Page 67 of Somebody's Watching Me
“Leave it be. If he’s smart enough to fall in love with Annabeth, and wait as patiently as he has, then he’s smart enough to figure out I approve of him on his own.”
The idea of Rowan being in love with Annabeth had Jamison pausing. It was hard to imagine. In the years that she’d known him, the man had never had a long-term relationship. “Do you really think he’s in lovewith her, or do you think you’re just confusing pent-up sexual need with love?”
“I’m lucky enough to know the difference.” Simone smiled at the wedding photo of her and Devon sitting on the dresser. “It’s a simple thing to spot once you know what you’re looking at. I see it every day with Selah and Lenora, or Samuel and Evie, and even you and Liam.”
Simone excelled at knowing when and how to strike a person down emotionally. Crossing the room, she lifted her chin to meet Jamison’s eyes. She’d been fifteen when she surpassed Simone in height, but somehow continued to feel small in her presence.
“Do you want me to have Ben send him out to the cottages? Liam will fight him on it, but if it’s what you need, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Dad won’t send him away, and I’m surprised you would even consider it.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t, but I can still ask your father and let him be the one to say no, so I come out looking like the good guy.”
Jamison blinked down at her. “Your parenting skills are scary.”
“Impressive,” Simone corrected. “My parenting skills are impressive.”
Chapter 17
Pulling his Ducati up behind the compact car parked at Haven’s front gates, Rowan cut the bike’s engine and waited while the person behind the wheel typed a code into the security box.
The alarm buzzed in denial, and he swung off his bike, approaching the driver from behind.
“Morning, Taylor.”
“Jeez, Rowan, you scared me.” Ben’s assistant let out a nervous laugh through the open car window. “What are you doing here this early?”
More than a little pissed over Annabeth saying she didn’tneedhim to stay over last night, he grumbled under his breath, “I could ask you the same thing.”
Taylor flipped her long strawberry blonde hair over one shoulder, her lip curling in disgust at the attitude. “Excuse me?”
Rowan checked himself. Being a surly asshole to his employer’s secret girlfriend wasn’t exactly a smart move. “Sorry, Taylor.”
Like everyone else at Fairweather Holdings, Rowan assumed the two began sleeping together not long after she was promoted. A man like Ben probably needed to blow off some steam, and it made sense to do it with a woman who was always at his side.
And while there was nothing wrong with them being together, it felt weird.
There was just something about the situation that didn’t sit right with him. Taylor tried too hard. Constantly inserting herself into whatever Ben was doing. Sure, it was part of the job, but it never stopped.
“I’m guessing you heard what happened?”
“Ben gave me the details this morning when he asked for these files.” Taylor jerked a thumb at some files in the passenger seat. Files that could easily have been sent via email. “The man never stops working.”
“He’s a machine,” Rowan acknowledged. “But I’m not sure who’s up yet.”
“That really doesn’t matter, now does it?” Taylor placed the car in drive. “Ben has requested this stuff, and I’m here to give him what he needs, so can you fix the security box and let me in?”
Rowan’s brows shot up at the haughty tone. Yeah, definitely fucking the boss. “Give me a minute. I changed the code.”
He turned and punched the new sequence in, purposely blocking her view as he did. As of sunrise, Liam’s orders were not to let anyone know the updated codes until he said otherwise.
“What’s the new code?” she asked, phone in hand, when he faced her again. “I’ll add it to my notes.”
“Ben will give it to you.”
He walked off before she could ask again, waiting at his bike until her car passed through. Once the gates swung closed, he returned to the box, thinking now was a good opportunity to test the reentry fail safe he’d stayed up programming.
At this point, he needed sleep more than oxygen, which was probably why Taylor’s attitude had him annoyed. It also didn’t help that things hadn’t ended on a good note with Annabeth and even though he’d only been gone long enough to gather some things from the condo—as he had zero intention of listening when she said he didn’t have to stay—hewas on edge to figure out how he was going to regain their footing now that they had been outed.
