Taking On The Billionaire (Redhawk Reunion #1) - Robin Covington Page 0,9
to tell you this.”
“I still can’t believe that you’re such a broken record,” Mia grumbled, tapping her finger on the file in question. “I was just checking to see if this was about your favorite subject. I rang the bell twice and called out and you still didn’t hear me.”
Tess groaned, stretching out her leg as she headed toward the kitchen for the strongest, biggest cup of coffee on the planet. She still had a dozen files to read through before she could even think about hitting the sack. It had been a long week and it looked like it was about to get longer. Somebody was definitely trying to sabotage Redhawk/Ling and she’d been hired to do a job.
Adam was depending on her.
And she was lying to him.
Tess shook her head to clear the cobwebs and the memory of him and the way he’d called her baby in his office earlier. It had been unexpected and clearly, if the flare of surprise in his eyes was any indication, something he hadn’t planned on saying. But the endearment had been uttered with a sexy rumble and a protective ferocity that sent a shiver of anticipation down her spine. Factor in how he’d been immediately concerned with the well-being of Estelle, his sweet assistant, and Tess added another item to the long list of reasons why she wanted to jump Adam Redhawk.
Okay, she really needed that caffeine.
“I was working, Mia. Why aren’t you at school?” Tess shuffled behind the counter and flipped the switch on her coffee maker, grabbed a pod and slipped it into the machine. She turned around to lean on the countertop while the machine worked its magic and created the elixir that would keep her from making bad man-oriented decisions. “Not that I don’t love seeing you but don’t you have a paper to write or a class to attend? A study session with coeds in your pj’s?”
“It’s college, not an Anna Kendrick movie,” Mia mumbled from where her head was stuck inside the fridge.
She emerged, her auburn pixie cut sticking up at odd angles due to the static electricity, a string cheese in her hand. For a minute, it was ten years ago and Mia was the pain-in-the-butt little sister who tried to listen in on Tess’s phone calls with boys and who also crawled into bed with Tess when their father was having a rough spell. Those days solidified their relationship; they’d learned the hard way that in the end they really only had each other.
Tess had worked her ass off, juggling several jobs for a number of years and cases she would have loved to turn down to secure this little house. It was only two bedrooms and one bath and a backyard that was barely big enough for a grill but it was their home. Tess used the space in what was intended to be the dining room to work from home on the days she didn’t need to go to the tiny office she leased from a local insurance company on a barter basis. She always kept Mia’s room open for her and tried not to let on just how much she missed her since she’d gone to college.
“Fair enough but please don’t join an a cappella group. That still doesn’t explain why you’re here.” Tess held up a hand in defense at the site of her sister’s glare. “Not that I don’t love it when you come and see me but...”
Mia rolled her eyes and opened the string cheese. “I need to do my laundry.”
“Of course, you do.”
“Whatever. I also haven’t heard from you in a couple of weeks and I wanted to make sure it was a case and not a serial killer home invasion that had removed you from your usual place of up my butt and all in my business.”
Tess’s machine gurgled and sputtered the signal that it was done and she turned to grab the mug of hot coffee. “I’m going to drink this and pretend that you’re not here.”
Mia sidled up beside her, chuckling as she nudged Tess to the side to start her own brew. “You love me and we both know it.” Her sister nudged her again and leaned down to peek up at Tess. “Seriously though, are you okay? I haven’t heard from you in a while.”
Tess huffed out a sound that was part sigh and part laugh. “Define okay.”
Mia frowned, tossing the cheese wrapper into the trash with a dunk shot that