Chapter 45
forty-five
A silly grin spreads across my face as I snuggle onto the couch with my laptop. It’s been less than forty-eight hours and I can still feel the ghost of Logan’s dick anytime I sit a certain way.
I open my laptop and navigate over to Face Time for my weekly video chat with Ari and Mia. They’re going to lose their minds when I tell them everything that’s happened.
A ping sounds as the call connects. Ari’s face fills half my screen, black hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, blue eyes sharp as ever. Mia pops up in the other half, blonde waves flowing around her shoulders as she waves at the camera enthusiastically.
“What up, bish!” Ari grins, leaning in to squint at me through the screen. “You look all glowy and shit.” She gasps. “OMG! You got laid, didn’t you?!”
Hell’s bells. If Ari’s colleagues could hear the way she is outside of the courtroom, they’d think she’d been taken over by aliens. My friend can switch her personalities off and on like a freaking light switch.
“Fucks sake, Ri. Good morning to you too,” I laugh, brushing a strand of hair away from my face.
Mia leans in close to the camera, tilting her head. “Oh my God, she did!” she squeals, clapping her hands. “Tell us everything! How’s it been working with Logan as your boss?”
As soon as I found out Logan was going to be my boss at LFSR, I told my friends. And of course, they freaked out. What I haven’t told them is how Brex is working with me too, including what happened with him and the near miss with the tree.
“Okay, okay, hold on,” I say, tucking my legs underneath me. “It’s not just Logan.”
Ari’s eyebrows shoot up. “Wait. What? Did you meet someone else?”
“Actually...” I bite my lip, giving them a sheepish look. “Brex is kind of here too?”
Mia’s mouth falls open while Ari—being the crazy friend she is—smirks.
“Brex. As in... the hot blond you ghosted in Portland?” Mia asks.
“Yeah.” I nod, heat creeping up my neck.
Ari blinks rapidly. “Holy shit. The universe sure is something else, isn’t she?”
“Yep,” I grin.
“Come on, then,” Mia says waving a hand in the air. “Tell us everything.”
I take a deep breath and launch into my story, starting with how over protective Logan has been despite the boundaries he’d set.
His reaction at the gala when I danced with Alan, what went down in his office, and after he brought me home.
By the time I’m finished, both of my friends are staring at me with their jaws unhinged.
“Well… shit.” Mia is shaking her head with a small smile. “I’m happy for you. So what are you going to do? Date both of them?”
“Not sure.” I shrug. “Pretty sure they both want to be with me? But this whole thing with Logan is new. And Brex… well…”
I tell them about what happened with the tree and how Brex saved me, then kissed me senseless. About how it was his idea to mess with Logan at the gala.
“Jesus, Rey! You almost died, and you didn’t tell us?” Mia exclaims.
Ari’s expression is furious. “Not cool.”
“I know.” I shrink back against the couch. “I didn’t want to worry you.”
“Look, we get it. Your job is dangerous,” Mia’s voice softens. “But don’t go holding out on us. We’re your besties, which means we’ve earned the right to know these things.”
“Sorry.”
“Either way, girl,” Ari exclaims. “You’ve got it bad. Sounds like they do, too.”
“I hope so.” I snuggle further into the couch. “On that note… Brex’s brother Dex is looking for a defense attorney.”
Ari perks up. “Why?”
“Seems he’s been getting into fights outside of the ring. He’s an MMA fighter.”
“Hold up. Are you talking about Dexter Saint?”
My laptop tips to the side as I sit up in surprise. “Yeah,” I answer, shifting its position back in my lap. “You’ve heard of him?”
“Who hasn’t?” Mia pipes up.
Ari leans back in her chair, crossing her arms over her chest with a knowing grin. “Oh, I’ve heard of him, alright. Heard plenty about him, too.”
“From who?” I ask.
“Couple of colleagues at the firm. One of them worked with the attorney who just quit on him.” She rolls her eyes.
“Apparently, the guy’s a grade-A asshole.
Like, next-level difficult. Refuses to listen to legal advice, shows up late to meetings.
Rumor has it he once threw a chair across the room during a deposition. ”
My stomach sinks. “Seriously?”
“Dead serious. My friend said his last lawyer walked out mid-case and told the partners he’d rather lose his license than ‘deal with that asshole any longer.’” Ari snorts, using finger quotes. “So yeah, I can see why he’s having trouble finding representation.”
“Shit.” I chew on my bottom lip. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, then?”
“Wait.” Mia holds up a hand. “Ari, you’re not actually considering taking him on, are you?”
A familiar fire ignites behind Ari’s eyes as they narrow. The same fire that got her through law school while working two jobs and sleeping four hours a night. The same fire that makes her absolutely terrifying in a courtroom.
“Are you kidding me?” She leans in, face filling the screen. “Difficult clients are practically my specialty. The bigger the asshole, the more I want to put them in their place. Plus.” She pauses, a slow grin spreading across her face. “I’ve actually been to a few of his fights.”
