Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

LOGAN

B ack in the city, I walked into a bar down the street from my headquarters to grab a drink with Flynn and Jude. Smiling as I strode in, I felt some of the stress already melting out of my shoulders under the dim lights of the bar.

The scent of fried chicken wings and stale beer further eased my tension, and I wouldn't deny that this was definitely a TGIF moment for me. Jude grinned as I approached him and his half-brother, both of them sitting in a booth near the pool tables.

"You look like you're about to crash to your knees and kiss the ground," he joked when I slid into the open spot across from him. "What's up with that?"

"I might just kiss the ground," I said. "I just got back from my first visit to that godforsaken rig, and let me tell you, it's not an experience I ever want to repeat."

Flynn laughed. "Why not? The rigs aren't that bad."

"Maybe not to you, but you don't look like this." I pointed at my chest. "I committed the seemingly cardinal sin of arriving in a suit."

He flinched. "Oh."

I sighed. "Exactly. To say that it didn't go well would be the understatement of the fucking century. How the hell did you survive on those things for so long?"

"Grit and strength, brother," he joked, winking at me. He reached for the pitcher in the center of the table and poured us each a round of beer. "Maybe next time you go out there, lose the suit. It won't help much, but at least it'll make it look like you learned something on this visit, so a few of the guys might be kinder to you that way."

"Wasn't that buddy of yours facilitating your visit? Your consultant or something? Slate?" Jude asked. "Mira is his sister. Did you know that? Mickey's bridesmaid, Mira."

I dipped my chin in a nod, thanking Flynn for the beer before I took a long sip and relished the slight burn of the bubbles sliding down my throat. "About that, you could've told me she was Slate's sister at your wedding."

"Why?" Confusion clouded his eyes as he stared back at me. "I think you better start at the beginning. Is Slate's company still consulting for you?"

"Yes, but it turns out that not even one of my best friends could make me look good to the guys on the rig. Or to his sister, for that matter. It was a total shit show. The only upside of it was that no one died, despite Mira's apparent belief that my presence there had absolutely signed a death warrant."

"Well, to be fair, it could've," Flynn reasoned. "It never goes well for us when corporate comes out."

"So I've heard," I said dryly. "Also, it's not ‘ us ' anymore. You're out of the game, remember?"

He smirked. "Doesn't mean I'm not one of them. I did my time and I paid my dues. Those guys will forever be my brothers."

"Think there's any way I could capitalize on that? I mean, you're my friend and they're your brothers. It could mean something."

He snorted. "You clearly weren't paying much attention."

"Slate should've warned you, though," Jude said. "And why would you care about him making you look good to Mira?"

"He tried warning me, but I might not have listened as well as I should, which is why I capitulated immediately once I got onboard." I brought the cool glass back to my lips and took a long sip while I debated how to handle the question he'd asked.

Why did I care about Slate making me look good to Mira? Because I'd spent the last nine months frequently fantasizing about that night we'd spent together. That's why.

Since I knew Tess had warned Mira against hooking up with me, it stood to reason that Mickey would've as well. Which meant I didn't know if Jude would be supportive if I told him that she'd done it anyway.

But at the end of the day, it wasn't like any of them could travel back in time to stop it from happening. So why the hell not?

"Well, Mira and I might've spent the night of your wedding together," I said, at least having the decency not to spell it out using much cruder terms. "I didn't know she was Slate's sister, though. So imagine my surprise when I walked into the cafeteria and there she was, playing cards with the guys and acting like she was the one who owned the place."

Jude groaned and smacked a palm over his face, his head shaking. "Good lord. I have no idea how you get yourself into these situations, Jones. It's ridiculous."

"It's not ridiculous," I objected immediately. "She's hot. I'm hot. The time we spent together was super fucking hot. What's so ridiculous about that?"

Flynn laughed. "I remember her. She has dark hair, right? She stood next to Ariane during the ceremony?"

"That's the one," Jude said. "She's not a conquest, though. She's a professional working in a dangerous environment, so whatever happened between you two before, I hope like hell you kept it separate from business while you were out there."

I shrugged. "I might have been forced to. She's like this whole different person on the rig, but I won't lie. I thought about it."

A lot actually.

Flynn chuckled as he nodded slowly. "I'll play devil's advocate here. First, she wouldn't have gone home with him if there wasn't something she liked about him, right? Besides, hooking up on a rig in open waters? That's kind of a turn-on."

