Vincent
Inever knew how hard it would be to not stare at someone. Then again, I guess I’ve never been inclined to stare at anyone. The last thing I want to do is make her uncomfortable, and I’m sure a fast way to do that is to watch her while she eats. At least Rae is keeping me busy, firing one question after another at me.
I swear, in another second, she’s going to ask for my blood type and Social Security number. I respect her for asking them, though. It shows how much she cares about Julieta.
Normally, I’m pretty laid back, but I don’t typically let people ask me a lot of questions. Especially personal ones, but seeing how much Rae, and even Travis, means to Julieta, I’m answering them. If I want to win her over, I’m going to need to win Rae over as well.
Winning Travis is a bit easier since I already saved his ass and I’m letting him keep a job here. I’ll give him bullshit to do and keep him away from anything that could get him into trouble. He’s lucky that Julieta agreed to my terms or his outcome would have been way different.
A knock sounds at the door as Rae starts to fire another question at me. Julieta gives me a sympathetic look as if apologizing for her friend, but I actually think she wants to hear the answers herself. Good, that means she wants to know more about me. The quicker she knows me, the sooner we’ll be able to start our forever together.
“Come in,” I call, knowing it’s Aaron at the door. I’m not behind my desk to hit the speaker. We’re all sitting around the table in front of the couch. Aaron pokes his head in.
“If you’ve got a moment, sir.” He nods his head back, indicating someone is here and I’ll likely want to talk to them or he wouldn’t have come in at all.
“Yes.” I put my coffee down on the table. “Do you ladies need anything?”
“No, thank you,” Julieta says.
“I still have a few more questions.” Rae narrows her eyes on me like I’m trying to get away from her interrogation.
“I’ll be right back,” I tell her before I head out of my office. I’m not surprised in the least when I find Ivan standing there. Good. I wanted to have a word with him.
“I’m guessing this isn’t a friendly visit.” I hold my hand out. He takes it.
“When have I ever gone anywhere for a friendly visit?”
“Right.” I shake my head. So nothing has changed. “This way. I’ve got people in my office, and I have a feeling that’s why you’re here.”
“Yes.” Ivan doesn’t deny it. Not that I thought he would. I’m still a bit on edge. While I don’t think he has something for Julieta, he’s still here. He’d given her a ride. Ivan isn’t the best with people, so maybe I misread him in the footage I watched. Not that it matters. She’s mine now. The ink is dry on the marriage license, and it’s already being filed.
It won’t be long before the local press picks up the story, either. In an unprecedented move by me, I made sure to make the news of our marriage readily available to anyone that wants access to it.
“A word to the wise,” I say as we enter one of my conference rooms. “Julieta is mine.” I needed to make that clear before we go any further. He follows me in, and I close the door behind us.
“So what you’re telling me is that I’m down one assistant.”
“Yes.” He lets out an irritated sigh.
“She was good at her job, but fine. I’m not here for her.” I fold my arms over my chest and wait for him to tell me exactly why he is here then. Because if it’s not for Julieta, then I have no fucking clue. “The girl. Raegan. Is she in trouble?” His question takes me off guard.
“Rae? No.” Interesting. I almost laugh at the thought of serious-ass Lawson being into the quirky blonde who is wearing a sweater with a cat on the front of it with sunglasses on. But the way he visibly relaxes tells me that’s exactly what’s going on here.
“Are you sure? The brother, Travis. He’s a troublemaker.” Ivan’s face grows irritated. More so than normal, which I didn’t think was possible.
“He is, but luckily, it worked out to my advantage. I’ve cleaned up his mess, but just so you know, his twin sister is protective of him. More than she should be. And way more than he deserves.”
“It’s going to get her caught in something one day. This time it worked out, but next time it may not.” He’s not really asking, but still I answer.
“Possibly. I’ve cleaned up this mess of his, but I can’t control the kid.”
“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Ivan blurts out, running a hand down his face, showing his hand to me. Not a very Lawson thing to do.
“Did you really fly down here for this girl?”
“I don’t know,” he grumbles.
“Ivan, I’m not going to play games about this. Not with her.”