The main reason I’d hired Dani in the first place was to scoop some of the responsibility and client load onto her plate, but I was so worried about her that I was spending more time at the office than I had been before. The stress of it all was getting to me. Every time I stepped foot inside my office, it felt like the walls were closing in and my collar was getting tighter.
The Cubs had finished a three-game series with the Twins last night and were off today, so when I woke up that morning, I had a text from Justin asking if me, Brody, and Viper wanted to meet for a late breakfast before his plane took off. I couldn’t get out of that office fast enough.
“I’ll be back, El. I’m taking an early lunch today,” I said as I walked past her desk toward the elevator.
“Okay,” she acknowledged, not looking up from her computer.
As I crossed through the building doors and out onto the sidewalk, I took a deep breath of the warm summer air that would soon be switching over to fall and decided to walk instead of drive to the restaurant. It was only a couple of blocks away, and considering it had been weeks since I’d seen the inside of a gym, it was definitely a good idea.
When I got to Wildberry Café, the three of them were already sitting in a booth in the far back corner. I smiled at the hostess as I passed her, making my way down the aisle full of navy-blue-and-brown booths. It wasn’t the most awesomely decorated place, but it was a staple in the neighborhood, and everyone knew they had the best food, especially at two o’clock in the morning when you needed to sober up.
As I got closer to the table, I couldn’t hear them, but I could tell by the looks on their faces that the guys were talking about something serious.
“Good morning, ladies,” I greeted as I walked up to the table.
“What’s up, Shaw!” Viper announced loudly.
“Morning,” Brody and Justin said in unison.
Brody scooted in so that I could sit down, but then they were silent.
My eyes moved slowly from Viper to Justin to Brody, but none of them made eye contact with me. “Don’t let me kill the conversation. Keep going with whatever you were talking about.”
Brody shrugged. “We were just filling Justin in on all the bullshit you’ve been dealing with lately.”
“Ugh. Can we talk about anything but that for a while, please?” I let out a heavy sigh.
“Sure. We can talk about the fact that Brody ‘Supersperm’ Murphy just knocked his poor wife up again,” Viper exclaimed.
“What?” My head whipped toward Brody, shocked that he’d told Viper before he told me.
“What?” Brody echoed, his head flinching back as he frowned at Viper.
“I’m just kidding.” Viper grinned with wild eyes. “But it’s bound to happen again eventually, right? I just figured I’d start practicing now.”
Justin howled and banged his fist on the table so hard that the upside-down coffee cups rattled around on their saucers.
“Holy shit!” I turned to Brody. “I thought he was serious!”
“For a second, so did I!” Brody said incredulously, rubbing his forehead. “I was trying to figure out how the hell he knew before me.”
“He is right, though,” Justin added. “We all know it’s going to happen again eventually. You guys are like two babies away from being the Duggars of the Midwest and getting your own reality show.”
“Shut up, dick.” Brody picked up a sugar packet and threw it at him as Viper, and I roared loudly.
We spent the next hour laughing and catching up on the latest bullshit in our lives. Viper told us about their vacation to New Orleans and Brody asked Justin fifty questions about the Cubs and the amazing season they were having. The guys did exactly what I wanted and left the subject of Dani and her stalker alone. It felt good to have one meal where I didn’t think about it or talk about it.
After we finished eating, Brody grabbed the check before any of us could and hustled up front to pay. We said good-bye and went our separate ways. The walk back to the office wasn’t near as pleasant as the walk there, thanks to my pancake-filled stomach. Since it was so nice out, I took an extra lap around the block, hoping it would get rid of some of my fullness.
The elevator doors opened, and Ellie’s desk was empty. Thinking nothing of it, I turned to my right and headed toward my office, but a loud thud from behind me caught my attention. Ellie was standing in Dani’s doorway, and I couldn’t see much past her, but I heard a lot of banging.
“Everything okay?” I called out.
Ellie turned toward me. Her eyebrows were pinched together, and she was chewing on her nails as she shook her head.