Jude rolled his eyes. "You're never going to get Ariane out on an oil rig, bro. So just forget about it. And as for you, don't even think about it."

"Too late." In fact, even now, I felt a rush of excitement sliding through me and I turned to Flynn instead. "What would that be called? Not the mile high club, but the…"

Flynn's brow furrowed in concentration and Jude shot him a look to shut up. "Don't."

"No, wait. I've got one." Flynn grinned at me. "The Drilling Club."

I burst out laughing. "That's a good one."

"Going to the Other Wet Patio," Flynn continued, throwing out possible names for hooking up on a rig. "Activating the drill?"

"That's brilliant," I said between chuckles while even Jude seemed to be struggling not to laugh. "Well, whatever it's called, I'd sure like to do it the next time I get out there."

"The next time?" Jude suddenly got serious again. "Why would you be going back out there? We owned that thing for years and we hardly ever went. Flynn checked in a few times, but other than that, as long as you've got someone onboard, you shouldn't need to go that often."

"That's what I thought, but we've still got a bunch of legal shit to go through and Slate wants to do it in person. He thinks it'll be better for me that way, and he also says that it might reassure the workers if they see me getting involved personally every once in a while."

The spark of humor went out in Flynn's eyes. "Yeah, I don't imagine it was easy for them when we sold. We had to do what we had to do, but I hate the thought of stressing them out, you know? It was a fucking awful time for us all."

"Because your wife wanted to scuttle it?" I teased.

Flynn nodded. "Exactly. I understood all her reasons for suggesting it, and to be honest, I completely supported her, but it was hard. On the one hand, we've got Willow and the devastating effect that drilling has on the environment we'll be leaving behind for her. But on the other hand, that rig being in operation provides hundreds of people with a job that puts food on their families' tables."

Jude blew out a long breath through his nose. "It definitely wasn't an easy decision. I looked into trying to get them all new jobs if we ended up deciding to scuttle it, but I didn't get very far. I'm kind of glad now that you convinced me to sell instead."

"Good to hear it." I'd often wondered if he regretted it. Not that it would've changed anything, but it was nice to know he wasn't holding a grudge for picking sale over scuttling. "Do you guys think it will help if I get out there more often?"

"If Slate wants to go through the legal shit in person, then sure," Flynn said. "As long as you're transparent with the guys about why you're there. They're straight shooters. If you don't bullshit them, they'll get used to your presence eventually."

"I won't bullshit them, but it's also extremely unpleasant to feel the hatred in the room whenever I walk in."

"Call me next time before you go," Flynn offered. "Maybe I'll be able to help. Also, you might want to leave the suits and shiny shoes behind."

"That might not be the worst idea in the world." As I looked at him and realized how long he'd spent working on a rig just like that, it occurred to me that he knew a hell of a lot more about the industry than I did. "Slate says we also have to hire another drilling contractor team. He's compiled a list of options for me, but do you know of anyone I could bring to the table?"

Jude leaned forward. "Don't pull him back in, Logan. Ariane would kill you."

"That's true." Flynn grinned as he raked a hand through his longish hair. "If she found out that you were trying to suck me back into that industry, she would rip you apart limb from limb with her tiny, bare hands."

"I'm not trying to suck you back in." Shit, was I? "Okay, don't give me any names, but do you have any advice for hiring a drilling contractor team? You're literally the only person I know who used to be in that game, so I've got to at least ask. "

"My advice?" Flynn chewed it over for a moment, his blue eyes unfocused until he shook his head and looked at me. "Listen to Slate and Mira. I'm sure they'll have plenty of advice for you, and they're current experts in the field. I retired a couple years ago. My knowledge is hardly current anymore."

I sighed. "Listen to Slate and Mira. Yeah, okay. I can do that."

"Can you?" Jude asked. "Can you listen to Mira without thinking about having sex with her just so you can get into the Drilling Club?"

Flynn clapped his hands together. "Would you look at that? It's already catching on."

"It's not," Jude said firmly before he looked back at me. "I'm serious, Logan. Don't mess with her. She's not the kind of woman you want to get on the wrong side of. No offense, but she's tougher than you are. I know she's gorgeous, but she will end you."

I laughed but dipped my head in surrender. I had no intention of staying away from her if the opportunity presented itself, but I would take what he'd said onboard. "Done. I won't mess with her. Unless she wants to be messed with, in which case, all bets are off."