"What is he doing here?" she asked bitterly.
"He's our client as well," Lucy explained. "But don't worry. The judge isn't going to want a witness mixing with a defendant, so Brian is making sure we don't share any work between us."
"Oh, because that will help protect me from people seeing what an idiot I was," Sydney said.
"You're not an idiot," her friend replied. "Once you see this paperwork, you'll realize that John had some dirty books. At least that's what I can tell so far. We have some work to do to unravel all of it."
Sydney pulled her head up to take in the mound of paper on her own conference table. She dropped her purse on the floor next to her chair and rubbed her eyes before looking back at the pile.
"Fine. Where do we start?"
"I've got real investments for fake clients, fake investments for real clients, and then the real stuff for the real clients," Lucy explained. "Pick your poison."
Sydney just stared. He had been faking clients? And investments?
"Wait a minute. If there's a bunch of fake money on the books, where's the real money?"
Lucy sat down next to Sydney and looked her in the eye.
"Honestly, I don't know, and I don't think Brian knows either," Lucy said. "Hell, I don't even know if there is any real money that ever existed. But you worked in that office for years. You'll see things that we would miss. So can you help?"
Sydney dropped her head into the palms of her hands, trying to rub the weariness off of her face. It wasn't working. Instead, she turned to Lucy for some guidance.
"You promise you can help me?"
"I can, but you have to be honest with me, Sydney," Lucy said. "Did you know about any of this?"
Sydney wordlessly shook her head.
"And you promise not to keep any secrets from me?"
"I promise."
"Then I promise I can help you get rid of all of this," Lucy said.
She stood up and walked over to a green and white box at the end of the table and brought it over to Sydney's seat. Flipping the lid off, she grabbed a thick binder of paper and dropped it unceremoniously in front of her.
"You ready?" Lucy asked.
"Oh yeah," Sydney replied bitterly. "I can't wait to get started."
Chapter 9
Apparently, the bar had been a good way to get Ryan out of his funk because he called Andy the next morning to ask if he wanted to hang out. Not to come over and check his stitches, which were fine thanks to Amelia, or because Amelia had insisted that he come over to be fed. It seemed that Ryan just needed some company.
Andy recognized that interactions with people were a good motivator for his player so he felt he had no other choice than to say he would be there. He just hoped that he wouldn't run into Sydney. Talking to her last night had been nice. Well, more than nice. It was actually pretty great. But it was also over too soon. And really, that didn't matter anyway since she came home with Ryan and Alex. Andy couldn't blame her. She was beautiful and smart and he even saw a few men checking her out last night. Maybe they were like the beer guy who recognized her from the news, but there were definitely others who seemed more interested in what she looked like rather than her stint on the evening news.
As he walked past her door on his way to Ryan's place, his fingers began to itch. He wanted to knock on it, ask her casually if she wanted to join them or something. No big deal or whatever. Just friends hanging out. Then an image popped into his head of Alex potentially answering Sydney's door instead. Yep, better to just move on.
Amelia opened Ryan's door for Andy and, like she had the previous times he had been there, she took his coat, hung it up, and told him where the food was. Tonight, she made some spinach artichoke dip.
"Don't worry," she said. "It's nothing fancy. I just bought the stuff at the store, but it's still good."
"As long as you feed me, I'm good," he said. "Ryan, I brought you some Vernor's."
"Nice!"
Ryan slowly pulled himself off the sofa and walked over to grab one from the six pack. But then his hand paused in midair when he noticed the other drinks Andy brought with him.
"Is that winter ale from the microbrewery up north?" he asked.
"Oh, yeah," Andy said. "I found some extra left on the shelf. I thought I would have one or two tonight and leave the rest for you when you're done with your medication."
Ryan gave him a genuine smile. "You're the best trainer."
"I'm working on it," Andy replied. "Speaking of which, you're looking more mobile. How you feeling?"
"I'm actually feeling better."
