I push back her hair from over her face, her cheeks flushed and her eyes blazing. “Satisfied,Boss Lady?”
“Not nearly.”
I chuckle. “You’re definitely gonna keep me on my toes, no doubt about it.”
“Did you mean what you said?” she pants. “Earlier, about staying?”
I press my forehead to hers. “I’d like that, but I also know that it’s imposin’ on you. I wanna be able to take you out on a date, and I can’t exactly do that right now until things calm down.”
“They will, it’s just a novelty because you’ve been away for a while. People haven’t seen or heard from you recently.”
“And I would’ve liked to keep it that way,” I sigh.
She kisses my nose. “I know, but they won’t be getting anywhere near you after your security gets here, right?”
“Yes, and that’ll also ease George’s load. I can’t expect him to use all his people power to babysit me, it’s ridiculous.”
“Maybe it would help if you gave a statement?”
She’s probably right. I only gave a brief one when I left court because I really just wanted to get the hell out of there. The woman committed perjury, and that is a criminal offense in itself, on top of that, I didn’t want to hang around to see what happened next. I’d been through the ringer, enough was enough. Audience goodwill surely turned my way after everything she put me through, but I didn’t stay in Nashville long enough to care. I wanted out. The life and soul felt like it had been sucked out of me.
“Maybe.”
“What about your creepy manager?”
“He’s gone, but I will need to look for somebody new.”
“Do you have connections?”
I pinch her chin gently. “You’re too cute. You make it sound like the mafia or something.”
“What else am I supposed to call it?”
“I just can’t believe we’re still talkin’ business while I’m still in you.”
“Call me multi-skilled.”
I swear to god. I’ll never tire of this woman.
Bailey
“Here I was thinkin’ I’d have to hide in the trunk,” Brett laughs when I take the long way to work the next day. It means going through the back of my property, through several locked gates and an extremely bumpy dirt track, but we get to the Lawless Farms unscathed.
“I feel like a fucking milkshake,” I groan, my stomach a little queasy after all the rocking.
“I don’t know, I think you look just fine to me.”
“Well, don’t come too close, if I barf, I can’t be blamed.”
He chuckles. “Listen, I’m sorry about this.”
“Don’t be sorry to me, you’ve got bigger fish to fry with the Lawless’s; they had to kick a bunch of reporters out from the property this morning because they found out where I worked.” I kill the engine and tug on my scrunchie, securing my low ponytail. “These people are literally insane.”
“I am fully aware of that,” he says. “And trust me, they get pretty sneaky, last night was nothin’.”
“If you’re trying to scare me off, that won’t work, Bretty-Boy.”
“You say that now, but honestly, I wouldn’t blame you if you?—”
