Chapter 12
CREW
“You good so far?” I ask Serena the next day.
It was on the tip of my tongue to offer to meet her in the parking garage and walk with her into the building.
Then I thought better of it, hearing her say no because of a question I asked and already knew the answer to would be stupid.
There’s also the fact that she has something to prove.
Todd’s her uncle, and while she blew my self-imposed rules out of the water, that still doesn’t mean the agreement we came to makes it any fucking easier.
“Yes, why wouldn’t I be?” She looks up from her place at the makeshift desk I had brought in here. As much as I liked hovering behind her or near her, it meant that getting work done became impossible.
“Well, the way your tongue is peeking out, it’s clear you’re deep in thought.
Only making sure you don’t need help with anything.
” My phone keeps going off in my pocket, and I’m about to answer the incessant buzzing.
With my group of friends, they’ll keep me busy for entirely too fucking long.
It’ll only get worse if you don’t respond.
They’ll tag you in the group message thread, which then double alerts you.
“I’m good. Trying to get a certain angle. Do you mind if I pop in a headphone? Sometimes music helps me.” She shrugs her shoulders, probably trying to nail a dimension without my input.
“Not at all. Do whatever you need, sweetheart.” I bend down to kiss the crown of her head, keeping an eye on the doorway.
It’s cracked, but in this place, it doesn’t matter.
People barge in without knocking on the regular.
The work order I put in last week is in the works, and by tomorrow, a new lock should be in place, this one courtesy of Jude.
It’ll be one that you can only unlock with a touch of a fingerprint.
The people I choose to have access to will be logged in the system. Todd will be excluded from that list.
“Thanks, it shouldn’t take me too much longer.”
“Take all the time you need.” I move to the chair in front of my desk, pull my phone out, and take a seat. My eyes go from the phone that has ten plus text messages to Serena. She’s solely focused on the computer, head nodding, fingers tapping, and lips moving.
I pull up the thread, ignoring the missed phone call from Luke, the emails that have piled up from yesterday.
That’s not even counting the work account and all of the other shit I’m sure I need to sift through.
And while I have an assistant, most of this, Mary can’t go through to weed out the junk versus the good, especially in my personal life.
She doesn’t get paid enough to put up with my shit.
Jagger: When do we get to meet the future Mrs. Garrison?
Asher: I figure Luke, Shae, and Coralynn will meet her first.
Luke: Anthony will be with us, if he has anything to say about it.
Tysen: Damn, way to make us feel like the last kid to be picked for a game of kickball. Tough crowd.
Jude: At this point, with as many weddings and babies that are coming, we should get a group rate.
Johnny: They could at least do a buy one, get one free. But yeah, Winnie’s in my ear, wanting to be introduced to Serena.
Asher: Ditto for Lennie. She’s ready to reach out, so share the phone number with the girls. They’ll induct her faster than Luke can deliver a baby.
Jagger: Pretty sure that’s the consensus with all of the girls. Lyric suggests a family dinner on Sunday and will be ticked if Crew doesn’t bring her with him.
Matthew: You realize our women have probably already looked up every social media outlet and know everything there is to know about Serena. Favorite color, meal, and hangout.
Jude: Damn, they’re doing my job for me. Where is the lucky bastard Crew at? Imagine getting to work with your woman, getting her every hour of the day.
Trent: No wonder we’ve yet to meet her. The woman hasn’t been let up for air. Can’t say that I blame him. Kennedy has me the same way.
Asher: Shut the fuck up. I get you’re married to my sister, but I do not ever want to hear about anything that the two of you get up to.
Jagger: Big bro is activated. Keep ‘em coming, Trent.
“Jesus,” I mutter, going through the messages. These fuckers are not going to stop.
“Is everything okay over there? You sound annoyed.” Serena breaks through my thoughts.
“Yeah, the guys are giving me shit. I met with one of them on Saturday, and we discussed the plans we’ve been working on.
His woman, Shae, and her sister, Coralynn, own LITHE.
Anyway, a group this big, word gets around.
It’s a wonder it didn’t happen sooner. They’re chomping at the bit to meet you.
Their women are, too, which also means the kids in the family will as well.
” I take a moment to see what she thinks.
Serena’s poker face isn’t worth shit, she wears her feelings on her sleeve, plus being around her as much as I’ve been, I can read her like a book.
