Page 10 of Embattled Return

“Come on,” he wheedled, “Shannon really liked you. She’s only been interviewing assistants for five hundred years, it seems like, because she’s protective of the group. If she brought you to the partner meeting you’re pretty much a shoe-in for the job. Our approval is merely a formality. She really needs the help.”

Marigold looked out over the cold parking lot, thinking. John didn’t blame her for taking her time. Their group was a lot to take on.

In the end, though, Marigold Lee did return, and she’d morphed into one of the best workers John had ever seen. Shannon had been tentative about overloading her, but Marigold had taken everything in stride. Having Marigold on premises was the only reason Shannon had felt comfortable enough to leave for the week-long conference.

Marigold still gave John the cold shoulder, which was fine. He’d been a dick to her, so he would take her anger as long as it made Shannon’s job easier. And he hadn’t noticed her struggling with anything since Shannon had been gone.

They pulled into the Anderson building lot, where the LNF offices were located. Parking in his designated spot, he glanced at the man beside him. “Let’s go see what we can figure out about your family. Just leave your luggage here for now. No one will mess with it.”

John activated the lift and rolled off the pad, locking the truck as soon as the lift re-secured and the rest of them were out. Then he followed Shannon into the building and elevator, rolling to the back to give Logan room to maneuver his crutches. Chad stepped into the space left, and they were off.

“No problems while I was gone? Marigold did okay?” Shannon whispered to him, resting her hand on his shoulder.

He shook his head. “Fine, I believe. I think she might have asked Duncan about a couple of things but that was all.”

When the doors opened, they were met with chaos. There were several men milling in the reception area. Logan got off the elevator and immediately stepped to the side to allow the rest of them to exit, looking a little spooked. He tugged his ball cap low over his eyes.

“Give me just a minute,” John murmured to him.

John went to Parker Quinn, the current center of attention. He’d been in Columbus for the past year and it was obvious the men had missed him. Zeke had a thick arm over the man’s shoulders, like he’d just drawn him in to a big hug. And Flynn was trying to show Parker something on his phone, his service dog Maya sitting patiently at his feet.

There was a grunt John didn’t recognize standing to Parker’s right. Size wise, he was on par with Zeke, and the guy didn’t mind looking intimidating, wearing a sweatshirt with the arms ripped off and a black cap shading his eyes. John had a feeling the guy didn’t miss much from beneath that hat.

Brian Calvert was sitting in one of the reception chairs, laptop open and propped on his legs as he searched for who knew what. Since he’d gotten his degree in forensic accounting he’d been working over here more than the Vail office where he was based. Duncan had had him working on a couple of things, and he knew Parker had as well. From a boss point of view, John felt like the change had been good for Brian.

John liked Parker. He was a no-nonsense kind of guy, and he would run his ship well. For a solid year he’d been working damn near alone, taking cases and building a customer base to prove to LNF there was a market for their services. The three partners had talked and agreed that a Columbus branch was a good endeavor and that if Parker made it a success he would have the option to buy it outright at a later date. Parker didn’t know that yet, though. That was what this meeting was for.

“Have a good trip out?” he asked, shaking the man’s hand.

Parker nodded. “I miss Denver, but I don’t miss the damn snow. Makes my bones ache.”

John lifted a brow. “I don’t know. I hear you have someone to cuddle with now.”

Parker barked out a laugh, the lines of his face deepening. “I do. Andromeda is an incredible woman. She came with me but she’s working at the hotel right now. You’ll meet her at dinner.”

“Excellent,” John murmured.

Zeke had shifted away to lean down and give Shannon a hug to welcome her back. John wasn’t even sure what the big man was doing here. He’d been working the Frog Dog with Ember, taking less and less cases with the group. Zeke had always been a bit of a nib-shit, though. Maybe he was just here to be social. John turned to Flynn. “You get that kid you were looking for?”

Flynn nodded, running a hand over the bristles on his recently shaved chin. “I did, but he wasn’t as much help as I’d hoped he’d be. I think I have to go digging again.”

John frowned. “Okay, we’ll have to talk about it after the meeting.”

Flynn nodded once and motioned to his dog, leaving as silently as he’d surely arrived.

Duncan was at the back of the group, talking to Marigold. The young woman gave John a dark look, then continued her conversation. She had an iPad in her hand and was taking notes as she talked to the boss, stylus flashing across the screen. Duncan had his arms crossed and his feet planted, intimidating in a way that he probably didn’t even realize.

Marigold didn’t seem to have any reservations about talking to him though. Shannon crossed the room and gave the young woman a hug, then reached out and pulled Duncan into a hug as well. A couple of years ago boss man probably wouldn’t have taken it, but he did now. Being with Alex and having their new baby had changed him for the better.

John glanced at Logan and held out a hand for the man to join him. “Let’s go get something to drink, kid.”

* * *

Logan had never seen suchan interesting, dangerous, eclectic group of people. At least, not since he’d left the burn unit.

There were about seven guys standing in the reception area off the elevator and every single one of them had injuries just as bad, if not worse, than his own, but they radiated power and self-confidence. The biggest guy in the room had a battered ball cap on, just like Logan, but Logan could still see the scars and misalignment of his face. What the hell had happened to him? The guy seemed to be moving better than Logan did, but, damn...

The guy in the muscle shirt also had a ball-cap on, but Logan couldn’t see any scars beneath the bill. Something about him, maybe the wide, scrolling tattoos on both muscular upper arms, hinted at Marine. Oh, yeah, there was the Eagle, Globe and Anchor hidden in all the black. He seemed to be flanking a blond haired, muscular type. Was that his boss or something? Blond guy appeared to be fairly good-looking at first, but Logan could see the faint tracery of surgery scars around his right eye, giving him an uneven look. And he stood braced, like he was in pain.

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