Seduced By A Steele (Forged of Steele #12) - Brenda Jackson Page 0,13
“Yes, sir.”
He entered his office and closed the door behind him. After removing his jacket and placing his briefcase aside, he placed his cell phone on his desk before easing down in the chair behind it. He then leaned back to think. Not about the Eastwoods because he felt fairly confident that was a deal in the making.
His thoughts were on Sloan Donahue.
Maybe he should have said goodbye. She would spend the night at his parents’ home, which would give her a chance to convince her own parents to unblock her credit cards and bank account. And then she’d be gone.
No matter what she’d told him, he just couldn’t fathom anyone’s parents holding such a hard-line position when they discovered she’d been evicted. There was no way they would want her living homeless on the streets.
And even if she was right about her parents, once she explained her situation to Eden, his mother would probably make a few calls and secure Sloan a job as a live-in companion to one of the older women at his mother’s church. Even if she took the position only temporarily, it would allow her to save money, get her own place and apply for higher-paying jobs.
Either way, Sloan wasn’t his concern anymore.
Picking up the paperweight on his desk, he exhaled, thinking about how Sloan had dropped into his day. He would admit that he found her attractive. What man in his right mind wouldn’t? However, the woman had issues, and he still couldn’t get beyond the fact she’d been driving his car. His stolen car.
His cell phone rang. He clicked it on after checking caller ID. “What do you want, Galen?”
“I thought you would like to know the Camaro is parked safely in your garage. Jonas is here to give me a ride back home, and we figured we should take some of your Scotch, as a thank-you for all our help.”
Mercury rolled his eyes. “Kind of early in the day for Scotch, isn’t it?”
“Not if we each take a bottle.”
Mercury sat straight up in the chair. “You didn’t help me that much, and I honestly don’t recall Jonas helping at all.”
“He came here to pick me up. That’s helping. And maybe I should mention that we also washed your car. It was dirty but at least there weren’t any dents.”
“Yes. Despite everything, I appreciate that. And I guess since the two of you washed the car, that earned you each a bottle.”
“Stop being so stingy. It’s not as if your booze cellar isn’t stocked with enough wine and liquor to last a lifetime,” Galen said.
“Whatever.”
“So, did you get Sloan home okay?”
A frown touched the corner of Mercury’s mouth. “Yes. Just in time to be evicted.”
“What!”
“You heard me.” He then spent the next ten minutes telling Galen what had happened and the information Sloan had shared with him about her parents.
“I knew it!” Galen said. “I told you she came from money. Please don’t tell me you dropped her off anyway and kept going.”
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“Mercury!”
“For Pete’s sake, stop screaming in my ear, Galen. Of course I couldn’t just drop her off, especially after that damn respect-and-rescue crap you told her.”
“It’s the truth and you know it. So, what did you do? Where did you take her? Please don’t tell me to your place.”
“You know me better than that. I don’t do female sleepovers, houseguests, drop-ins or otherwise.”
“So, where is she?”
“At the best place and with the finest people. They know how to deal with issues like hers.”
“Ah hell, Mercury. Please don’t tell me that in your haste to get rid of her you took her to a homeless shelter.”
Mercury rolled his eyes. “No, Galen, I didn’t take her to the homeless shelter. I took her to our folks. More specifically, I took her to Mom.”
“So, there you have it,” Sloan said to Mercury’s parents as she finished off the last of the chicken-salad sandwich Eden had