Shiver (Unbreakable Bonds 1)

“Candace is on her way up.” Lucas paused on the stairs and sighed. He was pissed at himself and his lack of control, not at Andrei. “Mr. Hadeon, thank you for the note. You were right.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Vallois.”

Lucas shook his head at the man’s surprised tone but continued up the stairs without another word. Damn, he must come off as a real dick if Andrei was surprised that he’d appreciate the man’s thoughtfulness. Or Andrei was just convinced he was insane. He spent half his time flirting with him and the other half barking at him. Lucas was simply grateful to get back to his office and lose himself in work. The woman said nothing about his appearance or his injuries. She pulled out a pile of files, contracts, and other reports for them to work through as if she were in the office with him rather than his home. His assistant was all business, and while he might occasionally tease her about it, he found solace in her demeanor. It gave him normal and he needed normal.

“Oh!” Candace exclaimed in an uncharacteristic moment of surprise. “I almost forgot.” She seemed to be talking to herself as she searched through her purse. She had been in the middle of packing everything up at the end of the day, but she was now pulling it all apart again as she dug for something.

It was well after six. He’d conducted four conference calls while Candace set up other meetings for later in the week. Contracts were reviewed and approved while plans were lined up for him to tour some property on the east side on the outskirts of Hyde Park the following week.

She softly sighed as she pulled a white business card out of her wallet and handed it to Lucas. “That gentleman that you pointed out last Friday at Shiver. His name is Chris Green.”

Lucas chuckled, looking at the woman rather than the business card in his hand. “You asked him for his business card? I really thought you’d be more circumspect and subtle than that.”

Candace threw him a dark look as she shoved items back into her purse. “I didn’t. I stopped by Shiver on Saturday to talk to Gerald about the delay in the shipment from Carrington Spirits. Mr. Green stopped me. He’d seen us talking on Friday and asked if you’d be back in. Then he gave me his business card.”

“Thank you. I never doubted you.”

Candace shouldered her purse and her leather messenger bag, the epitome of efficiency and class in her neat, expensive suit and short hair. “Will I be meeting you here tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

Candace nodded and then left without another word. Lucas glanced down at the card in his hand. The name on it was Christopher J. Green, Marketing Director, Cincinnati Financial Group. The man had been attractive and definitely interested from their one brief interaction…and yet… Lucas felt nothing. Not even the slightest hint of interest. No desire to call him for drinks and then a quick fuck to blow off some of this frustration. No, Andrei was on his mind now and there was no escaping that as long as the other man was close. Lucas started to toss the business card in the trash and caught himself. Soon, Andrei would be gone and he would need to find someone to amuse him. Lucas dropped the card into a drawer and closed it.

Pushing away from his desk, Lucas stretched, testing out muscles. His ribs were tender, but not as sore as they had been. He flexed his fingers on his left hand before he unraveled the tape on the two knuckles. They were still swollen, but he could move his fingers and lightly grip things. He had to remember not to slug anyone with his left. His shoulder was still another matter altogether. He didn’t have full mobility and couldn’t put any of his weight on his left arm, but it would come back. He needed more time.

“Feeling better?”

Lucas’s head jerked up to find Andrei standing in the open doorway, his hands shoved into the pockets of his dark slacks, looking somewhat unsure of whether he should be standing there.

“Getting there,” Lucas replied, a wry grin lifting his lips. “Melissa pack you a tie?”

Andrei nodded. “Hot date tonight and need a driver?”

Lucas snorted and shook his head. “I think not. I wouldn’t put it past you to follow Rowe’s orders to the letter.”

“I may be willing to slide the condoms and lube under the door and pretend not to listen.” Andrei grinned, clearly remembering the argument from the hospital.

“Go get dressed,” Lucas ordered, fighting not to laugh. “We’re heading out.”

“Destination?”

“Rialto. If I’m out in public, Ian might stop checking on me.”

Lucas didn’t miss the skeptical look on Andrei’s face as he turned away and headed down the hall to the guest bedroom. Yeah, it was probably unlikely Ian would stop checking on him—Ian liked to take care of his close friends. And in truth, Lucas looked forward to the young man’s visits, even though he already had a week’s worth of food packed in his fridge.