Page 29 of Maverick

"What do you mean you met him? If you met him before, doesn't that trump him being your boss?"

If only."It doesn't count. He and all of his brothers descended on this place. They were drunk - happy drunk thankfully - and were all over the place." I giggle a little, images of them rampaging through my place flashing through my mind. "You should have seen it Nan. Imagine it. A whole bunch of billionaires running around like demented toddlers. Everywhere I looked was foolishness."

Nan snorts out a laugh, and plops back onto the cot. "That's why you didn't really pay attention to that big handsome man?"

"Yep. There were too many big, handsome men to keep track of."

"Yep, that'll do it." Kicking off her slippers, she snuggles herself into her blankets, absently running her hand over the brightly colored patchwork of the blanket. It's the same one I remember being on her and Grandpa's bed my whole life. Thathome was everything to me. My safety, my security. It was the place that I knew I was always accepted, always loved.

Always protected.

Though I guess it's not really that house that gave me that. It was the people inside it. Now all that sense of security is resting on Nan's frail shoulders. Not fair maybe, but that's the way it is.

"We'll get it back Nan."

"Get what back honey?" she asks, through a yawn.

"Everything. I'll give you a home. I promise." I will. I have no doubts. We're in a rough patch, but it's temporary. That's why I'm happy to keep paying the bill on that little storage unit. When we get a new place, Nan will have at least some of the things she loves around her again.

"You are my home, love. As long as I have you, I don't need anything else." She rolls over, sighing into her pillow. "Though a bigger bed would be nice."

I unroll the camping mat, and press the little built in foot pump until it's puffed up to a whopping inch thick. When I bought this thing for a miserable camping trip with a not so miserable boyfriend years ago, I never imagined sleeping on it every night. It's not comfortable, but it's better than the floor.

"Agreed Nan. A bigger bed will be wonderful."

Not too much longer. Soon, I'll have the last of the small bills paid off, and I can start saving up for the apartment. A couple more months.

Totally doable.

9

MAVERICK

The heavy courthouse doors close behind us, and I stop to suck in a big breath of fresh air, trying to push down the annoyance and frustration from the last hour. Alexis walks beside me, head down, arms wrapped protectively around herself.

"Hey," I nudge her gently with my elbow. "It wasn't a total loss in there."

She nods, but doesn't look convinced. I get it. That asshole ex of hers spun so many lies, it's a miracle the judge didn't hold him in contempt. In the end, not much happened. I guess that's how Family Court operates, though. Everyone gets multiple chances. In the average custody situation, maybe that's a good thing, but when one of the parents is a colossal asshole, it seems like a big fucking waste of time, for everyone.

"We'll nail him next time," I assure her. "He can't keep this bullshit up forever." If he actually cared, maybe I'd be more inclined to try and help her work things out. But when a man refers to his own daughter as 'that kid', well, I'd prefer to nail him to the fucking wall.

A small smile tugs at the corner of her mouth. "Thanks, Mav. For everything."

"Don't mention it," I say, patting her shoulder. My mind is already racing ahead to the stack of files on my desk, the meetings I have scheduled, emails that need returning.

But a nagging worry settles in my gut as I glance back at Alexis. She's barely keeping it together, the custody battle clearly taking its toll. Tugging my phone out of my pocket, I send a quick message to Trixie, asking her to keep an eye on her. She'll let me know if there's anything I need to worry about.

I can't help but worry about everyone, all the damn time. My brothers, the employees, the damn dog I saw tied up outside the courthouse. I'm a freaking mess, honestly, and it's not healthy. At least, that's what Ransom says. But he's even worse with the worrying, so I'm choosing to ignore him.

We reach the car and I hold the door open for her. Alexis slides into the passenger seat, that same haunted look in her eyes. I circle around to the driver's side, rolling my shoulders. I wonder if any of my brothers are up for a night in the ring? I could use a release, and trying to punch one of my brothers in the junk is a pretty good one.

Of course, I could also go for another kind of release, but that's not likely to happen. My dick is focused completely on Cadence, but despite my best efforts, she's put me firmly into the 'hands off' category in her head.

After that night we went to dinner, I've shown up, I've chatted, I've been casual, and the whole time, I want her. And yeah, I might have made moon-eyes as Bree put it, whatever the fuck those are, but otherwise I've been trying to do what Nick suggested, and just show her I'm a good guy.

Though I'm starting to doubt this plan. I'm not sure how mopping floors and walking dogs is going to convince her I'd never let anything between us fuck with her job. At leastI've figured out the poop thing. The idea is still completely disgusting, but if it makes Cady happy, I'll do it.

I still gag every fucking time.

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