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Robbie stared at Priest and nodded. That was all he could manage in response, because he was starting to discover that Joel Priestley was, in fact, pretty damn amazing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
CONFESSION
Sometimes you don’t always see what’s in front of you. Even when it’s staring you in the face.
JULIEN STARED AT his husband and felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from his shoulders. How he’d gotten so lucky to have this man in his life he had no idea, because he was pretty sure he didn’t deserve Priest. But watching him move around the kitchen in his perfect suit, with his mile-a-minute brain, Julien had never loved him more. Every weird and wonderful thing about Priest made Julien feel complete, and at that very moment, he thought Robbie might just be thinking the same thing, if his expression was anything to go by.
Priest had swept in this afternoon, as was his way, and been right there looking after those he considered his, and it had never been clearer that Robbie now fell into that category for the both of them. Julien knew that Priest would want three things to happen next.
Talk, food, then sleep. Yes, it was still early, but that was what they all needed, and when Priest pushed their plates over to them, they thanked him and got stuck in.
Talk was put on hold as all three consumed the almond chicken and sweet and sour shrimp, and once their plates were clean, Robbie went back for seconds.
After he demolished that plate as well, he sat back in his chair and said, “God, I’m stuffed. I ate way too much.”
“Good,” Priest said, and took a sip of his water.
“Good? I shouldn’t have eaten all that. One portion was bad enough. But the calories in two—”
“Won’t do you any harm. You were obviously hungry,” Priest argued. “Did either of you eat today?”
Both of them shook their heads, and Priest pushed the sesame chicken container toward them. “Finish that off, both of you.”
“But that’s your favorite,” Julien said with a frown.
“I don’t care,” Priest said. “I ate two full meals today. You didn’t.”
“So bossy,” Robbie said, but leaned over to grab at the chicken with his chopsticks.
“Just eat.” Priest pointed to the food, making Julien chuckle.
“Better do as he says, princesse. He’s in take-control mode.”
“Oh yeah?” Robbie said, leaning into Julien’s side as they both shoveled food into their mouths. “Isn’t that his permanent mode? How can you tell?”
“See that V between his eyebrows?”
Robbie nodded and pointed at Priest. “Ahh yes, I see it.”
“That means he’s thinking about what needs to happen next, and if he’s forgotten anything.”
Priest arched one of those brows. “Are you two having fun?”
“Oui,” Julien said, and grinned at Robbie. “I believe we are.”
“Mhmm,” Robbie said as they both turned back to Priest, who was balancing some rice on his chopsticks, and Julien caught his lips twitching. “You know, you’re not half as scary as you try to be.”
Priest’s hand stopped halfway to his mouth, and then he lowered his chopsticks. “I don’t try and be scary.”
“Yes, you do,” Robbie said. “The first time I saw you, you were trying to be all tough and scary.”
“That’s not true,” Priest said, and brought his chopsticks back to his mouth.
“Is so. Please, you walked in all business-serious with a scowl on your face and barely said hello before you got stuck straight into work.”
“Time was of the essence. Have you forgotten that?” Priest said. “Doesn’t matter anyway. That wasn’t the first time you saw me.”
Robbie pulled a face, and Julien picked up his water to take a sip. This was interesting. Priest had always wondered if Robbie remembered the first time they’d met, but by the look on his face, he had no idea what Priest was referring to.
“What are you talking about?” Robbie said. “The first time I saw you was with my nonna and Vanessa.”
“No, it wasn’t.”
“Uhh…yes it was. I think I would’ve—”
“The first time I saw you was in an elevator,” Priest said, and then looked over at Julien and winked. “You were leaving Mitchell & Madison…”
PRIEST SAT IN the waiting room of Mitchell & Madison and watched the young lady at the front desk answering phones, greeting client after client.
She was good at her job, efficiently taking calls, smiling politely even though the caller couldn’t see her, and she handled each new person that walked up to her with a welcoming smile that spoke volumes of how happy she was in her employment.
It was a sign of good management when the employees were this lively, this happy, and that was definitely a check in the “pros” column for taking this partnership that Logan and Cole had dangled in front of his nose.
He’d flown out here early this morning to take this meeting, and he’d arrived well before his eleven o’clock appointment, always believing it was better to be early than late—especially in circumstances such as this. He’d wanted to get a feel for the place, see the lay of the land on his own terms without Logan escorting him around and showing all the highlights, which, when it came to this law firm, were many.
