Page 83 of Playing Flirty

Shaun shook his head. “Neema and I had no idea what happened. I only heard about it this morning through gossip. A Batman. Rose… what happened? They’re saying Batman beat him to a pulp, and he had to be rushed to the hospital. Someone else said Batman pulled out a gun and threatened someone, and Mr. Markham managed to disarm him before being punched or something.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“No,” Shaun said, his face red and his chin trembling. “What’s ridiculous is that my brother punched ourboss.” He rubbed his palms across his pants. “This is typical.”

“Typical? William is not violent.” My need to defend him jumped out.

Shaun’s gaze finally met mine, full of apprehension and fear. “I wouldn’t call him violent, but he sure as hell isn’t afraid to throw fists—or receive them.”

Frustration banged against my chest. “William is not the villain in this story.”

Inhaling a sharp breath, Shaun dropped his eyelids and let go of the breath he’d held. “What happened?”

“I don’t condone violence.” I opened my laptop and stabbed the power button. “But Jeffrey Markham, ourboss, sexually harassed me, and when William asked him to apologize, he punched William. So you decide.”

He slapped his hand against his forehead. “I should have led with that question. Are you okay?” He wheeled over.

“I’m still processing, but without William there, it could have been a lot worse.”

The entire day went by without having to face Mr. Markham. I heard some of the rumors that twisted and turned with each new person, and none of them were the truth.

By the time Shaun and I walked back to his place, we still hadn’t figured out how to deal with it and hoped it would blow over. In all the rumors, no one had figured out which Batman it was, and it seemed no one knew I’d been involved either.

Beside me, Shaun’s walk was stiff, and his jaw muscles were working harder than usual. He hadn’t let William off the hook just yet.

“How come you two are so different?” I asked.

He glanced over at me, his face scrunching in pain. “It’s a long story, and it’s not really mine to share.”

“I know his mom died when he was young.” I sped up, trying to keep up with Shaun.

“Did he tell you that?”

I nodded.

“Oh.” Shaun’s eyebrows, which had been permanently down all day, popped up. “He doesn’t like speaking about her—or anything from back then, I guess.”

“I’ve gathered he has a weird relationship with your dad,” I said as we reached the building, choosing my words carefully. “But you seem close to your dad.”

“We have the same dad, but really different versions of him.” Shaun’s voice dropped lower with each word as we approached their apartment. “It’s not something I fullyunderstand.” His shoulders tensed, and he gave me an apprehensive look before unlocking his front door.

Entering the apartment, I inhaled the scent of soy sauce before I spotted William standing in the kitchen.

The kitchen.Thatkitchen.

Get it together, woman.

“Hungry?” William slid his hand across the counter where I’d gripped for my very survival only a few days earlier.

Was it hot in here? The cooking must’ve heated up the area.

Apparently, it took extraordinarily little for me to forget the current shitshow that was my life.

Shaun threw his backpack on the couch and approached the counter wearing the same frown he’d worn that morning. “Always.”

“What’s with you?” William asked, taking in Shaun’s expression as he stirred vegetables into a skillet.

“You beat him up?” Shaun rested his elbows on the counter and rubbed his hands over his face. “We work for him, man.”

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