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“I won’t be long,” Roxie said. “But you’re on phone sex duty. I will call from our New Year screw-room. Drunk calling probably.”
“I expect nothing less,” he said. “I have to go. Have a good time, Rainie. Roxie on her own is dangerous, but her and Toria together can be lethal. Please say no. Go with your gut.” Roxie stuck her tongue out at the device. “Astrid, charge her phone.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Love you, Lo.”
“I love you too, Scroogey,” Roxie said with such sincerity it warmed her heart. The line cleared. “So that was my guy.”
“He’s…”
“Defies explanation, doesn’t he?” Roxie asked and switched her focus. “Okay, Astrid, give it to me. What disasters do I have to clean up? What policies can we change to shake things up around here?”
New York, they said it was the city that never slept. In Roxie’s wake, that had to apply tenfold. Getting to know each other was one thing, a crutch that she appreciated. But, more than that, she was getting a glimpse into the lifestyle. Maybe that was the plan. Without the sheen of her adoration for Xander, she got a more objective look. It was fun. Frenetic. Mind-bending in some ways. Except it wasn’t the luxuries that were making their mark.
Roxie was happy.
So happy that her confidence echoed in waves in every space she occupied. That wasn’t the lifestyle. No. The phone call gave her the clue. It was love. Roxie was happy and in love. Happy not because she was in love, but because she’d found the man. The One. He just also happened to be a billionaire.
That was it.
She couldn’t blame or judge Xander for his success. It was a part of him. If he’d come to her dirt-poor living in a trailer or a slum, would she have cared? Love, if it was true, had to overcome the odds. She shouldn’t be looking for obstacles or negatives. She wasn’t excited to see Crimson. Okay, so maybe she was a little. But being a part of Xander’s family, meeting the people he cared about, that was the real triumph.
29
“Thought you were supposed to be hooking your single friends up, Rox,” Toria said. “Since you locked Zairn down, it’s his single friends who’ve been tying themselves down.”
Rouge HQ was amazing. The building gleamed red, signaling sin like a siren calling people in. They’d driven around the back, down a gated alley to enter the building from behind. People were there to greet them. Greet Roxie. But the woman knew where she was going and didn’t ask for help.
Just being there was a dream. One that got even more incredible when Roxie showed her to a gleaming guest room in her and Zairn’s apartment, then took her to the closet and told her to help herself.
Had she really been in Chicago just that afternoon? It seemed like she’d been transported to Narnia, or some other mythical land of wonders.
After taking some time to get ready, though she didn’t really know for what, Roxie came to retrieve her and introduced her to Toria and Merci, who were waiting in the living room with Astrid.
Well, not really waiting, they were already gorging on the tapas and cocktails spread out on the coffee table.
“You don’t want to tie yourself down,” Roxie said to Toria. “You’re having too much fun living a New York life.”
“I am,” Toria said, wearing a grin without an ounce of shame. “But if he came along, I’d consider it. And what about Astrid?”
“Astrid has her own problem,” Roxie said. “And it’s called Sean Ballard.”
“Who we met today?” she asked. “Your brother?”
“He’s my cousin.”
“Ah,” she said, catching up. “So any guy who wants to get with you has to live with him breathing down their necks.”
“She’s a baby anyway,” Roxie said. “She has to play the field, figure out what she likes, what she needs from a guy. Then when her perfect match comes along, she’ll know it’s right and she’ll be done kissing toads.”
“Frogs.”
“Right,” Roxie said, waving a dismissive hand over her shoulder. “In fact, Victoria Lovell, that is your mission, if you choose to accept it.”
“My mission?” Toria asked, wriggling deeper into the couch. “Oh, you know I love a mission.”
“Get Astrid laid,” Roxie said. The young assistant gasped. “Okay, so laid is maybe too much too soon. You need to get out there, Ast. To date. Have drinks, dinner, flirt, just learn to relax and love.”
