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Except she was a little squirmy. “I don’t want to take advantage of anyone. Xander and I haven’t even…”
Did they know she and Xander hadn’t slept together? Had sex was a more accurate descriptor. All of this would make sense if they’d committed to a life together, but they hadn’t. Xander wanted it. He’d said he wanted her. She’d been the one to hold back. Then there she was, living it up as soon as he was out of the country.
“What did I tell you about men?” Roxie asked her. “You don’t need one to be whole. Screw Xander, you’re my friend. What happens in Crimson, stays in Crimson.”
Except they only knew each other because of Xander.
“Does Xander frequent Crimson?”
When there was a pause, Roxie flattened the phone. “That one was for you, Casanova.”
“When the moment calls for it.”
“That’s a politician’s answer,” Roxie said. “How about the truth, Mr. President?”
He exhaled. “Xander’s about the job.”
“All of you are about the job.”
“It’s different for Gauge,” Zairn said. “The job is all he has.” Okay, that was incredibly sad. “Everything he is, is tied up in work. He’s put a lot of effort into reaching his level. He’s never been one for shortcuts or cheats. He grafts, hard.”
“It breaks my heart a little,” Rainie said, her focus tracking to New York passing by the side window. “He doesn’t even have a home.”
“He doesn’t have a home?” Roxie asked. Rainie shook her head. “Where does he keep his stuff?”
“What stuff?” Zairn asked. “He moves from hotel to hotel. His life is Venture.”
“Doesn’t Venture have an HQ?”
“He has hubs across the world. Smaller satellite locations without a centralized HQ. Any operations he needs to position, he uses our HQs.”
“Like Rouge?”
“Rouge, yes, Mosaic, Eclipse, Dyce, RCI,” Zairn said. “He’s not one for slowing down. He’s always said if he stops, he stagnates.”
“That’s not true,” Roxie said. “I guess it’s on you, Rainie, to show him that.”
“I wouldn’t ask him to stop, to change. I just couldn’t.”
“Then what’s your future?” Roxie asked. “How do you see yourselves in five years or ten?”
“How do you see us in five years or ten?” Zairn asked. “Let them find their own way, Lola. You know how it goes.”
“I don’t want them to obsess, but I do want them to be sure. Jane went through so much to get to where she is with Knox.”
“And we didn’t?”
“That’s different.”
Zairn laughed. “My perfect, beautiful Lola.”
Roxie hitched her chin. “I’ll follow you to the ends of the earth.”
“You wouldn’t have to because I’d already be on your tail.”
“You love my caboose.”
“I do,” he said. “Want me to hop the red-eye?”
