50. Lexy
LEXY
Thorn’s cooking dinner, and I’m setting the table, Gage and Kai helping me. “How’s everything going with the new location?” I ask them. I’m curious whether they’ve clued in to the tension Ember reported between her and the men.
“They stopped by the main location the other night, actually,” Kai says.
Something about the way he says it puts me on alert. “Who did? All of them?”
“Just the guys,” Gage says, repositioning the centerpiece on our table slightly.
“Huh.” I try to sound nonchalant. “Just to say hi, or?—”
“They were worried about Ember.”
I look at Kai sharply. “Worried about her? In what sense?”
“A client over there lodged a complaint about her,” he says.
I suck in a breath. “Oh, no.”
“They said it was bullshit,” Gage adds. “They were pretty pissed off at the suggestion that she’s not doing a good job. They also said the client—who happens to be a woman, and who, according to them, has been flirting with all three of them—is jealous of Ember.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “You don’t say.”
“Okay, Lex.” Kai folds his arms, smiling indulgently. “We know you had lunch with her recently. What did she say?”
Dammit. I don’t want to get Ember in trouble. “What she said was that the guys are really getting on her nerves.”
He and Gage exchange glances. “But you don’t believe her,” Gage says.
I sigh. “Look, I know you don’t want employees dating.”
“We instituted that policy for a reason,” Kai says.
“And it makes sense.” I look between them. “But you also know that the heart wants what it wants.”
He nods. “So you think they’re involved and trying to keep it quiet.”
“I don’t know anything for sure,” I say. “But if that turned out to be the case, I wouldn’t be all that shocked. Or even surprised.”
“If they’re just screwing around, that’s one thing,” Gage says. “But if it’s serious …”
“I can talk to Ava,” I say. “See if she knows anything more.”
“Good idea.” He tugs me close with an arm around my waist and kisses me lightly. “Thanks, babe.”
“Food’s ready,” Thorn announces, and we move to help him get it on the table. But a corner of my mind is already planning my call to Ava.