Page 30 of Boss On Notice
“Good call bringing Lilly. She and Lynx seem to be getting along. I can see it.” He’s grinning, watching them proudly, almost like he’s the one who’s responsible for them dancing together.
“See what?” I snap.
“The two of them together. She’s been a serious asset to us. It’ll be great to get her in the family so she won’t run away from your ass, and we’ll never see her again.”
I scoff as my hand comes down so hard on his shoulder that he dips low. I bet it hurt. “Always business with you, isn’t it?”
“And not enough with you. Listen—” he starts.
“Not now, Herc,” I say, before he’s able to get started.
“I need you to figure out how to squeeze…”
I’m walking away from him, eyes fixed on Delilah as her chin floats up and she laughs at something Lynx has said. I can’t imagine Lynx Grove saying anything that humorous. He’s not a witty guy. She’s laying it on thick, that’s what she’s doing. I’m trapped between stomping over there and cutting in, and just walking the hell away from this fucking reception. I’ve had enough for one day. I can’t believe I let Achilles rope me into being a groomsman and making that damn speech. He only did it because he needs to see that I’m really okay with him marrying the one woman I ever thought I loved. I’m okay with them getting marriednow. But fuck, what if I weren’t okay with it? It’s not as if he’d ever break up with her for me. So, what’s the fucking point of needing me to be okay with it? My brothers are mysteries to me. I’m this close to taking a long break from both of them.
Delilah and Lynx are whispering back and forth into each other’s ears. Nowthat, the two ofthemtogether, I’m not okay with that shit. Suddenly Mina appears beside me, arms crossed, and that cocky little smile of hers glowing.
“Cute couple,” she says, knowing she’s getting under my skin.
What’s wrong with my fucking family? Don’t they care about me? I have Herc on one side unable to see that I’m steaming mad and on the verge of losing it because Lynx is making a play for my assistant. I have Mina on my other side, my cousin Nero’s sister, aware that I’m feeling something for Delilah but making a mockery of the fact that I’m losing to a fucking Grove. Fuck her. Fuck him too. Fuck them all. I’m going to bed. I turn on my heels, leaving them all to their dancing. My strides carry me back to my room faster when it hits me that later tonight, Lynx has a high probability of scoring with Delilah.
“Fuck!” I shout in my head.Fuck.
* * *
TEN HOURS LATER
I didn’t get a lick of sleep. I tossed and turned all night. I almost got out of bed and went to Delilah’s room to find out if she was there. But I didn’t. I couldn’t. I forced myself to get a grip instead. I can’t be with Delilah anyway. I need her too much. I don’t want to fuck her, and fuck her, and then fuck her some more untilkaboom. But eventually, I stopped listening to my inner warning system. I’m at her door ringing the doorbell and knocking, but nobody’s answering. I want to blow my top because I’m certain that she’s in Lynx’s bed right now and our flight leaves in less than an hour. It’s not like her to be this irresponsible. The old Lila, pre-boning Lynx Grove, would’ve been at my door a half an hour ago making sure I wouldn’t make us late.
I call her cell phone and it goes straight to voice mail. I follow up by calling Lynx. I don’t give a damn. He’s fucking my assistant. She belongs to me.
“Hey, Orion?” Lynx sounds drowsy and curious.
“Is Lila with you? Our flight leaves in half an hour.”
“Oh…she flew back to New York last night,” he says.
It’s as if I’ve been hit in the face with fluorescent light. “She did what?”
CHAPTER10
Let’s Make a Deal
DELILAH O’SHAY
MONDAY MORNING
If I had flown all the way back to New York with Orion, I don’t think I would’ve been able to keep the fact that I woke in his bed on Saturday morning to myself. But that’s not the real reason why I packed in a huff and took a commercial flight all the way back home. I was looking forward to more biscuits for breakfast sans the mimosas. As it stands, I’m never drinking alcohol again, or at least not for a very long time. This is why I really left Las Vegas. After dancing with Lynx and then Ben, I looked around for Orion, but he was gone, and so was Heather. He went off to have sex with her because that is what he does. He bangs women he’s “in a relationship with” several times before he starts breaking dates with them and then asks me to send them a bouquet of flowers with a card that reads:Thank you for the fun we had. It’s time I move on, and I think you should too. But I’ll always be here for you if you need anything, just call. Your friend, OL.
I don’t ever want to get those flowers with that card from “OL.” I have a feeling I’ll be sending a bunch to Heather today. I hate to admit it but that’s wishful thinking. Heather is not like all the others. She’s also hard to compete with because Orion’s mother loves her, and he’s a mommy’s boy. Unlike Hercules and Achilles, Marigold exhibits nothing but pure admiration toward him. That’s why he’ll do anything to make her happy, which includes probably making it work with Heather.
Anyway, believing that Orion and Heather skipped off to his more elaborate suite to bang each other’s brains out, I called Xena and confessed that I woke up in his bed that morning. I didn’t tell her about the ring though. The ring stinks of a major fuck-up on my part. I think if I give my brain a few days to reset and recover, then I’ll remember exactly how it came to live on my finger.
Xena yelled warnings and I-told-you-sos until her throat turned hoarse.
“Get away from him, Lilly. Come home now.”
I knew she would say that, which is more than likely why I called her.
