I shook my head, lips curving slightly as I kept scanning the numbers on my screen. “Brother-in-law.”
It took him a minute to piece it together. Henry was always walking around here like he owned the place, but I guess not so much around marketing for everyone to know who he was.
“Ash, as in Sebastian? Is that the other Langley brother?”
“Yup. In the flesh.” I clicked a tab and started typing the conclusion to the report, copying in the images and original file. “I really do have to finish this.”
“And he’s your lunch date?”
Could this guy not take a hint?
“Not a date,” I said, still typing. “Just my friend and roommate. And I’m going to be late if I don’t send this out now. Can’t chat.”
Bruno looked more and more puzzled by the second. “You live with one of the Langleys?”
“Bruno,come on.” The annoyance slipped through before I could hide it.
He straightened, sliding off my desk. “No, cool. Got you. See you around,” he said quickly—his smile way too big for someone who’d supposedly “gotten the hint.” Yeah. I could expect more interruptions in my future.
I nodded and went back to my file, doing a final read-through before sending it off.
“The fanboy left?” Henry asked, stepping up beside me a few minutes later.
This time, I did roll my eyes. “Don’t even get me started.”
“Do you want me to let him know you’re violently allergic to flirting with anybody under thirty?”
I shot him a look, and Henry laughed as he reached over and plucked a sticky note from the edge of my monitor.
“I can fend for myself, thank you.” I snatched it back and slapped it into place.
Henry leaned down with a mischievous smirk. “Yeah? And how’s that working out for you with the big boss?” Thankfully, he kept his voice low.
“Don’t even fucking bring that up while we’re still in here.” I swatted him away and hit send on the file. “There. Let’s go. And reservations? We agreed to keep things inmybudget, Henny.”
He slipped his sunglasses back on and checked his phone. “No, I said I’dconsiderit. Haveyouconsidered how selfish it is to not let me eat what I want from time to time?”
I scoffed. “You could just eat by yourself.”
He gasped dramatically, hand to chest. “Like Sebastian? No, thank you. I rather enjoy life.”
“Henny…”
“I’m kidding. But I really do want to try this place. You can just pay whatever your pride requires you to, and I’ll handle the rest. Okay?”
I wanted to be mad at him, but a part of me loved that he was still himself around me—no pity, no walking on eggshells. Just Henry.
Hitting the elevator button, I smiled. “Fine. But next time, I choose, and I’m picking the cheapest, most questionable food truck we can find.”
Henry grinned, sliding his sunglasses down just enough to raise a brow at me. “Baby, you had me atquestionable.”
Before the elevator doors closed, I caught a glimpse of Sebastian in Elena’s office. He’d practically been stationed there all week, pulled into meeting after meeting as the crisis tightened its grip. Now he stood off to the side, arms crossed over his chest, listening with an intensity that made the entire room seem smaller around him.
He looked commanding. Authoritative. And hot as fuck in his tailored suit.
I sighed as the doors slid shut, thinking about how good that beard would feel against my jaw. Or the inside of my thighs.
Henry led us to a restaurant a few blocks away, and as soon as we sat down, they set his drink in front of him.
