Recluse (Wolfes of Manhattan 2)

I was being silly, but still…

“I don’t know Roy very well,” Lacey said, “but I do know that he wouldn’t have approached you if he weren’t truly interested. He’s kind of shy.”

“Well, he’s an artist,” I said, as if that explained everything. In truth, it explained nothing.

“True.”

Good. She’d bought it.

“Sorry to pile so much on you,” she said. “It’s only your second day and all.”

“No worries. I’ll get it done as quickly as I can.”

She nodded and then left my office, leaving the door open. Wolfe Enterprises seemed to have an open-door policy, which was fine with me. I wasn’t used to having my own office anyway.

Two hours passed like two seconds. I’d made a considerable dent in Lacey’s list but still had plenty to do. I hoped the meeting in the conference room wouldn’t take all day. If I had to stay late and finish Lacey’s list, I’d miss dinner with Roy.

I grabbed my laptop for notes and headed to the conference room.

I jerked. Only Roy sat inside the room, in the same chair he’d used yesterday. He was dressed to the nines once more, this time in a navy-blue suit and black button-down. No tie. His hair was combed into a smooth low ponytail.

I cleared my throat. “Hi.”

He smiled. “Hi, silver.”

“You can’t—”

“Call you that when everyone gets here. I know.” He looked at his watch. “Right on time. Where is everyone else?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t check Lacey’s office before I came.”

“I’m sure they’ll be here soo—”

Reid walked in the door then. “Hey. Where’s Rock?”

“Isn’t your office right next to his?” Roy asked.

“He wasn’t in it. I assumed he was here.”

Jarrod and Terrence arrived behind Reid and sat with me on the other side of the table.

“Hi, Charlie,” Jarrod said. “Hanging in there?”

I smiled. “Trying.”

I looked over at Roy and his gaze was stern. Had Jarrod been flirting with me? He was just a flirtatious kind of guy, from what I’d seen so far. He was also gorgeous. And single.

I smiled inside. Roy was jealous.

I liked that. I liked it a lot.

Roy didn’t have anything to worry about. Jarrod and Terrence were both handsome, but Roy was something else altogether.

“Where the hell is our brother?” Reid said to Roy.

“How the hell should I know? Don’t you have him on a leash?”

Reid rolled his eyes. “I wish.”

A few more minutes passed in awkward silence, and then Rock and Lacey entered, looking flustered. Lacey’s hair was in disarray, and one part of Rock’s shirttail was hanging outside his trousers.

“For God’s sake,” Reid said.

I held back a giggle. Things had apparently not changed since that first time with Rock and Lacey in her former office.

Lacey took her seat, her cheeks red. She still didn’t know that I’d heard her and Rock that first day, during a break in the reading of Derek Wolfe’s will.

“This is an office,” Reid said.

Rock didn’t reply, just took his seat at the head of the table. “I’ve got some people joining us today,” he said.

“Who?” Reid asked. “We’ve got enough to do as it is.”

“Some friends of mine from back home.”

“This is your home now, Rock,” Reid said. “Unfortunately for all of us.”

“You’re telling me.” Rock riffled his fingers through his short hair. “But this is important. They have information for us.”

“Who are they?” This time from Roy.

“One’s a lawyer, the other’s a gynecologist. I’ve finally convinced them to tell me what they know. At least I think I have.”

“Why would anyone in Montana know—”

Rock interrupted Reid. “One of Manny’s patients—”

“Wait a minute.” This time Reid interrupted Rock. “Manny? Seriously?”

“Yeah, Manny. Hoss and Manny. Make fun of their names now, before they get here.”

“And you couldn’t have briefed us on this, say…yesterday?” Reid asked. “Maybe during that silent hour you called lunch?”

“Fuck off, Reid,” Rock said.

“Rock,” Lacey admonished.

“Sorry.” Rock cleared his throat. “Manny has a patient who somehow knew I had left Montana. I didn’t tell anyone. At first, he wouldn’t tell me who it is. Doctor-patient privilege and all. But I think I’ve convinced him.”

“With money?” Roy asked.

“Is there any other way?”

“What does this have to do with anything?” Reid said.

“Don’t you get it? She knew I had left Montana for New York. I didn’t tell anyone, Reid. Not a fucking one.”

“How did your old girlfriend know then?” Reid asked.

Good question. Lacey had told me about Rock’s ex, Nieves Romero, who’d shown up a few days after Rock had.

“We’re thinking from this person,” Lacey said.

“Maybe the patient is Nieves herself,” Roy said.

Rock chuckled, shaking his head. “Nieves wouldn’t go near Manny naked. When you meet him, you’ll see—”

A knock on the conference room door interrupted him. “Come in,” Rock said.

Carla, Rock’s secretary entered, followed by two men, one tall and thin and the other short and stout.

“Hey, guys,” Rock said. “Take a seat. Thanks, Carla.”

She nodded and left, closing the door behind her.