“Now that that’s settled,” Brantley said, “we need to get packed so we can head up to Dallas.We’re meetin’ with Max,” he told RT and Z.
“We’re headin’ back, too,” Z informed them.“Figure people might start talkin’ if we stick around.”
“Especially if we’re not here,” Reese noted.
“Where’s Simon?”RT asked, his gaze scanning the room.
Shit.
Shit, shit, shit.Archer forgot all about Simon.
“He’s with Violet,” Brantley answered.“Her dad’s MIA, so he’s workin’ on that.We’ll pick him up on our way outta town.”
Well, at least the guy was otherwise preoccupied.Perhaps he might even forgive Archer for forgetting him.
“You two get to a hotel,” Atticus told Decker and Meredith.“And stay put.”
Decker nodded, looking none too happy at being ordered around by anyone.Archer, on the other hand, was impressed by Atticus’s desire to take the lead.He might not have a lot of cases under his belt, but he got the feeling the man would come into his own soon enough.
Atticus turned to Brantley and Reese.“If it’s cool with you, we’re gonna head up in a bit.”
Brantley nodded.“We’ll send you the hotel info when we have it.”
“This one’s on me,” Travis said, not looking at anyone as he turned toward the door.“I’ll get the reservations taken care of and send you the details.”
“We’ll see you at seven, if not before,” Gage said to the room before following Travis out.
Atticus swore the room deflated when Travisleft.He figured it would ease up even more as soon as Decker sought fresh air.The tension those two brought to a conversation was the equivalent of an atom bomb.Geezus.
Now it was just a matter of grabbing his stuff and urging Archer out into the sunshine.A three-hour drive was just what the doctor ordered to relieve some of the stress that was currently weighing him down.
“Can we have a quick chat before you head out?”Reese asked once most everyone had left the barn.
Oh, boy.A one-on-one with the boss was never a good thing.
“Sure, what’s up?”
“I got a text from Slade.”
Speaking of shoulder-hunching stress…
Reese didn’t continue right away, and Atticus wasn’t sure what to say.Did he apologize?Pretend not to know what Slade was messaging about?Or leap right into an explanation of his own so that Reese had both sides of the story?
He opted for the latter.
“I don’t know what Slade told you, but if it’s all the same to you, I don’t want to change partners.”
Reese’s gold eyes skimmed his face.“I’m glad to hear you say that.”
As for why Reese was glad, Atticus didn’t know.
“There’s no rule against dating in the workplace,” Reese continued, “but—”
Atticus stopped him.“I know.And that’s not a problem.Not anymore.”
He could tell by Reese’s expression that he wanted Atticus to elaborate, but he didn’t feel like getting into it.For the moment, he had too much to deal with to worry about the status of his relationship with Slade or Carson.The only thing he knew for sure was that he was not going to let it dictate how he lived his life.The relationship was supposed to be fun, but Slade was ensuring it was anything but.And Atticus didn’t think he was the only one feeling the pressure since Carson seemed to be keeping his distance, too.
“I plan to talk to Slade,” Reese informed him.“I want him to know it’s our preference that you work with Archer.”
