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After a great day’s work and some of my favorite classes, I head to the bar.
I expect to find Nero in his office, away from the action, but he’s seated at the bar, studying some paperwork.
“Hey,” I say, sliding onto a stool beside him.
“Hi…” Nero gives me a distracted kiss, still checking the papers.
Avery stops by, behind the bar. “Don’t take it personally,” Avery she says with a smirk. “He’s got his serious business frowny face on.”
“Hmm? What did you say?” Nero asks without looking up.
She grins. “See? What can I get you?” she asks.
“Umm, a glass of wine would be great, thanks.”
“I’ll get the good stuff out the back,” Avery replies. “These idiots can’t tell their chardonnay from their sauvignon.”
She strolls off, and I watch Nero frown at the rows of dense financial figures. “Everything OK?” I venture.
He looks up and gives an apologetic sigh. “Yeah. Well, nope. The quarterly reports came through, and they’re not adding up right.”
“I didn’t realize your organization cared so much about bookkeeping,” I tease, amused.
Nero gives a wry chuckle. “We have to. Don’t you remember, they got Capone on tax avoidance? You can bet these books stay squeaky clean. At least, they usually do.” He looks past me, and calls to Miles, who approaches.
“What’s up, boss?” Miles asks. His tousled blonde hair and glasses make him look angelic—and nerdy.
“Do me a favor, and take a look at these,” Nero says, passing Miles the paperwork. “And see what the bookkeeper has to say for himself. We’re missing, like, a hundred k here. And that’s just from the main account, I haven’t even looked at some of the other reports just yet—”
“No need!” Miles says quickly. “He already called. The bank made a mistake with the deposits. Should all be straightened out, end of the week.”
“OK, good,” Nero nods. “You’ll take care of it?”
“No problem.” Miles flashes me a weak smile, “Hey Lily.”
“You want a drink?” Nero asks, but Miles shakes his head rapidly.
“I gotta go,” he mumbles, and hurries away.
“Is he okay?” I ask, watching him weave his way through the tables. “He seems stressed.”
“He worries, so I don’t have to,” Nero replies. Then he slides his arms around me, drawing me closer. He gives me a long, slow kiss, and I can feel the tension leave his body. “Better,” he murmurs, stubble rough against my cheek. “Much better.”
“Long day, George?” I ask, picking up our earlier teasing.
He smiles, rubbing my back. “They’re all long these days, Mary.”
“Who are George and Mary?” Avery asks, returning with my drink.
Nero smiles. “No one you know. Just a couple of easygoing people whose idea of going wild is ordering dinner from a new restaurant and opening a bottle of wine after the kids go to sleep.”
Avery raises her eyebrows. “If this is some kind of kinky roleplaying thing, I don’t want to know.”
I snort with laughter—and realize that it’s been way too long since I just relaxed, and had some fun. This ‘normal’ day has been going so well, why not make it last a little longer? “You know what?” I say impulsively. “We should have a girls’ night.”
Avery’s face lights up. “Yes!” she exclaims, and I realize, I’ve never seen her hanging out with any female friends, either. She’s either here, at the bar, or consulting with Nero on some life-and-death mafia business. “That sounds great.”
“Uh oh,” Nero jokes. “This is going to be trouble.”
“Just a few girls on the town,” I say sweetly. “What kind of trouble could we find?”
