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He shrugged and grinned. “Finding shoes to go with those suits. I’ll swing back to pick you up in a bit.” Albion seemed perfectly content with breaking rules for me today, but unlike Xadrian, I got the idea that he did respect the job, so I suspected this wouldn’t happen often, if ever again—and besides, he was working. Still, guilt twisted in my gut.
“I could get fired if Mr. Guidry finds out I wasn’t working today.”
He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye. “I’m not going to tell him.”
“You’re not?”
He shook his head.
I let out a long breath and relaxed into whatever the hell weirdness today was going to end up being, especially when he slipped me a credit card with his name on it. I swallowed hard. He didn’t look at me, so I tucked it into my wallet and didn’t say a word.
“How many pairs of shoes?”
“Three or four.” He shrugged. “And don’t get cheap shit. They need to match the suits. Gray, green, blue, brown, and black. Nothing under three hundred dollars. Each,” he said, tone dire.
“Yes, Sir,” I whispered, then covered my mouth with my hand to hide my smile.
The day was a bizarre haze as Albion ran around town checking on different projects for his team and doing a few things for Mr. Guidry. In between all his stops, I bought shoes; some more regular clothes; underwear and socks; a new laptop, since he’d decided he didn’t like mine for some reason; and then, finally, at the last site I went with him and took notes.
My gut started to twist with anxiety again around five thirty, and by the time we were in a fancy bar in the Pleasure District—Sale Riche—I was having trouble paying attention to anything at all. There was an on-point gold theme throughout the business, and I got distracted running my finger along the shiny metal bar. Albion was still hard at work on his iPad, even though he had a beer with condensation sliding down the sides sitting in front of him. I sat up straighter on my stool when the bartender brought me a mint-green drink in a bowl-shaped glass over beads of ice. It was artwork.
“What is this?” I asked, blinking at Albion. I’d been panicking so hard when we’d sat down that I hadn’t noticed what he’d ordered for me. He glanced at me out of the corner of his eye and tipped his head to the side, studying me.
“It’s calledThe Sun Also Rises,” the bartender said, sending me a thumbs-up, and then he hustled off. I sipped and hummed. It was definitely alcoholic, and an aftertaste of citrus hit my tongue.
“Look at this ice!” I said, unreasonably excited for a few seconds. I shook the drink at Albion. “The ice looks like glass.” I smiled at him.
“Very nice,” he murmured, then tapped at the iPad screen. He gave me a small grin, and I grasped the edge of the cool bar to stay upright.
For a few moments, I just enjoyed the drink and the company, though the alcohol began to hit me quickly, since I hadn’t eaten anything at lunchtime.
My phone vibrated in my pocket and my heart almost exploded.
Shit, Xadrian.I fumbled the drink noisily down onto the bar, and Albion frowned in my direction. My hand shook as he glanced down at my pocket. He could probably hear the blast of the vibrations over the low instrumental music playing discreetly through some nearby speakers. I knew I could. All at once, it hit me how bad it might look if Albion knew Xadrian was calling me—I had no reason to believe it would be anyone else attempting to reach me.
My gut churned. He might even be in my apartment. Who knew what he might do when I didn’t show up? I rubbed the back of my neck. I wanted to at least send him a text telling him some lie—that I was busy. But I couldn’t do it with Albion watching me. I just couldn’t.
“I’m going to the restroom, Sir,” I said, not asking or waiting for permission before I slid off my stool.
“Okay.” He drawled the word slowly and swiped his finger across the screen of the iPad, but he was looking at my face with his eyebrows furrowed.
“Okay,” I repeated, feeling stupid as I shrugged.
Damn it, I better hurry.I hustled to the restroom feeling as if the walls were closing in on me, and my heart was going to leap out of my mouth and flop on the floor like a fish. My stomach continued to act up, and I rushed inside, holding my middle. After a few breaths, thankfully thatgonna lose my gutssensation passed. Since I was there, I went to the urinals and pissed, then washed my hands, putting off the inevitable. I could barely think.
My pocket vibrated, an insistent annoyance against my thigh. I ignored it and shuffled back out to my stool, and this time when I sat down Albion shoved aside his iPad and turned toward me. He rested his hand on my clammy forehead, then tilted my head up so I was looking into his eyes.
“What’s wrong? You’re green around the gills. Are you all right?” he asked. The harsh tone normally in his voice had softened, and I shivered.
“’M fine,” I mumbled.
The phone in my pocket began to vibrate yet again, and I flinched.
He scowled, and I gasped when he shoved his hand into my pocket. I fought him a bit, but he finally pulled my phone out.
“No!” I lunged, but he put a hand on my chest and held the phone up so he could look at the damning name on the screen.
His gaze shot to me, and my balls shriveled up to hide against my body at the pure rage that settled onto his face. “Open the phone. Now,” he demanded.
