you guys later.”
The clubhouse was busy with a long row of bikes parked in front of the building, music and voices drifting outside.
Sebastian helped me off the bike, then took my hand to walk inside. The guys greeted us with hugs for me and back slaps for him.
But Sebastian had a destination in mind and kept walking. He led us to the office, the door already open. Blade was sitting behind his huge wooden desk that dominated the room. Grim and a guy I didn’t know by name but had seen around were standing in front of it.
They all looked at us when we entered, and Sebastian closed the door behind him, shutting out the noise.
Now this wasn’t what I expected. But judging by the relaxed vibe in the room—except for Blade, who was forever frowning—it wasn’t anything serious.
Sebastian nodded to the guys, and I smiled and waved at them.
“Sweetheart, good to see you,” Grim said.
“You too,” I responded and stood next to Sebastian, facing Blade. “So what’s this about?”
“We have a proposal for you,” Blade began, and I put my hand up, stopping him from saying anything else.
“Before you continue, let’s make sure this is nothing illegal or involves orgies. Both are hard passes for me.”
Blade’s mouth twitched, and my focus narrowed on his lips.
Is it just a tic or did he almost smile?
“You’re safe. It’s neither of those. It’s a job,” Blade said, having regained his emotionless expression.
“A job? What kind of job? I should mention at this stage that organ donation is also out of the question.”
Sebastian chuckled next to me and squeezed my hand. “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t let anyone get near you.”
“We want you to be our office manager. We have a few businesses, and the paperwork is getting out of hand. I used to do it all myself, but since the strip club took off, I’m always behind,” Blade said, watching me take in his words.
“But I already have a job. Two, to be exact. And one of those is at one of your businesses,” I said, looking at Sebastian.
“We’d pay you enough that you can ditch your other two jobs. And you’ll be added to our health care plan after four weeks of probation,” Blade explained.
The mention of health care nearly made me want to hug him. But I wanted to make sure they were doing this for the right reason and wouldn’t regret their decision. “Why me? I have no experience as an office manager.”
Blade waved me off. “You have experience as a personal assistant and are incredibly well organized. We know everyone at Pepper’s loves you, and you always show up for your shift, even if you’re occasionally late.”
