7. Knox
KNOX
I walk into Bennett’s office without knocking and shut the door behind me. He doesn’t look up from his computer. “How’s Audrey?”
I grin. Of course that’s the first thing he asks. “Settling into her office.”
That gets his attention. He leans back in his chair. “She like it?”
I shrug. “She thinks it’s too much.”
He chuckles. “Of course she does.”
I walk over and drop into the chair across from his desk. “She said she feels safe here, though, so that’s good.”
Bennett nods. “She is safe here.”
I nod. “Yeah.”
Right now, that’s the most important thing to both of us. We want Audrey safe.
Bennett reaches for a folder on his desk and slides it toward me. “I took care of the apartment.”
I open it and look through the paperwork. “What do you mean?”
“I paid off the rest of the lease.”
I glance up at him. “She know?”
He shakes his head. “No.”
I whistle softly. “She’s going to love that.”
He gives me a look. “She doesn’t need to worry about it.”
“No, but you know she’s going to.”
He shrugs like it doesn’t matter. “She can be pissed at me all she wants, but at least she won’t have that lease hanging over her head.”
I close the folder. That’s Bennett. He fixes things, and he’s been like that for as long as I’ve known him. “What about the apartment itself?”
“I have men going through it now. Anything that can be saved will be brought to the house. The rest can be replaced.”
I nod.
We sit in silence for a few seconds, and then Bennett pushes another paper toward me. “I changed the orders with security.”
I look down at it. “Changed them how?”
“I doubled up security on my parents’ house, Cole and Luna’s, and our house. I made sure every man working for us has been told Audrey is to be treated as a Kingston.”
I look back up at him, and he continues. “She gets the same protection as Mom, Dad, Luna, Cole, you, and me. No exceptions.”
I lean back in the chair and stare at him.
He studies my face. “What?”
I rub a hand over my jaw. “I was thinking about some of the men.”
His expression hardens. “What about them?”
“She’s a Sterling.”
He shrugs. “So?”
I give him a look. “You know exactly what I mean. There are men that have spent years being told the Sterlings are the enemy. Some asshole may do something stupid.”
Bennett goes completely still, and he looks almost lethal. “No one is touching her.”
I nod. “I know that.”
“No.” He leans forward and rests his forearms on the desk. “I mean no one is going to look at her wrong, talk shit to her, threaten her, or put their hands on her. If they do, they answer to me.”
I nod. “And me.”
His eyes meet mine. “Yeah. And you.”
I sit back again. “Hopefully it doesn’t become an issue.”
“It won’t.” His mouth tilts at one side. “Hopefully she won’t be a Sterling much longer anyway.”
I stare at him, and then I laugh. “Wow.”
He tilts his chin. “What?”
I shouldn’t be surprised. When Bennett wants something, he gets it. “You’re already changing her last name?”
He looks me straight in the eye. “Do we need to talk about this?”
I shake my head. “No. You have to get married, and Audrey is perfect… for both of us.”
He looks down at the papers. “I have a meeting with Dad this afternoon.”
I straighten in my seat. “About Audrey?”
He nods, and I can tell that he is a little worried about it. “About everything.”
“Do you want me to go with you?”
He shakes his head. “I think for the time being, either you or I need to be with Audrey at all times.” He pops a shoulder. “Plus, I’m telling him about the changes in the company. I need to tell him about Audrey working here and the orders I gave the men.”
I blow out a breath. Robert is a fair man, but he’s also a Kingston. And Audrey Sterling is the daughter of the man trying to destroy everything he built. “You think he’s going to go for it?”
Bennett meets my eyes. “He doesn’t have to like it.”
I laugh. “That should go over well.”
“He’ll understand. He’s different after Mom came back.”
I nod in agreement. When Eleanor left Robert, his whole world turned upside down. Since she came home, he has been a different man, but I’m not completely sure how he’s going to react to having a Sterling become a Kingston.
Bennett looks at me. “Anything else?”
I try to keep my face blank, but I’m of course thinking about that kiss.
His eyes narrow. “What?”
“I kissed her.”
The file in his hand stops moving. Slowly, he sets it down. “You kissed Audrey?”
I grin. “Yep.”
He stares at me for a second. “And?”
I lean back in the chair and smile. “And it was fuckin’ amazing.”
His expression changes, but it’s not jealousy on his face, it’s interest. “Did she kiss you back?”
I smile widely. “Hell yeah, she kissed me back.”
He leans forward. “What did she say?”
“Not much. She asked about us.”
His forehead creases. “What did you tell her?”
I shake my head. “I told her we’d talk about it soon.”
He lets out a breath and leans back in his chair. “Probably for the best.”
I nod. This isn’t something we can just throw at her. At this point, she knows we both want her, but she doesn’t realize to what extent yet.
I look at Bennett. “You know this is different, right?”
His gaze meets mine. “Yeah.”
“We’ve shared women before.”
He nods and rolls his eyes. “I know. I was there.”
I shake my head. “But this isn’t that.”
He doesn’t even hesitate. “No, this is not the same.”
Worry starts to creep in. “What if she doesn’t say yes?”
Bennett doesn’t look as sure of himself now but still nods. “She’s going to say yes.”
I stand up and head toward the door. Behind me, Bennett calls out, “Where are you going?”
I look back at him. “You’ve got a meeting with your dad.”
“And?”
“And I’m going to check on Audrey.”
He rolls his eyes. “You saw her ten minutes ago.”
I open the door. “A lot can happen in ten minutes. Especially when Audrey Sterling is involved.”