Essie huffed as she hauled the last garment bag inside House Of Payne through the back door held open by Carla. “Payne didn’t want the world to know anything about the fashion show until he’s ready to take the lid off of it, so we were all sworn to secrecy about the dress rehearsal.” “It’s cool with me and the kids. Patrick’s going to shit a brick when he finds out I got to be down here behind the scenes with the kids while he’s busy being a wage slave, but that’s life.” After Essie passed her, Carla turned to the two-seater stroller while a member of Steele’s security team closed and locked the door behind them. Glancing over her shoulder when the lock clicked, Carla eyed the massive mountain of a man Essie vaguely remembered as Rudy. “Damn, do you have to be a panty-melting hottie to work security around here?” “As far as I can tell, that seems to be a prerequisite if you want to be a PSI employee. That dude back there and one of the blonde guys, Havlik, are both in committed relationships, but feel free to drool over all the others.”
