Page 40 of The Billionaire's Wife

“How do you figure that?”

She laughed. “Mostly from the woman’s vibe. She had on designer athleisure, coordinating designer bag, flawless—if casual—look from head-to-toe. And the guy didn’t look like he’d ever tried telling her no. So if she decides that being able to color coordinate her BCD, regulator, and wetsuit is the next critical thing she has to do in her life? He’s going to plunk down his shiny gold credit card and make it happen.”

I nodded. “Nice for you.”

“And them. Because even if they don’t care, we give good value for what you spend here and we’ll make sure they’re trained well enough to be safe. I’ve gone diving with some people who had certification cards who should never have graduated. We don’t let that happen.”

“True.” I tipped my head to the side and studied her. “I feel like I probably owe you an apology.”

“No, you don’t.” She held up her hands. “The more I experience your friend group, the better I understand. I probably would have worried too. I like that you were willing to speak up to protect your friend when you thought it needed doing.”

“Thanks.” I stuffed my hands in my pockets. “I’m still sorry. I could have been nicer about it.”

Sunshine laughed. “That’s true of all of us, a lot of the time. Let’s call it bygones, all right?”

“All right. Thanks. The guys meeting in the back?” I nodded toward the hallway that led to changing rooms, a conference-slash-classroom, and Wes’s office.

“Yeah. Although I think you’re the first one here. Wes is back there, though. Probably in the office. Look around and you’ll find him. Could you tell him I’m going to order you all pizza?”

“Sure. Thanks.” I walked through the artfully displayed gear, towels, sweatshirts, and other assorted dive-related things and down the hallway. I poked my head in the conference room, but it was empty, so I kept walking. I knocked on the office door.

“C’mon in.”

I cracked the door and peeked in. “Hey.”

Wes swiveled in his chair and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh wow. It’s that late?”

“Apparently.” I glanced at his computer monitor. “Cooking the books?”

“You’re such a riot.” Wes made a show of slapping his knee. “Just trying to make sure things are balancing like they’re supposed to. Which they aren’t.”

“Uh-oh.”

“Nah.” Wes shook his head. “I’m sure I’ll figure it out. I probably forgot to enter an invoice from an order. It happens.”

I watched as he saved and shut down the machine and stood. “You don’t have to wrap up.”

“It’s all good. I’ll figure it out tomorrow. Or I’ll have Sunshine take a look. She’s a whiz with numbers. Who knew?” He grinned and bumped my shoulder with his. “Married life is pretty good, isn’t it?”

“Bro.”

“What? You drop a bomb that you have a wife and you don’t expect a little ragging?” Wes shrugged. “Anyway, she came back, right? So that’s good.”

It was a little—or a lot—more complicated than that. But I was going to save my breath because trying to explain that to Wes now seemed like an exercise in futility. Plus, I’d have to go through it all when everyone else got here anyway. So yeah. Let it go.

I followed him out of the office and back into the hall.

“Hmm.” Wes stopped in front of the conference room and squinted at me. “You didn’t agree. Which suggests it’s not good.”

“I’m here on a Monday to talk to you guys. Draw your own conclusions.” I sighed and pushed open the conference room door. “Sunshine said she was ordering pizza.”

“Nice. I’m going to go check in with her real quick. Make yourself at home. There are sodas in the fridge under the credenza.”

I looked around the room and spotted the low shelving unit on the far wall that was probably what Wes had called the credenza. I crossed to it and pulled open one of the cabinet doors. Except it wasn’t a cabinet, it was a mini fridge. “Clever.”

I squatted to get a better look at the contents and settled on a Sprite. I didn’t need caffeine in the evening. It was probably a sign of age. I wasn’t going to dwell on it.

I closed the door and straightened, then carried the drink over to the table and sat. I’d barely popped the top and taken the first sip before Scott came through the door laughing as he looked over his shoulder. Austin followed in behind him.

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