Page 29 of Submission

“I’m glad to have been of service.”

She stares at the huge bulge behind my zipper.

“I can help you out, too.”

“Not right now, Miss Taylor. We’re still at work. But you can reciprocate after hours at my place.”

“Is that right?” She grins seductively.

“You can reciprocate all fucking night if you want.”

“We’ll see how I’m feeling later,” she giggles. “I mean, I have been injured on the job.”

I love it when she’s playful like this, so I slide open the curtain and pop my head outside, feeling totally playful myself.

“Lars, we need first aid pronto!”

Chapter 10

The Judge, Jury, and Executioner

Hunter

When Lars arrives a moment later with a first aid kit, I can tell that Megan is slightly horrified by the prospect that he’s possibly heard what we’ve been up to behind the velvet curtain.

“Were you outside the whole time?” she asks Lars as I try holding back a laugh.

“Nah, but you’re like a beacon for trouble. I knew when I heard glass breaking that you’d be in the middle of it,” he tells Megan gruffly. “So here I am with a first aid kit…again.”

“I guess I’m a little accident-prone,” she admits.

Lars opens his kit and pulls out a few antiseptic packets as I quietly watch the interaction between them.

“You almost took the boss’s head off when you were defending that server a few months back. Why don’t you ever defend yourself like that?”

“Lars, I swear I was this close to stabbing her with one of the shards,” Megan blusters, suddenly finding some fighting spirit. “You would have had my back if I had, right?”

“Without a second thought,” he assures her as he carefully cleans her wounds.

I chuckle to myself at their budding friendship. Lars and Parker really seem to look at Megan as their new little sister, and I find something really comforting about that. At least I know that if I’m not around, one of them will always step up to protect her.

“Wasn’t Lars babysitting one of your business associates?” Megan asks, reminding me of my horrible manners.

Before her, I would have never ditched a meeting, but after her — I find myself moving a little differently.

“You sent him home in a car?” I ask Lars, already knowing that he’s handled business.

“With a bottle of his favorite cognac.”

“Good and have someone clean this mess up, Lars. Megan and I need to handle something in my office.”

“Will do.”

“Thanks again, Lars,” Megan says, gently tapping his shoulder.

“Yep,” he gruffly responds, not quite comfortable with common niceties.

Since Megan is bandaged up, it’s time to walk toward my office and deal with Diana.