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We handled our jobs and then soaked in the tub. About five minutes in Ha-joon sighed and asked me to lean forward. I did and was treated to a view of his naked wet body.

Oh, he’d heard his phone and hadn’t brought it to the tub.

“Yeah, I’m really high,” I muttered. I’d taken a bigger piece than when I’d done this with Ha-joon before. Or even the brownie I’d kept at my place and nibbled on now and again.

“Why is this duffer calling me?” he mumbled as he walked back fully naked and without a care.

I was affected. My damn tongue was practically hanging out wanting to lick up all the water off of him even if I knew it would taste icky from the bath salts.

It was worth it to lick Ha-joon Clark.

“I cannot think of a single reason for you to call me,” he growled with the phone to his ear, obviously having answered.

My eyes went wide when I recognized the voice and all thoughts of gobbling up Ha-joon fled my mind.

“Ellie still has me blocked. Rightfully, but Alan—Dr. Carpenter wouldn’t pick up my call for personal either. I knew you’d be looped in,” Tommy said from Ha-joon’s phone.

I couldn’t even hide my shock.

“You don’t get to know anything about her anymore,” Ha-joon snapped… Without much force since he was high. Even his growl sounded more playful.

Oh dear, my Alpha was more like a barking pup instead of a ferocious wolf.

He was so fucking adorable.

“I know, I know,” Tommy sighed. “Just tell me she’s okay. Please?”

That made me frown and my mouth worked faster than my mind. “What does he know?”

“Oh, thank the gods she’s there and not hidden alone,” Tommy whispered. “Someone called me from ASH. One of my few remaining friends. It wasn’t mean, it was more—”

“They gave you a heads-up that someone you said you truly cared for had shit go down,” Ha-joon cut in and surmised before Tommy accidentally said too much. Which I appreciated.

“Yes,” Tommy sighed. “Just tell me she’s okay. Did her dad really come to mate her off and take over ASH?”

“She’ll be fine,” he answered, growling when Tommy pushed. “She’s not even your friend. You don’t get the details.You’re fucking lucky I even bothered to answer. Now I want to get back to comforting her, yeah?”

“Instead of me,” Tommy grumbled.

I snorted, reaching for my water. “He wouldn’t have comforted me. He would have fished for gossip, gotten pissy when I didn’t give it, and made sure to slip in insults. ‘I’m shocked you let it get so out of control. I wouldn’t have thought you’d allow that, Ellie. I know it’s shocking, but next time you have to react better so ASH isn’t embarrassed.’”

“You are a bigger asshole than I realized,” Ha-joon bit out. “Did you just undermine her at every turn so she didn’t have the self-confidence to fight against the board sooner? That’s how you were allowed to be a whore forever?”

“Ouch,” Tommy and I both answered, but he went on. “I didn’t realize—some of that wasn’t meant as harsh as I said it. Sometimes Ididmean to comfort her. Saying I’m shocked she—okay, I said it badly, but specifically I’m thinking of—she’s right, I did say something almost exactly like that once. I meant it—it came out wrong and—”

The sigh Ha-joon let out was almost comical, his gaze locked with mine. “I cannot believe I’m interpreting for this duffer, but know I’m doing it soyoudon’t hurt so much and move on.” He waited until I nodded. “If you shut him down from getting details, he wasn’t trying to knock you down a peg. He was struggling to ask how bad the situation was that it blew up.

“He did it like adufferinstead of communicating better and just being blunt that he wasn’t trying to gossip but see if you were okay. But I’ve done the same where I don’t know how to not step in it worse and I say shit wrong dancing around. He was dancing around trying to figure out how bad things got saying he was shocked you’re aces and it got away even from you.”

“Yes,yes, that,” Tommy yelled loudly enough that Ha-joon pulled the phone away. “Fine, yes, I’m a cad and want the dirt,but I never, noteverbroke her confidence about behind-the-scenes shit. Hell, I toldherabout a lot of the shit going on so she wasn’t ever blindsided. I wasn’t just a random gossip.”

I opened my mouth and then closed it. “That might be fair, and maybe one day this is a conversation to truly have if we both want better closure.However, today is not that day, and certainly not when I’m riding the brownie.” I gestured to the control panel. “I forgot how this thing works and I don’t want to ruin your fancy tub. It’s getting cold and I want the jets.”

“Mean, love,” Ha-joon chuckled but came over to adjust the temperature. “As you heard, we’re enjoying a bath. She’ll be fine and ASH is still in the right hands. Now thank you for caring, but she blocked you for a reason. I’ll even be kind and say to stay safe on your training tour there.” He hung up and set the phone within reach before getting back in behind me.

It didn’t hit me what he’d meant about being mean until we were relaxing with the jets for a few minutes. Whoops! I honestly hadn’t even thought—I wasn’t the type to rub things like that in people’s faces.

Well… Mostly. We all had our petty moments after all.