“You know the woman better than I do. When she got me the job, she just told me not to go easy on him, and if I decided he was worthy of my time, that I shouldn’t take him back until I’ve…” Seven’s ears burned.
“Until you…” Shiloh prompted.
“‘Walked him like a dog,’” Seven muttered. “Her words.”
“Damn. How much of a player do you have to be when your own mother thinks you’re an asshole?” Nico mused out loud.
A knife twisted in Seven’s chest. “The coward probably won’t even show up.”
“What do you mean?” Nico asked. “You said he’s been following you all over the office.”
He had said that. At first, Seven just thought it was a small office, but then it kept happening. Or maybe that was wishful thinking on Seven’s part. But what the hell was he wishing for? He refused to be paid for sex.
“Wait, really?” Ever said, a terrifying smile spread across his face. “Dish.”
“Shiloh is a bad influence on you,” Seven said, wagging his finger.
Said bad influence stuck his tongue out at him.
“Not, like,actuallyfollowing me,” Seven tried to explain. “At least, I don’t think so. He’s just…always there. If I need to make a copy, suddenly, so does he. If I’m getting coffee, there he is again. If I go to lunch with the other interns, he shows up at the same restaurant with one of his clients.”
“So, he’s…stalking you?” Levi asked, sounding slightly less amused.
Seven groaned, kicking his feet dramatically. “I don’t know. The other day, I had to skip lunch and when I came back from the bathroom, there was a protein shake on my desk. Yesterday, when I mentioned my phone charger broke, there was another one on my desk when I came back from lunch.”
“He’s a considerate stalker,” Levi corrected.
“Oh, my God. He’s courting you,” Nico cried, clasping his hands together like he was fucking Snow White or something.
“That’s definitelynotwhat he’s doing,” Seven said, his face heating up and some unseen force clutching his heart in its fist.
Nico looked at Mal. “It’s like the red-sided garter snake, right?”
Mal nodded solemnly.
“What are you two babbling about?” Seven asked, his mood souring by the minute.
“The red-sided garter snake leaves protein for its potential mate,” Nico answered, acting like that was something swoonworthy.
“Oh,” Ever said, getting swept up in Nico’s fantasy. “And penguins leave shiny pebbles for theirs.”
Seven shook his head adamantly. “No.”
“What else could it be?” Shiloh asked.
“I don’t know but”—he floundered for a second—“not…that.”
“Maybe it’s an apology?” Shiloh suggested.
“For what? Propositioning me? I already told him it wasn’t a big deal. The more he bugs me, the more it pisses me off that he tried to make me his sugar baby in the first place. I’d feel better if he just…left me alone.”
Levi snorted. “Liar.”
“He feels bad,” Mal stated, his voice as monotone as always.
“What?” Seven asked. “How do you know that?”
Mal shrugged. “We’re…friends? I guess. He was my attorney, remember? That’s how you met.”
