“What?” I ask. “So we were just stuck in there for no reason?”
“No,” Freya replies. “The elevator never came back on. They had to call out a technician.”
“Jesus.”
“Just…bad luck,” she adds.
There’s something about the way she says it, her eyes lingering on me.
“Yeah, especially since you weren’t even supposed to be there,” Archer says, his lips around the edge of a glass.
Freya is still staring at me with a guarded expression as she asks, “You’re not still going to get me fired from that job, are you?”
Of course not.
I never was.
Naturally, those aren’t the words that leave my mouth. That would be too telling. Instead, I pinch my brows together. “I’ll think about it.”
Her face tightens as she looks away. She was hoping I’d changed. That I’d warmed up to her in our twelve hours in a box. That I’m not really as coldhearted and cruel as she thought.
How could I let her think that?
Archer stays quiet, watching us with interest before he sets his glass down on the counter. “Well, I don’t know about you two, but I need a shower and my bed. You two are welcome to join me, but seeing as how Julian doesn’t think we’ve truly bonded, I’m assuming he’s not up for that.”
Not bothering to give him the satisfaction of laughing at his joke, I glare at him with heavy-lidded eyes. Freya does manage a soft chuckle.
“As tempting as that is,” she says, shooting him a flirtatious wink, “I think I’m gonna head home.”
“I’ll call you a car,” I blurt out, sounding much too fucking eager.
“Um…thanks,” she stammers.
Without another word, I pull out my phone and shoot a quick text to Lucien. As soon as I hit Send, I realize that he will probably assume Freya spent the night with me in my apartment, since the last time he saw her, she was rushing after me into the building yesterday.
He’ll find it incredibly odd since he hasn’t seen me with anyone in years.
His response is curt and professional, telling me he’ll be here in five minutes.
“He’s on his way,” I say to Freya.
She jumps down from the counter. “Thanks.”
“Hey, let’s swap numbers,” Archer says to her, and I take an uncomfortable step back. How fucking awkward.
“Yeah, of course,” Freya says with a smile. As she pulls out her phone, he tells her his number, and she types it in. My eyes stay glued to something across the room, wishing I hadn’t come back here at all. I don’t need to be around while they flirt right in front of me. Why is she giving him her number anyway? If she thinks this guy with his anger issues and bruises is going to be the man of her dreams?—
“Julian?”
I glance up to see them both staring at me with brows raised and their phones in their hands as if they’re waiting for something.
“What?”
“Your number?” Freya asks.
Forcing my throat to swallow, I give her the digits. Why the fuck she needs it, I don’t know. After she quickly types something, my phone buzzes in my pocket.
As I pull it out, I see that I have a new text message. It’s a group chat.
