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After a final stroke of Starlight’s blaze, I took Rowe’s elbow and led him deeper into the stables toward Trigger’s stall. Sure enough, Dev was crouched down on the floor, tending his precious stallion.
Dev turned when he heard us approaching, straightened to his full, impressive height, and for a single second before he pulled me in for a tight hug, his face lit with the broad, open grin he so rarely wore anymore.
“Bash,” he said warmly, thumping my back. “Shit, it’s good to see you.”
“Same. How was your trip from Texas? “
“Eh.” Dev shrugged and stepped away. “Little engine trouble outside Christiansburg, but we survived.” He threw one heavily muscled arm around his horse’s neck, causing the rolled cuff of his sleeve to ride up. “At least Trigger got to enjoy his new trailer.”
Of course the horse got a swanky new trailer while Dev still drove the same beat-up truck he’d had for years. My smile slipped a fraction, but I knew better than to comment on how Dev spent—or didn’t spend—his money.
“New ink?” I nodded at the lines of black on his forearm.
“Yep.” He tugged his sleeve down before I could see the design and immediately shifted his attention to the man at my side. His smile disappeared as he folded his arms over his chest and gave Rowe a long, thorough up-down. “And who’s this, then? New fuck buddy? Could you not afford a full-sized one?”
Rowe, who’d been steadily inching behind me, froze. His gaze ping-ponged from Devon to the horse and back, like he wasn’t sure which was the greater threat.
I shot Dev a glare. I hadn’t expected Dev to be friendly to Rowe—I’d even hoped hewouldn’t—but fucking with Rowe was one thing. Being mean about it was another.
Dev gave me a blank look in return.
“I’m afraid you’ve misread the situation,” I returned, warning in my tone. “This istheSterling Chase, founder of Sterling Chase. My boss. Your boss, too, in a way. He goes by Rowe.”
“Rowe.” Dev made the word sound like a threat. “Middle name?”
Rowe blinked. “A-actually… yes.” He sounded almost surprised that he was able to tell the truth for once, and my lips twitched. “It’s a pleasure to meet you in person finally, Devon, after so many years of you serving on the…my… board.” He leaned around me to offer Dev a handshake.
Dev’s huge hand engulfed Rowe’s for a second. “It’s Dev. Nobody but my mother calls me Devon, Sterling. As I’m sure you recall from our many telephone conversations.”
Rowe’s face, which was still pleasantly pink from our kiss, went red, and he stepped back immediately. “Right. Yes. Sorry. Silly me.Dev. That’s, um, a fine horse you’ve got there. Very…” He gestured vaguely with his hands. “Shiny.”
Dev seemed unsure whether Rowe was making fun of him or not. He made a noncommittal noise and stroked the horse’s flank. “Rowe, meet Trigger by Noble out of Zephyr Lake by Legendary Lake.”
“Oh. Wow. I see now why he’s so big. He’d have to be, to carry a name like that.” Rowe gave the horse a tiny, formal bow. “Pleased to make your acquaintance. I’d love to introduce you to my own fine horses sometime. Perhaps we could have a small dinner party. Bash, please make a note.”
Dev shot me a look—Is this guy for real?—and I shrugged minutely. None of Rowe was real. And, I was starting to think,allof him was.
“Silas mentioned that you had some business you wanted to discuss with me, Sterling.” Dev set his jaw. “What’s that about?”
“Oh, no, I… Well. Maybe? There’s a project. Project Daisy Chain.” He flushed hard and gnawed at his lip for a second. “That’s just a working title, of course. I… I mean,the inventorwill think up a much more professional title eventually. Right now, it’s just a basic app and a whole lot of research and notes on ways to improve it so that it can be brought to market, but the inventor has, ah… reached the limits of their knowledge. They need help.”
Dev glanced at me, but I could only shrug again. Rowe had just given Dev more information on this topic than he’d ever given me… though, to be fair, I’d been too mesmerized by the man to think about his business.
“And why not develop this project in-house at Sterling Chase?” Dev wondered.
“Good question.Greatquestion. I actually, um, initially thought it would be a good fit for Sterling Chase. Did you know—fun fact—I founded the company because I created a prototype for a stoplight communication system that reduced the arrival time of first responders to emergencies? ETC is a killer innovation… Well, you know it, obviously.”
“Of course we know,” Dev said dryly. “Brilliant ideayoucame up with.”
Rowe nodded, and just like last night when he’d started speaking passionately about fashion, once he’d warmed to his subject, all of his stuttering and hesitation disappeared. “It’s an amazing tech. Recent studies have shown that response times are down by nearly thirty percent in municipalities that use the…our… system. Fatalities from auto collisions due to emergency response have gone down by nearly ten percent.”
I frowned. Those specifics weren’t a secret, but they weren’t exactly available on our website. Rowe had done some research. I felt a frisson of mingled worry and excitement race down my spine.
“But as great as all that is,” Rowe went on earnestly, “there’s so much more to be done. So many other brilliant ideas out there to improve lives, if someone would just look for them instead of… spending their time sending out rude, terse form-letter rejections.”
I wanted to tell him that peoplewerelooking for them. That Sterling Chase was, right then, working on technology that would help tremendously. But I held back. That was proprietary information, and it was none of his damn business.
“Of course, our company is already exceptionally busy right now.” Rowe slipped back into his “quirky billionaire liar” voice, so different from his genuine excited tone that the effect was jarring. “So many great ideas, so little time, right? Like that app that interacts with your coffee maker to make sure your cup is brewed before you wake up. Really thrilling stuff.”
