Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 448(@200wpm)___ 359(@250wpm)___ 299(@300wpm)
“Simon? Simon who?” Pierce inquired.
“Holy shit! Sawyer’s little brother,” Rome gasped as I handed him his glass.
“Yep.”
Rome chuckled and shook his head. “I haven’t thought about that squirt in years. What’s he up to?”
“That squirt just finished grad school, old man,” I said, relishing any chance to make Rome wake up to his own aging body. He wasn’t twenty anymore. Hell, he wasn’t even thirty.
“Fuck.”
“What did he want?” Pierce demanded, his tone sharper than I would have expected.
“He’s moving to the area for a job, and he wanted to meet up with us.”
“Why?”
Pierce’s stubbornness and shit attitude left me wanting to chuck an ice cube at his head. Thankfully, Rome was sitting right next to him and could punch him in the shoulder for me.
“Because we were best friends with his big brother,” Rome snapped while Pierce scowled.
“We were all close with Sawyer, and I think he’d appreciate it if we looked out for his baby brother,” I said, which got that glare directed at me. Whatever. “It’s not like we have to chauffeur him to Little League and attend his recitals. He’s a fucking adult with a master’s degree. I think we need to invite him out for dinner. Answer any questions he might have about living here.”
A noncommittal grunt left Pierce, and I let it go. Pierce had always taken Sawyer’s death the hardest.
Sawyer had been the fifth member of our crew in college, but he’d died in a swimming accident prior to graduation. We’d met his brother Simon when he and his parents had come for a visit. It had taken all of two seconds to see that Simon idolized his older brother and did everything he could to emulate him. Thankfully, Sawyer had doted on Simon as well, rather than being an asshole toward him as teenagers were prone to do. God knew I hadn’t treated my younger sister the best while we were growing up.
However, in my defense, Aggie had been and always would be a pain in my ass.
“When’s he get into town?” Rome asked.
“He didn’t give me a specific date. Just sometime this summer. I told him to reach out to me as soon as he gets settled. We can arrange a dinner or something.”
“Fine. Fine. I think we need to get back to this issue you’re having with your executive assistant,” Pierce countered in a brisk tone that left me sighing and Rome cackling maniacally.
“There’s no need to tread that ground again,” I grumbled. “I’m attracted to Byron, but I don’t see any way around it.”
“Except for sneaking,” Pierce pointed out.
“And I’d be fine with that—to start. To see if we’re a good match.” I was confident in my heart, though, that he was the perfect match for me. “But we’d have to figure out something long term, so he didn’t get hurt.” With another groan, I waved my empty hand at those assholes because they’d sent my brain down that dead-end road. “All of this is useless talk. He would never go for it. Let’s put aside the fact that he’s not attracted to me. The man is straight as an arrow.”
“He’s straight?” Rome choked out. “I thought you said he was gay?”
“Straight as an arrow, meaning he’s not the type to break the rules,” I bit out. “While he’s never said the words, he has given me enough clues over the years to make me confident that he is gay.”
“But he’s never actually said it?” Pierce asked.
I was going to kill them both. This was not what I’d been looking for in a relaxing evening after a somewhat shit day.
Luck shone in my favor as my phone vibrated with a call from Declan. I put my glass of untouched whiskey on the table and rose to my feet as I answered the phone.
“Hey, Declan! What’s taking so long? You getting out of there? Your boss is a real asshole.”
Declan grunted. I wasn’t sure if he was agreeing with me or acknowledging my shitty joke. His grunts were much easier to read when I could see his face. “I finished compiling those new numbers you wanted. As I was leaving the report on your desk, I found your assistant passed out in your office.”
“What?” The single word leaped out of my mouth in a shout that I couldn’t stop. My heart tried to crawl into my throat, and my knees turned to water. “What happened? Is he hurt? Have you called an ambulance? Does it look like someone attacked him?” As I fired questions at him, Pierce and Rome rose to their feet as if they were preparing to jump into battle with me.
“You misunderstand,” Declan replied with his usual measured tone and patience. Nothing ruffled Declan’s feathers. “He is unconscious, seated at your board table, surrounded by papers and a bottle of your scotch. It appears he came in here to do some work and drank enough to pass out. He doesn’t appear harmed at all. Just sleeping off his alcohol.”