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CHAPTERTHREE
Isaac
I walkinto the offices early, determined to get a bunch of stuff out of the way before Aurelia Bird arrives. It’s been two months since she came to recce the place—not nearly enough time for me to get my head around what I’ve set myself up for, let alone the wrath of Paris Navitsky that I’ve incurred along the way. I walk into my office, put on the light, and jump the hell out of my skin.
“Carter? That you?”
A large lump is laying on my couch with its back to the doorway. I hear it groan. At least it’s alive. I walk past it to my desk, sit down and boot up my computer, entering a gazillion different passwords to get through the gazillion different security walls Jaxon installed.
“Time is it?” The lump grumbles.
“Five-fifteen,” I reply, opening the team planner. I’m going to need someone to take over my shift in the casino this afternoon; I don’t know how long Aurelia is going to want to stick around. It’s her first day; she might want to make the most of it. Or at least get away from her parents.
“And you got up this early out ofchoice?”
I spin my chair around and Carter is sitting up now, rubbing his eyes. When he’s finally done scrubbing at himself, he looks up. His bloodshot eyes could stop traffic. “Man,” I chuckle, “that is an ad for rubbers if ever I saw one.” He and his girlfriend Seleste just had a baby. Gorgeous little thing. Has her mama’s golden Cuban skin and her dada’s crazy long eyelashes. She’s only a couple months old and she’s already breaking hearts, and grown men by the looks of poor Carter.
“Asshole,” he huffs.
“I’d ask how it’s going but the bags under your eyes tell quite the story.”
“Are you gonna stop being an ass and get me some coffee?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. This is an office, not the Four Seasons. You really are tired, bud.” He sighs and sinks his face into his hands. I relent. I don’t have it in me to be a bona-fide dick, not when my friend is going through such a hard time. “Black, triple shot?”
“Fuck. Yes.”
I get us two coffees from the machine, hand one to him and turn back to my screen. “How’s it all going, seriously?” I ask, running through the planner looking for anyone who might be free later.
“Man, it’s the weirdest thing. She’s amazing. I mean, like nothing else. I love her more than I’ve ever loved anything in my life. But that whole thing about sleeping like a baby? I don’t know where that came from, dude. Not my baby. She’s allergic to sleep, Isaac. It’s killing me.”
“I’m sorry, man. I don’t know what to say,” I reply. I notice Luca has a free afternoon and I fire him a quick email, before turning back to Carter. “How long do you think it will go on for?”
Carter is taking large gulps of his coffee, like it’s a life-saving elixir. “No one knows. We’ve been Googling all kinds of shit. Some people say they grow out of it after a few weeks, others say they never do. Man, if nothing changes soon, I’m gonna go insane.”
“You’re doing great, Carter. Trust me. You’re raising a whole other human. How’s Seleste doing?”
“Better than me. She’s a natural with Safia, but she’s struggling with tiredness too.”
“Is there anything you can give to Safia? Like, I don’t know, do they do sleep tablets for babies?” I take it from the glare Carter is shooting me, that’s a no. “Ok, listen,” I level with him. “Is there anything I can do? I want to help.”
“I could really do with a couple more hours’ sleep,” he says, weakly. “At least if I get some rest before my shift, I can go home with a bit more energy to help Seleste. She’s managing on her own all day.”
“Is the triple strength injection of caffeine you just took really going to help with that?” I’m skeptical.
“Isaac, I could fall asleep on speed right now.”
“Ok,” I grin, sympathetically, undocking my laptop. “I’ll go sit in the café. You sleep here for a while. There’s a blanket under the couch.”
“Won’t the café be closed?”
I jangle a set of keys at him. “Not for long.”
“Isaac,” he says, as I open the door. I turn back to face him. “You are the biggest fucking lifesaver, you know? I owe you big time.”
“I’ll remember that,” I wink, then softly close the door.
* * *