"See? I told you that it was a good idea for you to get out last night," Amelia said.
Ryan just rolled his eyes, but in a loving way. "You were right, mom."
"Thank you." She pulled herself up on her toes and planted a kiss on her son's cheek. "Now, I put in an order for pizza for you. Cash is on the counter for the delivery guy. I'll be in the guest room."
"You don't have to lock yourself in there just because I'm here," Andy said.
"I'm not doing it for you. I'm doing it for me," she said with a teasing smile. "Boys, have a good night."
Amelia waved and wandered off to her room while the boys grabbed their drinks, spinach artichoke dip, and headed into Ryan's living room.
"Seems like your mom left out quite a bit of pizza money for the two of us," Andy said before taking a sip of beer.
"Sydney's coming over too."
Andy choked on the beer in his throat.
"You OK, man?" Ryan asked him.
"Oh, yeah," Andy replied quickly. "Just went down the wrong pipe or something."
Ryan gave him a slap on the back as he sat down on the couch.
"Don't go falling apart on me, man. I'm not the trainer. I don't know how to fix you."
Andy smiled to cover up the turmoil he felt inside. Sydney was going to be here. Dammit. He would have to play it cool. Really cool. Don't ask about the bar the night before, don't mention the funk he was in after seeing his ex-girlfriend there, and definitely do not talk about the men who were paying extra attention to her. Oh, and try to forget there was even someone named Alex there. Don't think of him at all.
Instead, Andy started asking Ryan questions about how he was feeling and what he planned to do about tomorrow night's Pirates game.
"You coming to the arena to watch?"
Ryan just shook his head. "I don't know yet. It's always hard for me to go to games when I can't play. Maybe I'll take Sydney to distract me."
Andy just took another swig of beer. That seemed to be quite a lot of time with Sydney. Last night at the bar, then tonight at Ryan's apartment and tomorrow at the game. He could admit to himself that he was definitely jealous of Ryan's time with her, even if she insisted they were just friends. But there was no way Ryan would ever admit out loud that he had feelings for Sydney — if he had feeling for Sydney. Although, that didn't mean he couldn't at least ask about her.
"So you and Sydney seem to be spending a lot of time together lately. What's up with that?" Andy tried to ask casually.
Ryan shot him a look of disgust. "Please tell me you're not trying to imply something."
He shrugged and looked down at his bottle of beer. "I'm just saying."
"Well, stop saying," Ryan said quickly. "Sydney is an awesome friend, but that's it."
The trainer gave him a teasing smile to hide the torture in his brain. "You seem quite defensive."
"Because thinking about her as more than a friend grosses me out," he replied. "Besides, she's not my type."
"And why is that?"
"My type leaves before I get up in the morning — usually. Then I never see them again," Ryan explained. "Sydney lives next door. I see her all the time. Plus, she's become like my sister or something. I mean, I like that about her, but that's not girlfriend material."
Andy smiled an actual genuine smile and took another drink. "Fine, I'll let it be then."
"Thank you."
<
br /> Of course, Andy knew that still didn't change the fact that she would never be interested in him, but it did at least push down the idea that she would ever be interested in Ryan either. He had to give her credit. She had good taste.
There was a knock at the door, and Andy grabbed the cash off the counter for the pizza delivery guy. But when he opened it, it wasn't the pizza delivery guy. It was Sydney. Her eyes fell on the cash in his hand and she gave him a quizzical look.
"Do I want to know what you think is going to happen tonight?" she asked.
"What?" Andy stammered.
She nodded towards his hand. "What's the cash for?"
He could feel his cheeks getting flush, realizing what she was implying. "Uh, Amelia gave us money to cover the pizza guy."
Her eyes went wide in amusement. "So now you're two grown men who can't afford their own pizza and have to get cash from mommy?"
"She offered," Ryan yelled from his perch on the couch. "And I'd keep quiet if I were you and I wanted to eat some of our pizza."
