Page 160 of Things We Left Behind

“You, me, and the boss man,” Nolan agreed.

“I’m telling Nash,” Lina announced. “NDA or not, he deserves to know.”

“I assumed you would.” It worked in my favor, since thenshe’dhave to listen to him bitch about civilians sticking their noses into law enforcement investigations instead of me.

She sighed. “Thanks for reading me in.”

“Welcome to the team,” Nolan said.

“Speaking of work,” Lina said. “Morganstern Credit Corporation was just informed they’re about to be hit with a lawsuit for skeezy debt collection practices. The attorney sends her thanks, by the way. She thinks this might turn into a class action suit.”

“Good,” I said, checking my phone for messages.

“You know, it sure is a small world,” she mused. “Sloane went out with a guy from Morganstern who tried to scam her by faking his own death.”

“Huh. No kidding,” Nolan said, looking pointedly at me.

“Are we done here?” I asked.

“I’ve got a grumpy chief of police to call,” Lina said. She was already pulling her phone out of her blazer pocket before she hit the hall.

“So not to be that guy, but now that we know who put Nash’s name on that list, are we still planning on giving the FBI a hand with their case against Hugo?” Nolan asked.

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “It wasn’t Duncan who had men tail Holly. Anthony made it personal.”

“I’ll move ‘destroy the fucker’ to the top of our to-­do list,” Nolan said amicably.

“What are you doing for your wife for Valentine’s Day?” I asked suddenly.

Nolan’s face lit up. “Callie’s been working long hours lately, so I got a pair of massage therapists coming to the house for a couples massage in front of the fireplace. Then I’m gonna order her favorite pizza, and we’re going to camp out on the couch watching rom-­coms and drinking old-­fashioneds until the frisky part of the festivities begins.”

“Men shouldn’t use words like frisky.”

“So what about you? Big plans for the big V?”

“Why do I bother talking to you?”

Nolan grinned. “Because you secretly love me and think I’m delightful. So you and Sloane?”

I hated how much I’d wanted someone to say her name in front of me. “What about Sloane?”

“You walked in looking like your horse took the Triple Crown. Now you’re standing in my office willingly making small talk. Somebody got under that prickly exterior. My money’s on Blondie.”

“As always, I regret our conversation,” I said, heading for the door.

“Fine. But if you need relationship advice, you know where to find me,” he called after me.

I presented him with my middle finger on my way out.

Nash:Lina is reporting that the head of the evil empire is walking around the office looking like he just got laid.

Knox:Hope this one didn’t steal your watch and your robe.

Lucian:Running an evil empire takes significant focus. I don’t have time for your girlish gossip. Especially now that I have to fire Lina.

Knox:He definitely got laid.

Nash:Let me know if you need to file a robbery report.