“I love, um, I love talking to you, Firecracker. Now get some rest.”
“G’night,” she whispers softly and hangs up.
I stare at my phone.
Still smiling.
Then I walk back into the conference room.
“Everything okay?” Adrik asks.
“Yeah.”
“What was urgent?”
I sit down.
“Uh, well, the whole school thinks I'm engaged.”
Noel falls out of his chair.
Ego starts laughing.
Jack closes his eyes.
Less grins.
The rest of the powerful men gathered in the room—the married ones—they all just grunt and nod approvingly.
And somewhere deep inside, I realize something.
The idea doesn't sound half bad.
Maybe I should tell her in the morning.
“Okay, let’s make a plan,” Remy Falco says, and my focus is back on the task at hand.
The quicker I get Jonas and his shithead scheme squared away and solve the fundraising issue, the happier Mary will be.
And then maybe we can talk about us.
Unfortunately, I don't see Mary the next morning.
Or the next day.
Or the day after that.
Because for the last seventy-two hours, I've been sitting in an unmarked SUV three blocks behind Arben Sarkisian.
Surveillance only.
No contact.
No confrontation.
No punching.
Which honestly feels unfair.