Page 8 of Sever
He doesn’t wait for a response. He just lifts his chin at me and then walks away from my desk. I let out a low breath, purposely keeping my eyes on my keyboard to avoid Connor’s. I know he’s probably glaring at me, wondering what the hell that was. Another lie to add to the growing list.
“Miss Hendrix.” I jump at the sound of Mr. Duncan calling my name.
“Yes, sir?”
“My office, now.”
Great, this can’t be good.
I walk into his office to find him already sitting at his desk, his fingers racing over the keys. Nerves wrack my body as I take a seat on the chair in front of him, wringing my hands in my lap as I try taking a few deep breaths. He makes me wait for a few moments and I feel every single one of them in my gut.
“I am assigning you to be the point person on Mr. Smith’s case.” He slides the file toward me.
This is what I wanted, what I hoped for.
That was, until I figured out who the client was.
“Thank you, sir.” How am I going to work with him and do a good enough job to maybe get noticed by the partners?
His eyes level on me and there’s no mistaking the severity in his tone when he says, “I expect this assignment to be perfect. We want them to be happy and not look elsewhere for services.”
“I won’t disappoint you.”
I offer him a weak smile before standing up, grabbing the file, and heading to my desk, my shoes catching on the plush carpet, nearly sending me face first onto the floor. I look over at Andrea. She’s studying me and it makes me nervous. I’ve always been terrible at hiding my feelings and with just the one look she’s making me feel like my whole past is written across my forehead. I bite my lip and wave at her, taking care not to trip up again.
You can do this. Handle it like the professional you are.
The more I think about him being back and needing to spend time with him, the more I can’t see past drowning myself in a bottle of wine.
Back at my desk, I take all the papers out and sort them into piles, one for each business, in date order. I need to prepare myself as much as possible. If I go in there knowing everything I can, maybe it will make our meeting shorter.
“Hey, it’s lunch time. You ready?” Connor leans against my desk, smiling.
I’m totally going to hell for making him think he has a chance with me. I’ll have to find some way of letting him know I’m not looking for a relationship. Maybe I’ll drop it into conversation. I grab my purse and stand up. “Lead the way.”
We walk a few blocks to the deli. I’m barely through the door when the hair on the back of my neck stands up.
“Well, what a coincidence,” a deep voice chuckles.
I look over, already knowing who it is.
“Are you following me?” I narrow my eyes, irritation prominent in my voice.
He shrugs with a smile. “You wish, princess. I was just hungry and got shot down when I asked for company.”
That name. Princess. How dare he call me that.
Connor looks between us and I know he’s wondering why this guy just called me “princess.” As far as he knows, Ryder was “Mr. Smith,” the new important client. He doesn’t know who he really is. His lips purse and he says, “I’ll go and grab us something, yeah?”
I nod, keeping my eyes on Ryder.
Ryder stands up. “Guess I’ll see you tomorrow.” With a wink he walks out the door.
“Okay, let’s eat.” I turn around to see Connor, tray in hand, on it two sandwiches and two bottles of water. I follow him to the table but with everything that’s happened this morning, I doubt I’ll be able to eat anything. Ryder’s presence has made me completely lose my appetite.
One more thing to be annoyed at him for.
I try to be good company but it’s like I’m in a haze. Ryder always had this effect on me. Even when we were kids, when he was around he was all I could see. He consumed every inch of me. When he left I couldn’t breathe.
