Page 93 of The Reluctant Hero

My gaze narrows as I slowly turn my head to take in Matthias’ smug face.

“Nice one,” I flip him off without much heat behind it. “You’re such a joy to be around, Matthias.”

Several of the men around him wince, and Mikael starts shaking his head. Matthias leans forward, his expression blanking out to a frozen mask.

“My name is Gabriel. Use it.”

“My bad,” I rear back in surprise. “I didn’t want to call my boss by his first name. How professional of me. The horror.”

“Don’t.” That’s all I get in return before he focuses on his paperwork.

I give Mikael a baffled look, and he pointedly jerks his chin to my mini desk.

So my boss has a problem with his last name. Why? He’s rich because of it. What’s the big deal? This screams family issues, and I’m not walking any further into that minefield.

Head down and work. Collect paycheck and go home. My mission in life.

But this guy needs to loosen up. If he keeps this iceman persona intact, he’ll eventually freeze solid.

And why do I care? This isn’t me working.

I blink and realize I’ve been staring at Gabriel for who knows how long with a concerned frown. Mikael is watching me with a raised brow. I stick my tongue out at him and start getting files out again.

Around lunch time, the doors open, and Shade walks in with Vanessa following him, ranting.

“You don’t have an appointment, sir!”

“It’s alright,” Matthias waves a hand at Vanessa as he leans back, seeming confused at the sudden interruption. “What are you doing here?”

Shade looks around at each of them, his cold gaze assessing. I notice they all seem tense at his arrival. Cade stands, and Jake hops the back of the couch to lean back against it in a graceful move I envy. Mikael and Ace are more relaxed, but they slide closer to Gabriel. Some of them are subtle, others blatantly untrusting.

Isn’t Shade his brother? Are they enemies, and I’m about to watch a fistfight? Where’s my popcorn?

A muscle ticks in Shade’s jaw, and then he sees me and turns my way, surprising me even more. He pulls a chair from in front of Gabriel’s desk over to my table and drops into it, legs sprawled, to toss his sunglasses on the table between us. I close the file I’m working on so he can’t see the contents. Maybe he’s in the non-mafia, maybe he isn’t. I’m choosing caution.

“Hey, Shade,” I scoff. “Who sent you here to shake the day up?”

“South,” he returns in his dead voice.

I glance at his hand with an overdone, wide-eyed look. He starts scowling.

“Noring? Which one of you is being lazy?” I taunt him.

“We special ordered them,” he bites back, his blank face cracking down the center. “Stop being an ass for five seconds.”

“Not possible,” I inform him blandly. Then I start singing in the loudest, whiney voice possible. “Shade’s getting married.”

“Shut the fuck up.” His words are harsh but I can tell he’s still riding high about it. His cheeks are flushing and he’s struggling with a smile.

“You’re not going to need a sedative on the day, right? Max is big enough he can prop you up, but-”

He cuts through my mocking and shuts me up with one sentence.

“No more flowers.”

I lean back, and a rough cough of air comes out like he punched me in the stomach. Just like that? How?

I shake my head, but my expression is hopeful. “Really?”

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