Page 117 of Take What You Want

“I’m not sure,” I answer honestly. “I don’t have everything with work figured out and…” I trail off, looking at Nikolai.

We don’t have everything figured out either. Are we in a relationship? Is this just physical and something we’re both getting out of our system? It feels like more, Iknowit’s more, but we need to have that conversation.

“Why’d you come out here in the first place? I thought you loved Boston.”

“I do,” I say around a bite of salmon roll. “But I sort of hit a ceiling in my job and haven’t been able to bust through it.”

“That doesn’t sound like you,” Reid muses. His dark blue eyes assess me.

I shrug, pretending to be unbothered. “My ex also got hired there and that was the final straw.”

Reid wipes his mouth with a napkin. “Was he the reason you were crying when you visited us on tour?”

I shoot up in my seat, narrowing my eyes at him. “Why do you say that? And why do you even remember that?”

He simply takes another bite of his California roll. “Because I pay attention.”

“Nothing slips past his notice.” Nikolai laughs as he sips from his beer. “Thought you knew that by now.”

“I do,” I say, “I’m just surprised, I guess. But yes, that’s the one.”

Reid wipes his hands with a napkin. “And you can’t work with him?”

I shake my head. “More like don’twantto. I’ve moved on, but that doesn’t mean I want to see him every day.” And be reminded of how he made me feel about myself on a regular basis.

“You were there first. You should get to keep the job.”

“Don’t encourage her,” Nikolai scolds him. “Why don’t you upsell LA a bit more?”

Reid snorts. “I think your dick is encouraging enough on its own.”

Nikolai raises his glass to him incheersand I roll my eyes at them. “He can keep the job,” I say. “There’s more opportunities out there. I just need to get a plan in place before I make any decisions.”

This weekend, I have to fly out to Boston for the company's anniversary party and I know Chester is going to be looking for me to report on my progress with making connections here ahead of the LA office opening. The clock is ticking and if I plan to stay out here, then I need to talk to Arun.

“If you stay here, are you going to continue to live here?” Reid asks the question casually, but I look at Nikolai.

“Did you put him up to this?” It’s something Nikolai would do. Have Reid sus out the information he doesn’t want to ask me straight out.

“Of course not.” Nikolai gives me his most innocent look and damn it, it’s charming.

I stifle a chuckle and ask Reid, “Did he put you to this? Are you doing his dirty work?”

“I wouldn’t tell you even if he did. I’m a locked vault of secrets,” Reid says, hiding a smirk behind his whiskey glass.

I choke on my spit. “You can’t be serious.” Reid is a lot of things, but a locked vault is not one of them.

“Deadly.”

I give Nikolai ayou buying this?look and to my surprise, Nikolai says, “He’s not wrong. Reid can be trusted with a lot.”

“Tell that to Scar.” I roll my eyes.

“That’s different,” Reid snarks.

I sit up. “How so?” He’s never given anyone an explanation for his actions and I’m genuinely curious.

“The past is the past. Get over it.” He waves me off nonchalantly and it grates on my nerves.

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