“Yeah”—I shook my head—“no. We don’t need to do that.”
“See you at three, Bug.”
“But—”
The door slammed before I could finish my sentence, and I stood there for a moment. I clenched my fists, let out a heavy sigh, then turned around. When Bri opened her mouth, I held up a hand. “Don’t say anything.” I shook my head. “Granny didn’t accept my resignation. I’m moving out today.” I stomped toward my bedroom. “No questions.”
As much as I needed to talk about everything, I wasn’t sure I could because …What the hell just happened?
Chapter 9
Wesley
It was late.
She was late.
Three o’clock had come and gone, and I’d spent the day waiting for Albany to arrive. In that time, the only communication she’d sent was in response tomyearlier message asking her ETA.
Bug: I’ll get there when I get there.
To a stranger, it might have seemed like I didn’t have my shit together. Especially considering the Ms. Tea situation. Yet, I thrived in my job because I kept a schedule. I had a routine that involved breakfast, work, gym, lunch, work, dinner, work. Sometimes, I ended my night with a no-strings hookup. Most times, I ended my night with more work. Rarely did I deviate from my routine.
“What are you doing here?”
“You’re late, Bug,” I grumbled, snapping my laptop closed.
Albany planted her hand on her hip. “I had things to take care of.”
“What happened to three o’clock?” I stuffed my computer into my bag and stood. “You’re two hours late.”
“I never said that I’d be here at three,” she retorted. “In case you forgot, I move on my own schedule.”
My current predicament was my own fault. Anyone else who’d behaved the way I did at the fundraiser would no longer be employed by Batchelor Corp. Fortunately, Granny didn’t go that far.Unfortunately, she put me on “Albany Duty” until further notice. Meaning my job duties now entailed overseeing the investigation into the mysterious blogger intent on ruining my life. It also meant that my only task for the day was ensuring my ex-girlfriend was settled into her new apartment.
Therefore, my office was the lobby of Batchelor Place today. My workstation was the sofa near the window. No dual monitors, no comfortable chair, no privacy. Sure, I could’ve gone upstairs, but I’d wanted to be on hand when she arrived. Things went from bad to worse when the concierge had a family emergency and had to leave. Since I wasn’t the jerk people thought I was, I offered to watch the desk so he could go see about his wife. In essence, I was now doing three fucking jobs.
While I was the acting concierge. I tried not to think about all the work I wasn’t getting done today. The contracts I had to review, the meetings I had to reschedule, the data that needed to be analyzed … everything was on hold.
Hell, yeah, I’m irritated.
Closing my eyes, I willed myself not to react in the way I would’ve if, say, Erica had pulled this shit. Albany was not my sister, though. Despite my irritation with her in this moment, I still wanted to fuck her. Possibly multiple times over a long period of time.Maybe forever.More than that, I needed her to get me out of this situation with Ms. Tea.
I took a few deep, calming breaths before I met her waiting gaze.Damn, she’s stunning.
The oversized sweats and ratty T-shirt she’d worn earlier had been replaced with black leggings and a thin gray tank under a ripped blue jean shirt. The brim of her Detroit Tigers baseball cap covered her eyes. I wanted to pin her against the wall and unwrap her like a fragile gift on Christmas morning. Slow. Careful.
“Wes?” She snapped her fingers in my face. “You can go now.”
Hendrix emerged from the elevator, his attention on his phone as he walked past the concierge desk.
“Hey, Hen,” she said.
My cousin glanced up and smiled. “What’s up, Albany?” When he noticed me in my little office space, he frowned. “What’s up, brotha? What are you doing down here?”
“What do you think?” I asked.
“Actually, I’m curious, too,” Albany chimed in. “I asked him the same question and he’s yet to answer.”