My jaw drops. “You have?”
“Hell yeah. I’ve been an MMA fan since college.
My dad used to take me to fights when I was a kid.
” She waves a dismissive hand in the air.
“The guy’s a beast in the ring. Undefeated in his weight class for what, two years now?
Outside of it, though...” She trails off, shaking her head. “Total train wreck.”
“Since when do you watch MMA?” Mia chimes in.
I shake my head. “And how did we not know about this?”
“Since forever. You know that framed poster in my office, Mia? The one you said looked like a motivational poster for a gym?”
“The one with the hot, ripped Adonis standing in the middle of an octagon looking up at the camera?”
“Yas, girl! That’s Dex Saint,” Ari laughs. “And he’s got a huge fight coming up next month. Some title defense against that Russian dude—Kazakov or whatever his name is. It’s all over the sports blogs.”
I gawk at my friend who’s beaming at me through the screen. Of all the things I expected from this conversation, this wasn’t it.
“So you’re telling me,” I say slowly, “not only do you know who Dex is, but you’re actually a fan?”
“Of his fighting, yeah. His personality? Not so much.” She shrugs. “But that’s what makes it interesting. I already know his fighting style, his record, his tendencies in the ring. Knowing his background could actually be useful if I were to represent him.”
Eyebrows raised, Mia and I exchange a knowing look.
“Oh, no,” Ari squawks. “Don’t you two get any ideas.”
“You like him,” Mia and I say together.
“No.” Ari shakes her head emphatically. “Nope.” She rolls her eyes toward the ceiling. “Never in a million years would I even think about going there.”
Mia and I raise an eyebrow.
“Fine,” Ari throws her hands in the air. “Maybe I fantasize about him when I get myself off. But that’s it.”
“Are you going to his fight next month?” Mia wonders.
“Wouldn’t miss it.” Her face lights up. “Hey you two should come! Rey, you could even ask Brex if he wants to go. That way we can hang out. I miss you.”
“We miss you,” Mia smiles.
“I miss you guys too.” I glance at Mia. “What about you? Do you think you can make it?”
Her face falls, and she scrunches her nose. “Ugh, I can’t. I’m going to be in Vegas that weekend. My brother is playing in some big poker tournament at the Bellagio. I promised I’d be there to cheer him on.”
“Brex has a brother who plays poker too. Ace.”
“No. Way.”
“What?” Ari and I ask.
“Ace Saint is my brother’s rival!” Mia squeals out a laugh. “They’ve been going head-to-head for a few years now. My brother talks about him constantly. Says he’s the only player who’s ever consistently gotten under his skin.”
My mind whirls at what is looking a lot like a ‘Six Degrees of Keven Bacon’ situation. “So your brother and Brex’s brother are poker enemies?”
“Meh. More like frenemies,” Mia clarifies, waving her hand. “They respect each other. But oh my God, the trash talk between them is legendary. My brother came home from a tournament last year absolutely fuming because Ace bluffed him out of a six-figure pot.”
Ari chuckles, shaking her head. “These coincidences are getting a little ridiculous. First you run into your guys twice in one weekend, only to run into Brex again months later in Portland. Now Logan is your freakin’ boss and you’re working with Brex too.”
“Right?” Mia laughs. “Not only that, your guy and my brother’s rival are related to one of Rey’s guys.”
“Hold up,” Ari says, shaking her head. “Dex is not my guy.”
“Whatever you say, Ri,” Mia shrugs.
“Right?” I sigh. “Small world.”
“Too small,” Mia agrees, still looking a little stunned. “So are there any other brothers we should know about?”
“Just Rune. Brex said he’s a bodyguard for high profile people. At least that’s what he told me when we were hanging out in Portland.”
Ari taps her chin, eyes glinting with mischief. “So let me get this straight. You’re sleeping with Mia’s brother’s poker rival’s brother’s best friend?”
“Jesus.” I drop my head back against the couch with a groan. “When you put it like that, it sounds insane.”
“That’s cuz it is,” Ari cackles. “And I love it.”
“Have you slept with Brex yet?” Mia asks.
“No.”
“Why the fuck not?” Ari crows.
“I mean, he’s been sneaking into my room at night at the station. But he hasn’t tried anything since he kissed me in the woods.”
Gonna keep the finger-banging-till-I fell-asleep part to myself.
Mia sighs. “Are you having bad dreams again, sweetie?”
“More than I was, yeah. But when he’s with me, I don’t.”
“Awww!” my friends mock pout.
“Okay, okay.” I sit up. “So the fight is next month. Ari, you’re definitely going. Mia, you’re out because of Vegas. I’ll talk to Brex about it and see if we can make a weekend of it?”
“Absolutely,” Ari nods, already pulling out her phone. “I’ll send you the details. Tickets are going fast, so we should grab them soon.”