Page 53 of Things We Left Behind

“For possession? That’s excessive even for Virginia.”

“I thought so too. It turns out his mother’s case is why Allen went to law school in the first place. Would you mind looking into it? You know, in the spare time you don’t actually have.”

“Yeah. I’ll do some digging and get back to you.”

“In return, I’ll take Chloe to play rehearsal for the next two nights,” I volunteered.

“Best aunt ever,” Maeve said, affection in her voice. “What am I going to do when you have kids of your own?”

“Ha. It’s just me and the cat for now. I’ve gotta go. I’m with Lina and Naomi. I’ll pick up Chloe tonight. Love you.”

“Love you. Bye.”

I disconnected.

“What was that about?” Lina asked when I returned to the table.

“Just some papers of Dad’s I found. Get this. My mom wants me to give them to Lucian.”

Naomi’s brows winged up in surprise. “Is your mom unaware of the mutual animosity?”

“Oh, she’s aware. I think she just wants us to find a way to be friends, but we can’t be in the same room without trying to tear each other limb from limb, so I made the executive decision to dump them on Lina here since she’ll be more likely to see Lucifer.”

“Speaking of Suit Daddy,” Lina said, running her finger around the lip of her glass of scotch. “I officially accepted his job offer after demanding more money and a few other perks.”

“That’s wonderful news,” Naomi said.

“Congratulations?” I said. I didn’t mean to make it sound like a question, but that was how it came out.

Lina laughed. “Thanks. I’m excited. I finally get to pull back the curtain and get my hands dirty.”

“What perks did you hold out for?” I asked.

“He has to be nicer to you.”

“Oh my God. You didnotnegotiate me into your employment contract. Did you?” I didn’t want Lucian Rollins thinking I needed someone to stand up for me.

“It was more a passing comment than a demand,” Lina assured me. “Interestingly enough, when he found out that you two were going to be in town today, he said I should invite you to the office.”

Naomi turned to me, looking like she was about to implode with happiness.

“What?” I demanded defensively.

“He finds out that you’re going to be in town with Linaand invites you to the office. You don’t think that sounds like theexact oppositething a man would do for his sworn enemy?” she said pointedly.

“Sworn enemy is a little harsh,” I said, thinking of the breakfast burrito and my mother’s spa day. “And he invitedus, not me.”

“I don’t know. My instincts tell me he wantsyouthere,” Lina insisted.

“He does not. Maybe he was just pretending to be human to his new employee. Or maybe he has a crush on Naomi like all men with a penis and half a brain do.”

Naomi tossed her hair and pouted like a supermodel. “It’s true. Six men fell into manholes so far today,” she said breathily.

I snorted.

Lina held up her hands. “Okay. Fine. Full disclosure. He’s not even supposed to be in the office this afternoon. So maybe he offered it up knowing he wouldn’t be around to fight with you.”

I was not about to think about recognizing the tiny sliver of disappointment that news brought on.