Page 8 of Even if You Fall

“You really are leaving,” he muttered, the words just barely above a breath.

“Now, you know it don’t mean a thing,” Ada said with a click of her tongue. “Just an old woman wanting to slow down. I’ll still be a constant nuisance in your life.”

Seconds passed in heavy tension before he breathed out, “Fine,” as if it pained him to let Ada go. But just as quickly, his tone was back to that hard, unforgiving tenor I’d grown used to as his dark eyes narrowed on me. “Ada will train you. Let me know if you need anything.”

I didn’t even have time to relish the knowledge and excitement that he was letting me stay—that he was officiallyhiring me after months of trying to find something. Because as soon as Asher stalked away, Steel Wall was up and rushing after him. Snapping, “Briggs,” in disapproval, like he was already readying his caseagainstme working here.

“Uh oh,” I whispered, then jolted when an opened donut box was held out directly in front of me.

“Don’t worry about them.”

I looked over to the voice behind the donuts—to the same guy who’d burst into laughter over Steel Wall choking—and found the clearest green eyes staring down at me.

“Ma’am,” he murmured with a subtle nod, the word a smooth drawl that I was sure would have other girls melting into a puddle. “Chloe, was it?”

“Yes, hi,” I said excitedly and held out my hand for him to shake. “What’s your name?”

“Hudson Gray.” A smirk slowly edged at the corner of his mouth as he curled his free hand around mine in a way that most definitely didn’t shoutgreeting. “Now?—”

“Don’t even think about it,” Ada cut in, smacking Hudson’s shoulder. “Take your charms elsewhere.”

Hudson released my hand, only to hold his up in the air. “I was just gonna ask about her shirt.”

My hands flew to my nerdy graphic shirt of the day, my smile widening at the prospect of someone else appreciating it, but Ada’s scoff stopped me short.

“You don’t fool me, boy,” she said, then gave me a warning look while pointing at Hudson. “He is nothing but trouble and a shameless flirt. Don’t fall for it.”

A stunned laugh left Hudson, almost as if he was choking over the sound. “Ada, Ada, Ada,” he crooned as he deftly lowered the donut box onto my new desk and draped an arm around Ada’s shoulders, turning her away from me. “Let’s not scare the new girl away with your crazy.”

“If anyone’s bound to scare her away, it’s you and Adam,” Ada said as she continued in the circle until she was facing me again. “Now, get.”

“I’m going,” he said as if that’d been his intention all along. But as he grabbed the forgotten donut box on the floor and stacked it on top of the one on my desk, he sent me a wink that told me all I needed to know about Hudson Gray.

Ada was right. Absolutely shameless.

But I’d read enough books and watched enough rom-coms to know it wasn’tmehe was interested in. Guys like Hudson Gray would probably hit on a tree if they got bored enough.

Once he rounded the corner and was out of sight, I whirled on Ada, already hissing, “Lainey’s never gonna let us—” The rest of the words abruptly died in my throat when Ada carelessly shoved a thick binder my way, not waiting for me to reach for it before letting it fall from her bony, jeweled fingers.

Just as a strangled sound of confusion or laughter or something in between left me, she said, “That went much better than expected, and I have all the confidence in the world that you’ll do beautifully here.”

“Better than expected?” I countered with a breathless laugh. With my free hand, I gestured toward the rest of the office, even though it was blocked from my view by the large wall my equally large desk was up against. “One man nearly died. Asher was yelling.”

Ada made a scoffing sound as she waved off my words. “That boy’s always yelling. Now,” she went on as she grabbed her purse, the action making my body lock up tight with apprehension as I watched her start toward me—toward the door.

“Ada . . .”

“Everything you need is in there,” she went on, tapping the binder as she eased past me.

“Ada—”

“If you need anything at all, you just give me a call.”

“I thought you were gonna train me,” I blurted out when she grabbed the handle.

She glanced back at me, seeming surprised. With another meaningful tap on top of the binder in my hands, as if she was worried I’d missed it the last time, she said, “There’s your training.”

My stomach dropped so quickly, it felt like I was going to be sick. In that moment, I regretted eating breakfast almost as much as I regretted not listening to Lainey.

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