He frowned again. “That was my mistake. I’m sorry, but you really need to go. You should cut your friendship with Theresa too. She hates Carter.”

My eyes threatened to pop out. She knew Carter?

He amended, “I mean, she hates the idea of him. She’s never met him, don’t worry, but she knows he’s a friend of mine and connected to the mob. She doesn’t approve of our friendship, and if she knew your relationship with him,” he whistled and shook his head, “it would not be pretty. Trust me.”

“How do you two know each other?”

He shrugged. “Family friends. Her parents were friends with my parents. We took her in when they died.”

“Oh.”

His eyes narrowed again. “You’re not here trying to get her money, are you?”

WHAT?

But then I glanced around, she had money. I saw that from before, but I wondered how much she had. Then I remembered who I was living with and replied, “You think I’m scamming her for money?”

“Oh, yeah.” He relaxed and flashed me a grin. It transformed his face. I saw why a lot of the females at work whispered about his deliciousness. He didn’t have the classic model-like looks that Carter had, but when his mouth turned into a smile, it lit his face up and he was handsome in a manly and rough looking away. I knew that appealed to a lot of women. “I forgot your connections. Maybe she’s scamming you?”

I could tell by how his mouth curved up in a crooked grin that he was kidding. I was a little insulted. I might’ve grown up with a scammer, but I never did cons. AJ never allowed it, and after he died, I was determined to be successful without resorting to low-level ways of making money.

“Look,” his jaw tightened and his voice grew rough, “I really am sorry. I didn’t mean anything by that, just that Theresa’s been targeted before because of her money. She doesn’t have a lot of friends because she’s too damn trusting. I tell her to steer clear of everyone, but she tries every now and then. They never end well. That’s what I thought before I knew who you were.”

That would explain Theresa’s lack of friends, but I couldn’t shake his suspicion. He was covering up for it, but it was there. I didn’t know if my relationship with Carter kept it there or made it worse? My gut told me that he would’ve been suspicious of me with Carter in my life or not.

“Okay!” Theresa returned with a smug smile on her face. She threw an arm around Noah’s shoulders and bumped her hip into his. “It’s all good with your mother.”

He studied her with a slight sneer. “Tell me you didn’t.”

Her smile stretched from ear to ear. “I did.”

I frowned.

He groaned. “Whatever deal you struck with my mother, I’m out. I have a date tonight.”

“No, you don’t,” she laughed and poked him in the chest. “Well, yes, you do. With me and Emma.” She continued, “Brianna got a job at Octave. I told your mother that we’d go and check on her.”

“Brianna did what?” Noah exploded. “You did what?”

“Yeah, I did.” Theresa struck a cocky pose with her hand on her hip. “And you can be damn pleased with me because I told your mother that we’d go and check on her. In return, she’s not going to hold it against you that you didn’t invite me to the family dinner tonight.”

“What family dinner? Brianna wouldn’t have been there.” His jaw clenched as he said it. “She got a job at Octave? What the hell was she thinking? That place is dangerous.”

Theresa frowned. “She’s probably thinking it’s the coolest job in the world. You go there all the time.”

“I do not.”

“You take me there all the time.”

“Oh, yeah.” But as his jaw continued to clench and unclench, his anger was obvious. “How the hell did she get a job there?”

“What do you mean? The owner probably lured her there. He’s sucking up to be your friend, Noah. He always does this.”

Her voice rose a notch and his head slunk down. I got the distinct impression this was a fight they had often. My boss shot me a guarded look. There was also an apology there as Theresa started to talk more. “Why you’re friends with someone like him is beyond my comprehension. He’s bad news, Noah. He’s nothing but a—”

“—Theresa,” he interrupted and shot me a pointed look.

“Oh.” She flushed and turned to me. “I’m sorry, Emma. I don’t like one of Noah’s friends, but that’s not something you need to worry about. I’m really sorry. I forgot you were here.” Then she blinded me with her white teeth. “Want to go dancing tonight? Noah knows the owner of Octave. I might not like the guy, but his club is hot to go to.”

Oh dear. I wasn’t sure how to react.

She misunderstood. “Oh, you don’t have to worry. Trust me. I know the place can be dangerous, but whenever I go with Noah, we always get the VIP treatment. We get our own entrance and a private box. It’s completely safe. For us.”

When I didn’t say anything, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

She gushed, “I promise you’ll have fun. And it’s not like we’ll even see the guy. He’s barely ever at the club. He’s so important and powerful that he doesn’t have time for his friend.” As she said the last statement, her voice grew thick with sarcasm.

Noah rolled his eyes. “Can you stop griping? You’ve never met the guy.”

She shot him a dark look. “I don’t need to have met him. He’s bad news, Noah. I don’t know why you refuse to see that about him. He’s only using you for The Richmond. You’re the one who told me he wanted to buy some shares last year.”

He shook his head and grumbled, “I didn’t say he wanted to buy shares. I said I offered him more shares.”

She straightened to her fullest height and squared her shoulders back. “You’re crazy for being friends with him.”

“Drop it, Theresa. You don’t know the guy. You don’t know my friendship with him. And,” he sent another pointed look in my direction, “you really want to hash this out in front of your newfound friend?”

That did it. The tension left her in the next second and she squeezed my hand again. “I’m sorry, Emma. I get so angry sometimes.”