It was painful to have your mind read by someone who thought you were an idiot.
“I’m going to say that you’re doubting my judgment and thinking that you should save me from your incompetence, as well as throwing good money away on you.”
Outer Mongolia was looking really good at the moment. Doubting his judgement? Was that what I was doing? Could he murder me for that?
“Do I have it about right?”
“Yessir,” I said quickly.
“Well, since you’re a logical guy, Croy, I’d like to point out the obvious in rebuttal,” he said, his voice icy and flat. “You didn’t waste a moment proposing that you put yourself in harm’s way to protect Brig Stanton. You made certain that the Torus contract was fulfilled—to the letter, I might add—so that the company wouldn’t lose a dime and our reputation remained sterling. And only because you’re methodical and looking at this whole thing rationally, and not emotionally, were you able to come to the best conclusion for all parties involved,” he explained matter-of-factly. “You’re an excellent fixer, Croy. I’ve never doubted your commitment to helping or your ability to do so.”
I was a bit overwhelmed. The man had quite a bit of faith in me.
“Do you need to work on your interpersonal communication?”
And here it was.
“Yes, you do,” he said, answering his own question. “But you read situations and people equally well; you just have to think less and talk more.”
Normally, it was the other way around.
“And I’m aware that normally, it’s the other way around,” he grumbled. “Locryn, for example, Nash, Shaw, and Brann, when he was here, all leap first, look second, but for you…you could use a little spontaneity in your life; though, you know, not at this moment.”
“Yessir.”
“Use your logical brain now, we’ll work on the rest later.”
I took a breath. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate you having faith in me and in the idea that I can fix those things later.”
“Don’t be an idiot,” he groused at me. “Just be careful, and come home safe.”
I would have said something else, but he hung up without another word. If I didn’t know better, I’d think he did it to be dramatic, but this was Jared Colter. Being scary just came naturally to the man.
Settling in, I let my eyes drift closed as the room fell away around me. I was in the way of anyone who came through the door for Brig, I had my gun, Dallas had his, so I felt confident that, were there an attack, it could be successfully repelled. But mostly I just needed to close my eyes for a minute.
Six
It was the smell of coffee that forced me to open my eyes. Normally, tea was my go-to, but it would take too long to steep. I needed a quicker infusion of artificial stimulation. What I found was Eric Foster standing over me, arms crossed, with a cup in his hands, scowling.
“For a bodyguard, you’re awfully oblivious,” he told me.
I nodded. “You think so?”
“I certainly do. Shouldn’t you be walking around casing the joint, or something?”
He thought giving me advice was a smart option before I had coffee. It was an interesting life choice. “Well, I don’t know if you checked, Mr. Foster—I’m guessing not by how rested you look—but I was out here all night instead of in the bed, in my room.”
His gaze stayed riveted on mine.
“You see, Brig was supposed to be sharing a room with Astor Finnel, but instead he shared it with you.”
“I’m well aware of––”
“You and he had a lovely, undisturbed night, and do you know why?”
His brows furrowed and his lips pinched together. “Mr. Esca––”
“That was because I was out here instead of in my bed.”
“You don’t have to––”
“My bed or Chase’s, I don’t know which one you were in, and I swear I don’t want to know.”
He took a step back. “I––”
“Also,” I remarked dryly, “fucking someone else’s boyfriend is very poor form.”
“You––”
“And while I’m sure it’s marvelous that you and Brig finally got everything figured out last night, you left casualties in your wake.”
“Croy,” Brig began, moving up beside Eric, putting his hand on the small of the man’s back. “You shouldn’t––”
“Listen, I don’t need to be attacked by the help first thing in the morning, no matter how many liberties you’re allowing him,” I growled at Brig, goading Eric, and only then made the connection that I could get up because Dallas was gone. I didn’t want him to be, I wanted him there, nestled into my shoulder, and his absence made me even more surly. “And I certainly don’t need to be lectured about how I should or should not be performing my job by someone who has woefully fallen down on his.”
“You––”
“Unless, of course, you two haven’t been shacking up behind Astor’s back.”
It was wildly inappropriate, but I didn’t give a damn. He could go right to hell. I was about to have a target on my back, and yes, it was what I’d signed on for, but I certainly didn’t have to hear any kind of crap from the likes of Eric Foster.