Page 12 of Pressure

4

Lance paced the lobby of Solitaire as he waited for the rest of the board and Marissa to arrive. He’d tried to take a nap or work on code for an app he was developing but he couldn’t quiet his mind enough to do either. The day had put him in a foul mood, and he felt like he was in the same tailspin he’d been in during the aftermath of the implosion with Marissa.

Implosion was a good word for it too.

The front door opened, and he looked up, half expecting Marissa.

It was Patrick and Austin. “There’s some strange chick parked out front rocking out to some crazy music. Do we know this person?” Austin asked.

Lance chuckled. That would be her routine to get pumped up before a big job. It was just a board meeting, but she had a hard time interacting with groups and often needed to pump herself up for social gatherings with more than a couple of people. At least that’s how it had been five years ago.

“That’s Marissa Sullivan. She’ll be working with us until we figure things out.”

Austin nodded. “Can’t wait to meet her. Have you worked with her before?”

Lance winced. “In a manner of speaking. We lived together for four years. Broke up five years ago.” He didn’t see the point in hiding that from them. Especially not Austin. He’d been close with her since she first started dating Patrick.

“Yikes. This oughta be interesting. How’d this come about?”

Lance shook his head. “Fate? Karma for some terrible thing I did in a past life? Not really sure. She apparently did some work for Russell awhile back. Of all the people in the world it had to be Russell.”

Elijah stepped out of his office pulling a giggling Holly by her hair. “Upstairs with you, woman. I’ll come get you when we’re done.”

Holly waved at the group as she made her way into the bar to go upstairs.

“Sorry, Patrick,” Elijah muttered when the man glared at him. “Didn’t hear you come in.”

Lance smirked. It was still sometimes awkward for Holly and Patrick to be at the club together since they were siblings, but they had a surprisingly good system worked out to guarantee neither had to see the other doing anything kinky and sexual.

Patrick just rolled his eyes. “I’m getting used to it. Where is everyone else? It’s nearly seven,” he said, changing the subject.

Elijah pulled out his phone. “Let’s see, Hunter is on his way. He needed to stop at the Glenview to talk to Isabelle about some hotel business. Samuel is actually MIA. I’m getting a little worried about him. Matthew couldn’t make it. Dakota and Russell were having dinner with friends and will be here soon, and Garrett has to call in again.”

They were a busy bunch with a lot on their plates, but the club meant enough to each of them that they fit it into their schedules as much as possible. It was rare for a board member to miss a weekend at the club, with the exception of Samuel.

“So, are we gonna leave head banger chickee in her car all night or does somebody want to invite her in?” Austin asked.

Lance was hesitant to bring her in. Austin was another strong personality and Marissa would either hate her or they would become best friends. He wasn’t sure which one would be worse at this point.

“I’ll go get her,” Lance said, making his way to the door.

When he stepped out on the porch, he leaned on the railing and watched her for a moment. He wondered if she still rocked out to the same playlist or if she’d updated it through the years. With a grin, he walked down the steps and tapped on her window. She startled and pressed a hand to her chest as she opened the door.

“Jesus, are you trying to kill me? Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Lance shrugged. “I wasn’t exactly sneaking. Come on inside so we can get started. Some of the others are running late.”

She stepped out of the car and brushed past him. Her scent lingered as she sashayed up the porch steps. It was a smell that took him to the past, and memories of the many times they’d wound up in the shower together overloaded his senses.

He waited a beat before he turned and followed her up the stairs.

As he stepped in, he saw Austin sizing her up. The tall lawyer stuck her hand out. “Austin Yates, you must be Marissa Sullivan. Thanks for coming in to help us out.”

Marissa shook her hand and Lance watched as his ex did some sizing up of her own.

“Thanks for having me,” she said after a minute. “I just hope I’m able to live up to whatever recommendation Mr. Adler gave me.”

“We’ll give you every resource we can to make sure you succeed,” Austin said. “I’m going to start some coffee in the conference room. You want some?”

---