Art Deco {Cherry Wine Sequel}

eight

"Ruth, this is Reuben," Lex said. "I don't know if you've met him."

My eyes darted to the guns on the table, the unbuckled holster around his back. Another one of the guards. Reuben was younger than Carlisle, with the last vestiges of baby fat on his jaw. A long scar looped up his arm, disappearing into his rolled up white sleeve.

"Good to finally meet you, Ruth." His British accent almost made me blush involuntarily. I nodded at him, unsure if I could talk.

"Ruth," Lex said, beckoning me over. "How are you feeling?" He encircled my waist with one arm, fingers drumming my hip bone. The table was strewn with papers and open pens. The laptop seemed to be open to a million different documents, all in tiny font. I didn't miss the pill bottle sitting within arm's reach to Lex.

"What is all this?" I asked.

"Business. You didn't answer me."

I looked down at him. His jaw was set, in the way it went when he was in no mood to argue with me. I was conscious of Reuben and Carlisle watching our every move.

"I'm okay." My heart was racing, and I knew it was visible in my face how uncomfortably warm I was.

Lex wrapped two fingers around my wrist, testing my pulse. "You're not okay." He said lowly. "You have a fever, and you're practically fibrillating."

I shifted my weight to my toes, avoiding his glare. Lex didn't let up for a second, hand tight around my wrist. I was tempted to wriggle away, but there was nowhere to go. Finally, I gave in, letting my arm go limp. Lex had the pill bottle in hand in the space of a heartbeat.

"You said only for last night," I whispered.

"Humour me, baby," Lex said, putting half of one of the pills in my hand.  I didn't have the energy to fight about it. Obediently, I put the pill in my mouth and swallowed it with the last of Lex's coffee. He raised an eyebrow, and I opened my mouth. The pill was gone. "Good." Lex, satisfied, turned his attention back to the table.

"We're almost done here," Reuben said, stacking papers.

"I'll go-" I tugged away, but Lex still had my wrist in a vice grip.

"Sit." He said. "We'll be done in a minute. I don't want you out of my sight."

Just as Sokol said, the drug made my vision fizz at the edges, and I sank gratefully into one of the leather chairs, knees to my chin. The men spoke in low tones, pushing papers into brown envelopes. Everything was sealed away, placed into a locked briefcase. Carlisle took it, heaving it off the table.

"I'll put it in your office. Meet you up top." He said. He winked at me as he left the room.

Lex looked at his laptop, and then the open door. "I have to go lock this away. Reuben, can you stay with her?"

Reuben nodded and sat in the chair next to me, hands folded over one knee. He had a calming presence, the opposite of Carlisle's almost effervescence. "So." He said. "I finally get to meet the infamous Ruth."

"That's me." I smiled at him. "What did Lex tell you about me, anyway?"

Reuben pretended to think. "Not much. That you went to stay with him after an accident, that you're engaged. He also said you can be quite the handful. Put him through the wringer, you have." His tone was teasing.

"He didn't say that!" I was indignant. I put my feet on the floor, ignoring the ringing in my head. "I'm not a handful!"

"I know, love." Reuben chuckled, and then his face dropped. "I have to ask you, are you okay? With everything?  You seem..." He trailed off, but I knew where his mind was going. The FBI had paid a visit to the house for the same reason; to make sure I wasn't being forced into something I didn't want. It was even funnier coming from him, though. He was a mercenary, and from what I gathered from Carlisle and Sokol, concern didn't seem to something they practiced.