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“Dark liquor with dinner instead of wine?” I quipped. “Guess I’m not the only one who’s had a long day. You trying to drink your way out of it?”
“Drinking as a relaxation tool,” he replied. “So… I guess you’re somewhat correct.”
I nodded. “What’syourproblem?”
“Youare my problem,” was his immediate comeback, and I raised an eyebrow before a long sip from my glass.
“Well damn.” I laughed. “What didIdo? Is this about me going to my apartment first, instead of straight here? Because if so… this is incredibly dramatic,” I told him.
“Iwishit was that, Nalani,” he said.
And something in thewayhe said it, something in his tone, made me feel a little… concerned.
“I heard you had an unpleasant visitor today,” he spoke up, dropping the suspense as I scoffed.
“Yes, my father was upset about the way the vote went, which didn’t surprise me, andshouldn’thave surprised you either.”
“Notyour father,” Orion said, swigging the rest of the bourbon down his throat before dropping the glass to the table with a loud clatter. “But we’ll absolutely be coming back to him. I’m more concerned now with your retention skills, because what thefuckdid I tell you was going to happen if I found out EJ was around you again?”
My mouth went dry.
Shit.
This day had been such a clusterfuck of drama I’d forgotten about his little pop-up.
“Iknowyou’re not pissed at me, as if I control that man,” I replied, choosing indignation as my default. “I went towork, andhe was there. Why are you confrontingmeabout it?”
“Onlybecause I can’t find him.Yet.Otherwise, you’d be in the audience for quite a show right now,” Orion said, leaning over the table. “But don’t get it twisted, you’re not innocent.”
“So I was… what, supposed topredictthat he was going to show up? I’m a lot of things,dear husband, but clairvoyant is not one of them.”
“Nobody is asking your ass to predict the future, but that nigga ran up inmyshit—yes, mine, becauseyou, Nalani,are mine—snatching on you like he runs something and it never crossed your mind that might be something I needed to know aboutfrom you?”
My mouth dropped. “I… I wasbusy,” I snapped. “And we had the board meeting coming up, which needed my focus. I couldn’t let my whole day be threatened by something that wasn’t even a big deal!”
“Not a big deal?!” he bellowed, making me flinch. My breath caught in my throat as he launched himself out of his seat, grabbing my arm to hold my wrist in front of my face.
The sight of the bruise I’d been too distracted to even notice made my eyes go wide.
“Not a big deal though… right?” Orion questioned, rage simmering behind his gaze as he dropped my arm.
“It doesn’t evenhurt,” I tried to assure him as he stepped away, toward the fire. “And it’s not like he fuckingbeat me upor something!”
“I’ve seen the video footage,” he said, his tone scarily calm. “I saw exactly what he did and your attempts to minimize it are not making anything better.”
I frowned. “How the hell did you see the video footage?”
“Soren.”
My eyes narrowed. “Sorenshowed you our cameras?”
“Yes,” he answered, turning to face me. “Becauseheunderstands that it’s a big fucking deal and that there’s zero room to let blatant disrespect ride.Heunderstands that you are precious, even if you’re too dense to get it yourself.”
I scoffed. “Wow.Call me precious and stupid in the same damn sentence. I don’t know if I’m impressed or insulted.”
“I really don’t give a shit, as long as you’reprotected, which is clearly up to me,” Orion countered, shaking his head. “You can’t move in the same way you moved before your last name was Sterling, do you understand that?”
“I am the exact same person I was before you called yourself doing me any favors.”
