Page 25 of Her Marine
For the next hour and a half, Killian listened to his sister fill him in on what she’d been doing since the last time he’d spoken to her. He listened while flipping through channels, stopping now and then on different ones. He’d tune her out when she’d begin to ramble.
Ziggy was known to ramble more often than not. From the time that she learned how to talk, it seemed she never stopped. Killian had adapted to it quickly. He’d always been patient as a child, but it grew exponentially once Ziggy was born. There was a twelve-year age difference between them, and Killian doted on his sister. Then and now, even though he enjoyed giving her a hard time.
The two finally ended the call after Ziggy attempted to have him promise to tell her everything about the woman he was dating the next time they spoke. Killian told her he wouldn’t be doing that, and after she called him rude again, they hung up.
Killian turned off the television, and went into the bedroom. When he’d showered after his workout, he dressed in boxers. He had an hour before meeting his friend and cousin, and he knew it would take at least twenty minutes to get there. They were meeting where he was since it would take both men only an hour.
Once dressed, Killian made his way out of his suite and down to his car. His phone went off, signaling he’d received a text message. Sliding behind the wheel, he placed the key in the ignition, pulling his phone from his pocket and looking at it. It was a text from Journee.
Journee:Thank you for lunch. You didn’t have to do that.
Killian:You’re welcome. Dinner tonight at seven?
Journee:I have a consultation at six. Can we do eight?
Killian:We can do whatever you want.
With that, Killian placed the phone in the cupholder and started the car, pulling out of the parking space. He drove toward the restaurant. He’d been to it each time he’d visited before and remembered how to get there. His phone went off again. Killian looked at his phone when he pulled into a parking space at the bar and grill they were meeting at.
Journee:I half expected you to tell me I could do you.
Killian:That’s a given.
Smirking to himself, Killian got out of the car and walked inside. Slate was leaning against the wall across from the host station scrolling through his phone. He looked up when Killian approached him.
“Hey, Ace is running late,” Slate greeted.
Killian nodded. “Let’s get a table.”
The two went to the host station and asked for a table for three. The host led them to a table by the front windows. Ace would be able to see them when he walked in. Once the host left their table, Killian leaned back in his seat.
“Why do you think Ace wanted to meet us for lunch?” Killian questioned.
“He’s probably going to tell us we’re bankrupt,” Slate replied, his green eyes full of mischief.
Killian raised a brow at him. “If you just spoke that shit into existence, I’m beating your ass,” he told his cousin. Though Killian knew that was likely not the case since he got quarterly reports.
Slate laughed. “Relax, Kil. Business has been going too well for that to be the case, and Ace runs everything like a tight ship. With the expansion that took place, I’m sure he’s just wanting to talk about how things are going.”
“Maybe he wants you to be more involved.”
“Silent partner. Which means I don’t have to be,” Slate told him, picking up his menu.
“Silent means not out front. It doesn’t mean you don’t have to do anything.”
“Yeah, yeah. What about you? Maybe he wants you to be more involved,” Slate countered.
“I’m involved now. Those training plans and safety procedures don’t fall from the sky. And when I retire in a decade or two, I’ll have no problem putting in more work.”
Slate nodded as Killian looked past him and saw Ace approaching them. Greetings went around as the other man took a seat, and a server came over to their table. The three of them placed their drink orders.
“So, I’m sure Killian has already tried to figure out why I wanted to have lunch with the two of you,” Ace spoke.
“He has,” Slate responded, and Killian rolled his eyes at both of them.
“I wanted to see how the two of you would feel about offering long-term security options to some clients.”
Killian and Slate glanced at one another before giving Ace their full attention again.
