Sounds innocent enough, but Raeann doesn’t want me worried about anything, and there’s a part of her that probably wants to prove that she can do it, but if she really knew the extent of how stir crazy I’m becoming, she wouldn’t blame me at all.
I think.
I take the laptop and almost sit on her bed, but when I start to hover, I remember about the sexin’ they probably have on this bed every night, and I quickly change tactics and sit on the floor.
The laptop boots, and I pull up her browser. I smile when she’s already logged in to our backend. Perfect.I’ll just have a small look around to make sure everything is good.
I run a few monthly reports, checking out our sales since the fire and running them against months before the fire. Though there was a dip while we were rebuilding, mostly because there was no inventory, things are back to normal now. I sigh in relief. It’s one thing having Raeann tell me a generic “Everything is fine” and actually seeing it for myself.
Our suppliers really stepped up, rush shipping inventory to us. For a week or so, our team fulfilled orders out of a room the Wildcats lent us—or should I say, lent Micah. He’s a good friend to have when everything goes to shit. There’s no way we would be anywhere close to where we are right now without him. Especially since, all things considered, it hasn’t even been that long since the fire.
My phone buzzes, and I nearly jump out of my skin. I pick it up, wondering what Levi is sending me now. His response to our earlier conversation was the frustrated emoji with clouds coming out of each nostril, so I sent him back the emoji with a halo around its head.
When I click on his name, a pic pops up in our thread. It takes me a moment to realize what I’m looking at because my eyes nearly go crossed looking at abs. Levi’s abs to be exact. He’s posed in front of a mirror, gym equipment in the background. He has his shirt off, flexing, with a pair of shorts slung low on his hips.
Me: Do you drink milk?
Levi: Not the response I was expecting.
Ha. No doubt he wanted me to drool over him, which, let’s face it, I am.
Levi: But yes, I do. Why?
Me: Because milk really does do a body good.
In response to that, he sends me another picture. This time, he’s sitting on a weight bench, staring into the mirror. His elbows are resting on his thighs, with one hand holding the phone and the other poised near his mouth, his thumb pressed against his lip.
This is a thirst trap. Levi fucking Soucy is sending me thirst traps. I sit back, kicking my feet and squealing, the laptop and Pet Threads nearly forgotten. How is this man so damn good looking?
While I’m still lusting over the first images, Levi sends a video next. He has his phone set up to record while doing bicep curls. I don’t know what weight those dumbbells are, but they look huge.
Levi: Now your turn.
Before the fire, I would’ve been so tempted to send a sexy pic. I probably would’ve. Now, though, there is nothing remotely sexy about me, other than the fact that I did shower this morning and wash my hair. The basics, basically.
Levi: Please.
My shoulders deflate as I peer around Raeann and Micah’s room then back at my sweats. Before talking myself out of it, Iopen up the camera app and snap a pic of me holding Raeann’s laptop and send it.
I don’t fuss over my hair. I don’t show off some shoulder. I don’t worry that I’m not wearing makeup. As soon as it ends up in our thread, though, I cringe. Levi is not in this for anything chivalrous, though, so I don’t know why I care.
Levi: Being a boss babe today? I like it.
Me: Oh yeah. This is me bossing. I snuck into Raeann’s room to use her laptop so I can log in to the backend to make sure everything isn’t going to shit. If it was going to shit, I don’t know that I could do anything, but hey, at least I figured it out.
Levi: Um, you “don’t know that I could do anything?” Excuse the fuck out of me, but you’re a business genius. You’ve taken a store for pets and built it into a freaking empire.
Levi: Yes, Micah talks about Raeann a lot, so I KNOW things.
My fingers hover over the screen. Inside, a warmth grows in my chest. Levi is being so complimentary, and you know what, I’ll take it. I am a boss babe. Just because something awful happened to me doesn’t mean I’m somehow a different person afterward.
What would I be doing if the fire never happened? Looking into different sales channels. Pushing for the dinner with the head of the football league so we can partner with them and make clothes for all the teams across the country. Running numbers to open up other locations.
I sigh. All of those are things I was working on pre-fire when I didn’t have other concerns. I have doctor’s appointments coming up and prospects for additional surgeries. These things are all excuses, but I can’t help it. I feel trapped in this space where I can’t put my full effort into Pet Threads right now.
I bite my lip, emotion threatening to spill out. It builds until tears gather in the corners of my eyes and spill over. Clearing my throat, I shut the laptop and make sure I place it in the exact spot I got it from before returning to my bedroom.
Levi: You still there? Want to grab coffee?
