“I never caught your name.”
“That’s because I didn’t give it,” he replied easily. “But you can call me Ghost.”
“Ghost?” I blinked. “Is that a nickname? Because it makes you sound like a supervillain.”
That earned me a full laugh, not the contained one from before. I found myself smiling right back at him before I could stop it.
When it became clear he wasn’t offering anything more official than Ghost, I cleared my throat and shifted gears.
“Were you able to find a firm to help you with your issue with your superior officers?”
He didn’t get quite as excited as I hoped from the question. “I’m placing phone calls, but this kind of thing always takes time. I’ve got consultation appointments, though, so thank you.”
I waved my hand dismissively in the air. “It’s the least I could do.”
“It’s more than you could have done. Most would have turned me away.”
I shrugged. “Yeah, well, I can only imagine the hoops you had to jump through to get up to where I work anyway. Usually people aren’t allowed on the top level of the firm without explicit permission from one of the partners. Someone downstairs must’ve really wanted to help you out.”
His brow furrowed a bit. I found the movement fascinating. “Why?”
It took me a second to register his simple question. “Why, what?”
He pushed off the shelf and took a few steps, and I found myself falling in line with him.
For some reason.
“Why aren’t people allowed on the top floor of where you work?” he asked.
“Oh!” I chirped as my eyes continued scanning the throng of chip bags on display around us. “It’s just protocol. Security measures. Stuff like that.”
He chuckled. “What? Those glass windows up there need extra protection or something?”
I giggled as we turned down another aisle. I grabbed a couple of canned goods. “It’s more security protocol than anything else. We have rooftop access. Here in Bryersville, it’s well known that people have flung themselves off the top of the building. They lock it down to tamper down on stuff like that.”
“Wait, seriously?”
I nodded mindlessly as I reached for a jar of pasta sauce. “It’s sad, but it’s true. That building was very well known in town for a lot of other things before the firm swooped in and cleaned the place up.”
“Do you remember what kind of business it was beforehand? Must’ve been a tough one, with all of that nonsense happening off its roof.”
“From what I can remember as a child, it was just a big, looming abandoned building. I’m sure my dad probably knows, but—” I stopped myself. I wasn’t sure why I was so comfortable just talking to this man, but I didn’t need to delve any further. “Anyway. Yeah. They keep those upper levels locked downbecause you can open the windows. Access the rooftop. Stuff like that.”
I was so thankful when he didn’t double-back and question why I stopped myself like that.
Though I was shocked when he kept walking and talking with me. “Looking for anything specific in the store?”
I shook my head as we turned down yet another aisle. “Just looking for some favorite foods and quick meals I enjoy.”
“Lazy weekend?”
“Oh. Yes,” I said as I grabbed a queso blanco mac-n-cheese box. “And I can’t wait. It’s been a very long time since I’ve had a lazy weekend.”
“Means you work too hard.”
I just gave a soft giggle. “That job is just a stepping stone to where I want to be. Plus, it helps with law school applications if you’ve been a paralegal before.”
“Is that the goal? Law school?”