She leaned into the doorway to get a look at Ryan. "Point taken."
Andy closed his eyes for a moment. Sydney was wearing a low-cut tank top that showed off plenty when she leaned in from the doorway. She smelled like vanilla and cinnamon, which Andy noticed because she leaning so close to him. Perilously close. He took a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves before he opened his eyes again. He needed to get a grip before he decided to reach out and pull her closer.
Luckily, his thoughts were interrupted by a pimply teenage boy at the door with food.
"Perfect timing," Sydney said, grabbing the boxes from the delivery guy and pushing her way past Andy into the apartment. "That guy has your money."
Andy stood for a moment with his hand outstretched waiting for the guy to stop staring at Sydney's ass in her tight yoga pants. Frankly, Andy couldn't blame him. He felt very much like that kid when he was around Sydney too.
After the pizza guy was done being distracted long enough to take his money, Andy headed into the kitchen and threw a few slices onto a plate.
"Anyone need drinks?" he hollered.
Sydney and Ryan both responded with a "Me!" in unison.
Andy headed to the fridge, then walked slowly into the family room with three bottles in his hands.
"A little help?"
Sydney grabbed the Vernor's and beer from his right hand, her fingers brushing against his in a way that lingered on his skin long after she had grabbed the drinks. He cleared his throat, trying to use the tactic to also clear his head and get out the little bit of fuzziness that Sydney had added into his brain.
"So what are we watching?" he tried to casually ask.
"I was thinking we need to get Ryan into some Hitchcock. Either Psycho or Birds."
"Psycho sounds too much like that last girl I slept with," Ryan said.
Sydney squinted at him. "The last woman before your surgery?"
"Yeah," Ryan said with his mouth full of pizza. "She was a psycho. She took my appendix with her."
Andy laughed. "Well, at least you're not blaming Sydney anymore."
"She's not off the hook yet," he mumbled. "As long as she learned her lesson and brings me donuts next time, it'll all be fine."
Sydney took a swig from her beer bottle. "Won't happen."
"Whatever," Ryan grumbled. "Now where are the scary birds?"
Chapter 10
"Ryan?" Sydney whispered. "Ryan?"
She smiled down at him on the couch, his head flopped back on the cushion and his mouth gaping open. The only response she got from him was a loud snore as he moved into a better position.
"Is he asleep?"
Sydney could feel Andy's breath on her shoulder as he leaned over to get a good view of the rookie.
"Apparently, Birds made him tired."
Andy scoffed. "Not enough explosions, I guess."
She smiled at his remark and reached behind her to grab a blanket Ryan kept on the back of the couch. She gently covered him with it and put a pillow next to him in case he needed it in the middle of the night.
"Should we go?" she asked Andy quietly.
"Might be a good idea."
She stood and staggered a bit on her feet.
"Whoa," she said, grabbing Andy's arm for some support. "I guess my beer tolerance isn't what it used to be," she said quietly before letting go of him again.
"No problem," he replied quickly.
Sydney gave him an awkward smile, trying to ignore the feeling that had crept up on her after she put her hand on Andy's body. It was warm and solid and she could feel her fingers itching to touch him again. Instead, she just nodded towards the door, and he seemed more than willing to follow her out.
The harsh light in the hallway was not at all inviting as she closed Ryan's door behind them, and she noticed Andy sway a bit on his feet as he put on his heavy winter coat and dark red scarf.
"You OK?" she asked.
"Yeah. I think that winter ale has a bit of an extra kick," he said. "Plus, Birds got a little intense."
He gave her a lopsided smile. She couldn't help returning it. But she could also feel herself growing more concerned for Andy, which was a bit of a surprise to her. Standing in her hallway, the worry she usually reserved for Ryan was starting to creep up. This time, though, it was for Andy, and that little brother thing that made her feel so protective of Ryan was not there. There was something else. Some warm spark that was just different.
"Are you sure you're OK to get home?"
