Page 25 of Gin & Trouble

I’ll get right on it, if I can get her to speak to me again.

“That sounds like it came from personal experience. How’s Dahlia doing? I haven’t seen her around in ages.” Now that I thought about it, she’d stopped coming around about the same time Leo had become a workaholic.

His frown morphed into a scowl. “From what I’ve read in the papers, she’s doing great.”

“Who reads actual newspapers anymore?” I grinned and nudged his shoulder.

“Tired old men like me.” Leo smiled but it seemed forced.

Leo and Dahlia’s relationship had never made sense to me. They’d claimed they were just friends for about a decade, but up until a year ago, they’d been inseparable. Anyone with eyes could see they were into each other.

Is that what I have to look forward to with Julia? A decade of friendship, denial, and blue balls?

“By the way, congrats on going viral.” Leo smirked.

I had zero idea what he was talking about, but judging by his stupid expression, I assumed it wasn’t good. “Viral?”

He arched a brow. “You haven’t seen it?”

“Seen what?”

He pulled out his cell, tapped the screen, scrolled, tapped the screen again.

I had the same queasy feeling that I had every time I went to the dentist. I knew I was in for a world of hurt, but I put my ass in the chair anyway. “For crying out loud, either tell me or give me the phone.”

“Ah here it is.” He turned the cell toward me.

A video of me stripping out of my Chewbacca costume, complete with a close up of my golden ass, played on the screen. Adding insult to injury, whoever had filmed it had looped my movements to make it look like I was dancing—or having a seizure. And of course, the SOB had dubbed in “Pony”from the Magic Mike soundtrack.

“Mother of God! I’m going to kill Zach.” I couldn’t take another second of it, but I couldn’t seem to look away.

“Zach didn’t do it. He’s in the shot.”

I snatched the phone from his hand and hit replay. Sure enough, my nephew was standing behind me wearing a shit-eating grin. The person filming, changed angles and zoomed in on Julia’s face. At the time, I’d thought her reaction was shocked, maybe mortified, but her expression on the video was something different.

She lookedheartbroken.

Leo held out his hand, but I watched it again. This time, I paused right after the camera zoomed in on Julia.

“Does she look sad to you?”

He studied the screen. “It’s hard to tell. Is thisthegirl? She looks familiar.”

“You’ve probably seen her around the building. She works here, remember?” I didn’t have it in me to tell him the entire story, nor did I want a lecture on dating employees, or dating in general.

“Did you meet her here or somewhere else?”

“We’ve played online video games together for months and met for the first time at the gaming convention.”

“That’s…different.” Leo chuckled.

My brothers didn’t understand my geek side. To them, the only ring that mattered was the proverbial brass one, and to boldly go where no man had gone before was a euphemism for anal sex or sex with a virgin or both.

He made a show of glancing at his watch. “I should get back to work. See you tonight.”

That he planned to attend the party surprised me. “You’re going?”

“Happy employees stick around. I’d rather suffer through a couple hours of Christmas cheer than replace staff.” Leo ran his hand over his head. “Plus, there’s alcohol.”

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