He looked over at the boss, who was still frozen. It must have bothered Pip because he leaned over and snapped his fingers in front of the man's face.
Pharrell didn't jolt. Instead, he blinked a few times and then looked at both of us. "Pip, when did you get here? Something wrong?" he asked, voice serious all of a sudden.
Pip snorted. "I don't know that anything's wrong, but you sure were staring off into space. Maybe you should go lay down or something. Or get laid. Anything to get you out of this dreary state."
Pharrell's mouth turned down. "I don't need to get laid, and sleep is a waste of?—"
I held my hand up, interjecting. "Sleep is always necessary, and I actually agree with Pip this time."
Pip's head whipped my way.
I ignored him in favor of continuing. "We have everything handled here. I'm sure Pip doesn't mind stepping in to help me manage the guys. If need be, he can do stuff with them like going over weapons and checking in on training. Between the two of us, we can keep things afloat for you. Right, Pip?"
He nodded, eyes still locked on me. It was like he was assessing me and trying to figure out what I was doing. The answer should have been obvious. I was trying to get our boss to get some rest and possibly get back to his normal self.
Did I fully trust Pip to take care of things? No, not really. The man was a hired assassin. A sniper with deadly aim. He wasn't a mafia boss.
But the men did fear him, and he could get them to do his bidding if he just let that mask he often wore slip. If he showed them the truly vicious man he was underneath it all, they'd surely keep in line then.
Instead of allowing myself to go down those wayward thoughts about Pip's violent tendencies and the way others listened to him, I turned my focus back to Pharrell.
"I'm being serious, Boss. Maybe now is a good time for you to take it easy for a day or two."
Pharrell met my eyes. In his expression, I could see the resistance. He didn't want to agree with me, but he also realized it was two against one at the moment.
He nodded and stood from the desk, wrapping his knuckles on it as he said, "I guess I'll go."
He took off for the stairs, completely leaving his phone behind and not bothering to shut his office door. It was all very much unlike him. He didn't even tell us to get out before he left, entrusting that we weren't going to do anything without him.
Pip leaned forward, closing in the space between us yet again. This time I had nowhere to go. If I tipped back further, I would throw the chair to the floor and fall. I didn't want todo that in front of him, but keeping still made me vulnerable as well. And if I tried to stand, it would bring us even closer.
Pip's gaze took me in, and I could tell he enjoyed making me uncomfortable, the asshole.
"How long do you think he's going to stay like that?" he asked me.
I shrugged one shoulder. "I have no idea. I've never seen him this way. It's like he's stuck."
"Yeah," Pip agreed. "I'm kind of worried, and I don't like worrying."
That made me grin. Anything that made Pip uncomfortable was a win in my book. He was so good at ruffling my feathers, I wanted him to also be a bit disturbed.
At my expression, his eyes lit up. In them I saw heat and want. I knew if I didn't get up quickly, he would try to touch me. He’d try to move closer and get a rise from me.
The man loved to frustrate me, but the few times I had let my guard down and smiled near him, I could see the absolute pleasure it brought him.
I would always forget the effect until it happened, much like now.
"I'm going to go too," I said, shooting up and backing away quickly. I kept moving backwards as I made a wide arc around him. Pip crossed his arms again and watched me, as if he were the predator and I was the prey.
"Where are you headed?" he asked me.
I shook my head, pointing over my shoulder to the open doorway. I didn't dare give him my back. I knew he would take advantage if he could, moving quickly enough to be right upon me and closing the space between us.
I didn't want that.
Icouldn'twant that.
My calm composure was cracking the longer I stuck around. I needed to get myself together or I would be a complete and utter mess.
