Mr. Perfect (Sinister in Savannah #2) - Aimee Nicole Walker Page 0,18
Rocky was a preferable name over Major, but to each their own. “Pawing through his jockey shorts is invasive. Setting up a birthday buffet is nice,” Rocky continued.
“Who pawed through my underwear?” Felix asked.
“No one,” Rocky said. “I was just making a point.”
“You arrived before he had a chance,” Avery quipped.
“Come here, you little brat,” Rocky said, hooking an arm around Avery’s neck and rubbing his knuckles over the smaller man’s head.
“Did you have a rough day?” Jonah asked, pulling Felix’s gaze away from Rocky’s antics.
“It was full of surprises. Some of them good, and some of them not so much.”
Rocky released Avery and studied Felix. “What happened?”
Felix sighed. “I’m not sure where to begin.”
“The beginning is good,” Rocky suggested.
“Let’s make our plates while the food is still hot,” Felix suggested. “Then we’ll do story time.”
They loaded their plates with chicken, sweet potato casserole, biscuits, black-eyed peas, fried green tomatoes, and coleslaw. Felix was deeply touched by their thoughtfulness, which he told them after he inhaled half the food on his plate. “Maybe birthdays aren’t so bad after all.”
“You’re too young for a midlife crisis,” Rocky said.
Felix elbowed Rocky. “Idiot.” To Jonah and Avery, Felix said, “My hang-up with birthdays is a conversation for another day. Today’s events are far more enthralling.” Felix started with his run-in with Jimmy and finished with the showdown with Todd after Spencer embarrassed him. He knew his cheeks were red because his face felt like someone had set it on fire.
His friends sat quietly for a few seconds before all three of them started talking at once.
“Who the hell is this Todd joker?” Jonah wanted to know.
“You got Spencer on the ropes now,” Rocky said.
Sassy Avery waggled his brows and said, “Personally, I’m a big fan of forced partnerships in the workplace.”
They looked at one another and started laughing. Felix’s friends began talking over one another again but swapped topics as if they’d rehearsed it.
Rocky crossed his arms over his chest. “You want me to rough Jude Arrow up?”
“Do you think Spencer was being sincere about making things right?” Avery asked.
Jonah put his arm around Avery’s shoulder and pressed a kiss to the smaller man’s temple. “No one forced me to work with you.”
Avery turned his head and looked at Jonah. “Like you’d tell Ellen no.”
Felix had always liked Ellen Rigby, even if her position with SPD, first as chief and now as the police commissioner, occasionally put them at odds with one another. She was brilliant, astute, and formidable. Jonah wasn’t likely to tell her no, but she wouldn’t suggest something that wasn’t in his best interest either. Avery was the best thing to happen to Jonah, so kudos to Aunt Ellen.
Felix held up his hand to get their attention. Once all eyes were on him, he said, “One at a time.” He turned to Rocky first. “No, I don’t want you to rough anyone up.”
“I’m serious, Felix,” Rocky said. “I don’t know what this asshole has done to you, but I know it’s bad if you’ve held a grudge for so long. You’re the fairest person I know. Want me to get dirt on him so we can run him out of town?”
He recalled the genuine joy he’d seen in Jude’s eyes both times they ran into one another and the humility in his voice when he apologized, even though it was too many years too late. Those things unsettled Felix in ways he wasn’t prepared to unpack just then. “No,” Felix replied honestly. “I want to see how this plays out.”
He faced Jonah and Avery. “I assure you that my working relationship with Jude Arrow will not result in an epic love match like yours. And as for Spencer,” Felix said, shrugging his shoulders, “I’m going to hold The Auto King to his word. I’ll post my experience in the chat room with a message for disgruntled commenters to contact the dealership. The only thing I know for sure right now is that his executive office is the grossest display of wealth I’ve ever seen.”
“Golden throne?” Avery asked.
“I didn’t see the executive bathroom, but I wouldn’t be surprised,” Felix said with a wink. Grateful to have the attention shifted away from him, Felix took his time describing the private space in great detail. By the time he finished, they’d cleared their plates and were eying the peach cobbler Marla had baked for him. “Anyone save room?”
The guys moaned a collective “no.”
They decided to save the dessert for later and moved into