After calling for a cab, I dialed Nick. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s cool. She’s resting right now, so I’m going to head home and shower, eat and all that jazz.”
“Need me to come get you?” Nick offered.
“Nah, I called a cab already, but I do need a favor of a different sort,” I warned.
“Name it.”
“I need you and Julian to convince one of the girls to be Quinn and call her landlord and buy out her lease, if she has one, and move her into my place.”
Nick let out an offended huff over the phone. “Seriously, dude? It’s like you don’t even know us?”
I let out a breath.
He was right.
I shouldn’t even have had to ask for that favor. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Did the girls set her stuff up at my place already?”
“Q’s place was a furnished apartment, so all we really needed to pack up was her personal belongings. I told the girls they could put her stuff wherever they thought she’d want them. Totally gave them free reign of your condo, man.”
I spotted the cab rolling up to the curb. “Okay, man. Thanks. I owe you guys.”
“Just live happily ever after, dude.”
“I plan to.” I hung up and got into the cab. I gave him my address and finally rested my head back against the seat letting out a much needed breath.
I will never let her fucking go again.
Never.
Chapter 24
Virtues: Because it’s always been you!
Chase~
After a lot of arguing and frustration, I finally made it back to work. Quinn and I finally reached a compromise where I would work half days giving the hospital staff all morning to do what they needed to do with her and then she’d be all mine for the rest of the day.
Of course, I had to share her with the girls, the guys, her sister and aunt and my brother and mother, but I’d take what I could get.
It was Thursday morning and they were going to discharge her tomorrow, so I was busting some ass here at work in order to take all of Friday off.
She still hadn’t been told that she was living with me, but I figured I’d tackle that once I got her home and she couldn’t ask any hospital staff to bar me or call the cops. I suspect everyone else didn’t tell her because they didn’t want to ruin what was to be a spectacular story once she found out.
The bastards.
I was heading back from a conference call with Nick and a client when I came upon Olivia passing me in the hall. “Chase.”
I stopped and did my best to keep from gritting my teeth. “Olivia.”
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you,” she began. I wondered if she was going to give me false concern for Q.
Boy, was I wrong.
“I just wanted to thank you again for your concern that night at Balto’s and to let you know I’ve moved on from that creep.”
I didn’t care.
At one point, I did. She was an employee of SMA and I took that relationship seriously. But after she tried to make Quinn believe that there was something more personal going on between us that night, I lost all personal respect for her. As an employee, I will treat her will all the respect she deserved, but that’s about it.
And this wasn’t a professional conversation.
“Well, I’m glad to hear as is well. Now if you’ll excuse-”
She stepped closer blocking me. “Well, better a single girl than be with a man who doesn’t appreciate all I’m capable of, right?”
I took a step back. I wanted to tell her I didn’t give a fuck, but I opted for cordiality. “It’s important to know your worth.”
“Well, I was thinking, since you don’t frown upon dating employees, maybe as two single people we could-”
Fuck. This. Shit
“I’m sorry, Olivia. I’m not sure where you got the impression that I was single, but I’m not.”
Her face turned hard just for a second. If I hadn’t been looking into her face, I would have missed it. “But I thought you and Quinn-”
I held up my hand to shut her the fuck up. “Make no mistake, Olivia, Quinn and I are still very much together as a couple. Just because she’s not wearing my letterman jacket doesn’t mean I don’t already have plans to marry her one day.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean anyth-”
I’ve had enough of this crap. “Olivia I know exactly what you meant. Just because I’m polite and professional enough not to point out how obvious you are, doesn’t mean I can’t see through your fake ignorance and your jealousy of Quinn.”
Her eyes rounded and her mouth dropped open. “Mr. Alexander…”
“Just stop it, Olivia. You’re a great employee and a real asset to SMA, but while I don’t care if you’re banging every male in this building, Mr. Moretti, Mr. Savage and I are off limits. We are all very committed and in love with the women in our lives. If you insist on making untoward advances, we will be meeting with H.R., understand?”
Olivia’s face was so flushed she looked like a lobster. “Yes, Mr. Alexander, of course.”
I went to step around her, but I wasn’t done. “One more thing, Olivia. If I ever hear or see you be anything less than professional with Quinn or Avery Ellis, I will personally escort you from the building. This is a place of work and I will not allow any employee to treat other employees disrespectfully out of jealousy and spite. And I won’t allow anyone to disrespect the woman I love, no matter what the reason.”
I walked off before she could respond. I needed to contact H.R. and let them know about our little conversation. I had no plans on getting Olivia in trouble, but I needed to cover my ass in regard to our exchange.
After talking with H.R., I went back to my office to clean up some of my backlog of work. Nick and Julian did their best to try to carry my load, but they still had their own shit to take care of. I worked a lot from Quinn’s hospital room, but since I haven’t been able to meet with as many clients as I normally would being at Q’s side as I have, I had a lot of shit to catch up on.
Not that I was complaining, because I wasn’t not.
I was deep in work when the door to my office opened. I looked up to see Julian walking in. “What’s up?”
