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“Navie, huh? That’s an interesting name. It fits its beautiful owner perfectly.”
With Griffin still holding my hand, I broke out into a fit of embarrassingly loud giggles. We were both standing in silence with ridiculous grins on our faces when a throat cleared from behind me. Griffin’s smile turned suddenly somewhat mischievous.
“Hey, cuz. How’s it going?” he spoke, not letting go of my hand as I turned to find Rowan standing there with his arms crossed, an angry scowl marring his otherwise handsome face.
“It’d be going a lot better if you’d let go of my assistant, asshole.”
My gaze darted between the two men like a ping-pong ball. “Ah, where’s the fun in that?” Griffin chuckled.
“You think a broken hand is fun? Because that’s what’s going to happen in about five seconds if you. Don’t. Let. Go.”
Usually, I would have found such an exchange humorous, but from the way the muscle in Rowan’s jaw was ticking, I was almost certain he was dead serious about breaking Griffin’s hand. I tried pulling my fingers from his grasp but he only tightened his hold, taking a step closer to me.
“It’s amazing how that vein in my cousin’s forehead pulses when he’s about to blow, isn’t it?” he whispered in my ear, sending a chill down my spine. I could have sworn I heard a quiet growl coming from Rowan’s throat. “Ah, come on, man. I’m just messing with you.” Griffin laughed heartily, finally releasing me so I could move back a few steps out of the line of fire. With that, I watched in confusion as Rowan’s entire demeanor relaxed.
What the hell was that?
“Navie, I see you’ve met my cousin,” Rowan spoke with a roll of his eyes.
“I’m the good-looking one in the family,” Griffin answered as he stepped farther into the apartment and closed the door behind him.
“He’s the outcast in the family,” Rowan countered. “No one really likes him, but we’re nice out of familial obligation. We spend the rest of the time talking shit behind his back.”
I couldn’t help but laugh at the playful ribbing between the two men. Once the tension in the room lessened, it was easy to see the camaraderie between both of them. Griffin put his hand to his chest. “Ouch, man. You wound me.”
“Oh, please,” Rowan replied with a small chuckle. Just that hint of a tiny grin lit up his entire face. “Your ego’s too big to allow you to be offended.”
“This is true. But can you at least try not to make me look like a tool in front of Navie, here? I’m trying to make a good first impression.”
I laughed again as Rowan glared. “All right, guys. You can continue the pissing match once I’m out of the room. Griffin, can I get you something to drink?”
“No, thanks, sweetheart. I’m good.”
“What about me?” Rowan asked, sounding slightly offended.
“Get your own damn drink. It’syourkitchen. I have to get back to work. You boys enjoy yourselves.”
I left the foyer and headed into the living room, followed by the sound of Griffin’s raucous laughter. I tried to appear nonchalant, but the truth was I just had to get away from Rowan before I did something stupid, like kiss him or spontaneously combust into a pile of lusty goo. Jesus, Ireallyneeded to get my shit together!
Being left in peace while the men closed themselves off in Rowan’s office, I had managed to check several tasks off my to-do list when the sound of the front door opening gave me a start.
“Hello, hello!” I heard from the entryway and a smile spread across my face. Pepper sauntered into the living room as she always had in the time I’d been working for Rowan, in a flurry of bright colors and saucy attitude. I absolutelyadoredPepper. She was Rowan’s personal stylist and even though I didn’t understand what made Rowan important enough to warrant a personal stylist, I was just grateful it was someone as awesome as her. Her hair was an awesome shade of red that she always had fixed in a way that made her look like a modern-day Bettie Page. Her lips were always painted bright red, her eyes were constantly lined with perfect precision, and every time I saw her, she was dressed like a fifty’s pinup model. She was all curves and fierce attitude.
“What’s cookin’, good lookin’?” she asked as she made her way to me, tossing the garment bags in her hands over the back of the couch before crouching to place a kiss on my cheek. I scanned her outfit, an adorable summer dress in black with large white polka dots and a halter neckline and mile-high red, peep-toe heels. No way in hell was I the good looking one in this particular scenario. I had nothing on her in my ratty t-shirt and jeans that should have been thrown out sixty washes ago. Where Pepper was all fabulous all the time, I was more of the ‘dress for comfort’ kind of girl.
“Look who’s talking,” I responded with a grin as she plopped down next to me, kicking her feet up on the coffee table and crossing her ankles like she didn’t have a care in the world.
“Oh, please,” she said with a wave of her hand. “You’re like a sex-kitten Pollyanna. I’d totally do you if you had the required body parts.”
“You sound just like my roommate, Harlow.” I laughed as I mimic her relaxed position.
“So, what you’re saying is your roommate’s fabulous?”
“Yep, that’s exactly what I’m saying.” I giggled. “So, what’s in the garment bags?”
“His Royal Dickness needed a new suit for his photo shoot withModern Woman.”
“Ah, that's right. It’s in two weeks. Unless he manages to piss off the photographer before then and the damn thing gets pushed back for the third time.” The interview and photo shoot were supposed to have taken place before Rowan’s last release as a way to market the new book, but being the egomaniac he was, Rowan managed to find something to bitch about with every photographer hired to do the shoot. The interview had already taken place and the magazine was starting to get pissed. They didn’t want to run the story without a few new shots. And I was the lucky one who had the honors of reining him in so the shoot went off without a hitch.Luckyme.
