Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83986 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“Yeah.”
“Have you met Danika?” I asked him.
“Yeah. She’s been to our house with Brent. Really nice, very efficient, and when I spoke to her earlier, even though she was in crisis mode, you couldn’t tell. That woman rows a steady boat, you know what I mean? Cool and collected.”
Locryn went on to say that Danika had impeccable references and had been vetted by the FBI for her last position. Sadly, her employer had to return to Oslo for his family, and as she couldn’t move that far from her own, she was, at the moment, between jobs. Not that she had not been flooded with offers already.
“I would like to speak to her,” Ash told him.
“Yeah, you’re going to. We’ll call her for an update when we get home.”
“I thought you said that—”
“Oh no, not your home. My home. Your home is not livable at the moment, as there’s so much to do. And nothing could even begin to get started until everyone was cleared out. Plus, she had to wait on LAPD to collect all the drugs and paraphernalia leftover. Cleaning crew couldn’t begin until that was done.”
Ash looked overwhelmed. “LAPD was at my house?”
“Remember when I said security called the cops?”
“Don’t be you right now,” I warned him.
“Sorry,” he said quickly. “But yes, the cops were there the first time shooing people out, and then again because you don’t just throw away drugs in the garbage can in the kitchen. It all has to be secured and then properly disposed of.”
“Thank you,” I said to my friend.
“Of course,” he said like it was stupid of me to mention.
“Who threw the party?” Ash asked him.
Locryn yawned. “Owen will figure that out and let you know. He’s going through footage from your house, all kinds of social media posts, pictures. Some guy walked the entire perimeter of your home, which I don’t like at all, and neither does Owen, so that’s why an entirely new security system is going in.”
“What a shitshow,” Ash grumbled.
“Seems to come with the territory when you’re a celebrity. These things happen, unfortunately,” he told Ash. “When I first became Nick’s fixer, there were so many keys to his house floating around, and even more credit cards and people with access to his bank account. You don’t have the funds issue, so that’s great. And unlike Nick, your bedroom had a separate keypad lock, so nothing important was stolen. Owen was very pleased about that, as I mentioned, but now it’s going to have a biometric lock, because he doesn’t like the idea of trying to punch in numbers if you were being chased or something. He’s a worrier.”
Ash took a deep breath. “You did all this because Owen checked the security feed in my house?”
Locryn looked at me, and so Ash followed suit.
“We’re fixers, Mr. Lennox,” I teased him. “This is what we do.”
He leaned into me, and I put my arm around his shoulders.
“It’s all getting taken care of,” I assured him. “Now let’s do something really scary and introduce you to my sisters.”
“I can’t wait,” he said, cupping my face and kissing me.
The video call with my sisters and mother, all their faces there on my laptop screen, would have been horrible, but Ash was the first one they saw, not me.
“Hello, everyone,” he greeted them with a huge smile. “I’m so happy to meet you all.”
“No one ever said you were stupid,” Locryn praised me under his breath.
They were all so thrilled to meet Ash, couldn’t wait to chat with him in person, and he said that as soon as he was done with his current project, he would fly to Chicago to meet them. When I finally leaned into the frame, Ash kissed my temple, and they all awwed, their smiles huge. Not that I wouldn’t get hell when I got home, but I wouldn’t have to beg their forgiveness for weeks. There would just be the normal yelling and the light smack on the back of the head from Cora.
Locryn and Nick’s house in Santa Barbara was stunning. The driveway was lined in California privet and popcorn viburnum, and the house was flanked by thick, high hedges of boxwood. Inside it was open concept with an enormous kitchen on the left, and straight through, there was the living room that opened into a garden oasis. There were so many gorgeous mature trees, it was like an arboretum back there.
Leaving our bags by the door, Locryn walked us out onto an enormous patio, where you could see, if you followed the path, down below, a pool and cabana, and even farther down, a small cottage. The entire property was lined in Italian cypresses.
“We added the cottage last year for guests,” Locryn explained. “You two are welcome to stay in the house, of course, we have room, but the cottage is nice too, and it has a beautiful view. There’s a microwave, snacks, and a mini fridge stocked with water and juice and kombucha, for whatever fuckin’ reason.”