Page 67 of It Starts With A No

He stared back at her. “Is there anything else we can do for you? Otherwise, please close the door.”

The assistant blinked and straightened.

“Thanks, Tamara,” Clary said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” She walked over and closed the door after waving goodbye to her assistant. “Why were you so harsh to her?”

“Why do you care about being nice to her when she—” He shook his head. “Does she come into the office often?”

“I guess so. Why?”

“She assumed this watch was Hugh’s the moment she saw it.”

“The room’s filled with Hugh’s watches,” Clary said with a shrug.

Was that it? Was Seth being paranoid and reading too much into things?

He definitely had the tendency to do that. A habit, he supposed. It was always better to assume the worst with Holly. “You didn’t think I’d steal a watch.”

“Because I’m kind and trusting.”

Seth rolled his eyes.

“And maybe because I’m buttering you up so I can be first in line to buy an exoskeleton when they’re up for sale. With my new salary, I think I should be able to afford it.”

Seth sighed heavily. “Food?”

“Yes!” She grabbed her bag. “Food.”

Chapter 13

Clary blew out a breath as she got to Seth’s car. She couldn’t wait to get out of here. Even the Christmas carols in the elevators didn’t help much with her mood.

“My brother, Zane, is an FBI agent.” Seth opened the passenger side door for her. “If you want someone to wave his gun around and put some fear into Neil, I could give Zane a call.”

She slipped into the car. “That would be nice, but is it evil for me to wish for something worse? Especially since it’s Christmas season? You know, Jesus came and died for us. Forgive others as He forgives us.”

Seth rolled his eyes. “He was supposedly born in September. You can be nice next September. Unless you’re worried Santa Claus would put you on the naughty list.”

She shot him a glare. “It’s the spirit of Christmas.”

“You need to work on your angry face.” He closed the door and went around the car. “I hate Christmas, and I’ve always wished Holly would die a horrible death as my Christmas wish.” He shrugged. “It never worked.”

She nodded slowly.

“Talking about Holly makes you uncomfortable,” Seth said as he pulled the seat belt over himself.

“Yes, because I don’t know what to say.” She tugged on the seat belt. “I tell the kids I work with that we’re there for them. I tell them they’re safe now, and we’ll find them a better home.”

Her left hand fumbled with the seat belt again, especially since she was trying to avoid putting pressure on any of her wounds.

Again, Seth held on to the belt. This time, he gently smacked her hand away.

“This bandage is so annoying.”

“It’ll come off soon enough.” He locked the seatbelt in place. “And it doesn’t matter that she’s an Eolenfeld?”

“Besides Mr. and Mrs. E, I’m not close with any other Eolenfeld.”

“Didn’t you go to the same school as the other Eolenfeld children?”

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