“Who said I’ll start with your neck?” I wiggled my eyebrows.
“Oh, what do you plan to attack first, then?”
Before I got a chance to answer, the doorbell rang. Tess frowned.
“I ordered food,” I explained.
Her eyes widened and she leapt out of bed, heading out of the bedroom. Chuckling, I took my time, knowing she would already be elbow deep in the basket by the time I was out.
“You ordered a cheese basket,” she exclaimed when I stepped inside the living room. I could tell she was smiling, even though her head was bent and she was rummaging through the contents.
“Apricot jam too.”
She giggled, taking out the jar. I went over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist.
“You’re a keeper.” She looked sideways at me. “You have more surprises for me?”
“Just a few.”
She had no idea.
***
Five days later
“Let’s drink to that bastard no longer being part of the company,” David exclaimed as soon as we stepped into the brownstone. It was late in the afternoon, and the interns were already gone. We’d just come from the meeting with Albert’s lawyer.
David immediately took out a bottle of champagne from the cooler. I hadn’t even known he bought one, but I should have figured as much. He never missed a chance to celebrate.
We all got out of our coats. They were drenched from the rain and snow. New York was really messy when it poured like this.
“He’s not out yet,” I replied.
David rolled his eyes. “Well, no, but we just kicked his ass. Everything else is a formality.”
That was true. That bastard was getting exactly what he deserved: a package so small that it was practically nothing. But he agreed to it on the count of not going to jail. I was going to let him believe that, until he was officially no longer part of Harrington & Co., and then a judge was going to get all the paperwork about him trying to embezzle from us all those years ago. Back then, we were a young company, and a scandal would have damaged us irreversibly. Now, it was different. We were established and well respected, and an old incident wouldn’t hurt us as much.
Albert wasn’t going to bother anyone again. Ever.
“We only have coffee cups, but they’ll do,” David said, pouring champagne for Becca, Tess, and the two of us. We needed Tess there, because we wanted his drunken incident at her store on record.
David clinked his cup to Tess’s first. “I’ll drink to Tess, who managed to make our friend here not just human but a happy human instead of the broody robot Becca and I have known for...a long time. Don’t want to say how long. Makes me feel old.” The last part was directed at Becca.
“Fine, I’ll have mercy on you today,” she replied, clinking her cup to ours. “I’ll drink to finally getting rid of Albert, and to the best investment we’ve ever made. I’ve crunched some numbers last night, and Soho Lingerie has the highest acquisition rate of new customers out of every investment we’ve ever made.”
“Wow. Good thing we’re officially opening store number two next week. We’re really bursting at the seams,” Tess said.
“You crunched numbers last night?” David asked Becca, crestfallen. “Please tell me you’re not turning into Liam.”
Becca rolled her eyes. “Please go get laid. You’re becoming more intense by the day.”
David choked on his drink. Becca, Tess, and I burst into laughter. Becca then inspected the bottle of champagne, smoothing one thumb over the label.
“You know what? I actually have wine in my office that I’ve been keeping for a special occasion. How long do you guys think we’ll be here?”
I looked at Tess, who said, “We don’t have plans tonight.”
“I’ll go get it before the bubbles mess with my ability to walk straight.”