Page 102 of Bulletproof

“Do let me know what Fallon Strauss decides.”

“You know who Fallon is?”

“I know everything, Jory.”

God, he really did.

“I’m really sorry that I couldn’t be there to help you train Pedro.”

“As I said before, Pedro knows the office and knows what he’s doing. He didn’t need you here. And this way, I can see him like I should, without you as a safety net.”

“But still, I promised you I would be there.”

“You found me a new assistant, which was what you had assured me you would do. That was what I really needed—your commitment and the execution of your word.”

“Okay.”

“Everything all settled?”

It always was after I talked to Dane.

I hung up, rolled out of the bed, and walked to the patio doors and threw them open. It was another beautiful day in paradise, with the sun and the breeze and the clouds and the deep blue of the ocean. I sucked fragrant air into my lungs and felt my whole life shift back to center.

After I showered and changed, I took my phone and headed over to the main house to get some breakfast. It took me a second to make sure I was awake when I saw Hayes Fisher sitting at a table with Aaron and Jaden and another man I didn’t know.

“Jory,” Hayes said, getting up, crossing the room to me.

What the hell?

“What’re you doing in Hawai’i?” he asked me.

“I could ask you the same question.”

He shrugged. “A friend of mine, Burke Ellis, invited me to spend the weekend with him and his buddies from college, and since I fired Synergy, I figured, what the hell?”

“You fired Synergy?” I asked as he took a step closer to me, putting a hand on my shoulder.

“Yes, I did.”

I grinned at him. “They don’t find nice guys, huh, only nice girls?”

“Yes, you were right. You’re very perceptive.”

“Yeah, well, I bet you didn’t get your deposit back from them.”

“No, I didn’t, but it really—what in the hell are you doing here?”

So, I explained about lying low, out of the way of a psychotic drug dealer, and how I knew Aaron Sutter.

“You used to date Aaron Sutter of Sutter Industries, Sutter Acquisitions, Sutter that builds hotels and skyscrapers all over the world?”

“Yep.”

“God, no wonder you weren’t impressed when I told you I was rich. Compared to him, I’m not.”

I shrugged. “I don’t give a crap about money.”

“Yes, Jory, I know that,” he said dryly.