Bare (Just This Once 2)

Jones? Seriously?

I instantly wonder if he’s related to Rocco Jones. He’s a friend of Dylan’s who consistently beat me at poker every week until I bailed on the games.

“Blond, tall, he looks like he should live on a surfboard,” I offer.

Gabriel raises a brow while he opens a file folder on his desk. He rifles through a stack of headshots before he tugs one free and turns it to face me. “Is this the guy you’re talking about?”

I glance down at a studio shot of Rufus with much shorter hair and a beaming smile on his face. “That’s him.”

“What about him?” Gabriel leans back in his chair.

“He wants in on that fashion show you’re doing in London.” I shake my head. How the hell did I end up here pitching Rufus’s case? “Have you got a place for him?”

He narrows hi

s gaze. “Is he a friend?”

I huff out a laugh. “No, I wouldn’t call him a friend.”

“How do you know him?” There’s a hint of amusement in his tone.

I scratch the side of my nose. I might as well fess up. Gabriel will get a kick out of it, and with any luck, Rufus will land a job. “I’m enrolled in an art class. Rufus is the model.”

That pulls a hearty laugh from Gabriel. It’s enough to draw his head back. “You’re not taking that nude figure class he’s been posing for, are you?”

“I am.”

He studies me for a second. “That’s a good step forward, Griffin. I’m proud of you.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat. I thought he’d take the opportunity to rib me about it, but he’s a gentleman, he always sees below the surface.

I shift the subject back to the reason for my visit. “Do you think you can fit Rufus into your London show?”

“If you want him in London, I’ll make it happen.” He stands and buttons his suit jacket. “Let’s meet for dinner next week. Isla’s been telling me she has a friend she wants to set you up with.”

Gabriel’s wife is a charmer and a fierce romantic. She wants everyone to live the same happily-ever-after she’s living.

“I’m seeing someone,” I say with a smile. “Someone amazing, Gabriel.”

His expression softens. “You’re full of good news today. I can’t wait to meet her. She must be incredible.”

“You have no idea.” I grin before I shake his hand and head out of his office.

Chapter 32

Griffin

“Can someone call the police?” Marco Tresoni’s strangled voice barely escapes past the hand pinned to his neck.

My hand.

As soon as I left Gabriel’s office, I headed to Marco’s. I know Piper is going to stop at the police precinct to fill them in on who robbed her, but I wanted in on the action.

“This is assault, Kent.”

The mention of my surname by the man parading around Manhattan using my identity is enough to make me shove my fist into the wall next to his head.

“You piece of shit,” I seethe through clenched teeth. “I know it was you. You’re the son of a bitch who robbed Piper and left my card on the floor. You told her you were me.”