NINE

I was listening to my voice-mail and Chrissy’s voice played. “You need to call your mother right now. You need to update her on your first few days of school. Dinner was not enough. We didn’t get the time to talk like we need to. You need to tell your mother you love her because if you don’t, your mother will hunt you down!” She breathed hard into the phone, and I was grinning listening to her. “You got that, my beautiful little genius daughter that I love and cherish and worry about? Call your mother!”

I snorted, because it’d been her who had been distracted during dinner. Not me. I’d been thankful at the time.

“Enjoyed any good burritos lately?”

Now I wasn’t so thankful, because calling Chrissy back might’ve saved me a little from the teasing I’d already endured this evening.

I was at Naveah. It was a couple days later, and that question came to me as I was in the VIP booth, squished with Matt and Guy. No Tony. No Chester. Both absences that I wasn’t complaining about.

And I knew the teasing would start, just didn’t know when it would start.

Tuesday was the Burriotle date.

Someone there took a picture of us, of Kash leaning over me like he wanted to eat me for lunch.

That photo was sold the next day.

It came out Thursday. And here we were. Thursday night. Naveah. My brother beside me. That damn picture was haunting me, and so was Chrissy’s voice message.

The club was packed. We had extra club staff at the end of our stairs to keep people from coming up, and since we’d just gotten here, I figured I got my brother for thirty minutes before he’d head off to quench the real thirst that had brought him to Naveah.

I figured I had that long with Guy, too, before he had a girl up here, or two. Both were grinning at me, sharing sly looks.

I flushed, putting my phone away. “Fuck off.”

Matt laughed. “I do believe that’s the look Kash had, wanting to do that to you.”

“I took a girl to get a burrito the next day and what do you know?” Guy piped in, his amusement thick. He winked. “It worked. She got a different burrito within an hour of leaving there.”

“An hour?” Matt shot at him. “It took that long?”

I added, “What were you doing before?”

Guy’s grin lessened, but he rolled his eyes and gave us both a middle finger. “Fuckers.”

Matt jerked his chin up to me. “Where’s your man tonight?”

The official answer: “Working.”

The unofficial answer: a meeting with Japan investors. Why I wasn’t supposed to know that, I didn’t know, but Kash let it slip he had to call overseas, and I got a text later telling me not to share with anyone the location of “overseas.”

Matt didn’t care. He didn’t question. He only nodded, all easygoing. “Right on, right on.” His hand was resting on the booth next to my shoulder and he bumped me with it. “Fill me in. How’s the school thing going?”

Matt barely went to class when he got his degree, so he didn’t really go to college. How he got that degree, well … I was assuming money had something to do with it, but I wasn’t going to ask. Graduate school, what I was doing, was a phenomenon to him.

I got it. I did. He gave me enough teasing, lumping me in with Cyclone and Peter, that I knew there was a part of him that was bothered by it all. I didn’t know why or how it related to him, though I had a guess. And I didn’t like what my guess was, but as he asked me this question, I could tell he was genuine in asking. He’d been authentic the other times he questioned me, too, and that was warming my belly in a way no alcohol could obtain.

I smiled at him. “It’s going good, actually.”

And it was.

I was up to date on my assignments. I thought there’d be more papers, but there weren’t. Turns out computer grad school was actually about computers, so the assignments we had were easy for me. I had to put in extra time reading the textbooks so I knew I would get everything correct on the quizzes, one of which we had coming in the morning.

I wasn’t supposed to know that, but moving through our student database, I had hit a few extra buttons that I shouldn’t have and I got the screen that showed me the complete schedule of pop quizzes in my IT Strategy and Management class. I didn’t print anything out. Didn’t copy it. Just got one good look at the screen before I was pushed out. That was enough.

I didn’t share with anyone that I’d had that peek. I was prepared, because I actually did the readings. Some of the students in the class didn’t. They skimmed. Melissa told me her secret was to read the first section, the last section, and every third paragraph the rest of the chapters. Hoda, I didn’t know what she did. After I came back from Burriotle, she didn’t say anything to me the rest of the day, and it’d been like that for the past two days. Melissa, on the other hand, loved everything about that day and proceeded to share this with Fitz every time he was with me.

The rest of the guys in the class thought Fitz was cool, though only one or two of them told him this. Melissa was the one who told me the guys thought Fitz was cool, because the guys mostly all stuck to themselves. They lingered around a few of their computers. The spokesman was the extroverted “leader” of them, Dax, but the rest just talked with one another. And Melissa, she was on the in with them.

Me. Liam. Hoda. We weren’t.

