“Not happening,” I said before Kade spontaneously combusted.

My friend—always a staunch defender of the fairer sex—looked like he might go up in flames at any moment. Only Zeke could rile him up like this. They weren’t long-time friends, as I was with Kade. To tell the truth, it was difficult to truly be Zeke’s friend because his life consisted of secrets layered on secrets. Getting to know the man behind the mask was next to impossible.

“Fine.” Zeke shrugged. “I just thought I’d put it out there. She’s beautiful. Seems nice. You could do worse.”

“I don’t want Tom for a brother-in-law. Anyway, my problems with him have nothing to do with her.”

Zeke cocked his head and touched a fingertip to the metal hoop through his eyebrow. “By breaking into your office, she inserted herself into the situation. She’s a player here, whether the Neanderthal beside me likes it or not.”

“Fair point. But the topic is closed for discussion.” I scanned my desk until I found the file I was looking for. “I need to talk to you both about the Fairbanks case.”

Half an hour later, Kade and Zeke exited my office, and I stood and stretched the kinks from my back. A muscle in my shoulder twinged. While I hadn’t performed any active bodyguard duty for years, I liked to keep in good physical condition. I attended more public events than either of my business partners, and if I let myself go, it might not inspire trust from potential clients. Besides, I enjoyed pushing myself in my home gym.

An errant thought drew me from my office. Before I realized where I was going, I found myself standing in the open plan area where the marketing, communications, and public relations staff were based. Willow sat at a long desk, hunched over a laptop, her chin propped on her hand, studying the screen intently. Awareness fizzled through my body. She was stunning. Zeke had been right about that. Her silky blonde hair hung down her back in a way that tempted me to wrap it around my fist.

I swallowed. Damn, I needed to get my thoughts under control.

“Can I help you?” a voice asked to my right.

I flinched, caught off guard, and turned. Imani, a Black woman in her mid-twenties and one of Willow’s new colleagues, was seated at the long desk behind Willow and gave me a look that said she’d caught me staring.

Willow glanced over her shoulder, and her eyes widened.

“I just wanted to say hello to our newest recruit,” I said, relieved it wasn’t unusual for me to check in with new employees. In fact, I think I’d done the same thing with Imani when she started.

Willow tucked her hair behind her ears. “Everything is fine, thanks.” She studied me as though she thought I was trying to catch her slacking off. “Imani has already shown me how to use the systems. Now I’m familiarizing myself with the kind of work you do so I can best determine where to focus the social media campaigns.”