Page 188 of The Last Good Man

“I know. Just go.”

Laughing, she exits my office.

I fucking know. I’ve seen it in the mirror,and ithas nothing to do with me or my outfits.

It’s the effect he has on me.

Shifting my focus away from her, I grab my phone and send a message to Aretha Stenson.

Me: I’m not coming tomorrow.

And for the first time in a while, I feel relieved.

35

MELODY

Later

The weather shifts abruptly, with dark clouds gathering across the sky, and rain coming down.

My eyes are on the window when Mina sticks her head in and asks me if my food has arrived.

“Not yet,” I say before pushing out of my seat and prancing to the door.

“Let me call them,” she says, and we both stroll into the corridor before entering the cubicle across from mine.

Mina ends the call and assures me my food is on the way while I review financial reports with a co-worker.

Two other people join us in the room, and the space becomes crowded when I glance over my shoulder and notice a man with a brown bag walking down the corridor.

He wears a cap and a rain jacket, and his face escapes my view.

I turn to Mina to let her know my food has arrived, yet she’s busy with someone else.

Something bugs me, though.

She just called the restaurant. Maybe the man was in the building when she called.

I look back and notice a silhouette in my office.

The man is tall and broad-shouldered, and his jacket glistens with rain. He sets the food on the table, and nothing seems unusual, yet I still can’t tear my eyes away from him.

My colleague needs my opinion, so I peel my eyes away from the stranger and talk to him.

A few moments pass before I excuse myself and go straight to my office.

The door is open––it always is––and the room smells like food.

Iwalk in andlook around suspiciously when I notice the cap and jacket on the armchair in front of my desk.

What the…?

I check the food.

It’s my favorite food: avocado toast, hard-boiled eggs, pancakes with fruit and apple syrup, and coffee.

Is that person still in my office, using the bathroom?

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