A lump formed in my throat at the thought of being their servant, of having to get Jaxson food, but there was nothing I could do. I was stuck in this shitty situation until I could figure out my next move.
I already knew what it would be though—go home.
My family and I had done this tango before. Someone would insult me, and I’d pack my clothes and leave, coming back a few days later after realizing I had no financial backing to actually stay away from that prison.
I shook my head and left. After I’d delivered their meals, they had lunch together in Mr. Elwood’s office while I sat out at my desk, eating the ramen noodles I’d bought at a convenience store on the way back.
The rest of the day flew by, and at the end of our shift I stared at my desk pitifully. I needed to come up with a reason not to leave, and quickly, because Jean-Paul was packing up.
“Come on, Kalinski. Closing time.” He slid some papers into his messenger bag, and I stared, not sure what else to do. When he raised his eyes to me, I shrugged.
“I have work to do.”
He didn’t snort, because Jean-Paul would neversnort, but it was a close enough sound. “Since when do you want to stay behind? Don’t you have classes to study for?” He slammed his bag on the desk, and I winced.
“I have a lot of… stapling to do.” I waved at the pile of papers.
He narrowed his eyes and stalked over to me. I froze when he leaned closer and the scent of his cologne, or deodorant—hell, maybe he just smelled good naturally—filled my nose, making it twitch. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing.”
He smiled, and it was so scary that I trembled. I could see why Mr. Elwood kept him at his side. “If you’re trying to blackmail Vane again—”
“I’m sleeping here,” I blurted out, slumping forward.
“What?” His brows knitted together, and shame made my chest ache. I rubbed between my pecs and slouched lower.
“I slept here last night, and I need to again tonight.” This completed my humiliation. I never expected to have totellJean-Paul this. God, how embarrassing. “Go ahead. Laugh. Call Jaxson andVaneand tell them all about it.” Hot tears flooded my eyes again and I blinked them away. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of crying in front of him twice.
He stared at me, and I looked down at the papers, running my finger along the edge of the stack. I focused on the name Aaron Arthur on one of the application forms before I heaved a sigh.
“You can’t fire me. I need… some kind of money and a place to stay. The gym here has showers, so I can be clean in the mornings, and I can use the dry cleaner down the street for my clothes—”
“Get up.” He straightened from the desk and took a step back.
“I—”
“Get up and grab your belongings,” he said sharply. “Where are they?”
I winced and stood, my back aching from how I’d been sitting for so long. Smoothing out my tie, I swallowed. “In the intern lockers.”
“Go get them.”
“I have nowhere to go,” I begged, hating how desperate I sounded. “Please don’t kick me out of here.”
He actually did snort this time and pursed his lips. Running a hand through his wavy hair and messing it up, he said, “You do have a place to stay. You’re staying at my house.”
My mouth dropped open, and then I stuttered out a “what?”
Jean-Paul waved an impatient hand at me. “Come on, I don’t have all day. Grab your stuff and let’s go. I’m not going to tell you again. I’ll meet you in the parking lot.”
He turned and strode out of the office before I could say anything else. I watched him go, taking in the strong shoulders and long line of his back. He’d actually offered for me to stay with him? God help me. I was in trouble.
3
JP
Snow drifted down to pile nearly as high as the middle of the hubcaps on my red Land Rover and a sharp wind slapped at my face. I had the Rover running so it would warm up and had already scraped the windows clear. If Kalinski took much longer I’d have to clean the windshield off again because snow was gathering on the glass even with the heat blowing full blast. The flakes fell so fast their shadows danced over everything from where they blotted the streetlamps as they drifted toward the ground. The parking lot was still fairly packed with cars, and a lone city employee shoveled out the handicapped spots, but with this much snow coming down, the plow probably wouldn’t be getting here anytime soon. Office lights still blazed in the building and gave it a cheerful look.
