“True.What’s yours?”
Mercedes rolled her eyes just thinking about work.“Her name is Tasha, and she’s about our age.Her job is similar to mine.I shouldn’t let her bother me.”
As he gathered up his dishes, rinsed them, then put them in the dishwasher, Mercedes finished her meal.Once her dishes were also loaded and the leftovers put away, she realized Evan had wiped down the table and counters.
“Thanks for helping.And for following my clean rules.”
His expression grew frightened.“On my best behavior.Don’t want to end up in the streets.”
His answer made her laugh.Something he did often.“How about you?What bothers you at work?”
His shoulder lifted to his ear, and he grimaced.“Lots of stuff, but since I can’t hear anything the others say, it doesn’t bother me.They could be talking behind my back and I wouldn’t know it.I simply pretend they all love me.”
She couldn’t hide the smile that crossed her face.“What’s not to love?”
The arrogant smirk he wore, the one that brought out his dimple, flashed at her.“True.”
He flicked the kitchen light off and took her hand to lead her into the living room.Plopping down on the couch next to her, he tipped his chin at her.“So tell me about this Tasha chick.What’s she do that gets your panties in a knot?”
“You really want to know?”
“Why not?Deanna is always telling me people need to vent to get their frustrations out so they don’t explode.I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.”
Reaching out, she touched his arm.“Thanks.”
One side of his lip pulled up.“Yeah, it would make a huge mess, and we’d never get the security deposit back.I already went through that with Adam.”
Oh, the little rascal.His eyes gleamed, then he tapped her hand.
“I still want to know about Tasha.You put up with all sorts of crap from me and haven’t exploded yet.”
She pointed her finger straight at his face and signed, “Yet.Doesn’t mean it won’t happen.Tasha is the one who wanted to move in here when Carli moved out.I made the mistake of telling her, and she jumped on it.I had to do some fancy talking or she’d be here instead of you.”
“What did you tell her?”
Heat surged across her cheeks.“Well, I kind of fibbed a bit.I might have hinted that you and I were romantically involved.”
His eyebrows wiggled up and down.“So if I ever meet her, I’ll need to show you some loving?”
“Hopefully, you’ll never meet her.I try and avoid her whenever I can at work.I certainly wouldn’t be hanging out with her after hours.” She’d rather hang out with her new roommate.
“What’s so bad about this Tasha?”
“She’s constantly chattering away, which is bad enough in itself when I’m trying to get work done, but she chews gum and snaps it so loud it practically echoes in the library.”
“Too bad you aren’t deaf.You could ignore her.” The mischief in his eyes amused her.
“I could, if her chatting and gum popping wasn’t the only issue, but when I’m on the computer, she stands over my shoulder and looks at my screen.I’m not doing secret research or anything, but it’s creepy with her right there.”
“That would creep me out, too.Doesn’t she have work of her own to do?”
“Sure, but she gets it done pretty quickly, then lingers in my space the rest of the day.It makes it hard for me to get my work finished.”
Evan’s mouth twisted to the side and his eyebrows inched together.“Can you get her to do some of your work?Make a list of what needs to be finished, and if she shows up to chat or hang on your shoulder, give her a task.Make it seem like she’s doing you a real big favor and you really appreciate it.”
His idea had merit.“That could work.I always make a list every day of the tasks I need to accomplish anyway.I could put a dozen of them on index cards, and when she comes over, hand her one.It would get her out of my hair for a short while.”
“Maybe she’ll even stop bugging you so she doesn’t have to do extra work.”
