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He shrugs. “Sometimes. I have more fun ways of clearing the mind, though.” The innuendo in his tone can’t possibly be missed. Oh god, please don’t tell me Charlie Campbell and I have something in common.
“Why are you here?” I ask him.
He sighs. “I wanted to apologize. You were right—we shouldn’t have ambushed your meeting like that. It was…unprofessional. Also…” he glances behind him for a moment, then looks back at me, a bewildered expression on his face. “Skyler wanted tothankyou for giving him Leona’s card. I told him he should actually meet Leona before considering it a favor, but whatever.”
“Uh…okay, then. Is he out there? He can come in.”
Charlie gestures behind him and a moment later, Skyler appears in my doorway. The pair stand there awkwardly for a moment before Skyler says, “Can’t a guy thank another guy in private anymore?”
Charlie’s brows shoot up, but he shrugs and walks away from the door, still looking utterly baffled.
Skyler steps farther into my office and closes the door.
“He’s going to think something nefarious is going on,” I say with a twitch of my lips.
Skyler shrugs. “Yeah, he’ll probably be like “Oh my god, Skyler, tell me you did not try to seduce Tanner Grimsay” and I’ll be like “Who, me? Of course not. You know I don’t catch, and that guy doesn’t look like a guy who’d take it.” Which is funny if you know the truth,” he says with a snort.
“How about you just don’t speculate on it at all?” I suggest wryly.
He nods. “Yeah, and about that—I just wanted to tell you I didn’t mean for you to get blindsided today. I only found out about this meeting this morning.”
I wave him away. “That’s okay.”
“Deacon has no idea you and Sully hate each other, does he?” he asks, brows raised in curiosity.
I wince. “Hate’s a strong word. But no. I haven’t mentioned this to him. He seems to have a very different relationship with his brother than I do. And for the record, I didn’t even know they were brothers when everything with Deacon started. They definitely aren’t anything alike as far as I can see.”
“Yeah, well, you only know the asshole businessman Sully. Real life Sully’s way cooler. He’s actually a lot like Deac…all nice and sweet and shit.”
I screw my face up in disbelief. I just don’t buy it. That asshole from the boardroom today isnothinglike my Deacon.
MyDeacon? Jesus Christ I’m turning into a sap.
Skyler nods adamantly. “Seriously. He’s like a…eskimo pie.”
“Cold and tasteless?”
“Umm…I was going for hard on the surface and soft underneath. You’d have to ask Drew how he tastes, I really can’t vouch for that.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I deadpan.
“I should go or Charlie really will think we’re hooking up,” he says with a grin, turning for the door. Looking back at me he says, “Did you really mean for me to call your lawyer about a job, or was that just part of the thing with the others?”
I shrug. “A bit of both. Today aside, I’m sure you’re getting some great experience working for Charlie, but it definitely won’t hurt to see how things work at different firms. And if Leona knows she’s poached you from Charlie, you’ll get the star treatment.”
“Well, I do like being the star,” he muses.
“How very surprising to hear that,” I deadpan.
He grins and holds up the business card. “Thanks, Tanner. And make sure Deacon goes easy on you tonight. My first thought when you walked into that meeting was that you looked like you’d been ridden hard and put away wet. Which I guess isn’t far from the truth,” he adds with a chuckle, before pushing the door open and almost concussing RJ who was on his way in.
The pair look at each other for a long, awkward moment, before RJ finally says, “Uh…your boss said to say to meet at DeLuca’s when you were done…um…striking out.”
Skyler rolls his eyes. “He has no faith in me.”
“Well, you did strike out,” I joke.
He gives a dismissive wave. “I didn’t even swing. This is what we call a walk.”
