After a few minutes of pleasantries and drinks, Madison looks at me. “So...?”
I smile.
“Yeah, how did brunch go?” Hope asks. She keeps looking at the door, like she expects someone to burst in. It’s been a few months since she got abducted, but the fear still clings to her. We usually meet at her brother’s bar, but we’re trying to branch out like her therapist wants her to.
“Did you fuck him?” Kayla drinks her coffee with a smirk. “I mean, I saw the guy at the benefit. Drew is hot. I bet he’s good in bed. Come on. Details. I need something to get me there tonight.”
“First off, ew, I’m not giving you spank bank material.” I hold my hand up in front of Kayla. “Second off, we didn’t get that far. We had a lovely brunch, and just when he leaned in to kiss me and I was going to invite him inside, Tom texted me.”
“Big brothers are the worst cockblocks.” Kayla shakes her head.
Hope nods in sympathy. “Jason keeps interrupting any date I have these days.”
“As long as Madison keeps Blake occupied, I should be free and clear to narrow the playing field of potential lovers this city has to offer.” Kayla winks. “So when are you seeing Drew again?”
“Tonight.” My cheeks flush hot. I really don’t know what I’m doing anymore. “Dinner at my house. But Tom sent me these cryptic messages. I’m worried about whatever he’s gotten involved with, but I’m also wondering if he just needed a break and took off.”
Tom is a hard guy to read most of the time. He’s good at his job, but he’s got this impulsive streak that he never really reins in. Am I shocked that he left without stopping by to say goodbye? Not really. Am I surprised his cell phone is off? Also no.
But he usually doesn’t leave behind orders to not go home and to have them protect me. If anything, Tom is the hugest cockblock of my life when it comes to Wyatt. Even Finn and Dante. There’s this whole no dating my little sister vibe that Tom puts out.
The others look around the table at each other. Unfortunately, we’re relatively new friends. So they know some of the backstory, but not all of it.
“Tom takes off sometimes. So it’s not completely worrisome.” But my gut keeps nagging me that something is wrong.
Madison reaches across the table and takes my hand. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”
I hope so.
Something outside the window catches my attention. A guy in black stands across the street. He’s tall and thick. He draws on a cigarette and then flicks it at the cars going by before blowing out the smoke.
It looks like he’s looking right at me, but that can’t be the case. We’re not seated by the window, and the sun is probably glinting off the glass, blocking his view of the inside. A shiver creeps over me.
I shake it off.
Most likely it’s just Tom’s cryptic messages playing tricks on my mind. The girls and I talk about our dreams of the future. We’re trying to position ourselves to work together on something, kind of like Madison’s guys did.
They graduated college and formed Morrigan Technology Group.
Between the experience she’s receiving as their assistant and the mentorship with Deidre Bryne, a self-made millionaire with her company focused on women, Madison is primed to become a CEO.
Hope will make an excellent VP and Kayla is a marketing wiz. I’m the final piece. My master’s in accounting is complete after this internship and a few more classes. I just need more experience, which is why I begged Tom to let me intern with his company, meaning Tom, Dante, Wyatt, and Finn.
“You’re still good for your internship?” Kayla asks.
I nod. “Start on Monday.”
Which means I have two days to fuck those guys out of my system, so I can focus on learning and figure out what the hell Tom was up to that he had to run from.
Nervous doesn’t quite fit how I feel currently. Anxious gets closer. Pretty sure it’s not just butterflies zipping around in dizzying circles inside me, but bees, wasps, maybe a few hornets. Honestly, I feel a little ill.
Maybe it was all the caffeine. The whiskey earlier probably didn’t help.
The doorbell rings and I jump. Glancing at my video doorbell app, I see it’s Drew. I smooth down my skirt and brush my hair over my shoulders. I’ve never done anything like this before.
I just hope I don’t fall on my face.
With a deep breath, I open the door.
