Page 14 of Brittle Heart

The elderly woman nods in response, and Sophia leans in slightly over the counter. “Did you have a chance to make a badge for my newbie?”

I frown, catching Clay’s smirk out of the corner of my eye.

“Not yet, but I can whip up a temporary one for now. Was it… Karen?”

Clay laughs, hastily covering his mouth with his hand when I glare at him. On the other hand, Josh openly grins at me, clearly finding this funny too.

“No, it’s Carolina Costa. She’s the new intern in the forensic toxicology department,” Sophia corrects her, and Margaret begins typing my name into her computer.

“Ah… there she is,” she announces before printing something. She passes me a sheet of paper with a QR code. “This is your temporary badge. You’ll need it to get in until I can get your permanent one sorted. Keep it with you at all times, and don’t lose it,” she instructs, her voice taking on a stern note that was absent when talking to Sophia.

“Thank you,” I mumble, turning toward Sophia. “So, same time tomorrow?”

She pulls me into a hug, catching me off guard. She laughs when she sees my surprised face as she pulls away. “You better be here!” she declares before heading off. Then she calls over her shoulder, “Let’s go, boys. I’m starving.”

Clay grins and salutes me, then turns to follow Sophia. But Josh hangs back for a moment longer.

“Have a good evening, Carolina,” he says, smiling. There is a tingle in my chest, but I just nod as he also heads off.

I take a deep breath.

This is going to be interesting.

CHAPTERSEVEN

Josh

My plate is heaped with spring rolls when I head back to find Clay and Sophia already settled in our usual spot in the NYPD cafeteria. The food here isn’t the best, but it’s convenient given our crazy work schedules rarely allow us to meet elsewhere for meals.

Sliding into the seat next to Clay, I catch the last part of what he’s saying, “… so glad that jerk’s finally gone. Couldn’t stand seeing his face every time I ate.” His words are garbled by a mouthful of spaghetti.

“Who are we talking about?” I ask, taking a big bite out of a spring roll.It’s surprisingly not too bad today.

“Justin, of course,” Sophia says, rolling her eyes. “But he’s gone now, Clay. I’ve got a new intern. No need to bring him up anymore.”

I can’t help but grin at her words. “Yeah, Clay, one less person for you to torture,” I tease.

He shoots me a look, not amused. “I didn’t torture him. He was just a homophobic, ego-tripping jerk, and I didn’t like him.”

Sophia takes a swig from her water bottle, not missing a beat. “Oh, don’t worry, you made that abundantly clear. I think part of the reason he quit was your snide remarks at every meal.”

Clay just shrugs, twirling spaghetti on his fork. “Not my fault he can dish it out but can’t handle it being thrown back at him.”

I bite my lip to hold back a smile.

Clay can be a total pain in the ass when he wants to be.

Sophia shoots him a stern look, pointing her fork at him. “I swear to God, Cooper, if you scare off my new intern too, I will kick your ass. I want her to stick around.”

I think about the witty, beautiful girl with the captivating cat eyes.Yeah, I’d like her to stay too.

She’s the first one who’s left Clay speechless, a sight I’d pay to see again.

The corner of Clay’s mouth lifts in a smirk, eyes still on his plate as he replies, “I don’t think I could scare her away even if I tried.”

“So don’t,” Sophia says.

Clay turns my way. “What do you think about her?”

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