Total pages in book: 149
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 703(@200wpm)___ 562(@250wpm)___ 469(@300wpm)
The main house was chaos. There were contractors all over, but Jack Barnes didn’t want an inch of his office touched so at least they had this space to work in. And honestly, he didn’t mind since there was no receptionist downstairs or possible friends walking in because they happened to be having lunch downtown. It made it easier for him to rail his gorgeous girlfriend during breaks.
He was pretty sure Keane did the same when she went out to bring him his afternoon snack.
She sighed and sat up. “Nope. I have to deal with him. I wish Anna hadn’t retired. She was easy to get along with.” She moved to the other desk in the room and sat down in the chair and shuffled through the papers there. “What do you want me to do about Gladen?”
At least she was asking. It showed she was starting to trust him professionally. He hadn’t lied to her. He wanted to work with her. He loved her sharp mind. They’d had some spirited debates that ended in the playroom, which luckily Gabe hadn’t torn down yet. He was working on a custom bed that had to be put together in the space since it was too big to get through the doors. So the playroom was mostly functional and empty at night. Which was good because Olivia’s friends had taken over her place.
“Let me handle the rest of it. I assume the notes you took weren’t completely destroyed by the fire.” She was too smart to only have one copy.
“Of course. I typed them up, and the pictures I took are on my cell phone,” she replied.
“Good,” he said.
“What’s good?” Scott stood in the doorway.
Garrett wondered how long he’d been standing there in his perfectly pressed suit. “I was just saying it’s good that Olivia is always prepared. Mr. Whittiker, why don’t you come in and we can get started.”
Scott looked around. “This room hasn’t changed. It looks exactly the same. Except a few new pictures. Is that Lexi’s youngest? Did he actually graduate?”
He moved to the picture of the O’Malley family that hung on the wall along with pictures of Josh and Grim and Nicole and numerous photos. There was a wistful expression on his face as though he was remembering a time when he might have been in those pictures.
Olivia leaned against the desk. “Yeah, we were happy Roan managed to get through. Not that he’s not smart. He’s too smart, but he likes the ladies a bit much.”
“Tell me something—did Jack ever get the job he wanted?” Scott asked like he was merely an old friend asking about her family.
“To his family’s horror, yes,” Olivia said and looked to Garrett. “He’s talking about my oldest nephew, who is barely younger than me. My brother-in-law was sure Jack would follow in his namesake’s footsteps and take over the ranch one day. Jack changed his major in college from agricultural studies to criminology and joined the FBI. My brother-in-law likes to think of himself as an outlaw. Aidan’s not, but the whole fed thing threw him for a loop.”
Garret nodded. “Yes, he talks about his wayward son a lot.”
“Jack O’Malley in the FBI,” Scott said with a shake of his head as his brilliant smile faded. “I never realized how much I missed your family.”
“I’m sure they miss you, too. Maybe you should call up my father and ask him to lunch the next time you’re in Dallas.”
His baby was so mean.
“I think I’ll do that,” Scott agreed, and then seemed to get serious. “Are you okay?”
Olivia’s brows rose. “I’m fine.”
“I had to ask. You look tired,” Scott said.
Asshole. He knew exactly what the other man was doing. Negging. It was the asshole’s way to try to take a woman’s confidence so he had the upper hand in the relationship. He was about to say something when Olivia pointedly yawned and waved the fucker off.
“It’s hard to keep up with two ridiculously hot Doms,” she admitted. “They keep me up all night.”
He chuckled. He should have known she didn’t need him to put a dude in his place. Luckily he knew exactly where his place was with this woman. “Sorry, baby. I would promise to let you sleep tonight but I probably won’t.”
Scott’s disdain showed briefly. “So you’re still playing at that dominance stuff, are you? I always worried about you being in that world. I know your parents are in it, but they’re committed. It has to be dangerous doing that stuff with people you don’t know well. And this is your Dom?”
Garrett would have answered that differently a few days before, but he was totally comfortable now. It was funny how a couple of good nights made everything seem possible. “That would be Keane, though I do top her, too. I’ve recently come to learn I’m a switch. It’s been a revelation.”