Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110360 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 552(@200wpm)___ 441(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
And then she frowned. “He did send me to check on you, though.”
“Son of a bitch,” I mumbled. That damn man knew I was too nice to slam the door in this woman’s face. “I appreciate that. I’m good.”
She nodded. “Okay. How do you want me to report back to him on that?”
I blinked. “I’m sorry?”
“I have options.” She held up a finger. “I could tell him you’re absolutely devastated. Inconsolable. Curled up on the floor in the fetal position, ugly crying into a pillow. Which, emotionally, will do the most damage.” She added a second finger. “Or I could tell him you seem fine. Suspiciously fine. Eerily unbothered, actually. Like a woman who has already done her grieving and made her peace and is currently considering her options.” She tilted her head. “That one will keep him up all night.” She lifted a third finger, and her eyes lit up. “Or, I could tell him you were furious. Like, pacing, muttering to yourself, plotting, the kind of mad that has very creative consequences.” She paused thoughtfully. “Men find that one deeply unsettling.” She shrugged, then lifted a forth finger.“Or there’s always the nuclear option. I can tell him you seemed totally calm, happy even, and that you asked me to have someone open the gate when Levee arrives.”
I stared at her for a long second, and then despite it all, burst out laughing.
She smiled like she’d been waiting for exactly that. “I’m Rhion, by the way. Jude’s wife.”
I snapped and pointed at her. “Apollo’s sister, right?”
“Guilty. Though I usually lead with Jude. It gets me in trouble a lot less.”
I laughed again. Clearly, the wine was working. “Thank you so much for letting me stay here. I feel awful about kicking you out of your own house.”
“Don’t be silly. You are welcome here any time.” She crinkled her nose. “Though maybe next time it won’t be because of the security system.”
“That would be a nice change of pace.” I blew out an exasperated breath. “Sorry for not coming to dinner. Devon and I had a, um—disagreement.”
“No need to explain. With men as stubborn as those guys, it’s impossible to have a relationship without a disagreement or two hundred.”
“Oh, we aren’t together,” I rushed out. “He just—ya know, works for me.”
“Yeah. Jude used to just—ya know, work for me too.” She shot me an exaggerated wink.
I studied her closely, wondering if this was some kind of trap that was going to end with Devon losing his job.
While also wondering why I cared.
While also wondering why I was lying to myself about caring.
While also remembering that Devon had lied to me and now I was standing in a room with Jude’s wife and Apollo’s sister, who he had sent to check on me.
My smile fell.
Rhion lowered her voice and leaned in. “Just so you know, your, um, bra covered a camera in your bedroom a few weeks ago. It set off all the alarms and, well, yeah—the guys heard enough to piece things together.”
I slapped a hand over my face, peeking at her through the gap in my fingers. “Please tell me you’re lying?”
“Sorry. It was only a matter of time before they caught on. The ladies’ group chat called it as soon as we saw the ‘perimeter’s predictive latency’ video.”
My mouth just about came unhinged. “There’s a video? In the ladies’ chat?”
Panic hit her face as she lifted her hands in surrender, like maybe she was the one who had fallen into a trap. “No! Not like that. You’re not in the video or anything. It’s just a closeup of Devon talking mumbo jumbo that Apollo clipped off the cameras. Leo gave him absolute hell about it and forced him to take an Ethics of Privacy course. He learned absolutely nothing, but he did get a certificate.” She cast her gaze off to the side. “See why I lead with the Jude’s wife thing?”
“I do now.”
She flashed me a tight smile. “Anyway, Devon gave me full permission to answer any questions you might have about him. I took a vow not to pull any punches or romanticize anything. He said it was only fair since you have a Wikipedia page and all.”
I rolled my eyes. “Of course, he did.”
Rhion rocked back on her heels, studying me like she was deciding how much truth I could handle. “Look, if you’re up for talking, I’d be happy to grab the rest of the girls and see if we can help. I know I’m technically a stranger, and you probably don’t want a group of us barging in here asking questions and pretending we’re therapists—”
“That would be correct,” I deadpanned.
She grinned. “Yeah, figured. But just so you know—the ladies of Guardian. We’re not really strangers.”
I arched a brow. “No?”
“Leo’s a paranoid maniac. In the best way. Anyone even remotely connected to Guardian signs an NDA. Wives. Girlfriends. Family. Hell, I’m pretty sure the pizza delivery guy had to sign one once.”