And for me, it is a welcome distraction. A few minutes of reprieve from the heavier things sitting on my own shoulders. Like the knot in my stomach every time I think of Glen. After that humiliating scene in front of Arthur, I had forced myself to call him, braced for the blow. I was ready for him to tell me then and there that my rent was going up. Instead, his voice had been maddeningly calm. He said he needed to look at the numbers and that he would get back to me.
That was eight days ago. Eight long days of waiting for the axe to drop.
Unfortunately, I haven’t gotten the same silent treatment from Shawn. My ex-husband has texted me twice in the past week, and while his words were not overtly threatening, there was an edge to them. The kind of tone that makes the hair atthe back of my neck prickle and leaves a sour taste in my mouth.
Shawn: Nice catching up with you the other day.
Shawn: Hope we can discuss things further. Soon.
I haven’t answered. I’ve ignored his calls, too. My finger hovers every time over the Block button, but I cannot make myself press it. I’m too afraid that silence will provoke him. What if ignoring him makes him push harder? What if he decides to follow through on his threat to go after custody of Sam?
The thought twists my stomach. The rational part of me whispers that Shawn is all talk. He always has been. He is a man who likes the sound of his own voice, the power of a veiled threat without the spine to carry it out. If I ignore him long enough, he will slink back into whatever hole he crawled out of.
But the worries remain.
I press my thumbs deep into Austin’s deltoids, rolling the knots from his muscles with more force than necessary. In my mind, I’m digging them into Shawn’s eye sockets. The image is gross, but it makes me feel better.
“Run away with me, Elliot.” Austin tugs his grey T-shirt back over his head.
It’s not the first time he’s said something like this. Last week he proposed marriage. The week before that, too. He’s clearly committed to the joke.
“I would, Austin,” I reply in the flattest, most bored tone I can muster, scrubbing my hands at the sink and keeping my eyes fixed on the soap suds instead of his grin. “Butyou’re forgetting something very important. I already have a man in my life. Sam.”
“We’ll bring him. I’m great with kids.”
“Because you are one,” Ben drawls as he crosses the room, done with Cal’s session. He tosses his towel over his shoulder.
Austin shoots him a wounded look. “You’re just afraid Sam will like me more than he likes you.”
“Please.” Ben rolls his eyes skyward. “Sam would never. The kid has taste. Right, Elliot?”
I tilt my head side to side, pretending to weigh the options. “In people? Definitely. He’s an excellent judge of character. In movies? Absolutely. His favourite isJurassic Park, and we watch it at least three times a year. In food, though…” I wrinkle my nose. “He’s started dipping his french fries in sweet-with-heat mustard.”
Ben grimaces but Austin perks up, eyes bright with curiosity.
“That actually sounds good.”
“Of course you would think that.” Ben shakes his head.
“I’m going to try it,” Austin declares, like he is announcing his candidacy for mayor.
“I will not stand in your way.”
Austin grins. “Which one? Me trying the fry and mustard combo, or me running away with Elliot?”
Before I can answer, a shadow lengthens across me. A very large shadow. The room stills around me and Austin’s cocky grin falters, just slightly. My skin prickles with awareness even before I hear the voice.
“I want to see you in my office, Crawford.” Arthur’s tone is as hard as granite, each syllable clipped with command. “Now.”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
ARTHUR
By the timeI’ve made it back to my office, my anger has mostly dissipated.
Crawford is a flirt. I know this. I’ve witnessed it on countless occasions since he joined the team last year. And if I thought for a moment he was making anyone in the organization uncomfortable, I would have his balls surgically removed without anesthesia and served on a silver platter to the victim.
I do not tolerate any sort of abuse.
