Page 22 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“Thank you for the update.”
Sandra grabbed her things and headed out. As soon as she was out of earshot, Raymond started up again. Apparently, I wasn't the only one concerned about keeping up professional appearances.
“Now that we're alone, will you please tell me why you've been avoiding me?” he asked.
“This again?” I huffed. “Was there something in our contract that said I had to answer every time you called? I swear that’s something my lawyers would have talked to me about.”
He paused, a tight frown on his face. “Did I do something wrong?”
“If this is you teasing me again, I'm going to hurt you,” I threatened.
“This is me genuinely asking what I did to make you avoid me for a week.” All the joking tone had left his voice. “Did I hurt you when we were sparring? Are you embarrassed?”
“No, you didn't hurt me.” I ignored the second question, because yes, I was embarrassed, but no, I was not about to tell him that.
“So, what is it? Because I thought we were finally building a good relationship. I know that's not important to you, Jericha, but it is to me.” He sat in the empty chair next to me inside the guard post. “We don't have to be the best offriends, but I would think if I was in business with someone and I was calling them, they would at least give the courtesy of answering me.”
“You're right. It was unprofessional of me, and I should have responded to you,” I relented. “You had something related to business you wanted to talk about, and it deserved attention.”
The smug look of a man rarely told he was right spread across his face. “That's all I'm saying.”
“So, what is it?” I asked.
“What's what?” His expression turned from pride to confusion.
“The important business thing you wanted to talk to me about so badly,” I reminded him. “What is it?”
“I—um…” The man looked like he was actually panicking. “The mats in the gym seem a bit firm. I think we should probably think about swapping those out.”
I scoffed. “Do you expect me to believe that's what you really wanted to talk to me about?”
“I expect you to have some compassion for my…short term memory loss and drop it.” He leaned to look out the window, as if he spotted something more interesting than our conversation. “I'll give you a pass about ignoring me, and you give me a pass for letting things slip my mind.”
“Raymond. This is a professional relationship, nothing more.” I turned a serious eye to him. “Do you often talk to your other partners a lot?”
“Only the ones I want to talk to.”
“So, you want to talk to me?” I leaned back in my seat and raised a brow. “That’s what this is about? Were you lonely?”
I expected him to come back with something snarky, an attempt to put me in my place, but the damn man answeredwith honesty.
“Yes, Jericha. I wanted to talk to you.” There it was, that challenging expression I hated so much. He was testing me. “Is that so bad? I realized I enjoy your company. I enjoyed talking shop and even sparring. That was one of the best sessions I’ve had in a very long while. Figured we could do it again.”
His honesty caught me off guard, so much so that I struggled to respond. He enjoyed being with me? He wanted to talk to me? What was I supposed to do with that information? Sure, he presented it like he was talking about a typical friendship, but there was something in his tone and the way he looked at me when he spoke that made me feel like there was far more to the story than he was telling me.
“Well, don’t.” I shifted my attention away from the man who stared at me. “Focus on the contract. Getting the job done is all that matters. You shouldn’t want to talk to or spend any extra time with me. That’s inappropriate.”
“Says who?” Raymond locked his eyes on me. “You’re the boss, aren’t you? You make the rules.”
“Yes, and a strict rule of mine is to not get too close with my staff. It creates conflicts of interest.”
“Your staff. Right.” He paused. “I think I qualify as more than staff. As a partner in your business, however temporary, shouldn’t I at least be allowed to get to know you?”
“Why would you want to do that?” I laughed. “I don’t understand why this matters so much to you.”
“To be honest, it didn’t before.” He leaned closer to me. “But seeing how resistant you are to the idea makes me a lot more intrigued. I need to know why you’re so against it. Is there something about me that repulses you, or are you typically this abrasive?”
“Oh, I see.” It finally clicked. Raymond’s ego was bruised. “This isn’t about me at all, is it? Let me guess: you’re used to women falling over you?”