I hadn’t figured out why yet, but I would. It was a mission of mine.

Erik was supposed to come inside with me tomorrow, so I’d see their reaction to him. I wasn’t sure if I wanted Hoda’s ice to continue or not. I still hadn’t said anything to her about Holden Mansour, but she was here. I texted Torie and she looked at the schedule and texted back it was an affirmative. Holden Mansour was scheduled for an eight-to-two a.m. shift in the security room.

I’d only been in Naveah for thirty minutes, so I hadn’t had time to even look, but it was during her slotted time.

“Aw, fuck.” Guy slid farther down in the booth, his gaze locked on the crowd beneath us.

I looked, and “Aw, fuck” was right.

“Fucking hell.” From Matt. He took his drink, slammed it back, and held up the emptied glass. The VIP server rushed over. “Keep those coming, and can we bar those girls from coming up here?”

Bar?

I turned surprised eyes on my brother, until I saw them, too. I’d missed them before.

Victoria, Fleur, and their friend, whose name I recently found out was Cedar Barlow—which, though I’d never share it with those girls, I thought was a cool name. They were making their way up here. Victoria was wearing a slinky cream-colored dress, Fleur had on red, and Cedar was wearing a black one. As they maneuvered up the stairs, I dipped to the shoes, because though I was normally not a shoe girl, I could hear my inner Chrissy Hayes wanting to know.

All of them were wearing the heels with the red bottoms. No surprise there. What was surprising, though, was that all three of them had no jewelry on, but each had some faux fur wrapped around their shoulders. I guess that was their accessory.

Victoria took the lead, a pinched look on her face as she stood in front of the table. Her hair was good. She’d lightened it again, so the red looked like sun streaks of orange. “Guy. Matthew.” She didn’t look at me, her hand going to one hip and a little purse falling down to rest on its chain over her wrist. “Is Kashton coming tonight?”

Fleur and Cedar were looking at me, fully at me. They were doing it for their girl, and both held calculating looks in their slightly narrowed gazes.

Matt’s tone was cold. “How would I know?” His hand, the one right next to my shoulder, gestured to me. “Why don’t you ask the one who would know?”

Victoria’s mouth flattened, and she visibly grimaced before sighing, turning her gaze my way. “Hi there, Becky. I didn’t see you.”

Becky. I rolled my eyes.

I wasn’t going to respond to that.

Cedar moved forward. “She asked you a question.”

I wasn’t going to respond to that, either.

Instead, I picked up my drink and turned to my brother. “Did the music get louder in here? Did you guys say something?”

Matt pressed his lips together, stifling a laugh.

Not Guy. Guy was okay with expressing he was loving watching this showdown. His eyes were twinkling.

Matt shrugged, raising his voice. “Maybe. It’s starting to grind on the ears.”

“Exactly.” I matched him, raising my voice. “Or maybe it’s my allergies kicking up. I’m starting to get a headache.”

“Jesus Christ,” Victoria hissed. “Bailey. I’m talking to you.”

I turned to her now and grinned. “Oh, hey. When’d you get here?”

Fleur’s head was turned toward the floor. Her shoulders were shaking, but Victoria and Cedar couldn’t see her.

Cedar threw her hand in the air. “Seriously? You’re going to play that game?” Her lips were tight. “With us?”

Leaning forward and resting my arms on the table, I said to Victoria, “You usually travel with two others. Where are your friends tonight? You’re going alone?”

Her eyes threatened to bug out.

I heard Fleur snort, her hand raising quick to her mouth, and she turned away.

Cedar’s mouth was hanging open at me. “Are you seriou—”

I was done playing. My eyes cut to hers. “Use a sentence that doesn’t have the word serious in it. Do it. I challenge you. Grow your vocabulary. It helps fight off dementia.”

Cedar looked ready to scream at me, but her mouth stayed shut.

I was impressed. I thought for sure she’d blast me, but her gaze kept going from Victoria to me and I clued in. She couldn’t make a move without Victoria’s approval. She couldn’t engage me in a confrontation. Her leader wasn’t allowing it.

Why? That made no sense.

And to prove my theory, Victoria smiled at me, her tone magically softer. “Bailey. I need to talk to Kashton about something. He’s not been returning my calls and I was hoping he’d be here tonight.” She glanced to Matt. “Or find out when he will be here.”

Kash was freezing her out. Interesting.

Matt’s eyes just slid to mine. He only had one eyebrow up now, and I read that look he gave me. He was letting me handle this.

My phone buzzed at that moment. Torie.

Bathroom.

Okay then.

