Page 20 of The Sidekick

“We’re bi,” his smile twists even wider as I stare at him dumbly. “All those bitches trying their best to get our attention, and not one measured up. I wonder why that is, don’t you?”

I shake my head in sheer desperation. This feels like a trap, and my foot is dangling over the edge of the abyss, just waiting for him to push me in.

“Because they aren’t you.”

Hello Abyss, my name is Tera. I get the feeling we’ll be together for a while.

I hurry away from him out of sheer self-preservation. If there was an award for pickup lines, it would go to Max. I hear him chuckling behind me as he follows me like a sadistic shadow.

He’s just messing with me, right? Of course, he is. The grump is just trying to rile me up so he can laugh at me. The thought is embarrassing and fills me with regret.

If he had pulled this stuff on me a few weeks ago, I would have fallen at his feet with happiness. But the world is not what I thought it was in my shiny, happy bubble, and I’m having trouble adjusting. There’s no way he’s being serious. I knew I blocked his number for a reason.

It isn’t until I’ve reached the group of people that I realize I am currently standing with them. Yeah, I’m off to the side like a straggler, but the last thing I want is to be approachable today. Darn you for distracting me, Max.

“The spackle and paint are set by the bar,” Trevor is in full-on lecture mode, arms crossed over his chest. It’s very apparent that he is disappointed with the group assembled today. He isn’t trying to hide it, either. I fall into my default, looking at the floor and hoping he doesn’t turn that stern face my way.

“You two,” he gestures to Ira and the always silent Shade. “You’re on bar repair duty.”

I look towards the bar and see the bullet holes scattered in the wood. I swallow hard and jerk my head around to stare directly at Trevor like he’s the most important thing in the room.

As he pairs people off, it starts feeling like he’s separating them into groups for dodge ball instead of work, and he has a vested interest in which team wins.

Felix and Blaze are on floor duty with scrub brushes that are way too small. I know we have bigger ones in the back and mops that would be better suited to the work, but when I open my mouth to point it out, Trevor’s eyes snap to mine, and he gives me a look.

It isn’t a glare, exactly. It’s more of a ‘don’t disappoint me’ intense look that steals a little of my soul with fear. The last thing I want to do is disappoint this man. It’s not even on the list of things I want to do. That’s a stupid saying. When I close my mouth with wide eyes, he returns to assigning duties.

I’m just going to stay quiet back here and wait my turn.

I feel Max step up behind me, close enough that I can feel his body heat.

Since when does grumpy Max get all cuddly? It’s not like he’s touching me, but he’s letting his presence be known as he leans closer. Is this part of his stupid game to make me uncomfortable?

It takes my focus away from Trevor for a second too long because my head snaps back around to find him looking at me with a raised brow.

Crap, did he tell me what I was doing, and I got distracted? I have what I can only assume is a panic attack. I start sweating and fidgeting like I’m under a heat lamp.

The silence around me is deafening. I’m freaking out and terrified to open my mouth. I can’t look away from his face at anyone else to see if they’re all staring at me. My paranoia says they are, and they’re laughing.

Max’s arms drop onto my shoulders, blocking out the other faces. His forearms and hands dangle in front of my face. I let out a slow breath, grateful for the dubious support.

“She’s stressed out, boss man. Give her a break.”

Trevor’s gray eyes flicker with some undefined emotion, and he nods once. “I said, are all the assignments all right with you?”

“Yes, sir,” I say firmly, even though I lost track of what everyone is supposed to be doing.

Max’s chest vibrates with his low laughter at my response. He knows I have no idea what I just agreed to. The tense moment of eye contact with Trevor that I don’t understand is broken when Blaze opens his mouth.

“You’re letting her clean your office?” He gives me a look of disgust that I barely catch over Max’s arm, and I cringe, shoulders hunching.

He isn’t wrong. I have stolen information for Andi before and leaving me alone in an office would be a recipe for disaster if I were so inclined. But this isn’t some heist. I haven’t broken in here looking for something Andi needs to save her life. I understand Blaze’s caution, but it isn’t necessary. Unless I was the evil jerk they think I am.

“Yes, I’m putting one of the only people I fully trust in my office to clean. Did you have a problem with that?” Trevor’s tone slid into that menacing one from outside my door that I didn’t recognize. I thought it was Max with that voice at first. Seeing it live right in front of me is hot and a little terrifying at the same time. Someone needs to open the door and let a cold breeze through.

As Blaze opens his mouth again, I quickly raise a hand to try and defuse the situation. “I can go somewhere else. It isn’t a big deal.”

Max’s hands turn into fists in front of me, knuckles white with strain, and Trevor’s eyes slowly slide to mine. He’s gone from don’t disappoint me intensity to fiery hell in seconds. It’s more than a little terrifying now. And somehow much hotter.

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