“Are you going to let Quinn work from home or no?”
I loved how he phrased it. He asked as if I had a say in what that hardheaded wench did. “I have plans to tell her she can’t.”
“Okay, so I’ll be by Sunday evening to drop off some files. She can work on all of it from home,” he announced like he hadn’t just heard what I said.
“You don’t think I can make her take some time off?”
Julian lifted a brow. “Hell no, I don’t. Besides, you’ll be so busy kissing her ass after she hands you yours for moving her into your condo without asking her, you’ll do anything she asks.”
“Please, like you don’t grant Izzy’s every wish and desire,” I ribbed.
“That’s different. It’s very clear in our relationship who has the dick,” he joked.
“Asshole,” I countered. “You know, now that I think about it, I still haven’t received a Thank You card or flowers from you or Nick.”
“For what?”
“If it wasn’t for me, we would have never met the girls that night and Nick wouldn’t be marrying Ace and you wouldn’t be pussy whipped over Iz. So yeah, I think a card or an all-expense paid trip to Monaco would be nice,” I graciously suggested.
Julez scoffed. “First of all, you can afford your own trip to Monaco. Secondly, you cannot turn your need to get laid as an I-Owe-U for Isabella and Avery, you ass.”
“Why not?”
“Why not?” he repeated.
“Yeah, why not? You guys are going to get married and then go off to have beautiful babies and live happily ever after. If that doesn’t deserve a Thank You card, then I don’t know what does.”
My office door opened and Sav walked into Julian calling me a goddamn id
iot. “Well, yeah,” Nick agreed.
“Thanks for the support, Sav,” I mumbled.
He just lifted his shoulder. “You want me to lie?”
“I want a goddamn Thank You card!” Was it really too much to ask?
“A Thank You card?”
“Numb Nuts here thinks we owe him a Thank You card or a trip to Monaco in appreciation for Isabella and Avery,” Julian explained.
Nick sat down in the chair next to Julez. “Hold up, aren’t you the one who told Q that it doesn’t matter if we had gone out that night or not. It’s fate that they’re in our lives and we would have hooked up with them eventually anyways?”
I sat up in my chair. “How do you know about that conversation?”
“How do you think? Q told Avery and Avery thought it was so sweet, she told me.” Nick waved a hand at me. “Besides, you can’t possible think any of our conversations are truly private anymore, do you? If you do, then you really are an idiot.”
I wasn’t expecting Quinn to betray me like that. I guess I’ll have to settle for the cards instead of the trip. “I still say you guys owe me some sort of thank you.”
“Thank you,” they said in unison.
I flipped them both off.
“Okay, Julez is here for legit business reasons, but why in the hell are you here, Sav?”
“Oh, yeah, I got a lock on a new stock and I want to put the girls on it,” he informed us.
“Why?” Julian asked. “It’s not like the girls are ever going to want for anything. They have us.”
Nick pinched his lips. “Because every fucking time I bring up money or bank accounts or any kind of finances when we get married, Avery shuts me down and tells me she has her own money, she doesn’t need mine.”
“So, you plan on making her rich so you don’t have to worry about her financially, and if you make Q and Iz rich in the process it will make Ace feel like it’s luck and not you manipulating her?” I asked.
Nick let out a sigh. “I don’t know why she can’t just take my fucking money. It’s not like I’ll ever let her leave me anyways.”
“You guys truly are idiots,” Julian inserted.
“By all means, Julez, please continue,” I quipped.
“Those girls not wanting anything to do with our money is not because of them. It’s because of us, you tools.”
“What the hell does that mean? I’ve never flaunted my money in front of Avery,” Nick defended.
Julian just rolled his eyes. “They’re just trying to prove that they love us for us, and not our money, that’s all. Whether people voice it or not, there are going to be a lot of jealous, hateful people suggesting that they’re with us for our money…”
“Bullshit, I know Q’s only with me for my big dick,” I joked.
Julian flipped me off. “It’s to reassure us, not to snub our financial status.”
Nick groaned. “I am an idiot.”
Julian just nodded.
“So, then how do we get them to accept the money?” I mean…everything I have and everything I am is Quinn’s for the taking. If I thought for even a second that she was a gold digger, I wouldn’t be with her.
“Our homes and cars are paid for, so there’s no question of rent or car payments. We just pay for everything that will leave their paychecks untouched.” He shrugged a shoulder. “If they have no bills, then their bank accounts will accumulate quickly and they will have more money than they need.”
It sounded perfect. “And since we’re men and we’re supposed to pay for dinner, movies and all that stuff, we’ll be paying for damn near everything anyways. I like this plan.”
Nick nodded in agreement. “Sounds solid.”
“Okay, now get the hell out of my office so I can go see Q,” I had shit to do damn it.
They both stood up, but I knew it was too good to be true. “So you’re going to record when you take Q to your condo on your phone for us right?”
“Get out!”
The assholes.
Quinn~
“Dude, where are we going?”
“Home,” Chase simply replied.