Sliding out of the booth, I said to Victoria, “You want him, you probably should consider the reason he’s not getting back to you.” Her mouth opened and I beat her to it. “And no, I’m not going to ask him about you.” I nodded to Matt. “Be back. Bathroom.”

Erik and Fitz were off shift, so I had two new guards. I hadn’t met them, but as one broke off from the line of other guards, I asked him, “What’s your name?”

He paused. “Scott.” Then he dipped his head and moved forward.

I went with him because I was guessing he knew the plan. They didn’t ask where I had to go, and he led the way to a bathroom off the main floor. For once, there was no line waiting to use it, but maybe that’d been put into play already, because he knocked once and stood by the wall. He said, “You can go in.”

Torie was leaning against the sink counter, her arms crossed. Her eyes locked on mine.

I cleared the last partition to see where the stalls were and saw that it had all been planned. Hoda stood by the stalls, her head down, her arms crossed tight over her chest.

Torie spoke to the room, “Checked out Holden Mansour’s application ten minutes ago…” She was scowling at Hoda’s bent head before finishing, looking at me. “To find it’s now a Hoda Mansour file and the gender has been changed. Male to female. My boss said you get to make the call so”—she leaned forward, but her hips remained resting against the counter—“you give me your call.”

Crap. This had progressed quickly.

Hoda’s head snapped up. “I don’t see why it’s her call—”

“It is because my boss says it is.”

“Because her dad says it is—”

“Because her boyfriend says it is.”

Hoda’s mouth closed with an audible clap. She seemed stunned, and I sighed internally because I hadn’t wanted to think it, but now I couldn’t not think it.

“You released that image of Kash and me last summer.”

It made sense.

She was here.

She knew who I was by then.

She wasn’t happy I was coming to her program.

She worked IT here.

She would’ve had the skills, and the motivation.

She did it.

I wasn’t asking. I knew it.

The guilt that flushed her face told me I was right. Shame flared briefly before she thought about whatever she needed to make it go away.

Guilt. Shame. Then coldness. And anger after that.

Her top lip curved up. “You can’t prove it.”

Torie snorted. She looked to say something, but I shook my head, quick.

Hoda underestimated me. That was fine with me, because I didn’t want to know how she’d react when she knew not to underestimate me.

“Maybe. Probably not. But you did, didn’t you?”

She didn’t respond, not at first. “Am I fired?”

“What’s your issue with me?”

Heated eyes swung back to me and she drew upright, her head falling back. “You mean besides the fact you didn’t earn your spot in school? What about the circus you’ve brought to our classrooms? Or that all the guys think you walk on water because you’re related to Peter Francis? Or that you have a seriously hot boyfriend wading into shit to save you, and he carries you out and no one says a word, like his word is god at school. I get it with him being my boss, which I didn’t know until now, but at Hawking? It’s hard to get into that school, and you got in no worries at all, probably no sweat at all. You probably just said ‘Daddy, I’d like to go to Hawking’ and he picked up the phone the next day and, voilà, you’re an incoming graduate freshman at Hawking University by that afternoon. I mean, you don’t get it.”

Torie’s mouth was hanging open, just an inch. She was as shocked as me.

I thought it’d be more. “Jealousy? That’s what this is all about? You’re straight-up just jealous?”

“My father is a doctor and he works all hours of the night. He’s barely home. My mom takes care of us, all of us, and I have eight brothers and sisters. We didn’t have it easy growing up. We had chores to do. Every morning I had to get up, help with breakfast, do the dishes before school. Then I had to be responsible for all my siblings, making sure they all had their bags and lunches, and I had to make sure we all got home after our activities. Three girls were kidnapped where I grew up. Three. All just walking home from school. But you don’t get that, do you? You probably had drivers taking you back and forth from school and home and your friends’ houses.”

This girl wasn’t with it. There was a screw loose up there. What she was spewing was insane.

Torie’s gaze shot to mine, and she knew the truth, but I shook my head again. I didn’t want her spilling the truth to the girl who actually had it better than me. She had a stay-at-home mom and a father who was a doctor. Looking after siblings wasn’t something I’d gripe about.

I was happy to even have siblings.

In that second, I knew I didn’t want Hoda to be fired. I didn’t before, but I just hadn’t decided if I wanted to tell Kash everything or not. He’d fire her no matter what, if he found out about the released image.

But I knew now.

She was here. She was in my classes. I’d have to do projects with her, work closely with her, and I wasn’t sure if I wanted to make her a different kind of enemy. At least now I knew what I was working with. Better to have the enemy you know than one you don’t, that sort of thinking.

