What the hell, I might as well. He is my only friend outside of my family.
“When I was in law school, there was a girl. We started dating, and I liked her a lot. Hell, there was a point I thought maybe I loved her. I don’t know. Anyway, we broke up, and I was pretty torn up about it for a while, though I kept it on the down low.”
“So, one heartbreak made you like this?” He gestures at me with a flick of his hand.
“No. I eventually got over it, but then a couple of years later, she showed back up in my life. I was careful because she had been the one to end things, and I really didn’t want to go through something like that again. Regardless, I got sucked in, and things got to a point where I would’ve given her the world. We got back together, and I thought everything was good. Though in retrospect, there were signs of her true character that I should have seen.”
Our food arrives, and we dive into our meals and continue to talk between bites.
“So, what happened then?”
“Well, it turns out she was smarter than I was. Or at least savvier. She siphoned off a significant amount of money from the company over several months. I didn’t pay enough attention. Anyway, long story short, it turns out she was a gold digger. The wealth my brothers and I had accumulated and the opportunity she saw is the only reason she came back to me.”
Lester frowns, and it stresses all the wrinkles of life that he wears. Seventy-plus years old, and the man has seen some stuff.
He has a mouthful of his eggs, but when he swallows them, he sets his utensils on the table and peers up at me.
“That doesn’t mean you can’t ever trust anyone again. Delaney isn’t her. Plus, wasn’t that years ago?”
“Yeah, it was. But with Delaney, it’s weird. I met her, assumed she lived far away, and then she shows up a few months later and gets hired to work at my company—all while I’m off work? Oh, and don’t forget she showed up at the wedding.”
“Is she doing a good job?”
“Don’t know,” I look away and stare down at the table. “I don’t have her doing any of my stuff. I don’t need help.”
Lester busts out laughing. When he finally settles down, he says, “I’m sorry, but you know Layla gave me a tour of your office when you were away last time. It’s in disarray with all those files. You have them everywhere, among other things. There are definitely things you can use some help with tidying?—”
“It’s fine, anyway. She’s doing some work for Henry, and then Holden has her doing some things. She’ll keep busy.”
Lester is holding his tomato juice just a few inches from his mouth. Something made him pause. He looks upward, and his brow furrows. Oh no, what’s he thinking about now?
“Holden, huh? Yeah, I think maybe Delaney could be the one to turn Holden around. I could see him breaking his three-date rule for her.”
My cheeks heat. My brother has a strict rule that he never dates a woman for more than three dates, even if they hook up.
“Did you just growl?” Lester howls with laughter, amused that he pissed me off.
“Holden won’t mess with her. Plus, she’s too smart to become one of his conquests. I can guarantee you that neither of them would be interested in each other.”
She is too smart for that, isn’t she?
“Hmm. I guess we’ll see.” Lester returns his focus to his food.
“What’s that mean?” I ask. My confidence that there couldn’t be anything between them is waning.
Lester shrugs his shoulders and doesn’t look up from his task of clearing his plate.
“He better not try to pull anything with her. I’ll kick his ass.”
Lester smirks, and now I can’t get the possibility ofmyBets becoming Holden’sanythingout of my head.
Over my dead body.
Chapter Fifteen
Delaney
Power walking—my version, anyway—is how I walk the two-mile distance from work to home in twenty-six minutes. I’m very proud of myself. That’s the fastest I’ve been able to do it.
