Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

She gave him a half-hearted glare, not in the mood to spar, and his handsome face softened. Out of the three siblings, Hughie had received more than his fair share of good looks. He had their mother’s elegant nose, while Miles and Vicki had been gifted—cursed?—with their father’s oversized honker. Hugh and Miles both had fantastic hair, black and thick, with just a hint of a wave, as opposed to Vicki’s riotous curls. Hugh also had perfect eyebrows as well as perfectly sculpted facial features. It was annoying to have a brother who had always been considered prettier than Vicki when they were kids. And that hadn’t changed much in adulthood.

“You’re done in, Swish,” Hugh said, using her high school nickname. She had earned it for being a more than passably good netball player, despite her lack of height. His voice had softened in genuine sympathy. “Get a decent night’s sleep, and you can go back to conquering the kingdom of flowers in the morning.”

She pushed to her feet and offered him a smile before trudging upstairs. After a wonderfully relaxing bubble bath, she fell into bed with a contented sigh. Her last—very disturbing—thought before falling asleep was to wonder if Ty was equally tired, or if he had found his second wind after dropping her off at home. Was he out right now? Having a laugh with his friends and lover? Happy to be shot of his responsibility toward Vicki?

The thought saddened her, and she irrationally wished she were the one with whom he wanted to spend his free time.

That deeply unhappy notion followed her into a restless sleep.

“Who’s the little fella?” Ty asked his boss and friend, Sam Brand, the following Thursday morning. Brand and Colby Campbell had Zoomed Ty for their weekly meeting. The meetings were generally casual, and Brand didn’t always join them. Ty didn’t go into head office much, since his hours revolved around Vicki’s, but it was imperative to touch base with Colby regularly.

Brand’s ultra laidback attire attested to the relaxed nature of the meeting. The boss was sporting two-day old stubble, wearing a wrinkled sweatshirt, and had an unfamiliar black-haired toddler perched on his lap. The cute little guy—who looked about a year old—grinned gummily at the camera, showing off his four teeth, and his plump hands kept reaching for the screen. Brand, looking a little harassed, gently grabbed hold of the baby’s hands.

“This is Lia’s nephew, Connor. Lia’s sister, Daff, and her husband, Spencer—” Ty knew Spencer, he had met him briefly a couple of years ago. “—Are on a long weekend getaway for her birthday, and Lia offered our babysitting services.” His lips twisted wryly before he continued. “And subsequently abandoned Connor and me in favor of work this morning.”

Brand didn’t look too bothered by the fact that his fiancée had left him to fend for himself with the baby. In fact, despite looking a little tired, he seemed to be enjoying the task.

“Which means that Connor will be sitting in on our meeting today. Right, Con? You’re my right-hand man, yeah?” He quite unexpectedly dropped a kiss on top of the baby’s downy head, his affection for the kid more than evident. It was always startling to witness how much their eat-nails-for-breakfast boss had changed over the last couple of years. Ty’s eyes slanted across the screen to Colby’s face, and the woman was doing her best to stifle a grin.

“Right, so…anything new to report, Chambers?” Colby asked tamping her amusement, and settling into business immediately. Colby Campbell had been the proverbial fish out of water when Brand had first dumped her into the deep end, and basically ordered her to run their London branch. She had been a nerdy accountant with no real feel for the job, happy to hide out in her office, and never face the tough as nails men and women Brand suddenly wanted her to manage. In the end, she had stepped up, and now happily bossed them all around in her breathy Marilyn Monroe voice, usually with a sweet smile on her dimpled, cherubic face.

She had a backbone of steel though, despite her comfortable curves, mumsy clothes, and winter knitting projects. She had gone so far as to take Krav Maga lessons with their resident expert, Job—who had been determined not to make it easy on her—and she’d managed to impress even that surly bastard with her can-do stickwithitness.

“I briefly lost sight of my principal on Saturday night. I thought she’d given me the slip,” he reluctantly informed Colby, and Brand went from slouching in his chair to upright in seconds, startling the baby who gave an alarmed cry. Brand absently calmed Connor by massaging his back in soothing circular motions, but his piercing blue eyes were staring straight into camera.

“Lost sight of her, how?” he barked.