Page 62

"Your loss, bro," Craig replied. "Good morning, ladies. Eggs and bacon coming up."

"Up awfully early, aren't you girls?" Joey said, far too chipper for this time of day.

"Tory's alarm went off, and then we smelled breakfast. Can I get some pancakes? Please?" Tiffany whined as she took a seat at the island.

"You can kill the puppy dog look, Tiff. Yes, I can whip some up after I plate Bunny's food." Craig said with a laugh.

"Bunny?" Tiff asked, arching a brow. Craig just shook his head and turned back to the stove.

"Are you wanting to go back to the center today, Sweetheart? No one is rushing you, but if you're ready to get back up on the horse, then I'll be with you the whole time."Joey circled his arm around her waist and squeezed gently as he offered to be her bodyguard for the day.

"I–I'm not sure. I know I need to eventually… I just…" Victoria trailed her sentence, looking like she was searching for the rest of it.

"Hey, like he said Princess. No rush, okay. They'll survive without you for a while." I said with a shrug, finishing my coffee and grabbing my suit coat from the back of the chair. "Alright, I'm out. Call me if I'm needed." I made my way through the gathering crowd in the kitchen.

A hand caught my arm as I started down the gallery hall. Turning around, I found Victoria standing closer to me than was entirely necessary. I arched my brow at her in question.

"You… uh. Here." She said, grabbing my tie.

On instinct, I jerked back. "I'm not sure being strangled is how I want to start my day, Princess."

She made an annoyed sound as she pulled a little harder on my tie. "It was crooked Az-hole." She pushed the knot to the center of my collar and patted my chest before stepping back. "There, now you look moderately presentable."

"Right... Thanks." I replied, suddenly feeling awkward in her presence. "Well, I need to get going. Uh, see ya. I guess."

She snorted softly before turning back toward the kitchen, waving her hand over her head as she strolled away. I wasn't sure why I'd suddenly become a bumbling idiot. Something about her fixing my tie had muddled my brain. I was still trying to sort it out when I reached the garage.

"What. The. Fuck!" I bellowed as my eyes landed on my Porsche.

Paint was splattered across the hood. Leighton's barely legible scrawl had written Az-hole in the center as if it were the display piece for an art gallery. The 'hole' was in suspiciously better penmanship than Leighton's writing. My eyes scanned thearea around my car, landing on two sets of partial footprints, much too small to be L's.

"No wonder she was being nice. She and Leighton ruined my fucking car." I hissed to myself.

"Oh! There you are!" Leighton called out, a grin plastered on his face as he bounded toward me. "I was hoping I would catch you before you left. I'm glad you found my present."

"L, you fucking… If I didn't have to make this meeting, you'd be taking her to get repainted with a fucking black eye." I growled at him, texting Rich that I was taking his car for the day. "It's coming out of your pocket, asshole."

"Worth it. I'd pay double just to see this look on your face again." Leighton's voice was practically gleeful as he got on his bike and started it up. "Maybe you can get a few swings in on our guest tonight to work it out."

"You're not off the hook for this, L. I just don't have time to deal with you right now." I shot back, climbing into Rich's Impala.

Leighton was still laughing as I pulled out of the garage and headed to the office.

By the time I returned to the manor, I was exhausted. The last several days of next to no sleep, followed by a full day of conference calls and dry meetings, had me aching for my bed. Rest was still several hours off, though. Colin McDoyle had information that I wanted to hear in person.

Loosening my tie, I made my way from the garage into the dining room. When I strolled in, the guys and Victoria were already seated around the table eating dinner. Ignoring the plate Craig had obviously set out for me, I moved to the coffee maker and started a fresh pot.

"How was your day, dear?" Leighton asked in a high-pitched voice.

"Fuck off, Leighton," I grunted, not bothering to wait for the coffee to finish brewing before I stuck my cup beneath the drip.

"Grab me a cup while you're at it," Rich said, nodding toward the coffee pot. "Since we're all here now, we need to discuss tonight's work."

"Should I be here for this?" Victoria asked.

"This involves you too, Sweetheart." Joey murmured.

I rolled my eyes and finished filling mine and Rich's cups before I sat at the table. Rich snagged his cup from in front of me before turning his attention to Victoria.