Page 94 of Positively Pricked
Obviously, this was directed at Zane, who paid the guy no attention. He was still focused on Fergus, who seemed to wilt under the weight of Zane's stare. Silently, the professor began sidestepping his way toward freedom.
He looked utterly ridiculous, but then again, I probably did, too. I was still holding those stupid flowersandthe door. Without thinking, I released the handle, letting the door swing inward.
Unfortunately for the professor, this is when he decided to make a break for it. The door smacked him in the face, and he stumbled backward, saying "Hey! What'd you dothatfor?"
"I, uh…" Had I done that on purpose? Honestly, I couldn't be sure either way. But Ididknow that I wasn't feeling terribly guilty about it.
Behind me, Paisley said, "Oh, my God. Are you okay?"
I wanted to roll my eyes, but I didn't, even as the professor bolted forward and yanked the door open as wide as possible before dashing through the opening like a robber of the smash-and-grab variety.
I turned just in time to see him scurry down the hall, with Paisley darting after him, calling out, "Do you need a ride?"
Together, they disappeared around the corner, leaving me to deal with the fallout on my own. No doubt, this was for the best, and yet, I couldn’t help but think they were weasels for doing so.
And once again, I was holding the stupid door – but only because it had been either that, or let it smackmein the face. As for the new guy, he was staring, slack-jawed, after the two escapees.
"See?" I told him. "They totally deserve each other."
With that, I reluctantly turned back to Zane. He was eyeing me with an expression that I couldn’t make out. But he definitely wasn't thrilled.
Yeah, welcome to the club.
But I didn't say it. In fact, I didn't say anything. I wanted to, but no words came to mind.
Zane said, "My office.Now."
For once, I couldn’t exactly blame him for being so rude. I let go of the door and trudged forward, letting the guy behind me grab the door-handle – or not. At this point, I hardly cared who got smacked by the stupid thing.
The whole situation was incredibly depressing. I'd kept this job for just a couple of months. And as much as I hated to admit it, I'd actually come to like it a lot more than I'd been expecting.
Oh sure, Zane was impossible, but even that made the days a lot more interesting. And then, there was the pay. I'd definitely be missing that, especially when it came time to buy groceries and what-not.
Zane turned away and began stalking back toward his office, leaving me to follow after him. From somewhere behind me, I heard the new guy call out, "Hey, we had a meeting!"
"Later," Zane told him without even bothering to look.
Whether the guy heard him or not, I had no idea. But Ididhear Carla offer the guy coffee or water and assure him that Mister Bennington would be with him in a moment.
But first apparently, "Mister Bennington" would be dealing with me.
