Page 106 of Lie With Me

“Jackson didn’t tell you at the office?”

“We didn’t get a chance to see each other today. I left early so I can take you to Decadence.” He presses a kiss to my neck.

“Oh yeah! Have a good talk with Carmela!” Ginny throws a wink at me as she heads to the door.

Something about the way she says it has my brows furrowing. “What do you know that I don’t, Gin?”

“Love you! Bye!”

The door closes behind her, and Tripp chuckles as he lets me go. “So they’re having a boy, huh?”

I spin and lean against the counter, fixing him with a serious look. “Are you really okay with not having kids? I know having a family is a huge thing for you.”

He finishes pouring himself a bourbon before pulling me into his arms again. “Valentina, I loveyou. I will be more than happy if it’s just the two of us for the rest of our lives. As long as I get to spend my time with you, I don’t care about anyone else. The only thing Iwilldeny you is a cat, because I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to Ginny and Jackson’s.”

“Do you promise?”

Tripp looks down at me with a goofy grin. “Cross my heart and hope to die. You can even stick a needle in my eye. I’d really prefer it if you didn’t, though.”

Shaking my head, I smack his chest lightly. “Okay. Let me go. I need to shower.”

Heat rolls through my body at the way his voice lowers, his eyes darkening as he asks, “Can I join you?”

Pulling my sweater over my head, I toss it at him as I walk backward toward our room. “That is one thing I willneverdeny you.”

“How are you feeling?” Carmela asks, shutting the door to her office as I sit in front of her desk. Tripp said he’d wait in the car to give us our privacy, though I feel like it has more to do with the fact that he’s scared of her since he knows she’s still upset with him for what happened with Neil.

“Better. Really, I’m a lot better than I was. Another week, and I should be good to start shifts here again. I’m sorry I haven’t been able to get out to Jersey?—”

“Len, stop. You don’t have to apologize foranything. All I care about is that you’re okay.” She flips her long raven hair over one shoulder as she sits across from me. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about working here, too. You’re fired.”

Shock shoots through my system. “What? Why? Is this because I quit the club?”

She smiles, shaking her head. “No, it’s because you’renotquitting the club, actually. You’re too good at what you do, Len. But I respect your decision to step down as an Angel. Which is why I’ve decided to make you a manager.”

Relief chases away the anxiety that’s taken root in my chest. “Manager? I’m not really qualified for that.”

“Sure you are. You know that place better than any other Angel there. You’ll be perfect for it. I’ve been thinking about stepping back for a while now. Not a lot, but it would be nice to have a few extra nights off, you know?” Her onyx eyes sparkle as she talks. Looking nearly as giddy as Ginny was when she told me they found out about the baby. “Eventually, I’d like you to take my place.”

“Carmela.” I blow out a deep breath. “That’s ahugerole to fill. Are you sure you wantme?” I’m confused because she’s never spoken about wanting to leave Désirer. Even though Mick and Jackson are partners,sheowns it, and she likes her control over it. “Have you talked to Mick and Jackson about this? I don’t think either of them will be on board with me taking your place.”

She makes a waving motion with her hand as shescrunches her nose. “Jackson thinks it’s a great idea, and I don’t care what Mick says. It’smyclub.”

“I don’t have any business experience. I was actually thinking about trying to take some classes…get a degree maybe,” I tell her.

“If you’d rather do that, then I support whatever you want. If you want to do both, you can do that, too. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. It will be a few years before I step back, so think about it? I fully understand if you want to get out of the business completely. But my offer stands. If you need me to talk about it with yourguard dog, tell him he’ll have to stop being scared of me. All the shit with Neil is taken care of. He’s no longer a club member. But Tripp owes me an apology for putting us in that position.”

I laugh, thinking about how Tripp refused to evenlookat Decadence when we pulled up earlier. “He knows. He’s just figuring out how to keep himself from crying if you glare at him,” I joke. “Seriously though, we’ve never had a manager. Why now?”

She looks contemplative for a few moments before replying, “Because you’re good at what you do, Lenni. You’re confident. You know how to command a room. And you don’t take any shit from clients. But you also help the other girls. I’ve seen you teaching and helping to put together group sessions. You know everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. I get that Tripp doesn’t want you to take on clients anymore, and that you’ve been tired of it for a while now, but I think you’d make awonderful teacher. I don’t want you to feel pressured, though.”

“I don’t, Carmela. Honestly, I’m honored you’d trust me enough to do that. To take over for you.” My heart fills with gratitude. “And I’m really proud of you for deciding to take some extra time for yourself. I’d like a little time to talk to Tripp about it, but I would love to be a manager.” I smile at her, wincing slightly as my lip stretches too wide. Reaching up, I pat my stitches gingerly with a small laugh. “I definitely need to finish healing, though.”

“Healing is important. Take as much time as you need.”

Epilogue

TRIPP

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