24. Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Lachlan

I heard voices coming from our bedroom, and loud laughter, so I followed the sounds. I'd been in my home office pretty much all day. I'd had numerous conference calls and two zoom meetings. It had kept me busy and away from Quinn, more than I'd been happy with.

I'd checked in on him when I'd had breaks, and found him either napping or flipping through the TV channels, randomly. He'd looked bored and annoyed all at the same time, and I vowed to come up with some ways to try to entertain him.

I found our bedroom crowded with people. Finn was on one side of the bed, while Wade was on the other. Each glaring daggers at one another, neither one speaking. They didn't need to. The arrows they were shooting at one another were clear to everyone in the room.

Josh stood at the end of the bed, holding a platter of something that smelled divine. I was surprised my nose hadn't led me here first, instead of the sounds of their voices. Wade swiped something from the tray Josh held and took a bite, his eyes closing.

"These cookies are dramastical!" he exclaimed, taking another bite .

Quinn laughed, and Finn scowled at Wade.

"Did you just make up a word?" My brother sounded so horrified and prissy, I nearly laughed out loud. I had learned to speak Wade shortly after he'd started working for me. He occasionally just made up random words.

"He does that," Quinn told my brother. "You'll get used to it."

"You can't just make up words, willy nilly," Finn huffed, his shoulders tense. "It's just not done. I won't have it."

For a moment I thought Finn might actually stamp his foot. The horror on his face was priceless, and I wished I had my cell phone with me to snap a picture. Brendan and Jamie would find this hilarious. Finn was too uptight for his own good.

Wade bounced on the balls of his feet and gave my brother a saucy wink. "Well buckle up, Sugarplum, you're in for a bumpy ride."

Before actual smoke started to escape from Finn's ears, I decided to break this party up. Or, at least come between my brother and my assistant.

"Why is everyone in our bedroom?"

I'd left the front door unlocked because I knew Wade was coming by to see Quinn. I'd somehow missed the sounds of it opening numerous times, while I was engrossed in the zoom meeting with several of my department heads.

Everyone jumped, as if no one had noticed me entering, all of them looking guilty.

Finn spoke first, even though he looked the least guilty. "I'm checking on my patient."

Wade glanced at Finn and followed his lead. "I'm checking on my best friend."

I looked at Josh, still standing with his tray of pastries, which made my stomach growl. "I'm bringing samples for Quinn to try, to hopefully approve a new hire. "

Quinn shrugged, not sounding guilty of anything. "I'm just fucking bored, and wanted to be entertained."

Quinn's first week of bed rest hadn't produced the desired results we'd been hoping for. While his blood pressure hadn't spiked, it also didn't seem inclined to come down as much as Finn had wanted. He'd still been experiencing some light spotting when he moved around too much, prompting me to forbid any more walks down the stairs. Finn had also made the decision that until further notice, Quinn was on bed rest. Possibly until he delivered.

The pouting had been epic.

I didn't even know someone could stick out their bottom lip that far. I did compromise and tell him if he wanted to hang out in the library, he needed to let me know, and I'd carry him down. Staring at the same four walls all day, for days on end, would drive anyone batty.

Being told we were still on a strict no sex, no fooling around of any kind, order didn't make either one of us happy, and there may have been pouting from me after that.

I picked up one of the cookies on the tray Josh was holding and bit into it, closing my eyes in pure joy. I knew this cookie. This was Quinn's recipe, and whoever had baked it had done an amazing job replicating it.

I handed one to Quinn, amused by his reaction. He held it in his hand, sniffed it, broke it in half and inspected it, before ever putting it near his mouth. He chewed slowly, eyes closed, face expressionless, as he concentrated. It was really something to watch. I just popped the rest in my mouth and gobbled it down.

"Did you give this person my recipe?" he demanded of Josh. Three sets of eyes shot his way. Oh boy, here we go, I thought. Prickly Quinn was in the house .

Josh held onto the plate of cookies he was holding, but he didn't flinch at Quinn's tone. "Nope. I interviewed three bakers this week, and I gave them all the same tasks. I gave them a plate of your cookies, let them taste them, pick them apart, whatever. Then I gave them time in the kitchen to replicate it. No recipe, no clues, no help. This is the first time I'm bringing you anything one of them has baked. Her name is Jenna. She's new in town, a home baker, not classically trained. She seems very nice."

Quinn ate the rest of the cookie, thoughtful as he chewed and swallowed. I think we were all holding our breaths. I know I was, and Finn and Wade were silent and not moving a muscle.

"Hire her," Quinn instructed, and I let out the breath I was holding. I'd be glad to get the bakery sorted, so Quinn wouldn't be worrying about it so much. He said he wasn't, but he was.

Josh grinned, handing out the rest of the cookies, and I snatched two more. They were my favorites and I'd figured I wouldn't be getting them for a few months.

Josh had tried to make them, from Quinn's recipe, but they hadn't turned out the best. He swore Quinn had left some secret out from his recipe. I wouldn't put it past my mate. These cookies tasted just like Quinn's, so if there was a secret ingredient missing from the recipe he gave to Josh, this person had figured it out.

"On it, boss." Josh saluted.

"Thanks for everything you're doing, Josh. It means a lot to me."

The chill beta just shrugged, like it was no big deal. "I told you before, we've got this. You just cook those babies, and binge watch something on Netflix."

Quinn tossed the latest celebrity gossip magazine he'd been flipping through since this morning, across the bed. "Gah, I'm sooo bored. I'm about to start watching all of Lachlan's horrible movies. I might even break down and watch ‘Top Gun' ."

"It's a classic." I shoved another cookie in my mouth. Sweet Jesus, how I had missed these.

"Classically bad."

"Still a classic," I agreed, grinning.