“Chase, I get you would love nothing more than to have me butt ass naked around your house all day, but we need to stop by my place first so I can grab some things.” I initially wanted to protest going to Chase’s, but even I knew the difference between stubborn and flat out dumb. While I could manage on my own at home if I had to, I wasn’t dumb enough to put myself through that kind of difficulty when Chase was more than willing and wanting to take care of me. But I still needed to get some things from home.
“Trust me. You already have everything you need, babe.”
The girls must have packed me a bag knowing the odds were that Chase was going to hold me captive at his condo. It was hard to mind when I knew they just all wanted the best for me.
Everything was on track to heal nicely except for my shattered ankle. That was going to take some surgeries and a lot of rest and physical therapy until it would be completely healed. And thanks to Chase, or Chase, Nick and Julian, I had the best orthopedic surgeon in the country tending to my injury. I was beyond grateful and while Chase’s money was a nonfactor in our relationship, this is one of the times I was extremely grateful for it.
“How long do you think we’ll last before I’m throwing a frying pan at your head?” I teased.
Well…sort of teased. I mean, this was me and Chase we’re talking about.
Chase shot me a sidelong glance. “How long until you’re completely healed?”
I flipped him off, but couldn’t hide my smile. Chase truly was perfect for me. We had some things we needed to iron out, but we weren’t in this to change each other from the people we were. “You’re lucky you have a big dick.”
“Why, yes…yes, I am,” he threw back confidently.
I just shook my head. I mean after all, I’m the one who benefits from his big dick, right?
We rode the rest of the way in comfortable silence. Truth be told, I was already feeling a little exhausted. You would think lying in a hospital bed all week would be restful, but it hadn’t been. I’m not used to being in bed for days on end, so my body was lethargic and confused. I rested my head against the window and closed my eyes for the rest of the ride.
We finally reached Chase’s condominium complex, I waited patiently as he gathered my hospital bag and crutches. He came around to my side of the car and opening the door, handed me the crutches. “You got it?”
It would be too easy to lean on Chase and let him carry me to the elevator, but I couldn’t do that to him. If he thought for one second that I was invalid, he’d abandon work altogether and spend all his time catering to me. I couldn’t let him do that, not only for him, but for myself as well. I wasn’t weak and I didn’t plan on starting to be now.
“Yeah, I got it.” I propped the crutches and pulled myself up. Once I was steady, I hobble my crippled ass towards the elevator in Chase’s car garage. I’m not one to focus on money, but right now when the other option was the stairs, I was grateful Chase had some.
“Did the girls pack me a bag? Is that why we didn’t need to stop at my place?” I asked as we ascended in the elevator.
He hummed a little, “Not exactly.”
“I swear if I didn’t need these crutches right now to support my foot, I’d take one upside your head, Chase.”
He had the audacity to chuckle at my very violent threat. “Lucky for me, your foot takes precedence to smashing my face in.”
The elevator stops and it opens up to the back of his kitchen. We walked in…or rather, he walks in and I hobble in and he sets my bag on the kitchen counter. “Hungry? Thirsty?”
“I’ll take some water,” I answered as I finished my hobbling journey into the living room. I stopped so suddenly the crutches almost came out from under me.
I counted to ten.
Then I counted to ten again.
Then I closed my eyes, shook my head and opened just one ey
e trying to clear the hallucination.
Because I had to be hallucinating.
But, nope. The living room looked exactly as it did when I walked in. This was real.
I was going to kill him!
“Chase Alexander!”
I could hear his voice coming up behind me. “Now, Quinn, before you-”
I didn’t turn around. I needed to save my strength for when I kicked his ass. “Before I what, Chase?”
“Why don’t you sit down and drink some of your water,” he soothingly suggested.
“How about I say to hell with my foot and bash you upside your head anyway?” I hobbled my way to the couch nonetheless.
He handed me the water and sat on the coffee table across from me. “Now, hear me out before you go rabid on me, okay?”
I growled at him.
Rabid, indeed.
He clasped his hands together and rested his elbows on his knees as he leaned into me to explain, “Since I’m keeping you, it just made sense to move you in.”
“Since you’re keeping me?” I screeched. That’s his explanation?
He sat up and put his hands up in a calm down motion. “Okay, that came out wrong.”
“You think?”
He narrowed his eyes at me and I could tell he was trying to find the right words. I wanted to take pity on him and inform him that he’ll never have the right words, but I let him suffer. Plus, he’s just not capable. “Do you love me?”
That softened me up immediately. “You know I do, Chase.”
“You were going to end up here eventually, Quinn…” he reasoned.
“Why didn’t you ask me?”
“The same reason none of us asked Ace when we moved her in with Nick,” he countered.
“That was different! Chase, she was attacked. That move was out of concern for her safety and concern for Nick’s sanity.”
“Well, this move is for mine!” Chase stood up and started pacing. “Goddamn it Quinn, I almost lost you! Do you have any idea what that feels like?” He bellowed.
Chasing Quinn Page 29
