Rose makes a sound of disgust. “Ugh, that’s messed up. I hope your mother gets a really big, ugly girlfriend in prison.”

I laugh in agreement before getting back to our original conversation. “So, what happened with Max?”

Rose’s voice became livelier again as she says, “Well, I did the whole damsel-in-distress thing and he ate it up. Even I was impressed with my acting ability. He wants to take me to get a restraining order against Jake today. He was all macho, like ‘that bastard’s not getting near you.’ I was so turned on, I could barely stop myself from taking his big ol’ cock and—”

“STOP!” I snap, not wanting to hear where this is going. I’m never going to be able to look Max in the face again. And I sure don’t need to know about his size, although mentioning it to Lucian would drive him crazy. He does seem to feel a bit of jealousy where his lawyer is concerned. No, no, I couldn’t—just no!

“But, Lia…” Rose whines. “You’re my bestie and I want to share this with you. He’s like seriously hung. I have yet to see it, but when I grabbed it in his car, my fingers didn’t even come close to meeting!”

“Oh crap,” I groan, trying to block that mental image from my head.

Trying to change the subject, I ask, “What are you going to do about the restraining order? Since Jake hasn’t actually been bothering you, I don’t think I’d go through with that.”

“Yeah, I’ve thought of that,” she muses. “I’m just going to have to find a creative way to distract him today.”

“You’re scaring me.” I laugh, only half joking. If not for girl loyalty, I’d be warning Max to run for his life. I’ve seen a side of Rose that I’d only caught glimpses of while she dated Jake. I mean, I knew her family was a little out there, but I never had any room to talk considering my situation. The first time she mentioned that her daddy gave her a new gun almost every birthday, I thought she was joking. Now I know to never discount bits of information Rose throws out in passing. Eccentric or not, she has always been there for me and I love her. Who knows, maybe she is exactly what Max needs in his life. I would have never pictured myself falling in love and being loved in return by Lucian Quinn, either.

“I promise not to take it too far.” She giggles. “Oops, that’s Max on the other line. Gotta go!” Before I can even say goodbye, she ends the call. I shake my head and toss my phone down. I’m just turning away when I hear a text chime. Picking it back up, I notice a message from an unknown number. Curious, I open it and see an invitation to breakfast—actually a standing one from Lee Jacks. He lists the name of a restaurant and says he will be there every morning if I would like to join him. I feel a surge of anger roll through me and almost give into the urge to send him a nasty message in reply. Instead, I throw the phone back down, shaking my head. I stand uncertainly, needing something to take my mind off Lee’s sudden appearance in my life and doctor’s appointment this afternoon. Even though it doesn’t really need it, I decide to clean the apartment. What better distraction could there be than a toilet brush and a bottle of Windex?

Lucian

“Good morning, Luc,” Cindy chimes as I approach her desk. I raise a brow, wondering why she is so chipper. Usually, she requires a few cups of coffee to get to that level. When I get closer and notice Sam sitting in the chair to the side of her desk, I have my answer. Apparently, they’ve both benefited from my decision to drive myself to work this morning.

“Good morning, Cindy. Morning, Sam. Everything going okay?” Cindy nods and actually gives me a thumbs-up. This unusual morning cheer is beginning to give me the creeps. I have a feeling it has something to do with sex and that I do not want to think about.

“Everything’s good, boss,” Sam answers. “How’s Miss Lia doing?”

I know I have a sappy, whipped look on my face, but I can’t bring myself to care. Fuck it. They all know by now that she owns me and I have no problem with it. “She’s good. We’re fine,” I add. I know they’re probably wondering after the way I rushed out in a panic the previous day when Lee called to let me know about his conversation with Lia.

“Oh, Luc, that’s great,” Cindy beams at me. “I’d love to see her more. Can’t you talk her into working here with us?” Sam laughs softly under his breath at Cindy’s suggestion. I think he’s been around Lia enough to know how she would balk at the suggestion. When I’d taken it upon myself to deposit money into her checking account and resign her employment with Date Night, she’d been so pissed off. She’d busted into my office and insisted on working to pay me back. Cindy had unfortunately picked that moment to tell her that I was looking for a new housekeeper and Lia had seized upon it immediately. I hadn’t wanted her cleaning my apartment, but I had certainly become addicted to having her there and had been willing to do whatever it took to keep her.

When Cindy clears her throat, I realize I’ve been standing in a daze without answering her question. Sam is still smirking at me, which makes me want to do something evil in retaliation. “Lia has her hands full right now with finishing her degree. I’m not sure what her plans are beyond that, but we’ll see.” Turning to Sam, I try to keep a straight face as I say, “Marcus is going to be out this week since his wife had a baby yesterday. I assured him that I could spare you to cover for him.” I literally have to bite my lip now to keep from laughing. Marcus is the head of security and almost obsessive about his job. Sam has no problem with the job, but he knows well that Marcus will call and text him every hour on the hour to double-check that things are being run as he wants them. Marcus is a likable man and I love the attention to detail he gives his work. Unfortunately, covering for such a perfectionist is a real pain in the ass, as Sam well knows.