HANNAH (Silicon Valley Billionaires 3)

The guards busied themselves rechecking the interior of the house, and Marcus scooted down the hallway toward the entryway. He turned to wink at us, clearly amused. “I’ll just grab my stuff and get going.”

Wes waved. “Uh…thanks.”

He smiled. “See you in the morning.”

Wes turned back to me, cheeks heated. “I won’t be able to look Marcus in the eye tomorrow.”

“Ugh, I’m sorry.”

He laughed and pulled me back against his chest. “Don’t you dare apologize—I just can’t wait to get you alone.”

I jerked my head toward the four security guards in the living room, all deferentially facing away and probably silently laughing their asses off. “Would you like to go outside and get some fresh air?”

“That’d be great.”

“You have to, you know.”

I motioned to the wheelchair, and Wes cursed under his breath. “I am so over that thing.”

“Please? You won’t have to use it for too much longer.” Dr. Kim had said that he’d need it for only a few weeks, until Wes had progressed with physical therapy and gotten stronger.

He sank begrudgingly into the chair, arranging his large body and looking uncomfortable, a jaguar in a too-small cage. He rarely complained, but when he did, it was about not being able to get around by himself.

“I’m sure it’s getting old.”

Wes rolled his eyes. “Try ancient.”

I didn’t blame Wes for losing patience—he wasn’t a sideline kind of guy. He liked working out. He liked being strong. He liked protecting me. He hated that he was missing work, just like he hated being stuck in this chair.

Speaking of things he hated… I swallowed nervously as I maneuvered him outside. He was going to freak about Li Na Zhao’s sudden reappearance. I didn’t want to stress him, but I had to tell him.

She’d put him in this chair. He deserved to know the truth.

“So, some stuff happened at Paragon today,” I explained as we headed for the pool deck.

Wes went instantly on alert. “What kind of stuff?”

“Fiona Pace, the Protocol Therapeutics CEO, stopped by. She’s a friend of mine, but this wasn’t a social visit.”

“The women-in-business leadership guru? I read her book. I thought it was great.”

I stopped the chair and peered down at him, dumbfounded. Wes read her book? Fiona had written a bestseller about women in business, but it’d never crossed my mind that he’d pick something like that up. “You did?”

He chuckled at my expression. “Yeah, back when I started dating you. I thought it would give me insight.”

“Insight on what?”

“On how to respectfully interact with a high-powered professional woman.”

My heart swelled, touched by his preparation. “You thought of me as a high-powered professional?”

“I think of you as a high-powered professional.”

I pulled the wheelchair up next to the chaise lounges. “That’s sort of hot.”

Wes tilted his chin, inspecting me. “You’re hot—and you’re totally high powered. Sometimes I don’t think you see yourself clearly, babe.”

“Oh. I guess I don’t really think about it.” I was used to Lauren always getting the professional attention and accolades.