Colin #2
“Dummy up,” Trevor muttered, and I looked up to see one more complication coming through the door, looking stormy.
“Brace,” I muttered as Xander came to a stop when he saw everyone.
“What the ever-living fuck are you all doing?” he bellowed, and I could tell from the type of anger that he was not having a good day. “Don’t you have fucking jobs to do?”
“Well, hi there, Big Boss,” I called and ignored the way he glared at me. He hated when I used that nickname in front of others. It wasn’t like anyone knew he practically popped a boner when I said it. “I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing, showing the new guy around.”
He snorted. “And you have to have a meeting in the process?”
“We were many here,” I said with a shrug. “I’m sorry, should I make sure that coincidence doesn’t look suspicious when you’re in a foul mood? I’ll have to take that up with God, though. He might be busy.”
He gritted his teeth. “Say your fucking hellos and get back to work before I break my foot in your ass?”
“Promise?” I asked, and while I felt everyone else go tense, I grinned when he jabbed a finger in my direction and left the way he came.
I didn’t know why he had come in, but I knew he was going to think about something in my ass until I found him later.
Well, and he clearly didn’t trust himself to make a better introduction to Aidan if he wasn’t going to stick around.
“You…are either brave or suicidal,” Reno said, looking impressed. “Boss is in one hell of a mood. Has been since I saw him.”
Interesting. His mood had been fine last night. Which meant he had probably woken up to some bad news.
“I’m not scared of him,” I said with a shrug. “Mika?”
“Yes?” he asked stiffly, still eyeing Aidan.
“Can whatever you need wait?”
“Yes.”
“Alright, beat feet and get back to what you were doing. Jake, clean up whatever you just helped Reno fuck up, and Reno…give Aidan here the rest of the tour while I make sure our mild-mannered boss doesn’t kill someone.”
“What? Why me?” Reno asked in alarm and then looked at Aidan. “I mean, no offense or anything, but…I kinda share the face of the guy you looked like you were going to murder.”
“But he doesn’t want to murder you,” I pointed out as Mika slipped away without a sound. “And you know we can’t trust Jake to do it; he forgets where he is half the time.”
“It’s true,” Jake said, rolling with the exaggeration.
“And Trevor, love you, buddy and all, but if we make him give the tour, he’ll use up his word allotment for the month, and then where will we be?” I asked and cocked my head. “Unless you wanna go make sure Xander isn’t about to burn something down?”
“Oh, hell no, I’ll take my brother’s angry ex,” Reno said, and winced. “Shit, I’m so sorry.”
“No,” Aidan said with a snort. “I’m his ex, and I am pissed. But you’re safe, I promise. You don’t look like him.”
“We’re literally identical,” Reno pointed out as I pointed Jake back toward the garage, who huffed and did as I told him.
“In looks, but you don’t make the same stupid expressions he does,” Aidan said, then faced me. “I promise I can be professional; this won’t be a problem.”
“You’re getting a free pass because it’s obvious no one was expecting this,” I said, thinking there had to be one hell of a loaded history. “But make sure this doesn’t bleed into the work, alright? Be awkward and weird about it for a bit, but don’t spread any shit.”
“Promise,” he said with a nod. “And you can throw me in the back of the truck and make sure Jake hits every bump on the way back if I don’t.”
“Can I?” Jake asked brightly.
“No!” I called back and sighed. “But I get your point. I’ll catch up with you guys later, alright?”
“Better you than me,” Reno muttered, reaching out before stopping. “Probably shouldn’t touch you…shit, this is weird for me. I dunno how you’re dealing with it.”
“Hmm, you single?” Aidan asked, and I sighed at the deviousness I could sense coming from him.
“And straight,” Reno said. “Even if I wasn’t, I’m not helping you get revenge on my brother…not that kind of revenge, anyway. But if you tell me what he did, I might give you a list of approved revenge I’m willing to help with.”
“What in the Days of Our Lives is going on out here?” Cait asked, her door snapping open and her sharp eyes meeting mine.
“More like Dante’s Cove,” I muttered, rubbing my brow and pushing Trevor away when I heard him chuckle. “Go eat your lunch, asshole.”
“I don’t know what that is,” Cait said, smirking at me. “Good job.”
“Don’t,” I groaned. “I can’t even be mad at myself. How the fuck was I supposed to know that was going to happen?”
“You didn’t, which is why I said good job, you handled it well,” she said with a shake of her head. “Always nice to see someone other than me deals with these little shits better than Xander.”
