“Have you eaten tonight?” His voice was so stern.
“No, I haven’t.”
He crossed his arms on top of his desk. “You’re telling meyou’ve put nothing in your body, and you’ve worked two jobs today …”
“I downed a protein bar when I was on my way here from my other job.”
He wiped the corner of his mouth. “There’s a rib eye on the gas range that’s been sautéed in butter with fresh herbs and mushrooms. Put it in a to-go container and take it with you.”
“I don’t need your handouts?—”
“I made it for myself, and I couldn’t eat it. When I saw you, I was taking it to the sink to throw it away. Either you eat it or it’s getting trashed.”
I set my hand on my chest.
I couldn’t believe this man knew my body intimately.
I couldn’t believe I had shed even a single tear when I left his hotel room.
“Is that my parting gift?”
“It’s my attempt at not wasting food. Whether you have a future at Charred”—he took a deep breath, but it didn’t look like it hurt him—“I don’t know. I need to think about that.”
I rubbed my lips together, the panic of job hunting already setting in. “I’m scheduled to work here tomorrow night.”
“Take it off. I’ll approve the request.”
“I can’t take it off. I need the money, Walker. If I’m not working here, then I need to immediately find another job.”
His gaze turned even more intense.
It was a look I remembered.
But the last time I’d seen it and felt it, I hadn’t been wearing any clothes.
“Fine. I’ll let you know in the morning.”
“Okay.” My arms loosened. “Wait … how are you going to let me know? Don’t you need my phone number?”
“I don’t want your goddamn number. I’ll send you a message the same way I messaged you before. And once thatmessage is sent, you’ll delete our entire chat history. I don’t want those words existing, not even in cyberspace.”
Why did everything hurt?
Even when I said, “Okay.”
“Don’t forget the steak on your way out.” He nodded toward the door. “Now go.”
THIRTEEN
Walker
“What are you doing here this morning?” Eden asked as I stood in the doorway of her office in our corporate building.
She was dressed in a black suit, black nails paused on the keys of her keyboard as she looked at me. Hair and makeup—perfect.
So clean and put together, unlike me.
I hadn’t gone to bed yet.
