Page 10 of Seize the Night

“You’ll have to forgive Merrick here,” Remi said, slapping Merrick on the back—hard. “You’re beautiful, and he’s a horrible person. Bad combination.”

“Forgiven,” she said. “Salena Kar. I work for Julien. You’re Remi Montgomery?”

“She is,” Merrick said. “And I’m Merrick Dearborn. I work for Remi. It’s like destiny, isn’t it?”

“What is?” Salena asked as she waved them into the apartment. Remi noticed Salena was barefoot so she slipped off her own shoes and set them by the door.

“I work for her. You work for Julien. It’s like we belong together, right?” Merrick asked.

“Are you in love with me?” Salena asked, seemingly nonplussed by Merrick’s enthusiasm.

“Not yet, but give me five or six minutes and I’ll get there.”

Salena nodded gracefully.

“Take your time,” she said. Salena showed them to a living room. While the apartment building had appeared cramped and unremarkable on the outside, inside Remi discovered Julien’s home, while not grand, was the perfect mix of classic and cozy.

“How can we help you, Miss Montgomery?”

“Please call me Remi. I’m sorry for the intrusion. I need to talk to Julien for a few minutes, and then we’ll be gone.”

“I’ll get him for you,” she said. “He’s in his office.”

The woman started to leave the room but paused and turned back around.

“He’s mentioned you before,” Salena said. “Lovely to put a face to the reputation.”

“Bad reputation,” Remi said, trying not to blush or wince.

“Quite the opposite,” Salena said. She gave Remi a wink and left the room.

“What do you think she does for Julien?” Merrick whispered after Salena had disappeared through a door.

“I don’t know. She might be his assistant so she probably does for him what you do for me.”

“Annoy the piss out of you constantly and make you wish you’d never set eyes on me?” Merrick said.

“Among other useful tasks.”

“She’s the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in my life,” Merrick said, sounding surprisingly sincere. “Can I have her?”

“She’s a human being. I can’t buy her for you.”

“If you loved me you would help me,” he said, staring at the door Salena had just passed through.

“I don’t love you.”

She started to pat him on the knee but paused mid-pat when Julien Brite stepped into the doorway of the living room.

“I have to say,” Julien began, a crooked smile on his face, “I’m really glad my parents aren’t here right now.”

He looked at her, and Remi felt something catch in her chest at the sight of him leaning in his doorway, his arms crossed, and amusement glimmering in his dark eyes.

“We made sure they weren’t going to be visiting you before we booked the trip,” Remi said. “And hello. Nice to see you again.”

“Really nice to see you again,” Julien said, still smiling. He wore jeans and a plain red t-shirt, no shoes, no socks.

“How have you been, Julien?” Remi asked, torn between the desire to stay safely next to Merrick or to walk to Julien and get an even better look at him. He hadn’t lost all his teenage lankiness although his shoulders were certainly broader. His hair had darkened to a deeper shade of red and was longer now and artfully mussed. He looked older, definitely. But more than that, he looked chiseled, as if he had walked ten thousand miles across a desert and the wind and sand had worn his adolescent innocence away.

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