Page 48 of Ruling Scar
To my Leonora. From yours truly.
A sweet scent fills the drab office. I snap a picture and send it to Elijah.
Lennie: Thank you for the flowers.
He calls ten seconds later.
“What the fuck are those?”
“What?” I log back into my computer.
“Who the fuck sent you those flowers?”
My hands hover over my keyboard. “Y-you didn’t?”
“Carnations. You honestly think I’d send you carnations.”
Isn’t that the flower always used at funerals? A pit gnaws in my belly as I eye the flowers.
“The card uses my full name.”
He’s the only one who does that.
Traffic blends together in the background. Elijah must be walking somewhere.
“Nobody signed the card,” I tell him quietly.
“Who brought them?”
“I was at lunch when they came.” Am I going to have to quit my job because of this asshole? “I thought you were going to deal with him?”
Stony silence echoes down the line. A car horn honks.
“I’m picking you up after work.”
“I’m going straight home.” Where I will burrow under my blankets.
“Come downstairs.”
“Why?”
“Downstairs.”
The call drops and I pick myself up. Whatever giddiness lunch with Ren brought, dissipates as I throw the flowers away.
I don’t want to just throw them away. I want them destroyed. What if they were bugged? What if something bad clings to them and now me since I touched them?
Janis would call this paranoia.
Elijah’s wearing a suit and damn he looks good. His hair’s grown out slightly, and he runs a hand through it. One hand is in his pocket and he doesn’t notice me right away. When he does, he swivels on his heels, straightening as I come closer.
It’s midday and people breeze in and out of the lobby. The building’s a hive for corporate America.
I dodge around a group heading to lunch and when I’m close enough, Elijah’s hand snakes out. His fingers grip the back of my head and before I realize it, we’re kissing.
And I mean kissing.
He drags me closer, our chests touching. The spark of surprise melts, his hand cupping my cheek.
