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“Without what? Legitimately earning more? We’ve worked for every single fucking cent we have. Never stolen anything from anyone.” With a humorless laugh, I add, “Unlike you.”
His scowl makes his eyes appear tiny, like pinpricks on his face. “You might be buying this company, but Grayson News Corp andGenevievewill always bemine.It was my name that started all this from nothing. My fucking name!” He stabs his pointer finger into his chest.
“But it won’t be Grayson News Corp for much longer.” I stand, ready to leave, and Zeke and Xander follow suit.
He sneers. “My employees will remain loyal to me long after I’m gone. You better watch your back, West. You’ll never be able to trust any of them, never know if they’re fucking you over just because I asked them to. I have people in every department of this building.”
“Yeah?” I lunge forward, and he flinches. With a vicious smile, I straighten his tie. He knows we won’t reveal his pension scam because the investigation will hold up our merger, but that doesn’t mean he has any power here. “You might own a few people in this building, fuck-knuckle, but we own people all over this city. Soyoushould be the one watching your back.”
* * *
“You thinkLily’s in the den?” Xander asks as we step out of the elevator leading to the penthouse.
Zeke rolls his eyes, but I don’t miss the flicker of a smile on his face. Xander’s like an excitable puppy where Lily’s concerned, but I get it. She’s hard not to be happy around. She brings something new to our dynamic and makes coming home even more enjoyable. It’s like she’s always been here, and the thought that one day she might not be, that she’ll decide to leave once our three months are up, fills me with a sensation of dread that I’ve never experienced over a woman.
She told me she loved me a few nights ago, right before she threw up all over me. Ever since, I’ve wanted to ask if she meant it or if it was the champagne talking. She gives her body to us completely, but I can tell how fiercely she guards her heart. I understand her need to do that. The three of us are a lot.
Not hearing anything, I glance down the hallway. She always has the radio on when she’s in the kitchen, so she’s not in there. “Let’s go check,” I say, heading in the direction of the den.
We’re home earlier than expected. Maybe she’s working on her article, the one she’s been so secretive about. Sure enough, Lily’s sitting on the sofa, head bent over her laptop as she types furiously.
“Hey, shorty,” Xander says, seemingly unable to resist running over to her and jumping onto the sofa beside her.
She lets out a yelp of surprise and slams her laptop shut. “Jesus, Fitch!” Her cheeks turn a bright shade of pink, and she places her hand over her heart. “You scared the hell outta me.”
With a giant smile on his face, he takes her hand and laces his fingers through hers. “Sorry.”
“What were you working on?” Zeke sits in the armchair and eyes her with curiosity.
Her throat thickens as she swallows. She brushes a strand of hair from her face and narrows her eyes at him. “My article.”
Xander shifts onto his knees and bounces. “You gonna tell us what it’s about?”
Lily shakes her head. “I’ve already told you, it’s a secret project. I haven’t told anyone about it except my editor.”
I perch on the arm of the chair beside Zeke, watching her intently now too.
“You can tell us though, right?” Xander trails his fingers along her collarbone.
She hugs her laptop to her chest and grins at him. “You can read it when it’s published, like everybody else.”
Xander’s fingers drift down to her ribs, and she squirms beneath his touch. “But I already told you, we’re not like everybody else, are we, shorty?”
She clamps her lips shut, but a giggle escapes when Xander begins to tickle her.
“Are we?” he asks again, still tickling her.
Squawking with laughter, Lily squirms to get away, but he straddles her, keeping her in place on the sofa as he continues his onslaught. Her squeals and giggles fill the small room and make both Zeke and me smile.
Her arms go slack around the laptop, and Xander wrenches it from her grasp with a cry of victory. “West,” he calls over his shoulder, holding out his prize. I jump up and snatch it from him, but the screensaver is already in place when I open it.
“Password, princess?”
“N-no,” she stammers between laughs.
“Tell him and I’ll stop.” Xander’s words are muffled by her neck.
“Never,” she squeals as he pins her arms above her head with one hand and goes on tickling and kissing her. Her back bows as tears of laughter run down her face. “Fitch!”
