Free Loving Leo (The Romanovsky Brothers Book 3) by Trevion Burns

you were her own?  You’ll take from our father, who opened his door to you without question, time and time again, when you were too afraid to go home?  Well, know this Reggie.  Regardless of whether or not you get Novsky, that monster will never love you—”
    “Gary.”  This time, it was Val who objected.
    “It doesn’t matter what you say, or what you do, he will never love you like we did.” Gary leaned in.  “He will never change.”
    Reggie lifted his head higher, hands curling into fists in his pockets, making his slacks pull tight against his legs.
    “He will never be there for you the way we always were.  One day you’re going to wake up and realize that.”
    Reggie’s smile remained, but when he swallowed, his throat moved.
    Gary watched it wobble.  “And Reggie… that’s the kind of guilt that won’t wash clean.”

6
     
    An hour later, Jessica waved good-bye to her waiting room buddy, Sue, who gave up and rescheduled her interview when it appeared the war between Reggie and the Romanovskys was going to stretch into the afternoon.
    Jessica waited until the elevator doors closed behind Sue to look back to the office, feeling like she was watching a foreign film.  She couldn’t hear a word they were saying behind that glass wall, but somehow, she understood.
    Jessica straightened when, just minutes after Sue threw in the towel, Reggie King yanked open the office door with a force that sent his unbuttoned suit jacket flying open. He tugged it back into place and went to leave, but someone inside the office reclaimed his attention.  This time, when Reggie fired back, their noisy disagreement carried down the hallway.
    Watching this, Jessica shoved her hand into her pocket and fingered the strip of adhesive transmission devices she always kept on her.  The devices were small, round, and nearly invisible to the naked eye.  They stuck to clothing with ease, had a ten meter range, and uploaded to an internal memory drive the moment they picked up any audio.  Those sticky little bastards had closed so many cases for Jessica, she’d lost count.
    After exchanging a few more choice words with the brothers, Reggie finally left the office.  He moved down the long hallway that led to the waiting room, staring at the floor as he snatched at his jacket.  Above his head was a sign for the bathrooms.
    Jessica leapt from her seat and moved to the wall, ensuring Reggie couldn’t see her.  She picked up her pace and circled the corner at top speed, just in time to run smack dab into his hard chest.
    She made a production of tumbling to a heap on the marble floors, throwing in a high pitched yelp for good measure.
    “Whoa.” Reggie bent down with her as she fell, taking gentle hold of her arms.  “I’m so sorry.  I didn’t see you there.  Are you okay?”
    Jessica clutched the flaps of his jacket, planting the adhesive tracker to the expensive fabric with ease.
    “I’m fine,” she said.  “Grace has never been my strong suit.”
    “I’m Reggie King.”
    She took his outstretched hand, drank in his smile.  “Ashley Williams.”
    “I hope I didn’t hurt you, Ashley Williams.”
    “Totally my fault.  Nature called.  I’ve been waiting hours for my interview, and couldn’t hold it any longer.  All I could think about was getting to the bathroom.”
    He stood, helping her to her feet with the hand he still clutched.  “Please,” he said, his deep voice curling into her like butter as he motioned to the bathrooms.  “Don’t let me stop you.”
    Jessica moved backwards, holding his eyes, stumbling over her heels.
    “This company will be mine soon, and I hire pretty.” He winked.  “So let me be the first to tell you, Ashley Williams, the job is yours.”
    Her mouth dropped.
    His smile broke into a laugh before he turned a corner and disappeared out of sight.
    ***
     
    Minutes later, Jessica was admiring her reflection in the bathroom mirror, silently giving herself props on how