Mr. Rothe - Lynn Hagen Page 0,27

Leave it up to Max to think that. Reese and Lucas would’ve asked the same thing. That was what I loved about them.

“No. He just decided to quit me.”

Max’s brows knitted. “Come again?”

“Jeez, do I have to spell it out for you? He kicked me to the curb.”

Max sat back, crossing one leg over the other. “How much did he con you out of? A guy like that sees dollar signs when he meets guys like us.”

I bristled at his assumption, though he wasn’t wrong. I’d dated men who only saw me as a cash cow. I’d pampered some, to an extent. “Like Derek conned you?”

Now it was Max who bristled. “That’s different. Derek was trying to save his twin’s job. His deception wasn’t malicious, and he hadn’t been after me for my money or power.”

“He didn’t get a dime from me, other than paying his hospital bill after he saved my life.” I ignored my ringing phone. “He’s afraid of our world and doesn’t want to be a part of it.”

I’d also given him a hundred dollars for his missed wages yesterday, but Max didn’t need to know that. It had only been fair since it was my fault Antonio was after Fitch in the first place.

I’d also had a friend of mine, who was a doctor in the ER, write Fitch an excuse for work, stating that he had a follow-up appointment for his arm. I’d paid a courier to deliver the excuse to Fitch this morning so Fitch wouldn’t lose his job.

But there was no denying that I was miserable.

“Can you blame him?” Max asked. “Derek still struggles with what we do. I just try my best to make his life as normal as possible.”

“So you lie to him.”

“No.” Max shook his head. “If he wants to know what’s going on, I tell him, but we came to an agreement. My life outside the office is off the table for discussion. Kind of like a cop’s life. They don’t talk about their cases to their spouse. Why bring that kind of ugly home? I only brought Derek to your place yesterday because we were already on our way to a meeting. He said he’ll stay in the car next time.”

I really liked Derek. He was a true klutz, and horrible at his job of being Max’s personal assistant, but the partners had grown very fond of him.

And Max had hired a qualified PA to do all the legal things Derek was clueless about. Now Derek was more or less a glorified gofer, and the human loved it.

“Talk to your human,” Max said. “Just keep the ugly out of it. Make life remain normal for him, as much as you can. It’s well worth it.” Max grinned. “I know we don’t really share our emotions, but just this once I’ll tell you. Derek is my heart. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him. I’d lay waste to Ridgeview just to keep him safe. I’d give him the moon and stars just to see him smile.”

I chuckled. Max wasn’t known for his softer side, and hearing him talk that way gave me hope. “All right. Get out of here before I need a shower to get all that gooey love off me.”

Max stood and walked to the door. He paused. “Maybe your human is just what you need. You deserve to be happy, Gabe.”

“Fitch,” I said. “His name is Fitch.”

“I know. I was just making it more personal for you. I’ll deal with Henderson. Divide your caseload between us so you can concentrate on Fitch.” Max walked out.

I loved the fuck out of Max.

Instead of calling Fitch, I decided to go to his house. If I was going to try and make this work, I needed to see Fitch.

Andrew brought the car around. “I’ll drive today,” I said. “Go have brunch with a friend.”

“Are you sure?” Andrew looked uneasy. “I don’t mind doing my job, sir.”

I pulled my wallet out and handed over a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill. “My treat.”

“Thank you, sir. My cousin is in town. I’ll give him a call. If you need me, let me know.”

I shook my head. “Take the rest of the day off and spend some quality time with him.”

Before Andrew could protest any further, I slipped into the driver’s seat. Shit, the seat had my chest touching the steering wheel. Andrew was of average height, but I was tall as fuck and felt as though I’d slipped into a clown car.

Andrew walked to