“Or something,” he said with a chuckle. “Definitely or something. And if it’s merely enjoyable, I’ll never show my face in this office again.”
I snorted. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”
Why our interchange felt more like foreplay than anything else, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was I didn’t want it to end anytime soon. His five minutes were up though, I assumed as he put away the files he’d been working on.
“I won’t be able to help tomorrow,” he said. “In fact, I hadn’t planned to come to this office at all.”
“I don’t need help. I can work by myself.”
His voice held a note of sadness when he answered. “I know you can.”
Mia was waiting in my office when I arrived the next morning. Not that I was surprised. She’d already left with Tenor when I emerged from the conference room the day before. I had a pretty good idea about what she wanted to talk about.
“I picked up some coffee for you on my way in,” she said with a nod toward the paper cup from a local café. “Black. Extra strong.”
“You’re a godsend. Thank you.” I sat down at my desk and took a second to lift the coffee cup up for a small sip. The steam tickling my nose meant Mia had only recently arrived herself. After a long night of tossing and turning, trying to decide what to about Piers and the Organization, I’d drifted off to sleep around dawn. Of course this meant I slept through my alarm and woke up with barely enough time to make myself look halfway decent. To top it off, I hadn’t had time to stop for coffee.
She gave a small laugh. “I don’t know about a godsend, but you’re welcome.”
I took a few sips of the glorious brew, allowing the warmth to seep into my body and revitalize my cells. Damn. There was nothing great coffee couldn’t fix.
“I’m sure you know I’m here to talk about Piers.”
Well, almost anything.
I didn’t move from my seat but waited for her to continue. While she worked herself up enough to ask me whatever questions she had, I did my best to act calm, inhaling the scent of the coffee and taking the occasional sip.
She finally started. “You and Piers knew each other in London, he said.”
“Yes. We were little more than children, to be honest.”
“Piers has mentioned his childhood to me once, and the message I took away from that conversation was it left a lot to be desired.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I agreed.
“I take it you were in a similar position?”
The last thing I wanted to do was talk about how awful my childhood was. Especially first thing in the morning and with my boss. “Yes.”
Mia must have understood my clipped reply. “The only reason I’m asking is that if you were there with Piers, it stands to reason you saw and went through most of what he did.”
I placed my coffee on the desk in front of me. “What is it you want to ask me?” I asked. There was more to this early-morning meeting, complete with coffee, than was obvious from first glance.
My straightforward approach coaxed a weary smile from Mia. “I want to know if there’s anyone from your joint past who may be able to help Bachelor International with our current issue?”
Because I’d expected her to ask me if I thought someone from our past had anything to do with the situation they found themselves in, it took a heartbeat and a half for me to understand her actual question.
I wanted to make sure I understood correctly. “You’re asking if I know of anyone who might be something of a hired gun?”
“Damn.” Mia leaned back in her chair. “I should have listened to Tenor when he told me this was a bad idea.”
“No,” I hastened to add. “No judgment from me. I just want to get a handle on what it is you’re asking for.” She nodded, and I continued. “I assumed you didn’t need someone to look into who’s potentially behind everything since you already had Piers doing that. Am I correct?”
“Yes.”
“Typically, a person will only cross over into the dark side for a handful of reasons. One, to get information or two, to get even. Piers is handling number one, which leaves me with number two. Hired gun.”
Mia leaned forward. “I don’t know how these things work. Not to mention, this is way out of my comfort zone. But damn it, if I can pay someone to make whatever or whoever go away and stay away, I’ll do it in a heartbeat.”
I vowed at that moment, no matter what happened between me and Piers, no matter what the Organization did, I wouldn’t let Mia, Tenor, or Bachelor International be a victim. I didn’t know how to go about pulling it off, but I told myself I’d do it somehow.
Chapter 12
Piers
I couldn’t wait until Bri saw how we were starting our date.
In fact, I was so excited I showed up in the lobby of the high-rise that housed Bachelor International twenty minutes early. Trying to play it off, I shot her a quick text.
Traffic was lighter than expected. I’m downstairs. Come when you’re ready.
Her response was lightning fast.
Funny, I didn’t peg you as a “come when you’re ready” man. I’d have thought you were more dominant.
I read it a second time.
Fucking bloody hell. Just reading her typed words made my dick ache. But if that was how she wanted to play…
Let me know when you’re ready to find out. I smirked when I hit Send.
Keep dreaming.
“Trust me, Bri,” I said, putting my phone back in my pocket. “I am.”
After that exchange, I expected her to make me wait the full twenty minutes, even if she was ready to leave before then, simply to make a point. But as she’d been doing almost every time our paths crossed, she surprised me.
No longer than five minutes after she sent her last text, I watched as she stepped out of the elevator and headed my way.
“You’re early,” she said. “One of my favorite characteristics in a man.”
“I’ll have to remember that.” I held out my arm. “Ready?”
She took it and tilted her face up toward me. “Are you going to tell me where we’re going, or is it a secret?”
I didn’t answer, but led her out the door, and watched as scanned the road outside, knowing what she was looking for.
“Where’s your car?” she asked.
“Don’t need it.”
“Is this a walking date? Because I don’t know if I have the right shoes for a walking date.”
I glanced down to said shoes. They were lovely, delicate sandals with straps that tied around her ankle. “I’d hate for you to do anything to scuff or otherwise mess up those beautiful shoes. If they can make it two blocks, they’ll be absolutely perfect for what I have planned.”
“They’ll make it two blocks.”
As she spoke, I could see her mind trying to calculate where we were going. I knew she hadn’t been in Boston for long, and I could only cross my fingers and hope that she hadn’t already done anything similar to what I had planned. Either way, she’d been in town long enough to know there was a rail station two blocks away from her building.