Page 29 of Undeniably Corrupt
“Now you know why I’m in town. Your father is with Asher, and I have a lunch date with Wynter to celebrate the fact that they’re now grandparents.” Asher and Wynter Reyes are Mason’s parents and best friends with mine. It’s why Mason is family more than anything else. Same with everyone who was in that room this morning.
I hug her, and she kisses my cheek, wiping away some of her lipstick residue that was left behind.
“I couldn’t miss the chance to see my son. And Champagne, of course.” My mother winks at Champagne, and not for the first time in my life do I wish I had inherited some of my mother’s natural charm and charisma. Instead, I have a little too much of my father’s quiet, introverted side in me.
“Are you staying at the house or the condo?” I ask, leaning my hip against the barrier of Champagne’s desk. I live in my dad’s childhood house in Cambridge. It’s partially where I grew up, but when I took over as CEO, they gave the house to me and bought a condo downtown.
“In the city,” she tells me. “It’s just easier, and you don’t need your parents encroaching on your space.”
I’m almost disappointed by that. I wouldn’t mind a little hacking fun with my father or even playing the drums while he plays piano. I certainly could use the distraction from other things that have been occupying my thoughts for the last week.
“Georgia?!” a soft voice exclaims.
I grunt. Speak of the devil. Or angel in this case.
My mom’s head whips past my shoulder, and she stares atthe woman heading our way. Her brows pinch and her head tilts as she studies Liora, trying to place her, and when she figures it out, a smile that’s a hell of a lot bigger and more excited than the one she gave me splits her face.
“Oh my gosh! Liora James? Is that you?”
I don’t turn to catch her response. I pull out my phone and pretend to ignore them so I don’t have to see as my mother embraces her. Champagne smirks at me. The woman sees too much, and I ignore her too.
One of the things I used to love about Liora was how my parents liked her when my parents—primarily my father—weren’t known for liking anyone. Liora worked for my mother and would hang out in my dad’s shop with me when I was working there, and we could get away with it. She was part of our lives for two years, and it’s tough not to fall back into old habits.
Obviously, since I got stupidly protective over her.
“I haven’t seen you in so long. How are you, sweetheart? You look beautiful. What are you doing here?”
Liora laughs. “I see your son hasn’t told you. I’m going to be replacing Champagne. I started on Monday.”
A smack lands on my shoulder. “No, my son didn’t tell me.” She gives me a motherly reprimand in the form of a glare before turning back to Liora. “But I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. I ran into your dad just last week at the coffee shop in Lavender Lake.”
Liora visibly stiffens, some of her smile slipping, and yeah, I need to know more about that. She’s got a secret she wants no one to know. She’s flirting with my curiosity, and my curiosity is like Baby. It doesn’t like being put in the corner.
“And you’re in scrubs,” my mother continues. “What’s all that about?”
And because I haven’t seen her in scrubs yet, I do the stupid thing and pull away from my phone to look at her. Blonde hairpulled up into a tight bun, face void of makeup and impossibly sweet, lips bow-shaped and kissable, and scrubs that match her bright blue eyes.
Christ, she really is an angel.
My cock twitches in her direction. It likes her in scrubs nearly as much as it likes her in nothing at all. Or that red pleather. Clearly it’s just pussy-deprived since it’s been… shit, a long time.
“Is this catch-up hour at the local salon, or do we actually do work here?” I smart brusquely, earning myself three sets of perturbed glares. Right then.
“No one’s stopping you from leaving to work.”
“I’m not standing here for my health. I needed to talk to you about something,” I tell Champagne, though it’s a lie. I had nothing to tell her. “And my mother is here.”
“Then you can wait.”
I sigh and return to my phone even if I’m not looking at what’s on my screen.
“I’m in nursing school,” Liora tells my mother as if I didn’t speak. “I’m hoping to become an OB-GYN nurse and eventually a midwife.”
My mother gasps, a hand going to her chest over her heart. “Are you really? Wow. I’m so proud of you. That’s incredible.” She hugs her again because my mother is a hugger. “How did you reconnect with Vander?”
“We didn’t reconnect. Why does everyone keep saying it like that? I ran into her?—”
“And he got me fired from my day job so I’d work here.”
