Page 25 of Just Business
“I wanted to get these travel plans nailed down.” Justin glanced at Sam and caught sight of Eli’s office—which was occupied. When had Eli come in? Didn’t Justin even rate agood morningorhelloanymore? His chest tightened. “I know Fazil’s getting itchy for the details.”
“Fantastic. I know the budget is tricky.”
Nearly impossible. Then again, Sanhex was in pretty dire straights, so no wonder they held their purse strings so tight. “It’s a challenge, yeah.”
“If anyone can work it out, it’s you.” Sam continued into his office.
At least someone thought that. Justin looked into Eli’s office, expecting a delivery from the scowl-of-the-week club. Instead, Eli limped along the cabinets, a small stack of files in his hands, until he vanished from Justin’s view. Pain had etched every line of Eli’s face, been written into every step. Sorrow, too.
Justin’s insides somersaulted.What did I do?He wanted Eli’s smile, the one he’d glimpsed right before Eli had driven away that night that seemed far too long ago.
Good God! You are so hung up on this man.
Time to do something about that, because mooning after Eli was about as safe as dancing naked on porcupines. And while helikedpain from time to time, he hated needles with a passion. He needed to drown Eli out.
He switched over to his private e-mail. There were no restrictions on Internet usage—Sam had even dragged everyone in to watch a particularly funny video Michael had sent him—but Justin hesitated wasting too much time surfing or e-mailing. He fired one letter off.
Hey, Kelly. You said you could hook me into the Scene? I really could use a night of fun and frivolity... anything coming up in the near future?—Justin.
It had been a long time since he’d been in the LA Scene. Before Francis, playing had helped his work. Hopefully, here it would focus him, too.
***
The office remained subdued and quiet, even when engineering arrived. After lunch, Justin managed to find flights and hotels that wouldn’t break the budget and finished the travel arrangement puzzle. Sanhex squeezed the line on this and Justin had even received a terse e-mail from Eli stating that they could add a bit from their budget if the numbers were proving too hard to work with.
Like fuck he’d ask for that. He wasn’t about to let Eli think he couldn’t perform a task handed to him.
Now he had. Justin sent the arrangements to Sam and Eli for approval. Sam’s reply came back immediately.
Fantastic job! Yes. Approved.
Justin smiled at his reflection in the screen.Victory!He leaned back in his chair.
Eli’s response came a few minutes later, dousing ice water over Justin’s joy. He nearly didn’t open the e-mail
Impressive, Mr. White. Approved.
Short and to the point. Justin couldn’t help turning his head and peering across the hall. Of course Eli watched him, but those lips that had been so recently turned down quirked up into a small smile. Justin nodded and turned back to his screen, breathless. A smile—and for him. Justin swallowed. His throat felt raw, but every muscle eased, far more than when Sam had praised his work.
Justin closed the browser and rose. He reached for the ceiling, arching his back, and several vertebrae popped.Thank God.Time for a soda and maybe Ping-Pong. When he turned, he expected Eli to be watching him, but no.
Eli stood at his cabinets with another handful of files, his posture entirely wrong. One hand white-knuckled the top of the cabinet while Eli lowered himself down to his knees—but he winced and the papers spilled onto the floor. Eli pulled himself up and pounded a fist against the top of the cabinet. “Fuck!”
Justin stared at the spilled files and crept closer to Eli’s door. A tumult of emotions played across Eli’s face and Justin’s chest constricted. Eli exhaled a breath that sounded suspiciously like a sob. “Fuck,” he repeated, though this time the word was filled with pain. The helpless look on Eli’s face—
Justin must have made a sound, because forlorn morphed into furious. “What the hell do you want?”
Face hot, Justin gripped the doorway and searched for something,anythingto say. He knew thatLet me help youwould be snarled away, but there had to be something else. Other words.
Eli turned. “Please leave, Justin.” Hard edges over every syllable.
“Look,” Justin said, sounding far stronger than he felt, “you and Sam hired an assistant for a reason. Get your money’s worth out of me.”
Eli scraped his nails across the top of the cabinet, the sound eating into Justin’s brain. His heart slammed against his ribs.Shit. Shit.
After a long, painful moment of silence, Eli pushed off the cabinets. “Then get your ass in here andassistme.” Eli hobbled back to his chair and sat. “You can start by picking those up.” The tension melted from Eli’s body.
Good. He’d managed to find the right words around Eli’s pride. He’d done that with Mercy from time to time, too. But Mercy was his sister and Eli was... a coworker. A friend? Who the fuck knew?