"Yeah," he said reassuringly, his eyes closing slightly longer than a natural blink. "My car is in Ryan's guest spot. I'll just sleep there for a little bit."
"No, you won't," she said, putting her key in the lock of her door. "Come on."
"What?"
She nodded towards her open door. "I have a very comfortable couch for you to sleep on in my place."
"You don't need to—"
"Just get inside."
Andy gave her a small nod and followed her directions.
She immediately dropped her keys and cell phone on the table by the door and headed for her linen closet. She pulled out a blanket that Lucy had bought her as a housewarming gift when she first moved into her condo. Then she ducked into her bedroom to grab an extra pillow from her bed.
Andy was standing in her living room where she had left him, still in his big winter coat and scarf.
"I invited you in, you know," she said teasingly. "You can take your jacket off."
He gave her a sheepish smile. "I just didn't know where to put it," he said.
Sydney directed him towards her kitchen table. "Throw it on the back of one of those chairs."
Andy swaggered a bit as he took his coat off, making Sydney feel better about him staying at her place. Between the beer and the late hour, he needed some rest before driving through the confusing streets of Detroit to the suburbs.
"Blankets," she said, holding out her hands. "I don't have extra pillows so you're going to have to make do with one from my bed."
She saw a flicker of something behind his eyes as he walked towards her that she really couldn't figure out. Did he like pillows that much? Does he not have his own at his place? Or was there something special about her pillows? Sydney quickly pushed that thought out of her head. There was no way he was one of those guys who would like the smell of her vanilla shampoo — or was he?
He walked over to the sofa and dropped the pillow down before unfolding the blanket.
"This seems like it's really warm."
"It is," she said. "In fact, I hope you don't get too hot. Lucy bought it for me thinking that I don't use a furnace or something."
Andy gently smiled at her joke and smoothed the blanket out over her couch. And no, she did not check out his ass while he made up her couch on his own instead of her offering to help him. She also didn't watch his arms move in his gray Henley shirt as he untied his sneakers and gently slid them under her coffee table.
> "Oh!" she said, making both of them jump. "Sorry, but I remembered I have something else for you."
She ran into her bathroom and began rummaging around under her sink before she finally found what she was looking for.
"Toothpaste!" she said triumphantly as she returned to the living room. "And a toothbrush too. Just be warned that I got it for free from my dentist and it's pink. I hope you don't mind."
"I don't mind," Andy said as he got from the couch to grab it from her.
"The bathroom is down the hall. I can leave the light —"
Andy's lips. Andy's lips were on hers. For as much as he seemed laid back most times, this kiss was anything but that. It was soft but determined as the palm of his hand caressed her cheek to direct her where he wanted her. His other hand threaded itself into her hair to angle her head so he could deepen their connection, eliciting a soft instinctual moan from Sydney. It was deserved. Sydney couldn't remember the last time she had been kissed like this. Strong and slow and hot as all hell.
Earlier that night, she had noticed that he left his shirt unbuttoned at the collar and had a quick thought pop into her head of what that skin on his chest felt like. It was a fleeting moment that she quickly pushed away. But now with his lips on hers, that thought forced its way back into her mind. She finally gave her hands permission to move, her fingers sliding up the fabric of his shirt, reaching to gently graze that warm spot exposed by his unbuttoned collar.
But just as her hand got there, he pulled away. It was only a slight move at first, his breath heavy against her cheeks as he stared at her with his piercing blue eyes. Then the moment was gone.
"I'm sorry." He let his hands fall from her body and took two steps away from her, leaving every part of her that had touched him cold and exposed. "I am so sorry," he repeated.
"It's fine."
"I didn't mean to do that." He ran his fingers through his hair and hesitated before turning to give her an apologetic look. "I mean, not that I wouldn't want to kiss you or anything. It's just that, you know, you were there with a toothbrush for me, and I don't know why a toothbrush would make me want to kiss you."
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