I was still blinking when she snapped the bill out of my hand and headed in my brother’s direction. It was an asshole move on my part, using her need for cash and putting her in a sketchy position. But I knew my brother, and Nash wouldn’t do anything to hurt Naomi’s chances at becoming Waylay’s guardian. Hell, any idiot with one good eye could tell the woman was several classes above her sister.
“Fuck,” I muttered to no one.
“Interesting.”
I found Fi leaning against the wall, smugly enjoying one of the lollipops that served as a cigarette surrogate.
“What?”
Her eyebrows wiggled. “You never freaked when Max or me
served that party.”
“You and Max know how to handle yourselves,” I argued.
“Looks like Naomi was handling herself just fine in there. Maybe the problem isn’t her?”
“You wanna be my new problem, Fiasco?” I snarled.
She was not remotely intimidated. Which was exactly why a boss shouldn’t be friends with their employees.
“I think Knox Morgan is Knox Morgan’s biggest problem. But, hey, what do I know?” she said with an annoying little shrug.
“Don’t you have work to do?”
“And miss the show?” Fi nodded over my shoulder.
I turned and spied Naomi putting a flirtatious hand on my brother’s arm.
When she laughed and tossed her hair, my brilliant plan didn’t seem so brilliant.
“Goddammit.”
I left Fi and maneuvered my way through the crowd, getting close enough to hear Nash say, “Let me guess. Illegal poker game in the back room, and you were sent to distract me.”
Fuck me.
Naomi’s eyes went wide, and I realized the woman had no poker face whatsoever.
“Uhhh… Are you always this handsome and intelligent?” she asked.
“I am,” Nash said with a stupid wink that made me want to punch him in his stupid face. “But it also helps that this town doesn’t know how to keep its mouth shut. I’m not here for the game.”
“Well, you’re not here for my waitstaff. So what the hell are you doing here?” I said, interjecting myself into their cozy little conversation like a jealous idiot.
Nash shot me a smug look as if he knew exactly how annoying I found him. “Heard an old friend was in town.”
“The rumors are true.”
We all turned and found Lucian standing just outside our circle.
My brother grinned and shoved me out of the way. He welcomed Lucian with a hard hug and a slap on the back. “Good to have you back, brother.”
“It’s good to be back,” Lucian agreed, returning the hug. “Especially since the waitstaff got even more interesting.” He gave Naomi a wink.
Why the fuck the entire town suddenly decided winking at Naomi was a good idea was beyond me, and I was going to put a stop to it as soon as possible.
“Yeah, yeah. Everything’s great,” I said. “Don’t you have drinks to serve?”