Page 112 of Necessary Time

“They’re not keen on me dating a man in general.”

He made a disgruntled sound, then sipped at his Bloody Mary. “Good thing you’re old enough to make your own decisions, amirite?”

Wesley settled his hand on my thigh, a soft and reassuring weight, and I smiled, nodding in confirmation.

“Very right,” I agreed. “Very right, indeed.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY-ONE

Wesley

It had takenabout seven hours and twenty minutes to get used to wearing the tie. At seven hours and twenty one minutes, Rob strode into the lobby of the building, looking like he owned the place.

Which he did.

“Wesley.” He extended his hand over the counter and I gave him what I hoped was a solid shake. “You look great here, if not a little overdressed for the part.”

He wiggled his fingers up by his own throat where a tie knot would be. I reached for mine, giving it a little tug to loosen the tension around my neck.

“I wanted to make sure I made a good impression,” I said.

“You did. You have.” He glanced down at his phone. “I’ve already received messages from some of the tenants pleased with the addition.”

“That’s good.” My shoulders sagged with relief. I hadn’t even realized how nervous I’d been for his signoff and approval until he’d given it to me.

“But you can skip the tie tomorrow.” Rob smiled and slid his phone back into his pocket. “I think you’ll be good with slacks and a button-up.”

Thankfully, I’d gotten a decent supply of those when Grayson and I went shopping.

“So,” Rob went on, “how are you liking the gig?”

“I think it’s great.”

And that was the truth. My first day had been a little scary at first, mostly only because Rob hadn’t been there in the morning. His assistant, Tara, had met me in the lobby of the building and walked me through the basics of things I’d need to know to get started. She was sweet, older than me, but probably not by much, and she went through her checklist with an almost ruthless efficiency.

When she finished, she’d asked if I had any questions, which I did, but I had too many to try and narrow down into one, so I’d told her no instead. Her expression made it clear she didn’t believe me, so she left me her cell phone number for any emergencies, then left me alone.

I’d met more people than I could count that morning, a nearly steady stream of people leaving their apartments for work. Most of them were nice, stopping for a quick conversation and an introduction, but by the time I met the sixth resident, names and faces had started to blur together.

“Probably a little overwhelming?” Rob asked.

I nodded, hoping to downplay justhowoverwhelming the day had been. The tightness of the tie hadn’t helped, so it was good to know I could go without it for tomorrow.

“Well, that’ll wear off the more you get used to it,” he said.

“That’s what my boyfriend said.”

Rob glanced at me from the corner of his eye, tip of his tongue pinched between his teeth. The corners of his mouth tipped down into a frown, but he was quick to shake it off. The flash of disapproval on his face was enough to send my heart right into my throat, and I wondered if that was how Colin felt with his parents. I mean, he had to have felt way worse than Rob’s reaction made me feel because Rob was practically a stranger, but still. That public disagreement about something that wasn’t anyone else’s business stung a bit.

“Is it a problem?” I asked him, squaring my shoulders.

“Is what a problem?”

“That I have a boyfriend.”

The frown returned for less than a breath. “I honestly don’t care what you and Grayson do behind closed doors, Wesley.”

“Grayson?”