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“Fuck.”
Dallas stood from his desk, crossing over to a small table against the wall and pouring himself a cup of coffee from the coffee pot. “Would you like some?” He threw his question over his shoulder.
“Please.”
A moment later, he handed me a cup of black coffee before sitting down at his desk again. I took a gulp, savoring the rich flavor. We were lucky in the office here. One of the admin assistants made damn good coffee. He tended to circle through the offices periodically throughout the day, making sure we all had fresh coffee. Dallas and I sat in silence for a few moments while we sipped our drinks.
I contemplated my usual busy schedule. I tended to work a lot and not mind it. Now, I wanted time with Sasha and Quinn. Even though I wasn’t with Sasha every night, I didn’t want the adrenaline-driven exhaustion that came with working all the time. I had something to look forward to, something else to focus on. Specifically, two someones—Sasha and Quinn. I didn’t even know how to absorb the emotion attached to two of them. There were my feelings for Sasha, which were independent of Quinn, yet not. Because Quinn was Sasha’s first priority. As such, she had become mine as well in a very short span of time.
“You’re in love.” Dallas spoke with casual confidence.
My eyes whipped to his just as my heart gave a rattling kick in my chest, almost as if it were a gong sounding its agreement.
I took another swallow from my mug, trying to steady myself. “Do you think?” I returned with practiced nonchalance in my tone.
“I don’t think, Iknow. How are things going?”
I blinked at him, both relieved and disappointed that he didn’t press me to agree with him. Nowthatwas something to wonder about. While I was already coming to terms with just how quickly Sasha occupied the whole of my heart, I hadn’t yet put a label on it. The adjustment psychologically for me was big. My career has taken up so much space for so long.
“Good, I think,” I said slowly. “I think Sasha thinks we’re moving too fast.”
Dallas waved a hand dismissively in the air. “You’ve known her since we were kids.”
“That’s what I told her. There’s Quinn too.”
Dallas looked thoughtful. “Of course. What’s Quinn like?”
An image of Sasha’s self-assured, quirky daughter flashed in my thoughts—her dark hair, her eyes, so much like Sasha’s behind those big glasses, her sense of humor, and the youthfulness she exuded. Like most teenagers, she was both wise and young at once.
Before I could reply, there was a light knock on the office door. John, the very admin assistant who made great coffee, poked his head in the door. “Your appointment is here.”
“Send them on back,” Dallas replied.
“I guess you’ll see what Quinn is like for yourself,” I offered as soon as John hurried off. I’d planned to meet with Sasha to pick up Quinn with her, but Sasha had texted that she had a work errand near Quinn’s school, so they planned to walk over together since it wasn’t too far away.
My brother chuckled. “I will.”
Moments later, we were seated in a conference room adjacent to Dallas’s office, and I was wrestling with the urge to pull Sasha close. She looked worried, and I didn’t like seeing her worried. Quinn, on the other hand, was annoyed.
She looked at Dallas, narrowing her eyes with her lips twisting slightly. “So basically, my father is a dumbass.”
Dallas kept a straight face, although I saw the glint of laughter in his eyes. “If that’s how you would like to define his choices, that’s certainly your prerogative.”
“Well, gambling is dumb and reckless. I mean, unless you have the money to back it up to begin with. I don’t think it’s a smart decision.” Quinn looked toward Sasha and me as if seeking our agreement.
Sasha diplomatically shrugged. “Maybe.”
I offered, “People are complicated.”
Quinn rolled her eyes and looked back toward Dallas. “I brought my laptop,” she offered. “Mom said you might want to look at it.”
“I do if you don’t mind,” he replied.
“Since we forwarded the email to you, why do you want to see my laptop?” she asked as she pulled it out of her bag and slid it across the table to Dallas.
“Because I want to see source information and run a scan in your email to see if there are any other spam emails that link to that one.”
Quinn nodded. “How long do you need it?”
