Page 8 of Kennedy

“Now that we’re all here, should we get to work?” Bennett asked.

Jamison put down his pastry and stared at it mournfully. Hawthorne, on the other hand, was all business. He had a notebook in front of him, and he opened it, flipping to the pages he’d need.

Kennedy settled deeper into his seat. He didn’t have notes, but he didn’t need them. He was sure that Hawthorne would take the lead and that he and the others would just have to follow along and either agree or disagree with him. It wouldn’t be a hard meeting.

It was just really fucking annoying that Kennedy couldn’t do this from the comfort of his bed.

The meeting took entirely too long. The trainers all agreed on most of the trainees, but there had been a few conversations that had gotten heated, so Kennedy was tempted to sing as he skipped out of the office. Instead, he walked normally, telling himself that he had to be professional.

“That was exhausting,” he complained as soon as they were out of earshot of Bennett’s office.

Hawthorne gave Kennedy a slightly disapproving glance. “You shouldn’t let Bennett hear you.”

“Even if he did hear me, he knows me. He’s the one who hired me. He wouldn’t be surprised to hear me complaining about being here at the crack of dawn.”

Hawthorne’s lips twitched into an almost smile. “You knew you’d have to get up early when you accepted the job.”

“I like to get up early if it means I get to kick trainee ass, but not if I have to sit for hours and talk.” Especially when that meeting could have been an email. Would it have been so hard for Bennett to ask everyone for their opinion, read over everything, and make the decision himself?

“Well, it’s almost over. What do you think you’ll do once the program is over?”

Kennedy hesitated. He’d tried hard not to think too much about this because he didn’t have an answer. “I suppose I’ll find another job unless the council wants to expand the program.”

“I don’t know. They don’t need two dozen assassins. Bennett did mention a program for something between an enforcer and a council assassin, but I’m not sure where that is at the moment.”

“Well, if they ever start the program, I know you’ll be right there.”

Hawthorne arched a brow. “Because you wouldn’t?”

“It’s different. You have Wallace to think about now. He’s not going to become a council assassin, and since his brother lives here, I doubt he’ll want to stray far. That means you have to stick around, too.” Kennedy was dying to ask Hawthorne if he knew anything about Lewis. Maybe he could in a roundabout way. “And Jimmy has Seymour, who also won’t be leaving town because his brother lives here. Do you know anything about Lewis?”

Hawthorne’s expression told Kennedy that he wasn’t as inconspicuous as he’d hoped. He didn’t really care. If there was one person he trusted with his life, it was Hawthorne.

“I don’t know much about him, no,” Hawthorne said. “I do know that Seymour and Lewis are meeting at the coffee shop in town for lunch.”

“Why do you know that?”

“Because, as you pointed out, we’re family. And because I’m meeting Seymour to discuss his future after he’s done with Lewis.”

“He mentioned something to me, too.”

“Did he? Well, why don’t you come with me? We’re meeting at the coffee shop so we can get something to drink, and since Seymour won’t be done with his brother yet, we can even have lunch. I’m pretty sure I heard your stomach growl a few times during the meeting.”

“Not all of us brought a gigantic pastry for breakfast.”

Hawthorne chuckled. “You should have seen Bennett’s face when he saw Jamison walk in.”

“I didn’t have to see it. My imagination is good enough.”

Hawthorne clasped Kennedy’s shoulder. “Seriously, though. Why don’t you come with me? We’ll leave the twins alone to discuss whatever they have to discuss and get something to eat, and once they’re done, I can talk to Seymour, and you can do whatever you were planning on doing with Lewis.”

“I’m not planning on doing anything with Lewis.”

“If you say so.”

Hawthorne wasn’t convinced, and neither was Kennedy. There was something there, even though he didn’t know what it was just yet. Maybe seeing Lewis today would help him find out, or maybe it would make the situation even more complicated.

It was anyone’s guess.

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