“Don’t overthink this. He’s into you,” Arik whispered and forced himself to put the phone back inside his pocket as he entered the building.
“Hello, Mr. Layne.” He looked up to see the old Chicago staff had all relocated and were hard at work.
“Everything’s coming together well,” he said offhandedly, lifting a hand in their direction. His corporate offices were no more than the length of a single hall and sat just to the right of the front entry while his parents’ took up the entirety of the rest of the buildings. This move had taken a solid year for Layne Construction to orchestrate.
Arik went directly for his executive suite where Iris’s desk sat.
“Hi, Arik. You look nice today,” Iris said, looking up at him, her dark eyes locked on his as he came through the door. That stopped him in his tracks as he looked down at himself. He saw nothing different in his standard wardrobe of a suit and tie. Wait a second. His eyes narrowed as he looked at her. She never complimented him like that.
“I look the same as I always do. I got a haircut this morning, but that was just a trim,” he said, watching her casually unload the box on her desk as if she hadn’t just said the craziest thing ever.
“Huh, well, you look different for some reason. Maybe it’s all this clean air you’re getting,” she replied and went back to ignoring him. For some reason, he liked that so much better. It seemed more normal.
“Have you gotten ahold of Kellus Hardin?” he asked. In a time where they had three new properties under construction and one that just opened, also in the midst of a major corporate relocation, how was that the first question he’d asked?
“Nope, not a word. I’ve left several messages for him, but he hasn’t returned any.”
Arik nodded. His concerned gut turned to full-on anxiety. He sidestepped her and went for his office. His uber efficient assistant already had everything in order. His office was unpacked and perfectly set as if it had been picked up from Chicago and set down right here in Texas.
Standing in the doorway, he again pulled the cell phone from his jacket pocket and checked the messages. Still nothing.
“You okay?” Iris asked from behind him.
He finally entered the office, placed the phone on the charging pad built into the corner of his desk, then shrugged off his suit coat. The coatrack sat in its normal place to the right of the door. He draped the fabric over the hanger and rolled his sleeves to his elbows.
“I’m fine. Have we heard from the appropriations committee?”
“Yes, Senator Dumb-butt Needham sent the packet on your desk. There’s an email in your inbox explaining what you need to look over. They also broke ground this morning in Destin. Sebastian filled in for you, but the Associated Press was there and not happy that you skipped the interview.” He nodded, not even giving her a stern look over her chosen nickname for the senator. Sebastian had been with him since the beginning. Relocating him to Destin, Florida had been one of his smartest decisions; he could easily handle any questions that came up.
“Send an apology to the Press,” he said absently, going around the desk.
“I already did. Gage called. He wants me to comp a week’s stay or he’s going to blackmail you with Steffan’s picture.”
Arik ripped open the senator’s envelope before looking up at her, his directive clear on his face, but he reiterated it with words. “Don’t comp those rooms.”
“He explained the missing commission to me,” she said, ignoring both his stern voice and look. His cousin had worked his charm. He could tell she was feeling sorry for Gage.
“Don’t comp those rooms. He’s been a general pain in my ass since I’ve been back here,” Arik said and dropped down into his chair, pulling the bound pages out, doing exactly what he didn’t want to do—read bullshit legal documents. He let out a huge sigh.
“Yes, sir,” Iris said defiantly and flipped her long dark hair over her shoulder.
Arik lifted the lid to his laptop and waited for it to boot up. His eyes landed back on his cell phone, and he willed the thing to ring. It didn’t. When his password screen loaded, he could feel the scowl on his face harden. Something wasn’t right with Kellus, but what had happened?
They’d had another incredible night together that lasted until the wee hours of the morning. Maybe Kellus had fallen asleep when he’d gotten home. They hadn’t done much sleeping all weekend. Arik smiled at the memory.
Shaking his head of all the random thoughts, he forced his mind on work. He’d wait this out and pray the guy was at his house when he got home. Leaving that thought right there, Arik logged into email and started methodically answering each one.