Page 93 of Positively Pricked
Chapter 31
An ominous silence descended hard and fast, broken only by the sound of a single sniffle coming from Paisley.
We were all looking at Zane, who stood silently in the doorway. His jaw was tight and his eyes were hard as he assessed the scene in front of him.
I sucked in a breath. There was something about him, something quiet and ruthless, that made me want to take a couple of steps backward. But I didn't, unlike Professor Fergus, who was backing slowly away, whether he realized it or not.
I wanted to say something, but nothing came to mind. Already, I was mentally packing my bags – or boxes, as the case might be. Fortunately, almost nothing in my office was mine, not even the coffee maker. The only things I'd need to grab were my purse and favorite coffee mug, and maybe the half-eaten crackers that were supposed to be my lunch.
How depressing.
It was Carla, still holding the phone's receiver, who finally broke the silence. "Mister Bennington…"
Whatever she'd been planning to say next died on her lips as Zane snapped his gaze in her direction. She blanched and returned the phone to its cradle without another word. She looked absolutely terrified, probably for the same reason I was.
Hello, unemployment line.
A wave of guilt washed over me. Probably,Iwas doomed no matter what, but Carla didn't have to be. This wasn't her fault. She was just an innocent bystander. And worse, she'd actually been trying to do her job, until she'd been stopped.
By me.
I spoke up. "Carla had nothing to do with this."
Zane turned his gaze on me, and my mouth suddenly went dry. Desperate for a distraction, I snuck a quick glance at Fergus, who eyed my boss with something that looked an awful lot like fear.
Reluctantly, I looked back to Zane. He still hadn't responded to my statement, and I felt the sudden need to elaborate. "She wanted to call security, but I, uh, wouldn't let her, actually." I cleared my throat. "So this is my fault, not hers."
Behind me, Paisley said, "That's for sure."
I wanted to turn around and slap her. Who knows, maybe Iwouldbe slapping her before the day was done.
One thing about Paisley, she had no idea when to quit.
And, as if that weren't bad enough, the new guy jumped on the bandwagon by calling out to Zane, "Youremployeeslept withherboyfriend." He said "employee" like the wordreallymeant disease-ridden ho-bag.
Zane's gaze shifted to Fergus. "You the boyfriend?"
Fergus gave a tight nod.
I spoke up. "And just for the record, Ididn'tsleep with him, not that it's anyone's business."
"Liar," Paisley said.
The urge to get slappy grew just a little bit stronger. To no one in particular, I announced, "I don't even like him."
"Oh yeah?" Paisley said. "Then why'd you accept the flowers?"
Without bothering to look at her, I said, "What was I supposed to do? Throw them in his face?"
Paisley muttered, "Well, you didn't have to take them."
Through this entire exchange, Zane's gaze remained firmly on the professor, who'd taken a few more steps backward. He glanced toward the door and mumbled, "Well, uh, I guess I should get going."
I gave him an annoyed look. "Sonow, you're willing to leave? I've only been asking you for fifteen minutes."
The professor stiffened. "It wasn'tthatlong."
Behind me, the new guy called out, "Sothisis how you run things?" Under his breath, he added, "I don't know why I'm surprised."
