Lord of Rain (The Dragon Demigods #5) - Charlene Hartnady Page 0,78

I had work to do. I greet Shannon with a kiss on the cheek. “Where’s my favorite little girl?” I ask.

Shannon’s whole demeanor softens. “In bed already. I told you last time you came around, you need to come earlier.”

I scowl. “Work.”

“They’re all in there already.” She points at the door leading to the boardroom. “No shouting, or you’ll wake up your goddaughter.” She tries to give me a hard look but fails dismally. Night lucked out with this woman. In a lot of ways, she reminds me of Miss Shaw. She’s a keeper.

I feel everything in me soften and grow warm. “I’ll do my best, Shan, but I can’t make any promises.”

She laughs but quickly turns serious. “It’s not her, is it?”

“It’s not her,” I say.

Her eyes narrow with concern. “And you know what you’re doing?”

“I do.”

She sighs. “Okay, then.” She touches the side of my arm and nods once.

“That was easy. Why are they being so hard-assed?”

“They’re your brothers, and they care. Ultimately, it’s their job.” She shrugs. “I happen to think that you’ve got this, for what it’s worth.”

I smile. “Thanks.” She’s right, everything is under control. “I’ll see you later.”

“Good luck.”

I open the door, closing it behind me. “Good evening, gents.”

They’re all just sitting there. “What, no drinks? It’s Friday.”

“Start fucking talking,” Night growls.

“What do you want me to say?” I ask Night, folding my arms across my chest. “I cannot believe you called a meeting over this bullshit,” I say, looking Lyre in the eyes.

“It’s not bullshit!” Night replies.

“Far from bullshit,” Forge adds. “Who is she? I agree with Lyre, she looks just like the harpy.”

“I told Lyre that it’s not her. That should be enough.”

“Excuse us for caring.” Night stands. “Okay, let’s just say she’s not the harpy. The problem is that she looks like her. Exactly like her. Carbon-fucking-copy! You don’t see the problem?”

I feel a tic under my right eye. “Not at all.”

“You’re fucking her,” Stephanus says.

“Hell, yes!” Trident grins at me. “Got himself a harpy-lookalike to bang.”

I point at Trident. “Shut the fuck up! You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Ooh, shit,” Stephanus says. “Might be more than just banging.” Stephan, Jarrod, and Trident are grinning. Everyone else, not so much.

“It’s none of your fucking business,” I growl.

“You almost went over the edge,” Forge says. “You couldn’t stomach the sight of Lyre and Morgan for weeks. In fact, I’d go so far as to say you would have killed them if given half a chance. You couldn’t even hear Morgan’s name without going ballistic. You couldn’t work or eat.” Forge’s chest is rising and falling in quick succession. “You had a breakdown, man.” He speaks more softly, “I hated seeing you like that.”

My chest pulls tight. “I admit that I was bad,” I speak softly too. I hate thinking back on those dark days. Nearly three weeks of hell. I’m shocked the B&H deal even happened, since I was MIA for so long.

“Bad?” Forge snorts. “You were completely fucked up. We had to take turns looking after you.”

Now I feel terrible. “I was filled with poison. I’m better now.”

He scrutinizes me. “You’re better, but not cured. You’re not over this. I refuse to watch you fuck yourself up again. Why are you messing with this lookalike? It’s not healthy.”

“Ashley is my PA, and I’m not fucking her, okay? Are you happy now?”

“Your PA?” Night says. “The one you had to offer more money to get on board? No wonder you wanted her to work for you so badly. No wonder you—”

“You were the one who talked me into it.” I point at Night.

“I talked you into it?” He laughs. “I’ve never talked you into anything, my friend. I’ve never talked you out of anything, either. You are very much your own man. You made that decision all on your own. Now I know why. It makes more sense. Your new PA is a carbon copy of the woman who fucked you up. The woman you love, but can’t have.”

“I’m much better. Ashley Shaw is not going to fuck me up. She’s nothing like Gabby. Sure, they look similar—”

“The same!” Lyre says.

“Not really. There are differences…” I stop talking. They don’t need to hear about her physical differences. I can see that my words aren’t registering, anyway. “She’s human, let’s start there. She’s nothing like that bitch. I won’t lie, I’m tempted to take things further with her.” If only they knew. “I’m slowly finding peace, and she’s helping me. It’s like