Page 54 of Velvet Chains

Rosie giggled. “Chocolate milk.”

“I knew it,” Valerie replied, signaling for the waitress.

I wanted to feel a pang of something—some old twinge of jealousy—but it never came. Valerie wasn’t a threat. She was the kind of woman Julian needed. Nice and calm and self-possessed. And maybe she’d call him on his bullshit without making him feel like a failure.

He'd always wanted a woman who wouldn’t dig too deep or push too hard.

A woman nothing like me.

Rosie giggled like the girl’s shoes were a perfect punchline. “Mami was a lawyer when she was my age.”

I reached for the menu. “I was definitely not a lawyer when I was seven, amor.”

The menu was laminated and hip. Too few items, too many page breaks. Valerie helped Rosie order her pancakes, then realized the waiter was waiting on her as well. She froze with that cute deer-in-the-headlights look I couldn’t quite pull off.

“Lemon-Ricotta French Toast,” Julian said, without even looking up. “And a side of the rosemary bacon.”

I made a mental note to shame him for ordering for her, my mind unwillingly flitting to Kieran. Kieran was controlling, yeah, but he wouldn’t ever take it upon himself to order for me.

No…he would tell me to get whatever I wanted, then finger me under the table.

Everyone else ordered, and Alek shot me a look when I asked for another coffee.

“Are you trying to stay up for the next seventy two hours straight, or is it just a hobby now?” he asked.

“I had a night.”

Alek’s eyes narrowed just slightly like he knew exactly what kind of night I had, and I felt my cheeks flush despite myself. Kieran came to mind again—Kieran kissing me, Kieran undressing me, Kieran on his knees as he pressed me against the wall and licked my pussy.

Julian cast an eye at me. “Everything okay?”

“It’s going to be fine. Just hectic lately,” I said. Right. Hectic. “How’s work for you?

“About the same,” he replied. “Took a new multinational on as a client. They’re trying to merge with a smaller, regional bank.”

“Yikes,” I said. “How’s that going?”

Julian adjusted his silverware like it mattered. "About as well as you'd expect. Everyone's pretending it's a fair market transaction when really, it's an antitrust nightmare waiting to happen. The DOJ's already circling, but the board thinks throwing enough lobbyists at the problem will make it disappear."

Alek made a low sound. "And will it?"

Julian didn't even blink. "Maybe. If we can keep it under the Hart-Scott-Rodino thresholds until Q3. It's all about the filings."

I blinked. "Fascinating. Rosie, did you catch that? Daddy is fighting for love and justice in the exciting world of antitrust compliance."

Rosie, for her part, had tuned out somewhere around 'antitrust' and was busy pouring a truly revolting amount of syrup onto her pancakes. Valerie was helping her.

Damn, Valerie seemed nice.

How could I tell her to stay away from Julian, for her sake and not mine?

Julian didn’t notice—or care. He was back to rearranging his silverware, like if everything was in perfect order, life would be too. Rosie asked for more syrup, Valerie flagged the waitress, and Julian started talking about how brunch menus were getting out of control. I wasn’t listening. Not really.

My phone buzzed in my lap, and I looked down half-hoping it would be Kieran.

Nope.

Alek.