“The same could be said for Talia, my neighbor and friend across the street, Mackie’s mom.
Every day, I’m getting a text or a phone call asking when she’ll get to meet you, and she's pouting that her beloved Boxer will be doing so before her.” She pauses whatever she has playing on her phone and sits back in her chair.
She stretches her back and pushes her chest out.
I’m greeted with the soft swells of her breasts and her puckered nipples.
I bite the inside of my cheek, refraining from getting out of my chair and doing whatever I can with her with the time allotted we have before someone undoubtedly comes in to interrupt.
“Name the time and place, and I’ll be there.”
“This weekend good for you? She’ll be home Saturday morning before her evening shift, which means I’ll be at home for Mackie, too.” She lifts her arms above her head, further stretching.
“That means I get you at my place Friday night?” I abandon my phone. The need to have her close is too damn much. The pull is too damn strong, and I’m too damn weak to deny myself.
“Definitely.” Serena tracks my movement, eyes never leaving mine, and when I make it to her, she tilts her head up as I bring mine down. Our lips meet, and her hand goes to my chest.
“Ahem, sorry to bother.” The kiss is soft and entirely too short, and it’s a good thing, too, because Mary walks in right as it ends. I’ve never pulled back so fast in my life, and all I can hope is that Serena’s cheeks don’t show the blush she’s unable to hide from me.
“No bother at all,” I reply, relaxing my stance and stuffing my hands in my pockets.
“I just wanted to remind you about the conference call in an hour. The other party is in a different time zone, and after having to reschedule them after the last snafu, I’d rather not deal with that problem again.
” Mary keeps my shit set straight, the company I’m doing a set of plans for, on the other hand, not so much.
They’ve been a pain, and I’m about ready to say the hell with them.
“Thank you, I appreciate that.”
“You’re welcome.” Mary disappears as fast as she appeared.
“That was close,” Serena says in a whisper when Mary leaves the room, closing the door softly behind her.
“Probably too close. I’m going to owe her a nice bonus at the end of the year. You still good with meeting the gang soon?” We never finished our discussion from moments ago.
“Of course. This is real, and I want to know everything there is to know about you. What better way than to hear it from your friends? The only way to get the most embarrassing stories is to get them directly from the source.”
“You know what they say about payback, sweetheart,” I say as I snag my phone off the desk and unlock it.
“She’s a bitch? But that’s the fun.” I’m about to respond to the guys when her reply has me shaking my head.
“The minute our relationship is out in the open, I’ll be doing similar, and I’m sure with you being the only child, only girl, only niece, the pictures will be plentiful.” Serena rolls her eyes, pops her headphone back in, and gets back to work.
Me: Glad to see you all are so concerned with my love life. Serena said she’s down to meet everyone. However, we are keeping this quiet from her family for now. So, please feel free not to send out the pigeons as mail carriers.
Jagger: About fuckin’ time.
Asher: Who wants to have it? I’ll tell Lennie to send word to the girls.
Trent: At least we know Crew isn’t a one-minute man.
Jude: Did you just steal a line out of Jag’s book?
Johnny: My place is out. The club can barely handle us as it is, and Seb’s instruments are taking up a lot of floor space at the moment.
Tysen: We can do it here. I’ll run it by Macie.
Matthew: If not, Letty won’t mind hosting.
Me: I’ll leave it up to you. I’ll supply the meat or send money to whomever, or fuck, just get it catered. Our group is only growing. The last time we all got together, we were stuck in the kitchen or at the grill. Then there’s clean-up. Let’s make it easy.
Asher: Fuck, you’re right.
Trent: Maybe the girls can take lead? They all have one of those board deals they’re adding to.
Tysen: Kenny’s gonna smack you upside the head.
Johnny: All of them will.
Jagger: Nah, they’ll get to boss us around. It’s a win-win.
Jude: Shit, between Ronnie and Rory, it’s a never-ending saga in my house of being told what to do.
Me: Okay, wrapping this up. The sooner, the better. Keep me posted, and thanks, guys, I appreciate it.
I back out of the text, move to my computer, and ignore my phone for the rest of the day.
I’ve got enough distractions, the main one being Serena, and I fucking like having her here.
Next week is going to suck something fierce.
I’m going to have to come up with some excuses in order to keep her with me a bit longer.