Page 44 of Astrid
“Because there’s a room that John and Chuck set up especially for the computers. They talked to Uncle Chip, and his guy where he is gave them instructions on how to do it. That’s where the computers and monitors are. Before John got his boxers in a bunch, he had asked me where and how to place the monitors. I haven’t looked yet, but if he followed my suggestions, it should be ready for me to install the computers.”
“Well, I’ll be damned,” Morgan said as she shook her head. “We’ll have to check it out after lunch.” They resumed eating, then Morgan looked around in shock.
“What?” Ava asked.
“Where are the boys?”
“John’s with a client,” Astrid said.
“Justin said he had three people, potential clients, to meet with this morning, then he was going to help Alan with the cupboards.”
“Alex is taking a cooking lesson from Dolly this morning, then he’s helping Alan, also.”
“Wow, and the others?”
“No clue, probably helping Alan.” Joyce frowned, then looked at Morgan intently. “Do you know what Alfie does? He’s been very secretive lately.”
“No clue. I know when he’s not helping John or Josh, he’s working with his leather projects.” She sighed and shook her head. “Whenever I ask what he’s working on, he shakes his head and says I’ll find out in due time. I’ve learned to let him do his own thing.” They finished their lunch, and all cleaned up after themselves. Because the basement was empty of the things they needed to take to the new office, they went over there and started emptying the boxes and organizing everything. The three women left Astrid alone to do her thing, and it wasn’t long before they were all lost in their own projects. By the time they were done, it was time to call it quits for the day. Morgan left to go to her home, but not before telling the others she would see them later after she received the call from the arrests being made later that night.
During dinner, talk settled around the progress Alan was making with the order for Neil Mason, and he was happy with what they’ve accomplished so far. After dinner, while the girls went up to get ready, the men cleaned up, and Astrid didn’t know whether Morgan had sent them or not, but the Erwin males arrived to work with the Stuart men in their nightly hand-to-hand skills.
Astrid walked out of her bathroom dressed in nothing but a towel, and stopped short when she saw John sitting on the bed. She shook her head with a smirk and made her way over to her dresser.
“What?” John asked in confusion from her expression.
“It’s nothing,” she said, then sighed as she pulled a pair of panties from the dresser and slipped them on, then a matching bra. She turned and faced him with a grin. “Night before last, the night I gave you that shiner to be exact, I come in here from my shower, and the other women were sitting around the room. Granted they had a glass of wine for me, and now I come out and you’re here.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No, because it just dawned on me that we’re sharing this room, so you belong here, but why are you here?”
“Just wanted to know if you needed any moral support while getting ready.”
“Not really,” Astrid sighed, and went to her closet. She pulled a white tank along with a long-sleeved, black, button-up shirt. Before donning either one, she went back to her dresser and withdrew a pair of jeans from one of the drawers. In under ten minutes she was dressed, and back in the bathroom fixing her hair and makeup. When she was done, she stood back and looked at John. “What do you think?”
“That you’re beautiful, and I’m sorry it’s going to be wasted on the guys you’re meeting tonight.”
“What do you mean wasted?”
“I mean that you’ll be with them what, an hour? Two at the most before Tom takes them down.”
“Yeah, I’ll give you that.” She laughed as she went up to him, brought his head down, and planted a kiss on his lips. When they broke apart, they were both breathing hard. “You good?”
“Yeah,” John sighed as he hugged her. Together they left the bedroom, and Astrid wasn’t surprised when Ava and Joyce left their rooms at the same time, followed by Justin and Alex.
What the men didn’t see were the rolled eyes on the women, and the women didn’t see the concerned looks the men exchanged. The couples walked down the stairs, and paused at the bottom when the rest of the men hopped off the couches and chairs in the living room area and stood before them. They all either grinned, whistled, and clapped their hands when they caught sight of the girls dressed to go out.
Chuck walked around Astrid and shook his head. “I have to ask, how long did it take you to curl your hair like that?”
“It’s natural, I didn’t put any product in it to tame the curls.”
“It’s beautiful,” he said, then grinned when John pushed him away from her.
“Thank you,” Astrid laughed, and looked at the jealousy on John’s face and laughed harder. She wrapped her arm around him, reached up to bring his head down for a kiss. It was several minutes before they broke apart, and when they did, Astrid stepped back out of his reach. She noticed Joyce and Ava did the same with Alex and Justin. The women made their way to the door, and after donning their shoes, they looked at everyone and nodded.
“Go practice your hand-to-hand with the others. We’ll be fine.” Astrid nodded, then went one step further. “I will call you when the arrests are made.” She saw the relief come over all the men’s faces.
“But,” Joyce held up her hand to ward off any of them asking questions. “We will probably follow the police down to the station to see if we can’t get answers. I guess what I’m saying is that when Asteroid calls to tell you the deed is done, that doesn’t mean our night is over.”
