My deadpan tone has Nico snort out a laugh. At least one of us finds it funny.
“You sure you haven’t killed his dog or something?”
“Do you think there’s a dog that likes him? Please.” I shake my head. “Even his own shadow is trying to run away from him.”
Nico chuckles. “You’re both stubborn as mules.”
“I’m not stubborn. He’s been acting like an asshole since the moment I entered the station.”
“Oh yes, you are. And he’s not any better. Both of you hold on to old grudges that should have been left in the past.”
I grit my teeth, annoyed at the direction this conversation is going. “Trust me, I want nothing more than to leave the past in the past. I just have to survive until he retires. How long can that take?”
The guy’s ancient. He can’t possibly work much longer. The moment the thought pops into my head, I know I’m screwed.
“Knowing him?” Nico shoots me a pitying look. “They’ll have to carry him out of that office in a casket. That guy lives for this job.”
I run my hand over my face. “I’m so fucked.”
“You totally are.”
My gaze darts toward the time at the bottom of my computer screen. “Well, just a few more minutes, and I’ve survived anot?—”
As if on cue, Jenkins barks from the office, “Williams!”
Nico and I straighten in our chairs, just staring at one another for a heartbeat before I push to my feet. Might as well get it over with.
“It was nice knowing you,” Nico whispers.
I shoot him a glare as I cross the room and peek into the sheriff’s office. “Yes, Sheriff?”
He’s been waiting for me because he lifts a piece of paper and waves it at me. “What the hell is this? Are you illiterate? Youmight have been slacking around in high school, but here we do things right. Fix this.”
He tosses the paper at me, and I barely manage to catch it before it falls on the floor. The report is crisscrossed with red pen, and I feel like I’m in fucking middle school all over again.
“Yes, Sheriff,” I mutter through clenched teeth.
His eyes narrow into tiny slits, not missing my attitude. I swear the guy brings out the worst in me, and no matter how hard I try, some days it’s difficult to keep myself in check. He presses his lips into a tight line before he shifts his attention back to his computer, effectively dismissing me.
Turning on my heels, I get out of the office. I can feel my colleagues’ gazes on me as I march back to my seat. I press my lips together, embarrassment and irritation swirling inside me.
Nico’s brows shoot up. “That bad?”
I toss the paper at him so he can look at it. “Fucking asshole.”
Nico lifts the paper, his brows pulling together as he scans over it and winces.
“Well, look on the bright side.”
I plop my ass down into my chair. “And what, pray tell, would that be?”
He hands me the paper. “At least you’re not fired.”
“He certainly makes me wish I was.”
I pull the paper out of Nico’s hand and glare at it. There is all ofonetypo; the rest are Jenkins’s corrections of my word choices.
Fucking asshole.
