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“I don’t know. There’s something about the guy, Kenji,” I said at length, because spewing out all the rest would probably make me sound insane.
“That’s exactly what Silas told me you’d say.” Kenji sounded far more bewildered than I thought was warranted by the situation. “He said you’re not acting like yourself, but I didn’t really believe it.” He followed the direction of my gaze toward the wall screen.
“You tellSilasnobody likes a tattletale.” I resolutely turned toward my laptop in an attempt to actually focus on work for the first time all morning. “Especially after I let that asshole show me around the gala like a prize steer, shaking hands with a hundred of my mother’s millionaire cronies.”
Kenji snorted. “She’d be so proud.”
I shot him a look that told me exactly how much I cared about that. “For the record, none of last night would have happened if I’d been having fun in Borneo hiking Mount Kinabalu as planned. So, really, isn’t my mother the person who deserves your Stern Disapproval Look this morning?”
“If you’dreallywanted to be climbing that mountain, you wouldn’t have caved when she called you.” Kenji smirked because we both knew he was right. “You told me yourself the last adventure trip wasn’t as fun as you’d hoped. It left you feeling more restless than before.”
I cursed past-Bash for telling that truth.
“Still better than agala,” I grumbled, taking a folder from him so I could sign the papers inside. “And I have other options. I could go to the house in the Hamptons and hang out by the pool with sexy dilettantes.”
“You hate dilettantes.”
“I don’t need to like them to let them suck my dick,” I teased.
“Classy.” Kenji rolled his eyes before grabbing the folder back. “So, about this guy—”
Whatever warning Kenji was going to deliver was nothing I hadn’t already heard from Silas. Nothing I hadn’t already toldmyself.
“Don’t you have a family event to get to?” I interrupted.
Kenji pursed his lips. “Yes. I’ll be leaving for the airport soon.”
“Great. And did you get me a car and driver for this afternoon and take care of those other arrangements I asked you to make?”
“Yes,” he sighed. “Though Silas warned me not to give in to your whims.”
“You’re my PA,” I countered. “It’s literally your job to give in to my whims. And stop listening to Silas. You know he’s been fucked-up since his relationship with Justin ended.”
Kenji gave me The Look again. “What Silas had with Justin wasn’t arelationship. It was a manipulation by a narcissist fuckwad who was only out for his money, and since Silas loves you, he doesn’t want to see that happen to you. Can you blame him?”
I blew out a breath and cast my eyes to the ceiling. No, of course I couldn’t. And I knew Silas’s experience with Justin wasn’t unusual, either. Every member of our brotherhood had been targeted by users more than once.
Having this level of wealth had brought each of us incredible opportunities. Zane was pursuing his dream of becoming a professional musician, Dev had his horses, Landry had… an ever-changing harem of men to fuck. But opportunities like that came at a price—a loss of privacy, a loss of innocence, a constant worry about people’s motivations when they got too close.
Unlike the others, though, I’d grown up in this world. I’d learned early to invest my time and passion in things I could control, like my business. And aside from the brotherhood, I never let anyone get too close.
Kenji leaned forward. “Wait. Does Dev know you’re coming to the stables? Does he know you’re not coming alone?”
“Come on.” It was my turn to roll my eyes. “Of course he knows. I wouldn’t force him to interact with a stranger without warning. And, yes—” I held up a hand. “—before you ask, he lectured me also.”
You’re playing with fire, Bash, Dev had texted.Cut the guy loose.But because he knew me well enough to know that I wouldn’t take his warning, he’d also promised to get me a set of riding clothes in Rowe’s size, too.
“Good.” Kenji bit his lip. “Look, I know technically you and the others are my bosses, and a good personal assistant probably wouldn’t comment on his boss’s personal life—”
“Wait, really?” I snorted. “Where can I get one of thosegoodassistants, just out of curiosity?”
“—but as the guy who manages your online orders of bougie lube and sex toys, and keeps track of Zane’s tour dates, and bails fucking Landry out of his messes every week, I feel like I know you guys. For reasons I cannot fathom, I care about you all.”
“Jesus.” I ran a hand over my face. I sometimes worried that we didn’t pay Kenji enough for all he did, but if we paid the man what he was worth, he’d own the company.
“But… not everyone we’re attracted to is good for us. And sometimes you don’t see the danger until it’s too late. Trust me.”
I sighed. I loved my friends, Kenji included, but sometimes they were a bunch of mother hens. “Look, I appreciate the concern. But this guy—” I jerked a thumb toward Rowe’s picture on the screen. “—can’t lie his way out of a paper bag. He’s not a danger.”
