asked as Lily turned to me with a huge grin on her face.
“I know this is going to sound really bad. Please don’t hate me.”
“I could never hate you, Lily,” I assured her.
She leaned in like she was going to share something secret and said quietly, “Mr. LaRoche got beat up pretty badly over the weekend. His face is a mess.”
My stomach clenched, but I tried to hold a neutral expression on my face. “Really? Why are you happy about that?”
“Let’s just say that he and I may have dated and it didn’t end well.”
I nodded in understanding. “So, any idea who beat Mr. LaRoche up?” I asked in an effort to ascertain what other information was circulating.
“No one knows for sure, but the majority opinion is that he messed around with a married woman and her husband caught them in the act.”
I had to stifle a chuckle. Figures that the rumors would somehow turn Eddie into some kind of cult figure.
“Interesting,” I said.
Lily leaned it close. “It doesn’t really matter who did it. What matters is that he deserved it.”
If nothing else was true, that certainly was.
The twins were waiting outside my office when I arrived. As soon as they saw me, they each grabbed me by an elbow and dragged me across the hallway to their lair.
As soon as the door closed behind us, they both looked at me expectantly.
“Spill,” Trinity said.
I looked at her puzzled. There was so much I could have spilled about, I wasn’t sure exactly to what she was referring.
“What did you do to Brad?” Serenity clarified.
I breathed a small sigh of relief that they weren’t going to ask about Daniel and Eddie.
“Well, he’s not gay,” I said.
“No shit,” Trinity said. “But why after eight years is he suddenly acting like a human being?”
“When he saw us this morning, he actually smiled and asked us how we were doing,” Serenity added.
“Sex will do that to you, I guess,” I said.
The twins went wide-eyed. “You’re doing Brad and Daniel and Mr. LaRoche?” Trinity said. “Lexie, you are a slut.”
I guess I wasn’t getting off that easy after all.
“God, no,” I said. I looked at Serenity, “Or should that be Goddess no? Anyway, I am not sleeping with Brad. He got together with my sister. And I have never and would never sleep with Mr. LaRoche.”
Trinity grinned. “I noticed you didn’t deny sleeping with Daniel.”
Now I was the one grinning like a cat that ate the canary.
Serenity leaned in and asked, “So, is Daniel as good as I imagine he would be? That man is fine.”
“Oh, yes,” I said.
“Lucky, bitch,” Trinity said. “Oh, and thanks for taking care of Brad for us. We owe you one.”
“Make that two,” Serenity said.
Tom caught me in the hallway on my way back from the restroom a few hours later. “Can I see you in my office, when you have a chance, Lexie?”
I gulped. In my gut, I knew that Tom knew something and was going to confront me about it. I hoped for the best but also braced myself for the worst.
I knocked lightly on Tom’s door and then poked my head in. “You wanted to see me?” I squeaked.
“Come on in and have a seat, Lexie,” he said as he closed a case file on his desk.
I sat down in a seat across from him. I could feel my heart start beating in my chest, I was so nervous.
“Have you worked much with Mr. LaRoche?” Tom asked as he leaned back in his chair. He tried to make himself look causal but I knew his questioning was anything but.
I gulped. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t want to divulge too much unnecessary information. I also realized I didn’t know how much he knew.
“No, not yet,” I answered. If my heart didn’t calm down soon it was going to beat right out of my chest.
Tom raised an eyebrow. I had a feeling he was asking questions he already knew the answer to. “I know Daniel and Ed are roommates,” he said.
I tried to swallow, but my throat had become so dry the act was difficult.
Tom’s gaze grew stark. “And I have a feeling Ed’s face has something to do with you and Daniel.”
Busted.
I glanced down at my hands, which I was now wringing in my lap.
“I’ve been very pleased with your work so far, Lexie,” Tom said. I could hear an implied but in there somewhere and I braced myself for the inevitable. I had an awful