Page 40 of Love Notes & Lifelines
Now? Like I’ve done something before?
Beck’s gaze flicks back and forth from me to Caleb, and my external cringe has nothing on the internal one happening at the same time. He’s remembering what I stupidly told him in one moment of weakness where I foolishly allowed myself to believe I was part of a team again.
“Who is the junior associate, Stella?” Beck snarls.
I bite my lip and shake my head. But he snaps the same question again. “Who is the junior associate, Stella?”
Ruby cries, Emmy whimpers, and I crack.
“Teddy Park,” I say. Both Beck and Caleb’s eyes flash murderously.
“Elijah, make sure that from now on, Teddy Park shadows Caleb—on everything.” I don’t lift my gaze from the floor, but the air shifts and I’d bet he’s facing him fully now. “We’re all about teaching the next generation around here. Isn’t that right, Caleb?” His name slithers from Beck’s tongue and I expect a sharp retort.
“Beck, don’t be ridiculous,” he says, but his tone carries a sense of unease, and we all hear it. “I’ve been with you since the beginning.”
“Then you won’t mind mentoring our most promising associate.” Beck’s body vibrates with rage.
“Be—um, Mr. Hayes.”Shut up, Stella, shut up.“The girls feed off your energy. They feel whatever you’re feeling.”
“Mr. Hayes?” he snarls. “We’re past that now,Jane, don’t you think? My office. Now.”
I nod and hurry across the room. Elijah squeezes my upper arm on the way by. “It’ll be okay. I’ll talk to him when he’s calmed down.”
“You knew?” The vein in Beck’s neck pulses with each word. “Of course you knew. I should have known better.”
Elijah, who is much smaller than Beck, goes toe-to-toe with him. He’s close enough that Ruby reaches for his suspenders and gives them a snap, which makes him yelp and her laugh, but it doesn’t deter him.
“Think before you speak, Beck. There may be lines drawn in the sand, but I have never once held that stick, and I’m not doing it now.”
“Elijah, it’s okay. It’s my fault.” I shake my head and enter Beck’s office. I made my bed and now it’s time to lie in it.
Hope—it really is a fickle thing.
We’ve beenin Beck’s office for almost fifteen minutes, and he hasn’t said a word. He’s pacing behind his desk and patting Ruby’s belly mindlessly, which she seems to enjoy. She’s already let out three impressive burps, and she’s well past the stage of assisted burping but she thinks it’s funny.
She’s a great distraction because the need to fill the silence is overwhelming, but I have no idea where to begin. Everything has gotten really complicated, really fast.
“Who hit you,” he says after an eternity.
My mouth tastes like cotton balls, and I swallow twice before speaking. “Respectfully, sir, that’s none of your business.” I try to shift in my chair, but Daisie Dog is sitting on my feet.
His posture stiffens and so do the lines around his eyes, but he rounds his desk with measured strides until he’s standing, looming over me.
“Sir?” he asks.
“Don’t be a jerk. I don’t know what to call you. I was just as confused as you are now. I wasn’t expecting my boss’s boss to call the hotline. What are the freaking odds of that, anyway? Though, after talking to stinking Elijah, I have a feeling the odds were pretty high.”
He leans over and places his hands on the armrests of my chair, caging me in, throwing gasoline on my fears.
And my desire.
I drop my gaze to my lap before he sees the unrequited lust lurking behind my quickly crumbling walls.
“I. Don’t. Work. With. Liars. Stella. So tell me one thing…”
I gulp, and the sound makes Ruby laugh. Since she’s inches from my face in this position, I reach out and squish her perfectly chubby thighs.
Beck pulls back so she’s out of reach, and it hurts more than it should, but Emmy catches my attention. She’s crouched down in the corner, clutching a little blue book to her chest.
