Page 12

N early a week had passed since Richard had wiggled out of his leather pants, taken a cold shower, and gone to bed alone after a night of dancing at the club. It’d been fun to let loose, but he’d hated saying goodbye to Maribeth the next morning. Thanks to the crystal she’d left behind, she’d teleported to her condo in New York, and Richard had spent his day moping.

Maribeth was full of excitement about her future—though she was still figuring out her next moves—and Richard was growing more convinced she wouldn’t return to Vegas anytime soon. He was a selfish prick because he wanted her to miss him and every other Marwood. Which was silly. She loved them but was embracing the fresh path she’d chosen.

And he should be happy for her. He was, but that didn’t mean he was selfless enough not to feel sorry for himself too. The rest of the Marwoods rolled their eyes at him and encouraged him to support Maribeth. But they were too used to his dramatics to comment on his decision to switch to pajamas in the evenings and sulk in front of the television.

Mired in his own funk, it’d taken Richard a few days to figure out he wasn’t the only one who was unhappy. The newest inspirit to the Marwood organization had been oddly quiet all week. At first, Richard thought it was his imagination, but then the other inspirits mentioned it to him. All except Douglas, but their schedule packed, and the Wolfebrier-Marwood wedding was fast approaching. When things were stressful at work, Douglas focused on the details and lost sight of the larger picture. It was up to Richard to boost morale with the staff and ensure everything came together in the end.

Which was a problem in this case because Richard was taking the last week before the wedding off. Maribeth was flying to Vegas again, and the Marwoods were squeezing in as much family time as possible. They also wanted Eric and Gabriel’s nuptials to be flawless.

Richard would have to do double-duty to keep in touch with his staff while he juggled everything his mother would task him with. They were surprising Gabriel and Eric with a honeymoon trip to the Marwood vacation house in California. The pair had insisted they didn’t need a honeymoon, but Rosalind and Clark weren’t having it.

Their wedding was on Saturday, and they were waiting until Sunday night to shove Gabriel and Eric into a limousine so they wouldn’t suspect anything. Rhonda would handle Gabriel’s daily duties, and she was up to the task. As for Eric’s ghosts, they’d have to deal without someone living to talk to for a week.

In the meantime, Richard was growing concerned for Lucas. For two months, he’d filled their office with bright smiles and made everything better with his sunny disposition. Or at least the inspirit was good at his job, and his coworkers respected him. Maybe it was Richard alone who thought the air grew charged whenever Lucas walked in.

To do some sleuthing, Richard had conned Lucas out of the office, and they walked silently through the hushed casino over to the spaces set up for the last day of another successful conference.

“Did you want to grab some coffee?” Richard asked.

“I just finished a cup at my desk,” Lucas replied without turning his head. They were nearly at their destination, and Lucas had yet to make eye contact or flash a grin that deepened his dimple.

“We could splurge with a little extra caffeine. It’s a Friday, no one will comment much if we start climbing the walls.”

“Maybe next week.”

“Is this a payday thing?” Richard asked, his concern flashing to fury. Was Lucas sending everything to the necromancer who’d abandoned him to the Marwoods?

“Yeah, I set myself up with a budget and I’m trying to stick with it.”

“My treat?”

“That doesn’t feel right,” Lucas said. “I can’t expect my boss to keep buying me coffees and treats. You already pay me a more than fair salary. Fair isn’t the word for it. Overly generous would be the accurate term. Anything on top of that feels like I’m taking advantage of you.”

That annoyed Richard. It was his father’s program that provided Lucas with what he needed to survive, and he was happy to have Lucas on the conference services team. Lucas was energetic, had learned fast, and appeared to enjoy his duties.

“We’re coworkers, but what if I buy it as your friend?”

Lucas glanced at Richard, and there was a hint of confusion in his expression if the knitted brows were a sign of what he was feeling.

“I appreciate the offer, but it still doesn’t feel right.”

Irritated, Richard gave up the dream of sweetening Lucas’s solemn mood with something sugary. He would have to be direct. At least that was something he usually excelled at.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m okay. Everything okay with you?”

“Well, my best friend moved across the country, and I want her to miss me more, but I’m trying not to be a selfish bitch, so you’re the only person I’ve told that to,” Richard confided. “And my mother is turning into my worst client ever. If she asks me to review the details about Eric and Gabriel’s wedding again, my brain might explode. But yeah, everything’s good.”

Lucas chuckled, and Richard’s spirits lifted. What was it about Lucas that it took so little effort from him to bring a smile to Richard’s face? It couldn’t be his looks alone. Yes, Lucas was gorgeous. Easily the most handsome man Richard had ever seen. But it went beyond that. Something undefinable and misunderstood. Or at least Richard had yet to pinpoint it. A dark part of Richard—a restless slice of his core, perhaps—settled into a strange bliss the moment Lucas appeared.

That realization halted Richard in his tracks, and he stood dumbstruck at the edge of his father’s fanciest casino. What the hell was going on? How had Lucas burrowed into him like that? They didn’t really know each other that well, so why did Richard respond so strongly to him?

“Richard, are you okay?” Lucas asked, resting his palm on Richard’s arm and offering him a soothing little pat.

Richard glanced into a set of pure gray eyes and forced himself to pull his shit together.

“Yes, sorry,” Richard replied. He couldn’t explain what was going on inside him, so he didn’t bother to explain his strange decision to stop walking with no notice. It was impossible to put it into words without giving away how badly Richard wanted Lucas. And since that was embarrassing, Richard needed a subject change. “Yeah, I don’t know what came over me. Maybe it’s my penchant for drama. Is everything okay with your friend, Foxe?”

