Page 54 of Breaking the Alpha
She held up a hand, her eyes on the woman now tilting River’s head to the right.“Either this is your agent, a designer with boundary issues, or you’ve found yourself a new nurse.”
“Agent,” River exhaled as he attempted to extricate himself from the woman’s grip.“Angelina, this is Jodie.Jodie, this is my…my Angelina.”
Jodie gave River a final look-over before turning to her.“Your Angelina?”She glanced over her shoulder at River as he hiked his jeans over his hips.“Bring her.You need her type of damage control.Now.I’ll be at the Italian restaurant across the street.”
Angelina’s brows shot up and she moved away from the exit while Jodie strode past her and out the door.“She is definitely not zen.”
“No, she isn’t,” River huffed from across the room as he tugged his shirt over his head, grabbed his crutches from Birch, and hobbled over to her, pressing his forehead to hers.“I am so sorry.I didn’t know she would just show up here.But I am so happy to see you.”
“What the hell just happened?”Birch murmured from behind the protection of his desk.“Strip, she says.And you just…strip?Fuck,Ialmost stripped.Why didIalmost strip?River?What the fuck?”
River grinned and closed his eyes for a moment before straightening up and altering his balance on his crutches.“Hate to say it, Birch, but Jodie has her eye on you.If my ugly mug doesn’t make her happy in the next hour you better run, because I suspect she’ll be gunning for you next.”When Birch let out a choking sound, he reached over and took a handful of Angelina’s hair, letting it fall from his fingers.“There’s no way I can get out of lunch with Jodie.How long of a break are you taking?Maybe I can swing by and see you before I head over to the house to hang out with Grey.”
Smoothing her hand over his shirt, she looked up at him, happy to see that his eyes didn’t hold the same apprehension they had every time he’d ignored his agent’s calls over the past week.“I believe I was commanded to attend lunch with you, so let’s go.”
He wrinkled his nose but followed her out the door with a wave to Birch.“Text me if Grey wakes up before I’m back,” he called over his shoulder before turning his attention back to her.“I should warn you: Jodie can be painfully blunt.Don’t take anything she says to heart.”
“Do you?”she asked, thinking back to what he’d told her about his scars.
“Nah.She’ll rip apart my eye color and shoe size as fast as she will everything else, so it doesn’t really hit hard.And she feeds my ego in equal amounts, so it works.”He smirked at her and her pulse quickened, as though her body suddenly remembered he was truly a devastatingly gorgeous man.“She and I have a lot of business to cover, but we won’t spend the whole meal on it.”
The restaurant was almost empty, making it easy to spot Jodie in her crisp black suit with her phone held tight to her ear.River led her over to the booth, motioning for her to slide in first while he balanced his crutches against the empty table behind them.
Jodie set her phone down and stared at River long enough to make it uncomfortable.
Uncomfortable for Angelina, at least.
River simply remained still, his expression a mix of unimpressed and bored.
The server took their drink orders, his presence doing nothing to break the staredown.As the cups of coffee and water were placed down in front of them, Jodie clasped her hands on the table and leaned forward, ending the silent standoff.“How did this happen?”
“We’ll go with a mountain bike accident.”
“True?”
“No.”
“Can you tell me?”
“No.”
“Do I want to know?”
“No.”
“Does it require a lawyer?”
“No.”
Jodie nodded sharply and moved on with her rapid-fire interrogation, completely ignoring Angelina.“Why haven’t I seen your girlfriend on your social media?”
“I’m not sharing her.”
“Is this a fling?”
“No.”
“She made your bracelets?”
