She returned barely ten minutes later, her face too neutral to give anything away.The lawyer mask was so ingrained on her features, Baz sometimes wondered if that was just her face now.
“And?”he prompted.
Aya crossed her legs.“I had to call in a favor from a friend at court, so you didn’t hear this from me, got it?”
Ooh.Baz closed his laptop and rested his chin on his intertwined hands.“Go on.”
“His name is Sami Adam.He was a summer associate at Hoffman & Cobb,and apparently, he joined Ian’s team about two years ago.They’ve been joined at the hip since then.And get this: he has a record.An arrest for drug dealing.”
Baz’s stomach dropped.The room disappeared around him; he was fourteen years old again, back in his childhood home in the suburbs, hiding behind the door frame.Eevee’s frail voice echoed in his ears.Mom?
“There’s more.”Aya’s voice snapped him back into reality.He blinked, clawing into the arms of his chair.“You wanna guess who got him off the hook without as much as a misdemeanor charge weeks before hiring him?”
With a setup like that, it could only be one person.
“Why would Ian do that?”
Baz dreaded to think what he got out of that deal.Not that he cared.Unless what he got out of it was access to Sami’s drug supply—nowthatinfo Baz would pay good money for.
“Can’t tell you that, just that the charges were dropped, and it’s all been hush-hush since.Might explain why you couldn’t find anything on him.”
That checked out.Hiring criminals would be quite the stain on Ian’s better-than-everyone image.Why have the integrity to not employ someone who exploited people’s vulnerabilities if he could make it all go away instead?Yet another drug dealer who had gotten away with destroying who knew how many lives, thanks to a deal with the devil… How vile.
Baz couldn’t believe he had been the faintest bit attracted to that guy.He’d take pleasure in wiping the floor with both of them.
Chapter five
Baz’sheadwasthrobbingwhen he unlocked his apartment door.The itching in his eye wouldn’t cease no matter how thoroughly he rubbed at it, blurring the faint silhouettes of his living room furniture into dark blobs.Only the light of the moon and the city twenty-six stories below lit his way to the bedroom.
Homewas an odd concept.He spent three thousand dollars a month on a place he barely saw the inside of.Not intentionally.He didn’t mind his little place in Lincoln Park.Especially the views it offered of the park and Lake Michigan.Two balconies, hardwood floors, and marble kitchen counters weren’t exactly shabby.Getting it right after graduating law school had been sheer luck.Good thing too; he would have hated to impose on Eevee and Joel any longer.
He fell face-first onto the cotton sheets of his king-sized bed.The ninety seven cups of coffee he drank to keep his brain alive today swished around his growling stomach.He should eat.
But the hug of the memory foam mattress was too seductive to escape from.
Stripping off his suit required Herculean effort.He folded the fabric just enough to not cause permanent damage and dropped it to the floor.Tomorrow, it would go into the dry-cleaning bag.Tonight, sleep.
He nuzzled the thick pillow underneath his head…
Bzz bzz.
Baz ripped his eyes open.
This had better not been an emergency.If he was supposed to do another all-nighter, it would only be in exchange for a guaranteed promotion.
He pushed his hand over the navy sheets to the walnut nightstand, squinted his eyes against the brightness of his screen.
Eevee
Hi superstar!
Is it later yet?
The groan came from a primal place inside of him.Shit, he forgot.No guilt, please, just sleep…
You promised.
Him and his stupid mouth.
