“And we need to start sparring again because I want more time with you. I also kind of want to see you kick Gunner’s ass. He talked so much shit about being able to take anyone to defend my honor, but I think you could lay him out flat.”
I chuckle and promise we can do that this weekend.
“Also,” she marks the menu with what rolls she’d like, “I would really like to see Valerie again. I need to know what’s going on in her life if she’s still seeing those three good-looking men, and … and I don’t want to lose touch with her.”
“And her brother?” I ask.
Sophie shrugs. “If he visits, he’s staying in the guest room. It would be nice to reconnect with Tristan too, and give me a reason to go explore more of New York without Gunner as a babysitter.”
“Employ Roman. He’ll love that job.” I smirk. “You, drunk and handsy. Isn’t that a dream?”
“And yet you told me to ask Roman instead of volunteering yourself for the job.” She teases. “I must be horrible.”
“You’re adorable. When you came to our room drunk before the wedding, ready to tear off clothes and break all the rules … I don’t know. It was cute to see you like a normal girl your age.”
She rolls her eyes. “And we need to do a shark painting together. I like when we work on one canvas. Getting to see how you can turn the things I hate most into a beautiful part of the painting is amazing.”
When the sushi arrives, Sophie eats like she’s starving. I blink at her. “Did you miss breakfast?”
“Nope. It was yummy, but I feel like I’m starving. I’m blaming you guys and all the sex you indulge me in.”
I nod and shrug, not thinking anything of it. So what, she’s hungrier than normal. She still doesn’t finish the rolls and takes the rest to go. She kisses me hungrily before I walk back into the building and I wonder if it’s because her dad would give her hell for kissing me in the office.
She rubs down my chest. “Don’t tell Gunner or Roman that we had lunch until after work. I don’t want to get a call in an hour asking me to come back.”
“Your dad would have plenty to say about that.” I chuckle.
“Exactly. So I’m going to be a good girl and go home …” But her eyes flick to the left.
“To distract Holden?” I guess.
She bites her bottom lip to keep her smile a secret. “Yes. To distract Holden.”
I kiss her forehead softly. “Good. You’ve brought the man we knew before the accident back.”
She beams under that compliment and I imprint the memory of her smile to get me through the rest of the day. Until Neal comes into my office. He narrows his eyes. “I want to talk about this ridiculous firing thing.”
“It’s already been done. I processed the paperwork on my honeymoon.”
“I didn’t say anything that wasn’t obvious. How long is Sophie going to be happy sharing herself with four older men who work all the time? And how is this what’s best for the company? All it will take is one fight at home to carry into the office and we could be in the red. I acted with the company and Sophie’s best interest.”
“You crashed a wedding you weren’t invited to, tried to sabotage said wedding twice, were warned by the CEO to leave or else lose your job, and didn’t listen.” I hand him the exit survey. “Clean out your desk and have a good day.”
“Fuck you.”
He snatches the paperwork from my hand and I shake my head. He’s going to talk shit like no one else. Not even an expensive NDA would get him to close his mouth with that temper. But oh well. The worst he can say is that we fired him for breaking up a wedding. And we can clearly counter that considering his declining numbers, the three recent sexual harassment reports from female coworkers, and the fact that he left his post without any PTO approval or manager approval.
Simple.
But Simple is not what I walk into when I get home. I hear heaving and gagging and see Gunner rushing to the kitchen to grab a Gatorade. He pauses when he sees me. “You had lunch with Sophie, right?”
I nod while taking off my jacket. “Yes. Sushi.”
“Okay, I already threw out the leftovers. I’d warn you to try and get ahead of this. Go to the other bathroom, take some Pepto to hopefully stop this, and buckle up.”
I just stare at him. He motions again. “Food poisoning. Go.”
I sit in the bathroom by myself for a solid forty minutes and feel nothing … well, other than annoyed. I get up and walk to the other bathroom. Sophie looks pale as can be, her hair in a messy bun, a hazy look in her eye.