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“She’s up in my flat.”
“Yeah, Cassie saw you take her up there.” Brett leans back in the chair. “She went to introduce herself with a bottle of wine.”
“Harper could probably use it.” I blow out. “She got down on herself. Thought what happened was her fault.”
Brett grimaces. “We can all relate. Been there. Played the blame game. It takes a toll on you and your psyche.”
“Willa wants her to stay here until they get the abuser into custody. I’m not sure how long that’s gonna take.”
Lix grins. “Hey, if you want, she can stay with me tonight.” His eyebrows wiggle.
“That’s not happening.” I sit down in a chair, dismissing his instigation.
Lix slaps his hands on the armrests with a shitty grin. “Why not?”
I glare at him.
Lix holds his grin, turning to Brett. “She’s cute.”
“Felix,” Brett warns, tilting his head.
“Oh, that’s right.” Lix ignores Brett’s cautionary tone. “You haven’t met her yet, have you?”
“No.” Brett chuckles, shaking his head. “I haven’t.” He folds his hands together and turns to me. “We only have a few weeks to finish up the job. What are you going to do with her?”
I shrug. “I’ll bring her with me.”
“Okay.” Brett nods, accepting my answer. “Well, it’s your week to see Mom. If she’s still with you, let us know. Harper can hang with Cassie and me.Or, if you want, Lix or I can go instead.”
“Or…” Lix drags out the word with his longstanding grin. “Harper can hang with me.”
I cast Lix a warning of my own and change the subject so I don’t get up and plant my fist in his face.
I give my attention back to Brett. “What’s on the agenda for the next job?”
Thankfully, for his sake, Lix realizes his tactics aren’t working. He gets bored and heads in for the night.
I hang back with Brett for the next hour, going through plans and talking about how to tackle the Titan Alarm account. Since doing the refurb for GrandMark, our company has gotten some good exposure, and because of it, we’re getting more business gigs.
Brett’s cell dings. He glances at it. “That’s my cue.” He gets up.
“Cassie?”
“Yeah, she just left your place. I’m going to head up.”
“I guess it’s time for me to go as well.”
He chuckles. “You don’t sound happy about it.”
“She’s just…” I shake my head. “A pain in the ass.”
“That bad?” He locks up the office.
“I don’t know,” I say, not about to explain the night before and how I turned down sex with the gorgeous woman. “Did you know Harper lived with Willa? She raised her after her parents died or something? I don’t know the whole story.”
“Yeah. She went to live with her when she was twelve. Willa said she moved to Texas for a job a few years ago.”
“That’s the story I got from her too.” I walk with him to the elevator to our flats. There are three levels. Brett’s is on top, I’m in the middle, and Lix is on the ground level. “But I think there’s more to her story.”
