Page 63 of Lost Kingdom

I was close.

“Kind of him to make the trip. You want me to get everyone in here for rounds? The sooner we do, the sooner we can get to our six dead gangsters.”

She flashes a wide smile first, taunting and clearly telegraphing her intentions. Immediately, my stomach sinks. “I want to know about your Sunday, first, Doctor Emeri. We’re in my office, which means the record is off. The fact you chose to bring Raquel in here is on you.”

“What?” Raquel scoots to the edge of her chair, her bright blue eyes swinging between me and Mayet. “What happened?”

“Aubree’s engaged.”

“I’m not engaged!”

“You’re engaged?” Raquel sputters. “What?”

“I’m not engaged!”

“That’s not what you shouted in the middle of the bar yesterday,” Minka sniggers. “Then you disappeared into Tim’s apartment to talk sex.”

“You had sex with Tim?” Raquel visibly vibrates against the couch. “You gave up the V and didn’t even cut in when I mentioned my copious weekend orgasms? That was a ‘same!’ moment, Emeri! It was the perfect segue to share your news.”

“I’m not gossiping about my sex life! And I’m not engaged.”

“She’s a little bit engaged,” Minka giggles. Like she so rarely does, she sits back in her chair, warming her hands with her coffee, and allows her shoulders and chest to bounce with laughter. “And she’s definitely not a virgin anymore.”

“This is a wildly inappropriate discussion in the workplace!”

“You can’t be my best friend and claim inappropriate when I want to discuss sex.” She stares into my eyes, probing and still, silly. “Either I’m your boss, or I’m your bestie. Choose wisely, then stop crying about workplace harassment when it suits you.”

She steals the wind from my sails. The argument from my lungs. So I slump back in my chair and grumble, “I’m not engaged.”

“If you say so. You will be soon, I bet. Was it good?”

“The sex?”

“No. The dissertation you wrote on why Timothy Malone is a jerkoff, but he’s a delicious and obsessed jerkoff with a tendency to want to gobble you up and keep you safe, which means he still gets the key to your chastity belt and a pass on the being an asshole thing. Plus, he brews excellent coffee, and though I might be biased, I consider the Malones a special breed of impossibly charming. It shouldn’t be possible,” she adds with a huff. “But here we are anyway. Oh! You’ll be my sister-in-law soon! Does that supersede best friendships? Do I get a new anklet to commemorate the occasion?”

“No. I’m not buying you more jewelry. It’s time you reached into your expansive bank account and bought me something that shimmers. And yes, the sex was good. Can we work now?”

“The one time in your life you’d rather not gossip,” she teases. “I see how it is. Doctor Raquel?” She leans to the right and looks past me. “Do you have any follow-up questions?”

“Yes, in fact, I do.” She pops to her feet and comes around to lean against the edge of Minka’s desk. “Can I be the flower girl? Can I bringthreeplus ones? Can I borrow six hundred thousand dollars? I want to buy my apartment, but the bank claims I earn too little. Also, on a scale of standard banana to a well-endowed foot-long sandwich, where does Timothy Malone fall?”

“No. No. No, I don’t have any money. Good luck buying your apartment. And no.”

“No?”

“Despite Tim’s apparent obsession with me, I know he’s a private man. I might be sleeping with the fish if I publicly divulge the size of his dick.”

“But you do know?” Minka presses. “Correct?”

I meet her playful stare and growl. “Yes, I know.”

“My baby.” She presses a hand to her heart and sniffles. “All grown up. Will you move in to the apartment above the bar? We both know he’s not letting you sleep alone ever again.”

“No! I’m not moving anywhere. My life isn’t changing. I’m dating a man who likes to boss me around sometimes. Let me focus on that for a little while before we consider wedding gowns and divorce attorneys. Please!”

“You’re exceptionally cranky for a woman who had sex with a multi-millionaire,” Raquel giggles. “And you won’t even lend me a measly six-hundred g’s?”

“Ask Tim yourself.” I shove up from my chair and stalk across the office. “Since clearly, you think you know his business and bank account balance.”

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