Page 11 of Fierce-Hyde

“Yeah,” Raina said. “The same one. I have to say, it doesn’t sound like him though.”

“What does that mean?” she asked, sitting up straighter in her chair where she’d flopped down moments ago.

“I work with him,” Raina said. “He’s nice. He’s funny. He’s never rude and is actually polite. More than most guys can be. He has a habit of being on his phone a lot so that part is true.”

“I know what I saw. I know what he said to me. I don’t know why he would seek me out.”

“What exactly did he say to you?”

“Not much,” she said. “He said he wanted to talk and then stopped to look at his phone.”

“Which doesn’t tell you much,” Raina said.

“No,” she said. “Then he said he was going to apologize but I started to act like a bitch.”

“At least you know who he is, but I’m ticked off he said that to you. That’s just wrong.”

“It is. Doesn’t help it any when I go see you next either,” she said.

“Knowing you, you’ll want to clear the air,” Raina said. “You never liked conflict.”

“I don’t,” she said. “Which makes it even harder to believe I all but told him off a second time. But I don’t think I should apologize. He called me a bitch.”

“True. I have to admit I find it odd. Kind of funny on top of it,” Raina said.

“Sure,” she said. “I’m a laugh a minute for you right now.”

Raina laughed. “I’m sorry. Do you want me to go talk to him?”

“No,” she said. “Don’t get in the middle.”

“It’s hard not to,” Raina said. “He must have seen you here and asked someone. He could have seen you in the office with me and asked Ryder. That’s my guess. Ryder would have told him who I was to you. Just because he hasn’t said anything to me before, doesn’t mean he won’t now.”

“Let me know if he does,” she said. “I’ll handle it though.”

“You always do,” Raina said.

4

MYSTERY SOLVED

“Talking to Tori?”

Raina looked up from her computer screen to see him standing in the doorway.

“Eavesdropping, Hyde?” Raina asked.

“Not really,” he said. “I was at my desk and saw you fly by my door while you were looking into offices and were on your phone. Then you turned and walked back just as quickly as if you figured out some mystery.”

Raina laughed at him. He expected her to be snarky or give him a Medusa glance turning him to stone.

Not that she’d ever done that before, but knowing what she might now, he was expecting it.

“Mystery solved,” Raina said, smirking.

“So that was Tori?” he asked again. “May I?”

He gestured toward the chair in front of her desk.

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