Lucas blinked. “Foxe?”

“Yeah, that’s his name, right?”

The inspirit dropped his hand, and Richard immediately missed his touch.

“Yeah. Foxe is doing well.” Lucas sighed, and his brow furrowed. “Well, I hope he is. We aren’t talking much. I’m not sure what to do.”

Richard lifted his arm and rubbed his chest as he gathered his scattered wits. Why was Lucas so important to him? When had that happened? What would come of it? They were coworkers. It should be nothing more than that.

But they’d already spiraled past business associates whether Richard was brave enough to admit it or not. Would he have noticed if another employee was quieter than normal? Richard liked to think he was attuned to his staff, but was he kidding himself?

Observing Lucas’s lack of smile was the first time Richard had been tempted to take a coworker out of the office for coffee and something sweet to find out what was going on or perhaps soothe his troubles. So, he had to acknowledge that it was Lucas he noticed. No one else.

“Are you sending him money?” Richard asked.

Lucas heaved another sigh. “Yes.”

“Is that bothering you?”

“I thought we were best friends,” Lucas said. “But he doesn’t answer the phone if I call. He texts me around paydays. Last night he sent me a message because he’s low on funds, so I wired him some extra cash. I didn’t want to, I’m trying to build up my savings. I need a new car and, well, you don’t want to hear about all my problems.”

“I can be a great listener when I want to be.”

Lucas cracked a smile. “And if you don’t want to be?”

“Then I nod politely until you finish talking and quickly run toward an exit the minute you shut up.”

“Thanks for not running away.”

“You’re welcome, did you want to go grab that cup of coffee about it and vent some more? Our workday is nearly over, no one will notice if we’re gone.”

“Aren’t we supposed to be checking on this conference?”

“We can if you want, but since we’re being honest, I used that as an excuse to get you out of the office so I could find out what’s bothering you.”

Lucas’s gaze widened. “How’d you figure out something was bothering me?”

“Almost everyone in the office knows. You’ve been quieter than usual, and we’ve missed your smiles.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, you’re quite the hit with the staff,” Richard told the surprised inspirit. Lucas smiled, and Richard admitted to himself that the pretty grin had wormed its way through the supposedly thick walls he’d erected around his heart. At least this handsome face belonged to someone that everyone in the office liked thanks to his kindness and enthusiasm.

If Richard wasn’t mistaken, there was a hint of color in Lucas’s cheeks. “I’m glad I picked conference services, you and Douglas have a great staff. You guys are lucky to have built such a great team.”

“The inspirits have the final say on which team they’re on, but I like to think that we’ve attracted the best of them,” Richard said. “Although I’d steal Gabriel and Rhonda in a heartbeat if I could. Are we grabbing coffee?”

“Yeah, but let me pay for mine.”

Richard shook his head. “Nope, not happening, and if you argue, I’ll charge my father’s account.”

“That’s really sneaky.”

“It’s fun too,” Richard teased. “But give in gracefully. You have no choice.”

“I could quit.”

“You better not. I’ll be facing mutiny in the office if I return without you.”

Richard led Lucas to the coffee shop and treated himself to a cinnamon roll along with an iced coffee. Lucas ordered the same, and they were seated at a table a few minutes later with their food.

“So, back to this mutiny,” Lucas said with a flash of his grin. “Is there a plank somewhere they’d make you walk?”

“I’m sure one can be located on the Strip.”

Lucas chuckled. “Someone would save you. Your father, at least.”

“Nope. If I piss off my staff, I deserve it. That’s what he’d tell me. My parents have spoiled us, but we’re strangely not overly coddled.”

“Co-director of the staff?” Lucas asked with a hint of something undefinable in his voice.

“Douglas?”

“Yeah.”

“I don’t know about that,” Richard said, glancing around to ensure no humans were about. Inspirits manned the coffee shop, so he was free to speak without censoring his words. “I summoned him, but he’s also dealt with my shit since then, so he might grab the first cutlass to shove me onto the plank.”

“You resurrected Douglas?”

“Yeah, I was attending college virtually and had already decided I wanted to work for my father in conference services. I wanted to be the best at what I do, but I also didn’t want to do it alone. So, I asked for permission to add an inspirit. My hope was that the inspirit would want to learn the ropes with me. Luckily, Douglas did. His gift is less defined than some other inspirits and honestly sometimes backfires. He’s brilliant with details, but he gets so caught up on one sometimes that he can’t focus on anything else. I wasn’t precise enough with my spell, but Douglas promises me he appreciates what he was given. Hopefully, he isn’t lying to me.”

“Have you been close since his resurrection?” Lucas asked, his focus on his cinnamon roll.

“We’re good friends, yes,” Richard replied. “But unless Mari drags me to a club, if I see Douglas outside of work, it’s at the house for the occasional dinner with my family. I like to go home, put on comfy clothes, and hang out with my family. Douglas likes fancy restaurants and shows, and he’s constantly around town. I want to hear about his adventures, not go on them.”

“Oh, somehow I imagined you two always together.”

Richard laughed. “We’re attached at the hip at work, but I think we’re both happy to go our separate ways once we step foot outside the resort.”

“Are you that annoying outside of the office?” Lucas asked, grinning brightly in a way that had been missing all week. His dimple deepened, and Richard wished he didn’t notice that little mark in his cheek so often.

“My family would assure you that, yes, I am.”

“Probably because you’re sneaky.”

“Yeah, but if you think about it, they probably taught me that.”

Lucas chuckled, and Richard couldn’t help his smile. It was such a beautiful sound and suited the handsome man perfectly. Richard internally shook his head at his own silliness.

He had it so damn bad for Lucas.