I was still blinking uncomprehendingly, even as a voice in the back of my mind was dancing a jig because she was right – problem solved. If I had to have someone in my space 24/7 without worrying about them violating my trust, it would be Morgan’s sister.
There has to be a catch.
On first run-through, I could not think of any. Still, I leaned back in my chair, face closed. “Well…” I picked up the blank check and handed it to her. “You’ve certainly earned your fee. Now I think we should both consult our lawyers to see how to best go about this. Why don’t we reconvene on Tuesday for final talks?”
She looked down at the check and then back at me. “I don’t want your money.”
I leaned forward, holding her gaze. “See? That’s where you go wrong. Always know your worth and the value of your ideas. Make people work for them. Barring any huge stumbling blocks, you’ve solved a major hassle of mine that will earn me a lot of money. Take your cut in good faith. If you don’t want to spend it, you can always give it to charity.”
She blinked at me slowly as if seeing me for the first time and then folded the check and put it in the pocket of her sweatpants. “Fine. But in that case, you made a big mistake leaving it blank.”
That surprised a bark of laughter out of me. “Do your worst, Innes.”
Her thick elegant brow quirked in a very attractive way, cat eyes staring at me in hazel suspicion. They somehow managed not to look incongruous above her freckle-covered button nose. She looked like a little gangster fairy. Not that I would ever say that to her face. She’d probably cut me if I tried.
Getting to her feet, she nodded to me and then high-fived her brother before leaving without another word. I watched her go and then turned to find Morgan watching me. He shook his head. “This better not get messy, Dom.”
I lifted my hands in surrender. “Hey, I’m the innocent party remember. Your sister is the one who came up with the idea.”
“Yeah, and you are way too enthusiastic about it.”
I considered my friend objectively. “So would it really be so bad if we…”
“If you what?”
“If we got together.”
Morgan’s eyes narrowed. “You mean as in a serious relationship or a fling?”
“Morgan, come on, she’s your sister. You think I’d have a fling with her?”
Fuck him for having to think about it. “Well, no. I guess not. But that girl is prickly and I don’t even blame her. You better take her slow.”
“Yeah, I know. Treat her like a lady.”
Morgan snorted. “I don’t know about that. She might take it the wrong way.”
“Man, no offense, but your sister takes everything the wrong way.”
His mouth twisted before he conceded the point. “True. I’ll still be obligated to kick your ass if you hurt her.”
“Duly noted,” I replied drily, my mind still boggling at the fact that we were discussing me and Nico…together. Who’d a thunk it? Certainly not me.
Morgan leaned in, his face as serious as I’d ever seen it. “I mean it, Dom. This is meant to be a business arrangement, right? You get a wife, she gets some leverage, you both get what you want. This isn’t some game.”
I met his eyes and nodded slowly. “Hey, I got it okay. No game. Strictly business.”
Morgan nodded once in return. “Good, cause the last thing that girl needs in her life is confusion. And I know you’d treat her with respect but, man, let’s face it. You go through women like tissue paper and-”
I reached out and closed my hand around his wrist. Me and Morgan spent a lot of time together, but we didn’t touch much. So I knew that would get him to shut up. “Hey, Morgan, it’s me. Remember? I was there when you cried about having to leave Nico behind. I was there when you finally got her out. I’d sooner slash the tires off my bike than hurt her.”
Morgan winced at my words, but his shoulders relaxed. “Yeah, okay. Sorry, I just…”
“No, I get it. Kid gloves. Besides, I could probably get Paris to do it. She loves to be engaged. But clearly, this could be of benefit to Nico as well, so if I can help her out, why not? This grant is real important to her right?”
“Yeah.” Morgan grinned. “She’s always muttering under her breath about it when I see her. Talking to herself about the project she has to submit. That’s when she’s not complaining about this Danna girl and her privilege.”
“Hey, you know if there’s someone I can talk to…”
“Nah. Nico’d kill us if she thought we tried that shit. Hey, if your name is enough to get her foot in the door, I guess that’s what we’re doing. But you’re good with this?”
“Hey, I am great. I have a wife who is a scientist, out here saving the world? I’d like to see Roman compete with that.”
“And it doesn’t look so fake because you’ve known her forever. Hell, we could even say you’ve been seen out and about with all those ladies because you were keeping her on the down-low.”
I thought about that for a minute and then frowned. “Nah…let’s not do that unless someone asks. Those ladies might feel some type of way if they thought they were just being used like that.”
Morgan smirked, dapping my shoulder with his closed fist. “Look at you. Considering everyone’s feelings.”
“I am a regular down-home golden-hearted bad boy,” I declaimed dramatically.
Morgan snorted with derision, getting to his feet. “Come on, let’s get going. I need you to drop me off at Nico’s just so I can make sure she’s really good with all of this.”
I stood up as well. “Yeah, okay.”
We walked to the car, not saying much to each other. I
