Page 78 of Mayhem
“That sounds like fun. Could you do something else for me?”
“What’s that, baby?”
“Could you run a phone number, or have it run? I tried to look it up, but I had no luck.”
“Is it the number that called you while we were out?” he asked.
“Yes. I thought it was a potential client, but they call and say nothing, or on the couple of occasions they have, the connection is terrible. It’s weird. I might be reading too much into it, and if you think I am, you don’t have to—”
“If it’s making you uncomfortable, then you aren’t reading too much into it. Send me the number, and I’ll check it out, but once you send it to me, I want you to block them regardless of what I find to give you peace of mind.”
Erin nodded and decided to change the subject and ask him how work was going. She hadn’t shown up only to dump her irritation on him or to get help from him. She stayed longer until she felt she was holding him up from work. He told her she wasn’t because no one could say anything to him about it, and she was ready to have that same mindset.
When she left him, she headed home to place an ad for artists on social media and possibly on several job boards.
Cruz hung up the phone after making the appointment with Mike, the sign maker. They were meeting him tomorrow at two-thirty, and he texted Erin to let her know. He would ask Paetyn if he was free when he made it home that evening.
He wanted to find out which two companies Erin went to. Them trying to get over on anyone unfairly would have irritated him, but the fact that they were attempting to do so with his girlfriend had pissed him off. It was for the best she hadn’t told him the company names in passing because had she, they would have been hearing from him. However, Paetyn may have known, and he would ask him that evening.
There were a few emails he needed to read and respond to. He’d gotten them while Erin was there but hadn’t felt the need to cut his time short with her. He enjoyed her surprise visit even more because she’d thought to come to him to vent her frustrations. That also reminded him that she said he needed to apologize to Jane. Cruz didn’t feel he’d done anything wrong, and it wasn’t his fault he intimidated her, but he supposed his tone had been a bit more clipped than usual.
He hadn’t informed Jane of who Erin was before her visit, so he couldn’t expect his assistant to know to let her into his office or find him if he wasn’t in there, regardless of what he was doing. So, while he hadn’t treated her anyway he normally wouldn’t. He supposed he could ensure she hadn’t felt unconsciously reprimanded. He buzzed her desk.
“Jane.”
“Yes, Mr. Adair?”
“Come into my office.” A few seconds later his door opened.
‘Yes, sir?” she questioned.
“If you felt I was reprimanding you earlier when my visitor came that was not my intention.”
“I didn’t feel that way,” she responded as she shifted. A nervous habit she always had around him. “And I’ll be sure to let her in or buzz you going forward.”
He studied her briefly. “Okay. Thank you,” he stated in dismissal, and she exited the office.
His attention went to the emails that required responses. He thought about what tattoo he wanted Erin to give him as he did. They hadn’t done it Sunday as planned since Chayse had gotten sick and couldn’t take the photos for Erin. She’d asked if they could move it to the following weekend, and Cruz didn’t mind. It worked out because he had no idea what he wanted. He didn’t know when he’d asked her if she wanted to give him one and figured he’d have one when they got down to it.
Once he finished responding, he shut down and ensured everything was locked up, grabbed his cell phone, and exited his office. He opened his office door for the cleaning crew and stepped onto the elevator.
Cruz slid behind the wheel of his car and thought for a moment about going to see their parents. He knew Paetyn had gone to have lunch with them. They both typically visited on Thursdays to have dinner with them, but Paetyn would need to be present for an event atThe Pits. Deciding to stick to the original plan, he headed home.
He pulled into the garage twenty-five minutes later. Paetyn’s car wasn’t there, but he figured he was still at their parents’ house.
Cruz went to his room and changed into a pair of basketball shorts and sneakers before going to their home gym. He hadn’t used it in about a week, and the last thing he needed to do was fall off. Thirty minutes into his workout, Paetyn walked in and leaned against the doorframe.
“You’re home early.”
“I didn’t have any meetings today, and if I need to do something later, I can do it from here,” Cruz responded as he did his second rep of bicep curls. “How was your visit?”
“It was good. Lena asked about meeting Erin.”
“I knew it was only a matter of time before she brought it up to you. What did you tell her?”
“I’d ask Erin, and we’d go from there.”
Cruz nodded, placing the weights down. “Speaking of Erin, are you busy tomorrow?”
