Page 43 of Company Ink

I grin. "Is this your way of apologizing?"

"Perhaps," Blake answers casually, his eyes softening. "Or maybe it's just an educated observation."

I chuckle while shaking my head. "Apology accepted."

"I didn't say I was apolog-" Blake begins to argue but is cut off by a throat clearing. I crane my head to peek around his wide shoulders.

"Pearson," Adrian says, his dark gaze shifting between the two of us. I instinctively take a step away from Blake. "Cassie." He nods his head toward me.

Blakes jaw tightens as we both turn around to face Adrian, the atmosphere in the boardroom dropping several degrees. "Adrian, is there something you needed?" Blake asks with an edge.

"Not at all. I just wanted to stop by and say hello to Mr. Wagner. I have an update on a couple of his patents," Adrian responds but his eyes stay locked on my face. Can he be any more obvious?! I try to break eye contact but it's as if he has my eyeballs lassoed to his gaze.

Blake emotionlessly gestures inside the room. "Be my guest. He's in the far corner."

Adrian's forced smile is almost laughable. "Thank you," he says with zero appreciation in his tone as he enters the room. "Cassie," he stops in front of me. "I left some documents on your desk that need to be scanned. Please make sure you upload them to our database before the end of the day."

I nod nervously. "Of course."

"Actually, those documents will have to wait," Blake interjects. "I need to review the plans for Client Appreciation Night with Cassandra."

Adrian's lip twitches as his narrowed eyes meet Blake's. "No problem," he says through his teeth. "Tomorrow then...Cassandra." His piercing gaze causes goosebumps to manifest up my arms. He is not happy right now. But what the hell am I supposed to do about it?

I swallow. "I'll get to it as soon as I can."

Adrian hums wordlessly and walks towards Mr. Wagner. Oh boy, I'm starting to see why Nadine decided to increase my salary. How the fuck am I supposed to aid both of them without cloning myself? I sense a lot of overtime hours coming up.

I turn my attention back to cleaning, but Blake puts his hand on my forearm. "Miss Bedford can handle this. We should go and review Nancy's preliminary plans for C.A.N."

My stomach grumbles as we exit the boardroom. "Can I get lunch first?" I ask quietly. "I'm a bit hungry."

"Why don't we order something to the office? That way we can work and eat," Blake suggests. "You can email your receipt to our finance department for reimbursement."

I take a deep breath. Who needs a break anyway? "Yeah, sure. That sounds...efficient."

Blake smiles proudly. "Exactly."

"Is there anything you want to eat? Or can I order whatever?" I ask, pulling up UberEats.

"Oh, I don't need anything. My lunch is in the fridge."

I narrow my eyes. "You mean that stack of Tupperware containers?"

"Yes, exactly," Blake replies casually as we walk to the staff room.

"You make your own lunches?" I ask hesitantly. "Really?" I would have assumed he eats out every day like Adrian.

Blake laughs. "I don't make them, but my personal chef does." Blake pulls out a container from the fridge. "This week is quinoa, chicken, and steamed vegetables."

My mouth gapes. "You eat the same thingevery single day? Seriously?"

"Yes." Blake blinks a couple of times like my question shocked him.

"Doesn't that get boring?"

"Not at all. Chef Caleb ensures that all my daily macros are met with every meal which is really the most important aspect of food consumption."

My eyes widen in disbelief. "But what about...flavor?"

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