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I don’t agree. Conner’s cock is one of my most favorite things on earth. Right after his smile. And his laugh. And the incomparable luxury of falling asleep in his arms every night.
Emerging from the office has never felt more like stepping into the middle of a three ring circus. Fiona cuts through the thick crowd and I follow the crown of her bright red hair to the bar. Up on the stage a group of women are giggling a lot and dancing badly as they bump into each other. Obviously friends. At least they’re having fun. Women should always have fun on their terms.
When a hand grips my elbow I jerk away on instinct. Whirling, I’m confronted with a grinning Andrei.
“Good to see you, boss.” He holds out a hammy, heavily tattooed fist.
Instead of meeting his fist bump I startle him with a hug and an affectionate thump on the back. He can blame Conner for that. Thanks to Conner’s influence I now inflict hugs on people whether they’re expecting them or not.
Andrei chuckles and keeps grinning through his beard. He deserves as much gratitude as Fiona for holding down the fort. Though he’s a man of few words his allegiance is unwavering. My father always preached about the necessity of surrounding yourself with loyal people. One two-faced traitor who turns on a dime can topple a kingdom.
My father forgot to point out that when the traitors are in your own family the threat is much closer. But I’ve heard so little from Talon and Jared in the last two months I can almost believe they’ll remain in their reptile dens. By now it might have occurred to them that my father will eventually be released and they’ll be in deep shit when he catches wind of their antics.
Whatever. Let the lot of them fight those battles with each other. We’re family in name only. The mark on my chest doesn’t mean shit. If not for my concern about the people who work for me, my east side days would have been over a long time ago.
Andrei gets distracted by a big group that suddenly pours through the door. Darkness hasn’t even settled and already the night is looking hectic. Meanwhile, Fiona is having a word with Bruce behind the bar. He’s got help tonight. A new girl is back there pouring a row of tequila shots. Fiona has the green light to hire and fire and I do remember her dropping the news about the bartender. Still, it feels weird seeing someone working here that I didn’t handpick.
A muscled arm catches my eye. Andrei gestures to me over the heads of new arrivals and I don’t know why.
When I finally see the reason I mutter a curse string that causes some dude in a biker cut to spin on his bar stool and glare. I glare right back at him. He’s smart enough to return to his drink.
“Haven!” Sophie squeals and then captures me with skinny arms and overpowering designer perfume. “I’ve missed you,” she declares, still hanging on me.
Fiona, still behind the bar, makes a gagging face. Sophie has shown up here a few times in recent weeks. She never stays for very long, arriving in a car from Jared’s fleet that’s manned with two of his minions while blocking traffic in front of the building. Apparently Jared has had second thoughts about letting his wife roam around the city unchaperoned. Maybe her father complained. Or maybe Jared just figured out that a damaged mafia daughter translates into bad consequences.
In any case, I’ve managed to avoid Sophie since the day of the game. I have no clue why she’s here and behaving like we’re best friends.
Some effort is required to disentangle from her grip. “How have you been?”
She adjusts the fringed lace shawl draped over her shoulders. “So busy. You’ve been busy too, haven’t you? That’s why I’m not even mad that you didn’t call me back.”
She’s left me two rambling, whiny voicemails. I didn’t even finish listening to them before hitting delete.
“Is Conner here?” She cranes her neck. There’s an unsightly hickey on the right side.
“No. Conner isn’t here.”
“I heard you two got married. But then I heard that wasn’t true. Of course, I knew it wasn’t true. I would have been invited to the wedding.”
Instead of commenting, I check the time on my phone and hope she’ll disappear.
Sophie grabs my arm. “I hope you’re not still mad at me. The thing is, I’ve been taking this new allergy medication and it makes me do so many weird things.”
“I’m not mad at you, Sophie.” And I’m not. But this conversation is stupid and I’ve got better things to do.
“Thank god.” She squeezes me in another hug. “I wish I could stay and hang out with you but I’ve already got plans tonight. I have an idea. Next week I’ll throw a dinner party. You’ll have to bring Conner.”
I can think of few things less appealing than attending a high tension gathering on my asshole cousin’s turf. Not a chance in hell I would bring Conner into the middle of that bullshit.
“We’ll see,” I tell her, mostly to escape this conversation.
Sophie looks over her shoulder and sighs. “Anyway, I should go. I said I’d only be in here for five minutes. But I’m so glad we got to talk. You look gorgeous by the way. You always do. Say hi to Conner. Bye!”
Since I want to make sure she actually leaves, I trail her out the door. She climbs into an idling Navigator with two shadowy men in the front seat. The windows are tinted so dark that it’s impossible to tell if Jared or Talon is one of them.
“The maniac is leaving so soon?” Fiona nudges my arm and sips the drink in her hand. “What a shame.”
“Sarcasm noted,” I say, satisfied to see that the vehicle is turning out of the parking lot. “The girl’s a train wreck but I still feel sorry for her.”
