The doors opened and thankfully Julian stepped inside. He glanced at Lucas, and he could swear he saw a hint of regret in Julian’s gaze.
Lucas waited until Julian was safely gone before turning to Kade. Around them, the office staff had gathered, to watch and to gossip.
“Come on. Let’s go into your office and talk.” He slapped Kade on the shoulder and led the way into his friend’s office.
Unlike Lucas’ messy desk, Kade’s setup was stark and clean, courtesy of his anxiety and OCD tendencies. Kade had himself under control, but a confrontation like this wouldn’t be good for him.
“Want me to call Lexie?” Lucas offered.
“No. I don’t want her to know about this. She’ll get worked up and worried that Julian will get in touch with her sister. Which he’ll do over my dead body,” Kade muttered.
Kade ran his fingers back and forth over the glass of his Patek Phillipe watch. It wasn’t just a symbol of success; it meant something to Kade. Julian had known it and targeted him accordingly, going so far as to get Kendall to steal the watch.
Lucas frowned at the reminder. “Can I get you something to relax you?” He didn’t know whether or not to offer Kade a drink.
“No.” Kade reached into his pocket and shook out a pill.
Lucas didn’t say a word. He just waited for his friend to take it with the bottle of water on his desk. “Kendall’s doing better, right?” he asked of Lexie’s sister.
“Much. After she checked herself into the treatment center, she really dedicated herself to life changes and improvement. That’s why I don’t want Julian anywhere near her.”
“We can put security on her.”
Kade shook his head. “She deserves to live a normal life. But I’m warning you—”
“He’ll stay clear. I’ll talk to him myself,” Lucas promised.
Kade had been about to lift the bottle of water to his mouth and stopped. “You’d deal with that asshole?”
“For you, man? You know I would.”
“Thank you,” Kade said.
The three men became friends in college, back in their first-year fraternity days, before Lucas had dropped out due to sheer boredom.
But they’d already started working on Blink, and back then, Julian had been a part of things. Before drugs had become more important to him than anything else. As far as Lucas knew, Julian had been clean for a while. He certainly looked clear and stable today.
Lucas nodded. “Go home to Lexie.” She was the only person who could completely calm Kade down. From the day they’d met, there’d been an innate bond and understanding, though it’d taken them awhile to get past their initial mistrust.
“I’ll do that.” Kade ran a hand over his short hair before packing up his things for the day.
“I’ll head out with you. Just let me grab my things.”
Before he could walk out, Kade asked, “How’s it going living with Maxie?”
Lucas was glad his friend was distracted by something other than Julian. “I wouldn’t say I have her wrapped around my finger. But … it’s going.” And they were sleeping together every night, and she wasn’t complaining. Far from it. He hoped he had the woman in a sex-induced coma.
But that didn’t change her hesitancy about them and relationships in general.
“I remember those uncertain days,” Kade said. “They were a pain in the ass.”
“You can say that again,” Lucas muttered. But regardless, he was eager to get home to Maxie.
* * *
Maxie left work early, courtesy of the head lawyer on the case she was working on. They’d had a few late days in a row, and he wanted to give them a breather. A far cry from the work, work, work mentality she’d had at her old firm, and it was refreshing.
She was surprised when she heard the key in the lock, and Lucas, too, came home early. He walked into the room looking tired and stressed.
“What’s wrong?” She rose from her seat, concerned about him.
He ran a hand along the back of his neck. “Just a stressful day.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asked, reaching out a hand. He took it and she led him to the couch. They both sat down. “What’s going on?”
“Early this morning, my biggest problem was a Halloween party the office staff wants to have.”
“I heard,” she said, smiling. She was looking forward to meeting Lexie for lunch one day soon.
“But this afternoon we had an incident at the office. You know about Julian Dane?”
She nodded. “Lexie told me and you filled me in.”
“Well, he decided it was a good idea to pay Kade a visit.”
“What? Why?”
He leaned forward, shoulders hunched. “I wish to God I knew. He claimed he was worried about Kade’s sister-in-law, Kendall.”
“The same woman he used and hurt?”
Lucas nodded. “Kade lost it. I had to pull him off the guy. But—”
She leaned in closer. “But what?”
“Damned if there wasn’t something in his eyes. I almost believe he was sincere. Not that I’d admit as much to Kade. And I promised I’d have a talk with Julian. Assess his motives and warn him to stay away from Kendall.” Lucas shrugged. “Like I said, stressful day.”
“I’m sorry.” She pushed herself to the edge of the sofa. “Here. Turn around.”