Page 19

It didn’t. The water made him feel nauseous, and he eyed the cupboard, debating if eating would help. They hadn’t eaten proper food the previous afternoon, unless cake and cookies were deemed as food.

He groaned when his mouth watered unpleasantly at thoughts of stomaching anything right then. He eyed the pile of cake and cookie tubs on the counter his friends hadn’t taken, then caught the time.

“Shit.”

Expected at the office at eight am for a meeting with Kodi and Silas, it left him hurrying through a hot shower. Dressed and feeling more than a little delicate, he called for a cab, unsure he was sober enough to drive himself.

He hefted his work bag over his shoulder, lifting the six tubs of baked goods, and got out of the cab.

“Thanks’,” he mumbled, his eyes narrowing. The low grade throbbing at his temples ramped up as the bright morning light attacked his eyes.

One of the security guards who manned the door was there grinning at Lennon’s approach, his eyes on the boxes. They had shared, and he offered the top box, trying to recall if that one was Ziggy’s or not.

“Morning Lennon, you had a busy weekend in the kitchen.”

“I had Ziggy, Wilder and Isley over to help, Fen,” he explained, stepping past Fen to head over the marble foyer to the elevators, conscious he was barely going to make the eight am meeting time.

“Must have been some party.” Fen matched his stride despite towering over him and pressed a button for him, giving him a smile that said he was interested in more than Lennon’s baking.

He was a nice enough guy, but Lennon was feeling too delicate for a conversation and fending off the overtures.

“It was, and it made me late for my eight-clock meeting.”

Fen gave him a sympathetic smile, holding the door open when Lennon stepped inside the empty elevator when it arrived. “I won’t keep you then.”

Lennon gave him a grateful nod and sagged against the back wall of the elevator as the doors shut. He closed his eyes and cursed his own silly behavior when he had a busy day ahead of him.

The scent of stale liquor quickly filled the warm space, and Lennon winced. Eyes opening, he shifted the tubs to search in his shoulder bag which held his iPad and personal items to see if he had a sample of the cologne they were given last month.

The doors slid open, but he didn’t look up as he stepped forward, vaguely aware that someone was standing in his way.

“Why does it smell like you had a liquor bath in here?” a familiar voice growled.

Distracted as he was, Lennon started at the aggressive question, and the boxes precariously balanced in his other arm tumbled to the floor. His eyes widened in distress at what the contents would now look like.

“Were you out on a date?” Kodi asked.

Ignoring the angry man and the oddly personal question, which was none of his business, Lennon bent to retrieve the boxes. His temples disagreed with the move by increasing the throbbing tempo.

“Answer me, goddamnit. Were you?” Kodi demanded, the aggression somehow different from normal. And more shocking, when it had been weeks since Lennon had experienced a full-on outburst.

Lennon glanced up when Kodi’s foot tapped within his line of sight, his eyes narrowing.

“What I do in my free time has nothing to do with you.” He kept his tone low and professional when he had no idea if Silas was hanging around. He stood slowly, clutching the boxes and making sure his gaze never wavered from the furious man.

Why, Lennon couldn’t say. They didn’t have time to talk about it, not that Lennon was prepared to. His brain wasn’t a happy camper, so they would be benching this discussion until later—or maybe never.

You are not in a personal relationship with Kodi and you owe him nothing.

He stepped into Kodi’s space when he didn’t move out of the way. His eyes held a fire that said he was asking for a spanking, though Lennon got the feeling that giving him one now would somehow cross their work boundary. They both knew it, only Lennon was being the sensible one, he had to be.

“We don’t have time now to deal with whatever this is that has you thinking my personal life is any of your business. Now, excuse me so I can grab my things for our first meeting.”

On that, Lennon elbowed past Kodi, but not before he noticed the look of disappointment.

Chapter Ten

Kodi