Page 1 of Single Greatest Threat
Chapter One
A box of stufffrom his old desk sat on Joesph’s lap as he wheeled his way inside Howe’s Law offices. It had only been a month since he quit. Heaven knew he never intended to come back. But Shaw Howe Sr. had hired Joesph right out of law school and taught him the ropes. He had been a dream boss until the day he retired, leaving his son Shaw as the top attorney and in charge. Shaw Jr. was not his father. Joesph supposed that was a good thing, since they had been off and on friends with benefits for years. They were currently off. It was permanent. A move he had solidified when he had stormed out and quit. Now he was back. They still wouldn’t be on again. Joesph was done with that bullshit. He’d been hurt enough.
Joesph flashed a smile at the receptionist and headed for his office. He genuinely hadn’t intended to return. Only a call from Shaw Sr. had him here. Plus, a hefty raise and a promise his son would steer clear of Joesph. Oh, and Shaw wouldn’t dump all hiscases on Joesph—the way he had always done. That was another big one. Shaw had loved fucking Joesph in every way, including leaving him with more work than ten men could handle. Joesph was cautiously hopeful. If things went back to the way they used to be, he already had another job lined up. Truthfully, Joesph’s worst fear was how he would feel when he saw Shaw. That might be the one thing he couldn’t stand.
It was dumb. He was an idiot. While Shaw had been using him, Joesph fell in love. A tale as old as time. Thankfully, he had kept his feelings to himself. It was bad enough to love someone like Shaw—arrogant, successful, rich, and physically flawless. Joesph would be damned if he humiliated himself by admitting his feelings. He wasn’t that pathetic.
His phone rang before he had half his box unpacked. Joesph checked the face. It was Dodge. A smile exploded across Joesph’s face.
“Hello?” He set his cellphone on his desk and switched it to speakerphone so he could keep working.
“Hey. How are you?”
“I’m good. How are you?” He genuinely adored Dodge. They had only been friends for a few weeks, even though they had known each other for years. But after a long talk at a recent party, they realized how much they had in common. It was nice having a friend that was only that and let him feel free. Plus, Dodge was true blue sweet. He should be protected from the world.
“I’m good. Well, I’m kind of bored. Quest is the smart one, so he’s handling the meeting with our accountant today. Something about payment for one of the latest games. Anyhow, he’s gone, and Salem had plans with Tarek, so I’m just kind of chilling.”
Joesph hated when Dodge talked about himself as if he was dumb. He wasn’t. Dodge was just a nice person in a cruel world. He didn’t fit. It didn’t help that Dodge was the picture shown in the dictionary under beautiful. Joesph had seen him literally stop traffic. Looks like that brought out predators and the worst of society.
“Today is my first day back at work.”
Dodge huffed. “I told you not to go back. There’s no reason to be around that guy when you have us.” Joesph assumed “us” was Salem, Quest, and Dodge. Dodge didn’t stop to expound. “We can afford to keep you.”
A laugh burst from Joesph. He loved how Dodge talked about keeping a whole person like a pet. As one of the three beneficiaries of one of the world’s richest men, Dodge had no real concept of money. “Sweetie, let me have my pride. Plus, what would I do all day anyhow? You have two fiancés. Your life is full. This is all I have.”
“We could put you to work.”
The pout in Dodge’s voice had Joesph’s affection growing. He knew Dodge only wanted him to be happy. But they needed to change the subject before Joesph cried. He didn’t want to behere either. Not really. His bills didn’t care about his pride. “So, what do you plan to do with the house all to yourself?”
Dodge immediately cheered. “I’d planned to see if you wanted to do something. Since you’re working, I guess I’ll have to settle with taking you to lunch.”
“I’d love that.” He really would. Joesph hadn’t left the house before today in a couple of weeks. He hated doing things alone, and it wasn’t easy being in a wheelchair. Joesph wasn’t a full-time wheelchair user, so he wasn’t an expert at navigating the world. Neither could he cane his way around for long before giving out. There weren’t many people willing to do things with him, considering how much work it was. Dodge genuinely seemed to not mind.
“Yay! What time do you take lunch?”
Joesph automatically glanced toward the clock. He caught sight of Shaw heading inside his office. His brain stuttered before he remembered what he was doing. “Um. Anytime I want, really.”
“Cool. How’s eleven thirty? That way, I can make a noon reservation at Bigstock.”
“Sounds great.”
“Okay. Well, I guess I should let you get some work done.”
Joesph’s gaze refused to budge from the sight of Shaw moving around inside his office. It was obvious from the way he dressed and the stack of files he had, he’d spent the morning in court. Damn. He was just so fucking tall and sexy. Under his clothes was just… fuck. “Yeah. I guess I should do something.” Like close his door.
A gorgeous chuckle rumbled through the line.
Shaw’s head lifted, as if he heard the siren’s call. Their gazes collided.
“I’ll see you at eleven thirty.”
Joesph tore his gaze away from the sexy dark green eyes that haunted him. “Yeah. See you then.”
“Bye.”
“Bye.” Joesph tapped the face of his phone and went back to unpacking his things. He forced his gaze to stay locked on his task. Staring and longing was what had gotten him in this place to begin with. Dumbass heart. It never knew when to stop. Shaw didn’t want him. Not really. Joesph was who Shaw had fucked when he got bored or hard up. Otherwise, he was always on the hunt for someone his equal. Joesph wasn’t special. He was just easy. Not anymore.
“Hey.”
