"Good, good." He nods to himself as he looks at the laptop in front of him. "You're not done when you finish those, though."
He puts a piece of paper on the desk. "These as well."
My stomach turns into an iron ball and sinks down.
I'm not sure. The first lot I can write off as him testing me, but the rest?
I suck in a breath.
Is it even legal?
Because it doesn't feel legal, and though I have done one and it is all in-house accounts, I hesitate.
Is this for the company or for him?
I want to say something but don't. And yeah, it is a burning queasiness inside that rises to the back of my throat.
As if he can read my mind, he laughs softly. "Don't worry. Questioning things is welcome, and you are, aren't you, Lola?"
"Yeah. I just..."
"You're not going to get into trouble." He leans forward. "And I'm not about to ask you to do something you're not comfortable with, I promise you that. This is an exercise."
"It is? It looks real."
Enzo doesn't respond to that. "I just like to know where my top analysts are at in terms of their skills."
A flush of pride hits me, and there is a part of me I hate that goes to mush at his words. I mean, he referred to me as one of his top analysts, and I want to grin and hug myself and spin.
It is ridiculous.
I'm not twelve.
Christ.
I blow out my breath and force myself to concentrate on the screen in front of me.
Strange thing is, though he is too distracting for words, this type of work brings things into sharp focus, and I can shift to that.
When I finish a job, Enzo takes his time to check it over, and I find I don't mind. I like the nod I get to start on the next, like I have passed some kind of secret test.
Each one is harder than the last, but pride lights me from the inside out when I get the last job done in under two minutes.
I shoot him a triumphant look because I know he has been watching, timing me.
But he extinguishes that by putting another on the table, and by the time I'm done, he shakes his head, his computer facing me.
"That took you two minutes. It took me thirty seconds.And trust me when I say that makes you excellent. Just not as excellent as me."
I frown. "I wasn't aware it was a competition."
"It's not. Just every second counts when you're messing around somewhere you shouldn't be."
My cheeks warm as I frown deeper. "What the hell do you mean by that?"
I want to ask about the realness of this last part and if anything about tonight has been illegal, but it is also too late for that. There is no horse in that unlocked barn.
Enzo shrugs. "You just don't know what life's going to throw at you."
