She slowly lifted her head and furrowed her brow. “What?”
I shrugged. “What?”
She sighed. “Nevermind. I don’t have the time to pick through it right now.”
“Pick through what?”
She groaned as she stood to her feet. “If there’s nothing else?”
I stood with her. “Actually, there is.”
Her shoulders tensed. “Did I miss something?”
I came out from around my desk. “You look exhausted.”
She scoffed. “Thanks. Mom said the same thing.”
So, she did go see family.“I’m about to order some dinner before I tank through some more work. You need to eat. I can’t have my workers collapsing on their jobs or falling asleep behind the wheels of cars when they try to go home.”
She shook her head. “It’s really okay. I took a cab, so I’ll be fine.”
“Sit and tell me what you want to eat, Becca.”
She quickly sat back down. “I’ll eat pretty much anything other than--.”
I picked up the phone from my desk. “Indian food, I know.”
Her eyes widened a bit. “You do?”
Play it off.“Maggie didn’t like it, either.”
Her eye twitched. “Ah. Good guess, then.”
I placed an order for Chinese to be delivered along with three sodas for each of us. We both needed the caffeine, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to contribute to any other kind of stress Becca was experiencing. Yes, I rode my co-workers hard when I knew they were capable of better, but I didn’t want to make her personal life miserable.
And after I dropped the phone back into the receiver, Becca piped up.
“This food isn’t poisoned, is it?” she asked.
I rolled my eyes as I sat back down. “Bonnie breathes down my neck every time I don’t work the finance department as hard as everyone else. She’s a fucking stickler, but she saves me millions of dollars a year, personally and professionally.”
“Ah, the dream job.”
I grinned. “And one day, you’ll be suited for it.”
She quirked an eyebrow. “Did you just give me a compliment?”
I crossed my leg over my knee. “No. I stated a fact.”
She giggled. “Uh huh.”
I didn’t let my face waver. “Does this look like a face that gives compliments.”
The smile fell from her face quickly. “No, sir.”
I nodded. “Good. Now, I’m going to go through all of these files you and Bonnie finished. Rest until the food gets here. Then, once I know you’ll be okay to get home, you can go.”
“Fair enough.”
