Page 13 of Even if You Fall

One of my eyebrows ticked up at the name. “Excuse me?”

“Well, I have to call you something,” she said as if it should’ve been obvious.

“And you landed on Superman,” I countered, voice deadpan.

A confirming hum left her as she absently reached for where her deep red hair was piled into a messy knot on top of her head, making sure it was still in place, and giving me the perfect view of the slight tremble in her fingers.

“So, I can’t get into the computer,” she said abruptly, forcing my stare away from where it’d fallen to sweep over the rest of her body, as if some traitorous part of me had been eager to take in the hourglass figure I’d had no choice but to stare at earlier. After all, she’d been directly in front of me, and I’d been sizing up the new threat.

But again . . . not my type.

Typically.

“Ada only left me employment forms and a note telling me not to be too good at my job, which means I don’t know the password,” Chloe finished with what might’ve been considered a sigh for her.

If it hadn’t been for the way she’d tried hiding her hands beneath the desk as they’d formed into fists again, and if it hadn’t been for the nearly imperceptible waver in her bubbly voice, I would’ve been so sure Chloe wasn’t bothered by me or the stunt Ada pulled on her.

But I’d caught them, and I had a feeling the Ada thing was partially—if not fully—the reason behind why I’d found Chloe the way I had.

“Admin,” I told her as I folded my arms over my chest, never taking my eyes off her so I wouldn’t miss anything else. “It was the only thing we could get Ada to remember. I’d say you could change it, but you won’t be here long enough.”

There was the slightest falter as Chloe reached for the keyboard before she twisted in the seat again to study me, her apologetic expression once again broken up by all that joy. “I really am sorry for hurting you. And for making you drop the donuts,” she added as an afterthought.

“That isn’t what this is about,” I informed her just as she began turning around, and was rewarded with a slip in her happy mask.

It only lasted a couple seconds, but it was enough.

The resignation and hollowness I caught a glimpse of before that false excitement brightened her features again screamed truth, and I knew right then that I was right not to trust this girl.

I ignored the way her sadness made my stomach dip and chest clench. I ignored how it made me feel like the worst kind of person for forcing that reaction from her. Because it shouldn’t matter; Chloe was nothing more than a stranger who had neon red flags waving all around her.

Finding and figuring out those people was what I did.

Getting rid of them was what I did.

She was no different.

“That’s our system for messages.” I showed her, pointing at the app on the desktop. I held back a sigh when she clicked into it because I didn’t really see the purpose of all this. But if she felt like she needed to learn it, I’d humor her...for Briggs. “It’s simple. If we’re not here or can’t take a call, you just click on the person the message is for, type it in, and hit submit.”

“That is simple,” she agreed, sitting up a little straighter as if excited by the straightforwardness Ada had refused to learn. The movement sent the gentlest tease of her coconut and vanilla perfume my way.

I hated coconut, and yet, I found myself drawing in a deep breath just to get another hint of the scent that seemed so enticing on this woman.

Shaking my head as if I could rid the smell and thoughts from my mind, I gave a confirming grunt and gestured to the desk phone. “I’m assuming you know how to answer a phone.”

A breath of a laugh punched from her. Chloe’s head quickly bobbed before she glanced up at me, those deceitful eyes full of amusement. “Um...yep, I’d say so.”

“Good,” I said irritably. “When people call, it’ll light up one of the lines. Click the line you want to answer.” Pointing to the buttons on the phone, I explained, “Push hold for the obvious reason. All our desks are clearly labeled. Once you’ve put a call on hold, tap whoever the call is for and tell them who’s calling. If we can take the call, we’ll take it from there. If not, take a message and put it in the messaging system.”

“Got it,” she said with a decisive nod.

“Then we’re done here.” The words were a mumble as I started walking back around the desk to leave, but I’d only made it a handful of feet before her, “Wait, don’t go!” stopped me.

I drew in a steadying breath, then released it with, “Not that hard, new girl.” When I glanced her way, I found myself caught up in the softest smile tugging at her full mouth as her head subtly shook in amusement.

“No, not that,” Chloe said with a wave of her hand before that hand disappeared beneath the desk again, but I fought the impulse to see if she was clenching them into fists again. Or maybe that was because I was still trapped in a smileand dancing eyes. “You were right, that was all very easy. But Cameron said I’d need to organize client files?”

My head dipped before shaking. In part to continue clearing my head of this girl, mostly in answer. “Ada did that,” I corrected her. “There isn’t a point in teaching you any of that.”

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