Page 75 of The Reluctant Hero

“That reminds me, I need to make sure Blake is still on for golf this afternoon,” Matthias tilts his head to watch myreaction. Beside him Ace’s nostrils flare as he glares like his eyes are made of lasers ready to cut him down.

The mention of Loser firms up my resolve. He knows it’s a weakness, and he’s going to exploit it mercilessly. Yeah, the jab hits where it hurts, but I don’t have to show it.

“Well, be sure to eat something, too,” I nod and smile. “I’ll be back in an hour. Enjoy your golf time.”

I don’t wait for a response before I gently close the door. Now I have to find someplace to eat that no one can find me. I can rant under my breath in private to get this tension out. I end up pacing around the carport. There are a few fancy cars there, in a VIP section that makes me roll my eyes. Behind a guarded gate are shiny, expensive vehicles, and I can guess who they belong to. I eat my sandwich propped up against one of the concrete supports, watching to see if they leave.

They don’t, proving that calling his bluff was a good idea. Or Loser canceled on him.

My alert to go back chimes, and I wince. I don’t wanna.

But no. My ass traipses back to the desk and starts working again.

The day is completely uneventful and boring as hell. Who am I torturing again? Matthias seems perfectly fine with this. Mikael sucks at this game.

The chime that five has dragged its butt around goes off an eternity later. I make sure everything is nicely put away and gather my things.

“Must you have that alarm go off every five seconds?”

My surprised look isn’t faked as I watch Matthias’ jaw twitch. Ace is behind him with a death glare. He looks ready to throw him out of his chair.

I picked the most discreet chime there was and turned the volume down. This guy is looking for things to nitpick.

My eyes move to Mikael, who is biting his inner cheek to contain his laughter.

Holy shit. This worked?

“I’m sorry,” I say meekly. “I’ll leave it off tomorrow.”

I don’t say any more than that as I make my way to the door.

“Stop,” he snaps in his icy tone and my feet stop. I turn to face him with a plastic smile.

“Was there something else, Mr. Matthias?”

“Yes,” his eyes are narrow, and his lips are thin. “I’d like you to apologize to Cade and Jake for being rude to them.”

This motherfucker.

I try my best not to look as furious as I feel. I want to blow up. The scalding heat that’s rising up my neck doesn’t help either. I turn to the pair of idiots on the couch after a slight hesitation.

They both are watching me. Cade with a sly grin of anticipation and Jake with his sweet smile, pretending to be innocent.

“I’m sorry for treating you badly. It won’t happen again.” I almost choke on the words as I force them out. I’m proud of the fact that my customer service voice took over, and it covers the hesitation with false humility.

Cade’s brows furrow, his smile wavering. Jake gives Matthias a look, which gives me a flash of the weird darkness all his fake joy is hiding. Neither of them looks pleased.

“Did it hurt to get that off your chest?”

Cade’s smile disappears altogether, and he turns a stony expression on Matthias at the question.

I’m going to win this farce if it kills me. The thought of walking out with my middle fingers raised to the sky is so tempting. A last word kind of thing. I force myself to think of the money. Even if he can’t help with a lawyer, the money will getme into a new phone plan and closer to saying goodbye to Loser Two.

“It did,” I tell him with that fake smile still plastered on my face. “But you’re right. I’d rather us all get along like professionals than be at odds. Thank you.”

Adding in the thanks almost makes me gag. This routine seems very familiar to me. I did this every day with Loser, and the effects are taking their toll. Is this battle worth all the progress I’ve made in liberating myself from this mindset? Now that I know it’s there, my skin is itching like I’m wearing wool in summer. I need to shrug this act off.

Matthias’ eyes narrow on me, his brow going down slightly. When he doesn’t say anything I shift in discomfort. I want out of here ASAP.

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