Page 27 of Watch Over Me

And being in love with your still-grieving boss was pretty fucking sensitive.

Jasmine tugged her headset off.

"Jeremy and Martinez are pulling in, they should be here in a few."

With a nod, Ryan motioned towards the table in the far end of the room.

"If we're doing it here, let's make ourselves comfortable, shall we?"

James helped him move the table to the middle of the room, closer to the computer stations, then grabbed some chairs for everyone.

Right as he took a seat himself, Jeremy and Martinez walked in. At that point, everyone handed over their equipment to Jasmine, and Eddie frowned and opened his mouth like he wanted to protest, but finally he just shoved his hands between his legs and stayed in his chair.

He did, however, roll it towards the table, situating himself next to James.

"Kalei's on his way, so we probably have a few minutes," Ryan told Jeremy, who took a seat on the other side of Eddie, while Martinez made a byline for the coffee machine.

"It's almost eleven," Jeremy reminded his partner, but Martinez waved him off.

"I'm going to crash soon if I don't drink it. You know how I get."

James looked at the coffee machine and considered it, too, but then let go of the idea. He would end up with a killer headache tomorrow otherwise.

Eddie rolled towards his desk and searched through his drawer before rolling back with four protein bars.

He pushed one towards each of them. "Here, have at it."

"Good to know you're hiding them away in here,"Martinez said, grabbing one with a grin, and James raised his eyebrows.

He'd known about Eddie's stash for what seemed like forever. Eddie had an uncanny ability to tell when James really needed something to eat, and each time, he would hand over a bar without James even asking.

Judging by the nods from Ryan and Jeremy, it seemed like James was the only one getting this treatment, however, which made him happier than it probably should.

"What about you?" he asked to distract himself. "Don't you want one?"

"I already ate one, soon after I got here. And then another." Eddie grimaced. "I'm a stress eater."

That brought everyone back to the task at hand and to the evening from hell. They ate quickly and got comfortable, and by the time Kalei came in, they were ready to work.

But not before they all did a double take, likely for the same reason as James, because they'd never seen Kalei in khaki pants and a T-shirt in the office. At a barbecue at his place, sure, but never here.

Still, it was close to eleven on a Saturday night. In a way, he was dressed more appropriately than the rest of them.

"Okay, lay it on me." Kalei sat at the top of the table and leaned on his forearms as the rest of them straightened in their seats. Khakis or not, the man still easily commanded the room. "What are we dealing with?"

Jeremy recapped everything that had happened in a clear, concise way, with Eddie telling his part in more detail when Kalei turned to him for details on his side.

"I know there's a lot to unpack here and it's not a priority from the case standpoint, but I need my brother to know," Eddie added when he got to the end, and James noticed he was clutching his hands between his legs under the table again.

For a split second, James wanted to reach out and touch him, calm him down, but then he remembered himself.

It wasnothis place.

"He'll find out," Kalei said. "Of course he will. We simply need to think of the best way to approach this without making a mess first."

Eddie slumped back in his chair. "Thank you."

"Nothing to thank me for," Kalei told him. "It's what I would've done whether he was your brother or not."

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