Page 75 of Grumpy Billionaire Bad Boy

"The pay is twenty-two an hour. The hours are shit.Wash your hands and come on."

The cashier gently taps my back and says, "Good luck," before returning to her post near the register.

I stifle the smile that creeps across my face and comply, going over to the sink to wash my hands.

Getting a job and an apartment in one fell swoop is pretty awesome, but it will be nothing compared to the satisfaction of proving Archer wrong.

Chapter 20

Archer

Even though it’s been a few days, I still can’t believe that London was only gone less than an hour and she managed to land a job.

How?

I fought the urge to prevent it from happening and decided to go along with it. The whole point is for London to get back on her feet so she can move out, and yet I can't help but feel resistance.

The job isn't far, and their security is lax enough that I can easily gain access to various feeds throughout their building. If she was going to get a gig anywhere, this would be the most ideal. She doesn't have to take a bus, taxi, or train, and if something happens, I could be there in two minutes flat.

I finish my daily scan of what Joe Vito is up to, and conclude that he doesn't seem that interested in locating her. Maybe Silver overestimated the threat or did a good enough job of making her disappear that he doesn't even know where to look. Either way, it's made my task of keeping her safe that much easier.

Perhaps I should accept the independence she's gaining because it's putting her one step closer to getting out of my hair.

I thought London having a job was going to be painful, but so far, nothing bad has happened. That doesn't mean I haven't been watching her intensely every moment she's been gone. It's distracting. My work is suffering. And if I don't get my head out of my ass soon, I might make a costly mistake I cannot risk. I'm getting things done, but mainly when she's fast asleep in my bedroom, and I can guarantee she's safe and sound.

My investigation of the man who tried to rob Ruth's place was unsuccessful—one dead end after another. I'm not convinced it didn't have something to do with the Manor brothers but I haven't found anything to give me irrefutable proof yet. And without that, none of my own brothers will take me seriously. They call me paranoid and tell me I'm overreacting, and honestly, I'm kind of starting to believe them.

I didn't used to be like this. I was always pretty thorough and collected, but this Archer second-guesses and triple-checks everything. There are things I miss about the old me despite it being better that he stay buried in the past.

London slams the front door shut, jarring my attention from the computer I'm mindlessly typing code on. I've been trying to hack into security footage at a high-end gentleman's club on the West Coast for the past hour to no avail. I'm getting sloppy and it shows.

She doesn't bother looking in my direction, which is a dead giveaway that something is up. London continues into my bedroom, her purse clutched to her chest. She doesn't visibly seem injured, but her body language tells me this isn't her normal behavior.

This is what I get for not watching her every second she's gone. I thought having her feed in the background and paying attention every so often would be enough. Yet here I am, clueless about what's going on because I was focused on anything other than her for a change.

London slips out of my room and darts straight into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.

I make my way over there in a rush, tapping on the door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," she calls back without hesitation.

"Why are you being weird?"

"Why are you?" she responds. "Maybe I have to poop, leave me alone."

"Are you sick?" I ask her.

"I'm fine, Archer. Leave me alone." Her tone is clipped and pointed but it does nothing to settle my unease.

I remain there, one arm on the doorframe and wait for something, anything.

"I know you're still out there," she says through the door. "Go away."

Breathing through my nose, I attempt to calm my nerves and not break this door down right now. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me what's going on, London."

She grunts. "You are so annoying, you know that, right?" Muffled sounds come through. "Just give me a few minutes and I'll be out."

I keep my arm on the doorframe and consider how hard I'll have to kick to open the door. Only, if I'm not careful, London could be in the crossfire and that would make things worse than they already are. I don't want to hurt her, I just want to know what the fuck she's hiding from me.

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