“He does alright when he’s not ready to rip someone’s head off,” I said with a sigh. “Speaking of—”
“You’re brave, trying to talk to him when he’s like this.”
“Well, he’s going to need to show his face to Aidan, so I might as well see if it’s possible today or if we have to wait until next week.”
She chuckled. “Depends on what’s got his panties in a twist, but if it’s what I think it is—”
I thought about the few, very few comments he’d made about his divorce and sighed. “If we’re thinking the same thing, it’s going to be next week.”
She stared at me, her voice dropping. “He told you?”
“Very little,” I emphasized, because I didn’t need her to get the wrong idea.
I mean, it was closer to the right idea because there was a lot more going on between him and me than just coworkers, but…
well, it was best if no one even brushed against the possibility of the idea. “Was kind of an accident.”
“Huh,” she said as if she didn’t know what to do with that information.
And since I didn’t know what to do with her reaction, I nodded at her. “On that note, I’m going to go hunt him down.”
“Shouldn’t be hard, just follow the sounds of yelling,” she said with a roll of her eyes and closed her office door.
A wave of affection for her passed over me, and I went outside, looking around for any potential damage to the property. What I found instead was a faint smell that shouldn’t have been in the woods, and I’d only smelled it a couple of times before, on Xander.
Cigar smoke.
It took me a few minutes to find him standing further along the path and just off to the side, sitting on a fallen tree and puffing away at the cigar. I was amused to see there was a flask in his hand as well, and when he stared at me, I winked and approached.
“Not in the mood,” he grumbled.
“No offense or anything,” I told him as I sat next to him, plucking the flask from him and taking a sniff.
“But everyone can tell you’re in a mood today.
Don’t worry, I made sure Aidan is distracted and off with Reno for the rest of the tour until I pick it up later. Hopefully, that doesn’t get too weird.”
He frowned. “Reno’s not that bad, so, is the new guy?”
“Ugh,” I took a drink from his flask and handed it back, taking the cigar from him next and enjoying the growl he made. “Well, it seems there’s history between Aidan and Mika. Not exactly sure what, but they’re exes.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?” he demanded, sounding annoyed to the limit.
I could see his curiosity, though, and decided to indulge it. “Nope. Still not sure what the history is, but neither of them expected to see the other, and it was real awkward when he saw Reno first.”
He watched me puff on the cigar. “Why?”
“Because it seems that while their relationship was a big enough deal for some drama after not seeing each other for a while,” I said, handing it back to him and letting the smoke drift from my mouth.
Not my favorite, but smoking had never been something I’d enjoyed.
Still, it was smooth. “It apparently wasn’t a big enough deal for Mika to have told Aidan that his brother was, in fact, an identical twin. ”
Xander paused. “But he saw Reno first?”
“Yeppers.”
“Shit, that had to be weird.”
“As hell. Worst part?”
“There’s worse?”
“Yeah, I guess Reno knew about Aidan, or at least knew he was a former boyfriend and could almost remember his last night.”
“Jesus,” Xander muttered, letting out a disbelieving cough of a laugh. “What the fuck kind of douchebaggery has Mika gotten up to? He always seemed so levelheaded and reasonable.”
“People can be so goddamn smart in their life, and then so unbelievably stupid with certain parts…usually their love life,” I said with a shrug, sliding my hand down his thigh and squeezing just above his knee.
“Quit,” he muttered, nudging my arm, but not hard.
“I’m not being a perv,” I told him. “Your dick is big, but not so big it dangles down here.”
“Stop,” he said, but I didn’t miss the way he fought and barely won against the smile that tried to form on his face.
“Nah, I like groping your thighs.”
“I thought you said you weren’t being a perv.”
“I’m not. I can’t help it if your thighs could break skulls and when I touch them, even trying to be a little affectionate, I think about how I want my face between them.”
“So you’re just being horny.”
“Haven’t you noticed? I’m horny by default. Being around you just makes it worse.”
“Don’t blame me.”
“Blame? I’m giving credit here.”
“You’re like a horny teenager.”
“I know, right? Everyone swore it was supposed to get easier when I got older, but it hasn’t changed at all. All that’s changed is that in the absence of sex, I’m not constantly seeking it.”
“It comes back in your forties.”
I smirked. “So I’m going to get hornier?”
“God save everyone if that happens,” he groaned. “I’m barely able to keep up as it is.”
“You keep up just fine,” I chuckled, leaning against him.