RISK by Deborah Bladon Page A

demanding, it's a command for information about a woman who just started working for me. It's obvious to all three of them that I'm not trying to lure playful memories about Ellie's childhood from her best friend. I'm hunting.
    "We should take off." Crew shoots me a sharp glance that's spiked with the anger he's barely containing. I was intentionally sparse with the details when I told him we were meeting two beautiful women for dinner.
    I accessed Ellie's payroll record to find her address, unsure if Crew had taken note of it when he handed her file to human resources the day she started working for us. He didn't clue in when I asked my driver to drop us a block up from Ellie's building. I told him to call the store in Midtown to check on the shipment of lipstick that arrived earlier today. I did that to keep his focus away from the direction we were headed.
    His call ended just as Adley opened the door.  The timing couldn't have been more perfect.
    "I'm staying," I announce because there's no way in fucking hell I'm leaving Ellie alone with the repairman. If I weren't losing a pound a minute in sweat because of the sweltering heat in this apartment, I would have thought the scene that greeted me when I walked in the door was the beginnings of a poorly lit porn shoot.
    The air conditioning unit is definitely not working, and the blond haired guy who is now absentmindedly rubbing his dick through his jeans is focused on only one thing. It's not the screwdriver in his hand. It's Ellie's body which, when covered with a sheen of sweat, looks incredibly fuckable.
    "You're not staying." Ellie points to the apartment door. "You and Crew can go."
    I brush past her and head directly to the kitchen area that consists of little more than a few worn cabinets, out-of-date appliances and a peninsula that oversees the main living space. I open the freezer door, pushing packages of frozen berries and a bag of cubed ice to the side. I shove the container of ice cream in before I slam the door shut. "I'm going to open this wine, have a drink and then I'll fix that air conditioner myself."
    "River is going to fix it." Ellie sighs heavily.
    River? Naturally, his goddamn name would be River.
    Ellie's eyes target me before she turns to River. "How long before you'll have it working?"
    "I need parts, babe," he drawls through a grin. "One of the guys from the supplier will try to bring them over in a couple of hours. We can hang until then. You got any beers?"
    I start to unbutton my shirt. "Find someone else to hang with, River. I can handle this."
    He shakes his head. "No can do, mister. This unit belongs to the building. I can't just let any Tom, Dick or Harry touch it. The owner will fucking freak at me if he finds out I let you touch the AC."
    "It's Nolan," I say dryly. "The owner will not fucking freak if I touch the air conditioner."
    He laughs. "Dude, seriously, you don't know him. I talked to the guy on the phone when the boiler blew last winter. He skipped right over the building manager and went straight for my jugular. Shit will get real if you try and fix it."
    I crane my neck so I can look at Crew. "You're welcome to step in anytime."
    Crew walks across the room and slaps River on the shoulder. "The only shit that's going to get real is the conversation we're going to have tomorrow about that uncontrollable boner you're rocking. Seriously, River. You're on the job. Dial it back."
    "What?" River's eyes dart from Crew's face to mine and then back again. "I know your voice. There's no way you're Benton."
    "In the flesh." Crew flashes a smile. "I own this place, and unless you're out of here in the next thirty seconds, I'm going to contract out repairs for all my buildings to another company."
     

Chapter 16
     
     
    Ellie
     
     
    "I trust you, pal." Crew claps Nolan on the back. "I don't know if you know what the hell you're doing, but I trust you. Don't fuck this up like you did with the others."
    "Did you fuck up someone else's air