Page 443 of Savage Bosses

"Girl, it's morning. You should be up by now."

It was so hard for her to get a good night's sleep. And when she finally did, she liked to savor them. But with a mother who liked to call her at all times of the night, that was impossible. Tati knew she needed to set some boundaries.

But she was afraid if she set those boundaries, then her mom would stop calling her at all times of the night on the nights when Tati couldn't sleep and actually needed someone to talk to. It was a catch twenty-two. So, Tati just let it slide. Without her mom, she'd be lost.

"Yeah, yeah, I should be up," Tati said, sitting up in bed. "Did something happen, ma?"

"Yes, Taro Kazuki is here. And he's mad at you for leaving Paris without telling him."

Tati smiled.Taro was here.She hadn't seen him since a couple of weeks before she left Paris. He was the grandson of her mom's friend. His father had helped her uncle stay off the Fed's radar. And Taro had gotten her a new identity so that she could flee to Paris five years ago.

"He shouldn’t be too mad at me,” Tati told her mother. “I called him after I arrived in the States. What is he doing here in Biloxi?"

"I asked him to come, of course."

"Ma! Why? Did you tell him why I was here?" He would be angry if she went off on a revenge mission without him.

"Yes, I did."

Tatianna gritted her teeth and kicked at her covers. Once she'd let some of her anger out, she hissed, "Whyyyy?"

"Because I want him to watch over you. My friend, who took the job on the dark net to thwart Mr. Farrina's plans, said the job was canceled. Which means he's probably found someone he knows to do it. Or found someone cheaper. You need someone by your side at all times."

Her mind instantly went to Bryce.

"Since you won't let us tell Bryce, I called Taro. He was in Florida doing a task for his dad when I called him. He drove all night to get here. He's outside your condo now."

"Why didn't you start with that?" Tati jumped out of bed and began searching for her pajama pants as her mother rattled off her excuse. "I've got to go, ma. I can't keep him down there waiting."

"Alright. Let him sleep in the guest room for now."

"Yeah, yeah. I owe him. He let me stay at his place for the first few months when I was in France. I only moved out when his girlfriend started complaining. She couldn't get it through her head that he was only a friend."

"Well, don't keep your friend waiting. And let him escort you to the Farrina event today. I can't have you going into the lion's den alone. Oh, don't you have to go and get your hair and nails done this morning? Let him go there with you today too."

"Ma, I hope you're paying him well."

"I am. Don't worry.”

“Wait, ma!”

“What? I need to go to sleep. Do you know what time it is?”

“Really, lady?”

“What is it, Tati?”

“Did, uh, Taro say anything about our time in Paris?”

Her mom went silent. “You two dated, didn’t you?” her mom exclaimed.

“No, ma!” Tati let out a sigh of relief. He hadn’t said anything to her mother about her activities in Paris. “Seriously, we didn’t,” Tati continued when her mom kept insisting that Tati had dated Taro. “Okay. I’m hanging up now. Love you.”

“Love you, little liar. Bye."

Tati rushed down to the lobby to let Taro in. In the lobby, she noticed that Cory, the night shift desk clerk, wasn't there. Instead, the day shift clerk, Jennifer, was.

"Hey, Jenn. Why are you here so early?"

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