Page 89 of Last Chance Love

“Telling him what you’re doing and trusting that he would respond with the respect and maturity you want from someone you want to elevate. Or you could continue wandering in the dark while playing unnecessary mind games with him.”

She stared at me intensely for a few seconds, and I wondered if I had managed to piss her off finally. Mona had always been as casual as you could get with me, and I’d never felt like I was in trouble with her. Except now, I did feel like something was going on, and it was very noticeable, putting me on edge.

“It’s funny,” she said after the long pause, “how everyone at this Ranch treats me. The majority treat me with respect and fear. Then, those who respect me and treat me casually. And then those few who treat me with respect and show absolutely no fear…men like you.”

“And Max,” I said, remembering the few times I’d seen them interact. The man didn’t so much as blink when he dealt with her. “Dane would be a good example of the first, and Elliot for that matter. Reno is definitely the second. He doesn’t seem phased by you in the slightest from what I’ve heard, and doesn’t give you much crap.”

“Which is where I must concede that Leon had a point. He never gave anyone much trouble except for the incident with Riley and then Elliot,” she said thoughtfully. “It seems I jumped the gun with him. I’m glad I went with Leon’s instincts on the matter, but gladder he decided to stand up for those instincts and insist on it.”

“It’s almost like you didn’t need to rope me into your cloak-and-dagger plan from the start,” I said, crossing my arms. “Is this your way of checking up on me? To see how things are going? To see if I’ve been quietly pushing him in the background?”

“Honestly, I have been thinking about that quite a lot,” she admitted, pushing up from the chair. “I was torn between trying to figure out if you were actually doing anything, if your presence was enough, or if Leon was doing it all on his own, with or without your prodding.”

“What a mystery,” I said, smirking as I intentionally taunted her.

She rolled her eyes. “It’s a good thing I concluded that it didn’t matter which of the three it was, though I lean more toward the first two. Leon didn’t start his journey into further development until after he had been spending more time around you.”

“Untrue,” I pointed out. “He made the stand about keeping Reno and housing him with Elliot before your little plan.”

“Hmm, a good point,” she said thoughtfully and then shrugged. “Either way, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that the results are coming. Leon has started standing up for himself in his role of mentor, gaining more confidence, and it’s clear his results don’t need to be discussed since they speak for themselves.”

“Is that why you decided I didn’t need to be around him as much?” I wondered. “Because I noticed we’ve been assigned to one another’s shifts a lot less than before.”

“What, and you think that has something to do with my ‘plot,’ as you put it?”

“Believe it or not, Mona, I don’t spend much time wondering what you’re up to. I assume you believe you know what you’re doing and follow through on it.”

“BelieveI know what I’m doing? Well, that’s a little more than just sass.”

“Maybe it’s because I’m still not happy that you tried to put me up to sneakily pushing Leon behind the scenes to do what you wanted.”

“Which is what he wanted to do from the start.”

“That doesn’t matter. The man deserved to know the facts from the onset and be able to make his own choice. Instead, I let myself get roped into this entire thing despite knowing it was a bad idea. And you know, that’s on me, that’s on me for letting it happen, for talking myself into it. But I’m still allowed to be annoyed that you were pushing so much for it when it wasn’t necessary.”

“Well, that saves me having to point out that you were the one who agreed with me.”

“I agreed to a point, and I let myself be convinced that it needed to happen that way.”

“So you’re irritated with both of us then.”

“Yes. And I’m not going to go along with it anymore. He’s doing just fine, and I’m tired of having that hang over my head. I want to maintain a friendship with him without worrying if what I’m doing is right or what he’ll have to say if he finds out the truth.”

That made her laugh softly, glancing toward the hallway momentarily before smiling at me. “Friendship. Yes, I suppose you could call it that. Not the word I would have gone with, but I suppose you could use that one if you so choose.”

I arched a brow. “If you have something to say, then say it.”

“And when have you ever known me not to?”

“I have a feeling you’re holding something back.”

“Oh? Has Leon rubbed off on you?”

“That’s a loaded question with what you keep oh so subtly insinuating.”

She blinked rapidly a few times and then laughed. “Well, that is a good point I should have considered before opening my mouth.”

“And it doesn’t take good instincts to realize you wouldn’t be here, asking for me, in the middle of a shift unless you had a reason. And trying to goad me about Leon isn’t helping.”

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