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“Andrei,” Lucas nearly growled.
“Lucas,” he replied in a matching growl. The other man closed his eyes as if in pain. “Lucas,” he repeated on a gasp.
Eyes flicked open and Lucas started to reach for Andrei when a knock on the double doors echoed through the office. Lucas jerked back, his cheeks flushed like a teenage boy getting caught with his hand down his pants. Andrei’s head dropped back on a deep laugh that he could no longer contain. The other man glared at him and pointed toward the chair, sending the bodyguard to his corner with his books. Lucas would probably get even later when they were alone at the penthouse, but it was worth it to see the man flustered.
Candace marched into the office with a pile of files, a tablet and a laptop in her arms. She never glanced at Andrei as she crossed the office and took a seat in front of Lucas. Andrei sat and watched them work for several minutes as she plowed through one item after another with precision and efficiency. At the same time, Lucas maintained an impressive speed, never hesitating as he snapped one order after another.
Smiling to himself, Andrei turned his back on them and conducted a quick inspection of the office to make sure there were no other ways in or out before settling in his selected chair. It certainly wasn’t a bad place to spend the day and he had plenty of books to read. But getting lost in a book was the last thing Lucas was planning to let him do.
Candace scurried away less than thirty minutes later only to have the receptionist usher in a tall, black man dressed all in black carrying two large bags. Andrei immediately came to his feet, moving to stand between the stranger and Lucas.
“Luc, dear, you do not even want to know how many appointments I cancelled for you today,” the man announced, dramatically dropping both bags on the floor with a heavy thud. “Carol Sanderson spent twenty minutes screaming her bottle-blond head off at Julie this morning. But then I just grabbed the phone and said, ‘Lucas Vallois needs me.’” He snapped his fingers sharply. “And that shut her up.”
Placing a hand on Andrei’s shoulder, Lucas gently squeezed, reassuring him without a word before he attempted to step around his bodyguard. He gave the newcomer a reserved smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You’re the only one I trust, B.”
B immediately started to flutter around Lucas, touching his short brown locks, moving them here and there like a bird settling the feathers of its chick. “Everything looks fine here. You’re finally using that conditioner I gave you.”
“It’s not me.”
The black man’s eyes immediately jumped to Andrei and widened. “Well, hello beautiful,” the man purred, his grin widening. He started forward and Andrei lurched back two steps, turning his wide, confused gaze on Lucas. “Oh sweetheart, I don’t bite on the first date.”
B moved a little slower this time as he stepped around Andrei to pull out the band holding his hair back. B ran his fingers through the strands. His touch was gentle yet firm. “Oh sweetheart, what have you done to your beautiful hair? What is this? Burned?”
“Something like that,” Andrei replied, but his eyes were locked on Lucas who was grinning at him.
“Can you fix it, B?” Lucas inquired. “We have a business appointment this evening and he needs to be perfect.”
“Of course I can fix it! What a ridiculous question!”
“Get to it then. Set up in here.” Lucas gave an absent wave of his hand, indicating anywhere in the office. He started to walk back to his desk, but Andrei roughly grabbed his elbow, stopping him.
“Can I speak to you a moment, Mr. Vallois?” Andrei demanded through clenched teeth. Lucas’s eyes narrowed on him and he gave a curt nod before allowing Andrei to escort him to the farthest point of the room.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Andrei saw B setting out a drop cloth, and getting all his equipment organized so he could work. All the while he was humming to himself.
“What the hell are you doing?” Andrei demanded, fighting to keep his voice low.
“What are you talking about?”
“The books and now this haircut. I’m not comfortable with this.”
Lucas stared at him, his brow wrinkled in confusion. “Why?”
Andrei’s mouth fell open for a second and then shut as he struggled for the right words. “You can’t spend money on me like this. It’s…weird,” he finished a bit lamely, his gaze skipping away from the other man to dart out the window and then back.
“Your hair was damaged because of my stubbornness. It’s my responsibility to fix that.”
“But—”
“And you wouldn’t have left me alone in the middle of the day to take care of that, right?”
