Page 8 of Charmed and Alarmed

Leni leans back in her chair, and though she’s looking right at me, I get the sense that her mind is a million miles away. “Okay.”

The tension bleeds from my shoulders. “Great. A lot of people will be staying. I always get pizza. It’s not all bad, Len. I know this wasn’t your plan, but?—”

She scoffs. “Okay, as in, I quit. Not okay, I’m staying to staple pieces of paper together in the corporate hellhole.”

A few of my other team members are filing back into the room, conversing cheerfully and oblivious to the tension between me and the new administrative assistant. My mouth is unreasonably dry as I open it to respond. “You quit?”

“Yup.” Leni reaches into the drawer to take out her bag and stands, collecting her cane from where she left it leaning against the desk. “I would say this was fun, but it wasn’t. Have a good one, Holden.”

And she heads for the door.

For a moment, I’m frozen to the spot, mentally replaying the conversation we just had. What the fuck is wrong with her? Is she such a brat that she would rather rot away on her sister’s couch, rather than try to build a new life?

Recovering from the shock and bristling with irritation, I stride for the door. There is no point in following her, no reason for me to be pursuing this conversation. It’s none of my damn business, but even that doesn’t stop me. Leni is already at the front door when I emerge on the second-floor balcony, oblivious to the fact she’s being followed. Heart pounding, I jog down the marble stairs after her and duck outside onto the warm, sun-soaked sidewalk.

“Leni!” I yell, catching the attention of the petite ballerina, who pauses, looking back at me with her eyebrows raised.

When I approach, coming to a stop five feet away from her, Leni’s lips are pursed. “What?”

Jesus, she’s beautiful. Even being a bratty little princess, throwing a tantrum because she didn’t get her way, there’s no dismissing the way my body reacts to her. It’s as if every goddamn cell is screaming at me to close the distance between us, throw her over my shoulder, and eat her out against the nearest flat surface.

Blowing out a rocky breath, I gaze at her, shoving aside my attraction in favor of the annoyance I was so filled with a few minutes ago. “I’m just surprised,” I drawl, lifting my eyebrows. “You didn’t strike me as a coward.”

Her eyes flash, but Leni gives no other indication that my words have had an effect. “So, because I don’t want to do a job I hate, I’m a coward?” she asks coolly.

I don’t reply right away. A few members ofTeam Vexit the building behind us, offering us polite smiles that do nothing to disguise their curiosity. Leni and I ignore them, and the moment they’re gone, I cross my arms, bracing myself for what I have to say.

“No,” I tell her flatly. “I think you’re a coward because you’d rather hide away in your sister’s apartment, feeling bad for yourself, than risk getting hurt again.”

There is more life in her than I’ve seen all day as she glowers at me, those dark eyes burning right through me over the stretch of concrete between us. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. How would you feel if you couldn’t design big, fancy buildings anymore?”

“Devastated,” I reply promptly, taking a step closer to her without thinking about it, and halting immediately, every muscle in my body pulled taut. “I’d befucking devastated. Losing one thing you love doesn’t mean there aren’t others out there, though, and you sure as hell won’t find them on Honor’s couch. Do the goddamn job, Len, even if you hate it. Do it until something better comes along.”

Leni shakes her head, her jaw tight, as if she’s biting back the urge to yell at me. “Thanks for the inspirational speech, but I’ll pass. I’m going home.”

I can’t remember the last time I hated anything more than the flat, dead tone of her voice.What the hell is my problem?Nothing about this woman is my concern or business, and yet I have to bite my tongue to stop myself from pushing until I get a reaction out of her.

There must be some regions of my brain not exclusively dedicated to Lenora Vogel, because I manage to force my head to bob up and down in silent agreement.

Am I so fucked up over this woman that I’m now acting against my own self-interest? So what if she wants to quit after one day? Having her under my nose for forty hours a week was a recipe for disaster. It’sgoodif she leaves.

I don’t say that, however.

Swallowing past the lump in my throat, I nod slowly. “We’ll be here until nine or so. If you decide you want to rejoin the land of the living, you’re welcome to come. If you don’t, I’ll assume I need to find a new administrative assistant.”

Leni stares at me for a long moment, and I don’t miss the way her free hand has balled into a fist at her side, nor the way her chest is rising and falling far too rapidly for a woman who hasn’t moved in several minutes.

Finally, her lips twist into a vicious smile. “Don’t hold your breath,” she spits, ripping her gaze from mine and turning on her heel, resuming her path home.

I watch her go, and there’s no use trying to convince myself that this is a good thing, that I’ve narrowly escaped becoming so goddamn hung up on Lenora Vogel, I may become desperate or stupid enough to actually do something about it. The sinking feeling in my stomach and the tightness in my chest tell a different story.

It’s been a long time since I cared enough about another person to worry.

4

LENORA

I’m not sure I’ve ever loathed anyone as much as I loathe Holden Ellinger right now.

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