"Fine," Melvin conceded, the single, soft-spoken word "bro" from her enough to soothe any grievance.


    "Juniper, why don''t you step outside for a minute?" Jimmie said with a helpless sigh, his voice gentle. "Your second brother and I need to talk to Shanley alone."


    Melvin shot him a look at the words ''second brother'' but didn''t argue.


    Juniper''s expression remained cool as she eyed them with suspicion. What, were they nning to double-team him? Shanley was a much better fighter than Melvin; if he had really wanted to hurt him, Melvin would have been knocked out long ago. But in this situation, Shanley wouldn''t fight back. Were they going to beat him to a pulp? She wasn''t having it.


    "We won''t touch him," Jimmie promised, sensing her thoughts. His temples throbbed. He never should have let Shanley look after her. Now the man had practically cared for her all the way to the altar. That animal!


    Juniper blinked, then turned her gaze to Melvin.


    Melvin desperately wanted revenge, but meeting his sister''s warning re, he forced a smile. "I promise I won''ty another finger on him, alright?"


    “Okay,” Juniper replied, satisfied. Only then did she step aside. As she left, she couldn''t help but nce back at Shanley, memorizing the injuries on his face.


    "Wait for us outside," Shanley said softly, pulling a pack of crackers and a few pieces of candy from his suit jacket. "Flint has some fried chicken. If you want some, just ask him."


    "Mm-hmm," Juniper nodded, taking the snacks and obediently leaving the room.


    Watching the two of them, Jimmie and Melvin''s faces fell. They felt like they had gotten their sister back, but notpletely. Still, as much as Shanley was a Scoundrel, he genuinely seemed to care for her.


    After Juniper left, silence descended upon the conference room. The three men stared at each other, the atmosphere thick with awkwardness.


    "Sit," Jimmie said, his expression softening slightly as he looked at Shanley''s rather serious injuries. He had yelled, he had punched. His anger had subsided considerably.


    "Alright," Shanley acknowledged, sitting down ramrod straight across from them. A long table separated them with arge conference light directly overhead, giving the scene the air of an interrogation.


    “Mr. Steele...” Shanley began, straightening his tie and looking at Melvin with a serious expression. He lowered his head slightly. "Today was a misunderstanding. I apologize."


    "Hmph," Melvin scoffed, crossing his arms and tilting his chin up, though the bruises on his face made the gesture look a little pathetic.


    "However, Shanley continued before Melvin could speak, "not knowing your identity at the time, if I had to do it all over again I would still have thrown the first punch. I won''t allow anyone to harm Juniper."


    So, it didn''t matter who it was. If they posed a threat to Juniper, he wouldn''t let them off.


    Melvin''s cold gaze wavered slightly at Shanley''s sincere apology. The top dog of


    Era City, bowing his head... he had to admit, it felt pretty good.


    "And Jimmie," Shanley said, his


    usualmanding presencepletely retracted, his tone earnest. "To be honest, I met Juniper before you did. So this wasn''t some whim based on her looks."


    It was more like a long-held n, or perhaps, destiny.


    "What?" Jimmie frowned. "You met her before I did?"


    "Yes." Shanley recounted the story of how they had first met. "That''s when I got to know her. In a way, Juniper is my savior."


    Melvin took the opportunity to roll his eyes. “So, what, you''re repaying the favor by offering yourself in marriage?"