Page 26 of Bad Boy in Her Bed

Opening the shop was easier than closing, thanks to their clunky computer startup being the most time-consuming part of the routine.Whoever closed was stuck doing the final clean, checking the supply stock, and doing the nightly deposit.

The nightly deposit Ryder had insisted on doing for the past year, whether he closed or not.

A part of him wanted to drag his business partner from his seat and pound on him until he confessed to whatever bullshit Jocelyn was slowly uncovering.But the rational side of him held back.

Ryder had no idea Jocelyn was reviewing their company books.He had no reason to suspect Birch would have insider knowledge, no matter how confusing that knowledge currently was.Maintaining a casual status quo was the best way to keep that little tidbit a secret, so as much as it killed him, he knew he had to let whatever Ryder was doing play out a little longer.

“Sounds good,” he replied, crossing out his name from the second shifts and adding Ryder’s.“I’m more of a morning guy lately anyways.”

*

Once again, Jocelynstood in the doorway of her hotel room as Birch exited the elevator, appreciating the sight of him walking down the hall.

The tattered jeans he favored were replaced by tan cargos.The black and grey shirts he usually wore had been swapped out with an olive-green Henley, the long sleeves hiding the art adorning his arms.He had a naturally smooth swagger, the slight bowing of his legs sending her mind right to the gutter as she envisioned what might be between those strong thighs of his.

When she tore her gaze off his body, she caught him appraising her with the same heated expression, his eyes lingering on her hips as though he were attempting to figure out which thong she chose to wear that day.

Stepping aside to let him in, she checked out the fit of his cargos from the back before switching her thoughts to the business at hand.“How was work today?Was Ryder there?”

He seemed to be in the same frame of mind, with all the lust in his gaze gone as he set his wallet and keys on the coffee table then sat in the armchair across from the sofa.“Busy, which is always a good thing.”He checked his phone, then placed it beside his wallet.“He was there.I figure the best course of action is to pretend I don’t know anything.He thinks the Epson PD took the paperwork and shoved it somewhere, so he has no idea you’re reviewing it.”

Plucking the stack of spreadsheets from her portable printer, she grabbed her highlighters and sat in the high-backed chair opposite him, both of them pretending the sofa didn’t exist.“Good plan.There are twelve receipts totaling forty-eight hundred dollars.But I have questions about some others.Take a look through this and put an X beside anything you don’t recognize and we’ll see if you and I are seeing the same things.”

He held out his hand and she passed the spreadsheets and a pen over to him, watching his expression as his brows knotted, his lips drawing into a tight line.He ticked off a few entries on each page, his eyes darkening more with each and every page he scanned.By the time he reached the end, his shoulder muscles were visibly knotted beneath his shirt, his grip on the pen tight enough to nearly crack the plastic casing.He passed the crumpled papers over to her and sat back in his chair, staring at the floor.

“Oh, whoa,” she exhaled, flipping through the spreadsheets.“You noted more than I did.”

“I know my business,” he growled, running a hand through his hair.“At least I thought I did.”Getting to his feet, he paced the floor behind her.“Seeing it all laid out in rows like that makes it so goddamn obvious he’s been screwing me over.I know we don’t go through that much ink in a month, and we haven’t had nearly enough piercing clients to justify half those jewelry receipts.I don’t even recognize any of the business names I starred.”

“Then we start there,” she said, standing up and stepping in front of him.“Your job is to order us room service and take a deep breath.I’ll begin looking up these business names online and see why Ryder has been ordering from them.Maybe it’s explainable.And if not, you’ll be okay.”

His expression shifted from furious to strained, as though he was struggling to accept something she said.“Explainable,” he echoed.“Yeah.Maybe, right?”

*

Birch wasn’t muchof an ‘I told you so’ guy.

Except, apparently, when he was talking to himself.

He knew it was a mistake to allow Jocelyn’s calm optimism to infiltrate his intense rage, to allow himself to think things were going to be okay.

Because it was not okay.

Nothing was okay.

And things were getting less okay by the minute.

“No, Angelo.I…yeah, I’ll be moving onto invoices and deposits tomorrow.No.No.”Jocelyn looked over to him, her delicate brows furrowed.“I will.So far only one person’s signature is on any of the questionable receipts.I…no…of course.I will.Talk to you in the morning.”She set her phone on the dining table and knelt in front of him.“Birch, I’m going to ask you something and I need you to be upfront with me, okay?”

He hunched his body forward a fraction, knowing he shouldn’t take offense given the situation, but feeling the sting of her words nonetheless.“What do you need to know?”

“Tell me I’m not hitching my wagon to the wrong horse.That you’re being completely honest with me.Because I’ve been burned for trusting the wrong person before and it fucking sucked.More than sucked.It almost destroyed me.”She took his hand and looked up at him, her steel blue eyes pleading with him.“Tell me you’re not the bad guy here.”

The bad guy.

Being the bad guy was traditionally Winter’s job, a role Birch only fulfilled when his older brother wasn’t able to.He was more of the fall guy, the one who shouldered the brunt of the damage when things went to hell, the one who maneuvered the pieces the best he could when backed into a corner with few options.And yeah, a few of the decisions he’d had to make would put him squarely in the bad guy pile.And maybe the thoughts he was having about whoever hurt Jocelyn enough to damn near break her would be considered bad guy stuff in some circles.

But not here.Not now.

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