The Gallery (Contemporary Reverse Harem 4)

ASH

Another drag-ass day at the office. The previous night’s party had come off without a hitch, and I’d stayed out way too late. The cute blonde waitress from the Hamptons party had come, and boy, was she hot. When she got a load of how sexy the club vibe was, she could hardly keep her hands off us guys. The place did that to some women. It was like something in them became unleashed—what, I don’t really know, but I sure liked being the lucky beneficiary.

I’d just downed another cup of crappy office coffee, and now, my heart was racing. My doctor had told me to stay away from the stuff, but like most people, I’d never get through a day without it.

Sumner and Smith barged into my office.

“Hey, guys, thanks for knocking,” I said. Sumner towered over Smith, and with the height disparity between them, they looked like something out of a comic book.

But Smith made up for his challenge in the height area with a big mouth. He burst out laughing. He could be an ass that way. “Dude, I live in hopes of catching you with some chick bent over your desk, or maybe just your pecker in your hand. That would be awesome.” He threw his head back and laughed some more.

“Smith, I didn’t know you wanted to see my dick so badly. All you had to do was ask.” I stood and made like I was unzipping my pants.

“Kidding, dude! Keep your pants on,” he said, the smile fading from his face.

I settled back into my desk chair. “That’s what I thought. So what you guys up to, anyway? To what do I owe the pleasure of your bar

ging into my office unannounced?”

“Damn, Ash, quit with the diva bullshit. You walk into our offices all the time,” Smith said.

He was a fairly recent addition to the firm, and while there had been some reservations about him, he had a great track record. But he was also annoying as hell.

“Yeah, but I knock first, jerkoff,” I said.

Sumner interrupted our bickering. “All right. What are we going to do about Crane Enterprises?”

Huh?

“I hadn’t thought there was anything to do with them after Gio booted Devon Crane out of our offices,” I said.

“Well, it seems he’s not quite done with us. He sent over a prospectus and has requested another meeting,” Smith explained.

I leaned forward on my desk, speaking slowly and clearly. “Guys, he’s under investigation by the D.A.”

Sumner threw his hands up. “C’mon, Ash. You know the D.A. is investigating people all the time. It doesn’t make him guilty.”

“Fair enough. But Gio didn’t like the guy. Said he was a scumbag. For Christ’s sake, he kicked him out.”

“Since when do emotions rule our decisions around here?” he asked, arms crossed.

I sat back in my chair. “I know what you’re saying. I really do. But something about this guy feels bad.”

“Okay. What do you say to a bit of analysis on the deal? And then we can discuss whether or not we like him,” he said with a nod toward Smith. Analysis was Smith’s specialty, and I had to hand it to him, he was damn good at it.

“Yeah, whatever. Give it a shot,” I said.

My cell rang and when I saw it was Blu, most likely calling about Kink Lab business.

“Hey, Blu,” I said.

“Hey, girl,” Blu said in his favorite I will convert you if it’s the last thing I do tone. “Good news. I may have found a solution to our location problem. I didn’t get to tell you about it last night because we were so busy.”

“Yeah? What’s the solution?”

“Well, my best friend, Avril Crane, has a fabulous gallery in Soho that she’s considering letting us use for Kink Lab.”

Now that was some good news. But shit, Avril Crane? After we were just talking trash about her dickhead ex?