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“I don’t have time for—”
“That excuse doesn’t fly while Zairn and I are in LA. We’re staying at Knox’s house, and Jane is running after all of us. You can do your work in a nine to five here. At night, you can go out on the town with Toria. Hell, we have ‘town’ right here in the building. You don’t have to go far.”
“Do you live nearby?”
“They live in the building,” Roxie said, gesturing with her glass as she slid off the couch to sit between it and the coffee table. “They can get ready here, go down to the bar, restaurant, and the club, and come right back up when they’re done.”
“Doesn’t solve the Ballard problem,” Toria said. “If he wants to be a jerk…”
“I can take him to LA or just set him up with missions here.”
“Why didn’t you take Ballard to LA in the first place?” Toria asked.
“He’s been non-stop since… well, forever. Before me anyway. Z said he needed some time off.”
“Doesn’t seem like he’s taking much of a break.”
“I don’t think Ballard asked for time off, Z is just trying to be nice. In LA, we’re treading established paths, from Knox’s to CollCom to Crimson and that’s about it. Ballard can run it from here. At least that was the idea, but I heard he’s hiring.”
“Yeah, a whole bunch of new hotties. I guess with you being Zairn’s priority now, he wants as many security people on hand as possible.”
“You can come and stay with us, Astrid,” Merci said. “If you want to get away from Crimson.”
Merci didn’t say much. But that could be because Roxie and Toria’s personalities were both larger than life. Listening to them was like watching a train shoot past at top speed, dizzying and fast. Picking a point of focus was a struggle.
“Astrid and Reid?” Roxie asked and snickered. “She’d probably pass out.”
“They’ve met before.”
“I always wonder what it’s like to live with your fiancé,” Roxie asked, shifting onto her knees to begin mixing more drinks. “Does he talk?”
“Yes, he talks,” Merci said, doing a bad job of hiding her automatic smile.
“Oh, hey, that says a lot,” Toria said, digging an elbow into the pillow behind her to get closer to Merci. “That mean he talks in bed?”
“Sometimes,” Merci said, her eyes slinking to the side.
“They have a semi-dom-sub thing going on over there,” Roxie said. “Merci does what she’s told.”
“In some situations.”
“What about Gauge?” Toria asked. All attention landed on her. “Is he a dirty talker? A dominant? He into anything kinky?”
“You can’t ask her that,” Astrid said, and she about exploded with relief. “It’s private.”
“We know Reid likes to dominate,” Toria said. “Roxie and Zairn battle for power, and Knox falls to his knees for Jane.”
“They’re all so different,” Merci said. “It’s a wonder how they became friends in the first place.”
“In situations like that, cooped up in a remote location, at school without family or much free time, they didn’t have a choice who they spent time with.”
“Do you know who I’m most interested in learning more about?” Toria asked, scanning the group, leaving some suspense time just hanging in the air.
“She’s going to say Zane Dyce,” Roxie said, picking up an olive with a toothpick.
“Because he’s the richest?” Merci asked.
“He has his own island,” Astrid said.
