Tessa pulled her cell phone out, glancing down at the screen. “I think he’s seeing exactly what the rest of the world sees.”
He trusted her, but she was a bodyguard. She’d never done the kind of intelligence work he’d done. “Have you met her?”
Tessa shook her head. “Not exactly. David is helping Lodge’s daughter with her Spanish. He’s got a group together, and they meet at Lodge’s penthouse. Vanessa was there with Lodge’s wife, and she seemed…sad, a little lost. I don’t know, but she’s not the same person you see on TV.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” he promised. “And don’t worry about me. I’m not walking into this with my shields down. Trust me. They’re completely up. It won’t be the first time I’ve dealt with a woman who’s interested in my family money.”
She frowned and slid her phone back into her pocket. “And that’s precisely why I’m worried you’re wrong for this op. You made the first mistake in thinking I’m worried about your safety. I’m worried for hers. She’s been through a lot, including losing her sister a few months ago.”
He didn’t like the way the words made him feel, but she was ignoring some realities. “We’re not here to do the best thing for her. We’re here to do what our client needs.”
“And he’s here.” Tessa started for the door. “Please tell Tag I’m bringing him up now.”
“Make sure the sunlight doesn’t hit him,” Tag called out from the doorway.
“I will be sure to tell him you care,” Tessa replied without looking back.
“That’ll put the old guy in a good mood,” Tag said.
“He’s not that much older than you.” Michael walked into the conference room, and sure enough, the place had been set up for royalty.
“So he says, but have we seen a birth certificate?” Tag was in a suit for today’s meeting. It made Michael wonder what miracles Charlotte had worked to get that tie around his neck. Tag was a little more laid back when it came to work. He only suited up when the client was important or he was playing out some mobster fantasy with his wife. “Vampires don’t age. Like Lodge.”
“Ian.” Charlotte sent her husband a death stare he was pretty sure she’d patented and sold to the US government as a weapon.
Ian shot his wife a grin. “We’re rivals, baby. Trust me. He’s going to say some nasty shit when he walks in here. You just haven’t seen him in a while. Hey, in office gossip, I have news.”
Charlotte poured herself a cup of coffee from the carafe beside a lovely assortment of Danishes. “What?”
Ian leaned in. “Tessa thinks Michael can’t handle this assignment.”
“I’m right here.” Michael hoped his own death stare was at least half as awful as Charlotte’s.
“Why?” Charlotte completely ignored him.
“I think she thinks he’s going in having already made certain assumptions about the target’s background because of his class,” Tag said.
“Hey, I’m not some snob.” How long had Tag been listening? “And if Lodge is a vampire, then you are a gossipy old lady.”
“A vampire? Heavens no. A demon perhaps, but then I’m known for making deals. Ian, it’s good to see you.”
Fuck. Michael turned and sure enough, there was Julian Lodge standing right there and looking every bit like a mafia don about to put out a hit on someone. Probably him since he’d called the man a vampire.
“Charlotte, what a pleasure to see you again,” Julian said, holding out a hand. “You get more lovely every day. I still don’t understand how a woman of your obvious intelligence ended up with Ian.”
“I got her pregnant and trapped her.” Ian didn’t seem at all affected by the ribbing. “Every time she thinks she can get away, I put another baby up in her.”
Charlotte laughed. “I think we’re done with having kids. Five is more than enough. How are yours, Julian? Please come in. Can I offer you anything?”
“Some coffee would be lovely.” Julian glanced back at Tessa. “Thank you for the escort, Tessa. You do your Master proud.”
Julian also took the whole D/s thing way more seriously than anyone he knew. He was fairly certain Tessa and her professor kept the Dom/sub thing strictly to the bedroom.
Tessa simply nodded. “Thanks, Master Julian. I’m happy to help with this job, but you should know I’m going to be forthright and honest about how I feel about this assignment, and I hope it doesn’t offend you.”
“Not at all. You’ll find I employ many people who submit in the dungeon and tell me what a moron I can be out of it. I married two of them,” Julian admitted with a smile. “My Finn never misses a chance to tell me I’m wrong about some point of law, and my Danielle now challenges my every business decision. I consider that a point of pride. Charlotte, my children are doing well. Chloe is on the newspaper staff at her school. I’m surviving the boys, but only barely. I’m glad Danielle drew the line at three. I think Finn would have kept going until he could field his own baseball team.”
“Don’t I know it.” Ian gestured for Julian to have a seat. “Why don’t we get started now that Kyle and MaeBe are here.”
Kyle strode in with his tablet in hand. He held the door opened and allowed MaeBe Vaughn to enter. MaeBe was the resident goth tech goddess. She’d recently changed her hair color to a bright pink in honor of spring. She was in her mid-twenties and looked so youthful and bouncy she made him feel old.
“Hello, Mr. Lodge. I’m Mae Beatrice Vaughn, and I will be running tech today.” She held her hand out and Lodge politely shook it. “Everyone calls me MaeBe.”
“Then I shall as well,” Lodge said with genuine warmth in his tone. “Kyle, it’s good to see you.” He turned Ian’s way. “When did they all get so young?”
Ian sat down, a lemon muffin in front of him. “I have to get them young. My old guys are all boring and married and whiney. I tried to get Theo on this one, but he was all My wife will kick my ass if I top another woman. But the good news is Michael there hasn’t given in to the old ball and chain yet.”
Charlotte’s eyes were back to lasers. “I’m telling Erin you called her that.”
“I wasn’t talking about Erin. Theo’s got old balls, and Erin wrapped a chain around them,” Ian quipped. “They have pictures and everything.”
“They absolutely do not,” Charlotte began.
But Julian was already laughing.
The door opened again, and a large, muscular man walked through. Wolf Meyer. He’d handled Julian’s personal security for more than a decade.
He nodded as he took a seat beside Julian. “The car is secure. Everything looks good.”
That got Big Tag’s brows rising. “You had Wolf do a walk-through of my building? You know I’ve been doing this for a long time.”
“And so has Wolf,” Julian replied. “I believe you’ll find this was at his insistence, not mine.”
Wolf Meyer sat back. “I check out everyone, Tag. Especially dirty cheaters. You paid that ref. I did not fumble that ball.”