I also knew I’d be getting all the information on Hoda Mansour after this conversation. Unlike her, I was going in prepped and ready. No underestimating for me.

Torie shook her head. “You just look stupid right now.” A grunt. “And spoiled.”

I hid a grin. She’d taken the words out of my mouth, ones that I wasn’t about to say.

Hoda glared at her, then me. “Am I fired?”

Torie rolled her eyes, swinging an elbow in my direction. “Up to her still. But man, if I were you, I’d check my attitude. You do know her dad and her man are connected in town and in the field you’re going to be working. You think long term? Might not want to piss off a Francis so early in your game.”

Hoda’s eyes widened. Blood drained from her face.

She hadn’t thought about that, and that told me she was running on pure emotion. All that hatred and nastiness because she was purely jealous, which also shone a light on exactly how spoiled she was, though she probably didn’t even know it.

I didn’t want to enlighten her.

“No, you’re not fired. But like Torie said, stow the nastiness and we’ll be fine.”

Her eyes burned fire at me before she rushed past me and out the door.

Torie waited for it to swing shut. “She is stupid! She is stew-pid.”

“She’s just wrong, that’s all.” My phone buzzed. Kash.

At Naveah. Hallway.

I said, “Gotta go. My man’s here.”

Kash was leaning against the wall, his face turned toward the rest of the club so I got a vision of his side profile. He was lounging back, his hands in his pockets, one foot resting over the other, and for a moment I took him in.

Perfection.

Sensual.

Badass.

Feeling a little unsteady on my knees, I went to him and, knowing I was there, knowing I was watching him, knowing I was coming, those eyes turned back to me. Home. That’s what swept up in me. He’d said it before. I felt it now. I almost faltered in my step, that feeling was so strong, so powerful, and it exploded everywhere in me. It filled me up.

I needed a second.

Hayeses didn’t cry, but dammit, the proof we did was leaking out of me, and not for the first time.

His eyes turned tender as he straightened from the wall. His hand rose, cupping the side of my face as I stepped into him like I’d been made just for his hand. His thumb wiped away the leak and he whispered, “Hey.”

“Hey back.”

My voice was hoarse.

He was searching me. “What is it?”

I shook my head, my throat still thick with the feels. “Nothing.”

The door opened behind me. Torie came out, and Kash looked up to see her.

He drew me to him, my front to his front and his arm circled around, resting behind my shoulders. “What happened?”

Torie looked from me to Kash. “Your IT employee is a bitch. That’s what happened.”

I stiffened in his hold.

His thumb moved over my shoulder blades now. “More.”

She hesitated again, then moved to the side of us. I turned, my eyes imploring, but she ignored me. “Sorry, Bailes. I can’t. He’s my boss and he told me to watch out for you when you’re here. I have to do my job when it happens here.”

“Torie, no.”

Her face closed in, her mouth tightened. Her eyes went straight to Kash, not looking at me once as she laid it all out, what had happened in the bathroom.

Kash’s body was already tense, but it was cement by the time she was done. “I want her in my office. Now.”

“Kash, I—”

He released me as Torie gave him a quick dip of her chin and headed off to do his bidding. His hands caught my shoulders, one moving to tip my head up to his. “No.”

“No?” My eyes flashed.

“No.” His eyes didn’t. They were steady and calm, but there was an undercurrent there. He was pissed off. “My employees don’t talk to you like that. Your classmate, I can’t do a thing about that, but my employee? Fuck no. She doesn’t get the right.” His hands smoothed down my arms, going to my hips, pulling me against him.

“I’m assuming you don’t want her fired. That’s why you tried to hide that from me?”

I nodded.

“Okay.” He tugged me back to him. His arms wrapped around me, his head resting against mine.

The situation aside, I was getting heated in the whole physical way. That was going to happen. It was just Kash. Most girls probably felt the same as I did, but the home feeling was still in me. Still wreaking havoc on my senses and whispering words of love and adoration in my head. All that was going on, so I wasn’t able to stay firm against him. I was melting, and I wanted him to hold me in his arms just a little bit longer.

My arms slid around him and moved up to his shoulder blades. I held on tight, as tight as I could.

He dipped his head down. His mouth moved over my shoulder, then my neck, my jaw, my cheek, and he expelled a soft breath at the corner of my mouth. “I’ll be back. I gotta have my woman’s back.”

Gah. And those words.

I nodded, my forehead moving against his shoulder.

He cupped the back of my head, pressing a hard kiss to my forehead, and then he was gone. Half the guards went with him. Half remained with me.

I trekked back to VIP.