Chapter 21
Harley
I gasped. “You did not!”
“Yup, I did.” Coco’s laugh filtered through the phone. “The lady at the reception told me I could get myself a coffee from the break room because Tatum was running late. Of course I couldn’t turn down that offer. They even had iced coffee, Harry. After getting a cup, I hurried back to the entrance in case Tatum had arrived meanwhile. I shot around a corner, andbam! Right into a wall of muscles. The lid of my coffee popped open, and there went the brew. It was like a scene from a movie.”
Bella, lying next to me on the silk comforter of her bed, looked at me with her mouth open. “It was Tatum, wasn’t it?”
“Of course it was him!” Coco groaned. “I dumped my coffee onto Tatum Grady’s white, crisp shirt. He cursed like a sailor. And man, that look he gave me. I panicked and grabbed a tissue from my handbag, then I was like, what do I even do with it? I can’t just start cleaning him. So I passed it to him. He stared at it, then at me as if I was crazy.”
“I can’t believe he still hired you,” I said.
“Right? The interview was so awkward after that. If I didn’t need this job so bad, I probably would’ve gone straight home so I could die in peace.”
“Sounds like the perfect beginning for a romance.” Bella’s eyes were all but heart-shaped. She was a hopeless romantic.
Coco snorted. “There’s absolutely nothing romantic about the guy.”
“Yet you call him Tatum instead of Mr. Grady,” I pointed out.
“Only around you guys.” She huffed. “I could never ever enter a relationship with a grumpy guy like that. Heck, maybe he has a girlfriend. What do I know?”
“Maybe not,” Bella said, grinning.
“You know what? Keep being delusional. I gotta go. Love ya. Bye.”
Before we could get a word in, Coco hung up.
I laughed. “She’s totally interested in him.”
“One hundred percent. I get enemies to lovers vibes.”
A window popped up on Bella’s computer screen on her desk. We both sat up.
“Someone’s at the gate.” She scrambled off the bed and crossed the room to her computer. Hit a key. The live feed from the surveillance camera outside the illuminated gate filled the screen. The sight of a white F-150 sent a thrill and dread alike through me.
“That’s Kingsley,” I said.
“And who’s the tattooed biker?” Bella’s eyes never left the screen.
I got up and moved closer, seeing the part of feed the back of the chair had covered. “That’s my boss.”
Her gaze snapped to me. “He could be a character out of one of my books. Look at him!”
Oh boy, please not. The last thing I needed was one of my friends getting tangled with the Mafia. “He’s not the kind of guy you want to date.”
“Why not?”
“Because he’s on the wrong side of the law.”
Biting her bottom lip, Bella hit a key and leaned toward the mic at the top of the screen. “Come on in. Harry will meet you at the door. I mean Harley.”
As we headed downstairs, I couldn’t help wondering what Rome was doing here. Did he have new intel regarding Craig’s whereabouts? Or the MANPADS and weapons?
The two men waited in the circular water fountain drive, Kingsley wearing his habit and Rome his usual slacks and dress shirt. My boss sat on his bike, the visor of his helmet open. He hardly ever showed interest in women, but his gaze stayed locked onto Bella for a looong beat. Not surprising—with her long blonde waves and supermodel body, she turned men’s heads wherever she went.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, giving him anabsolutely-not!scowl.
