“So what, because Richard doesn’t like me, he’ll paint me as the villain instead?” Alex is so disgruntled, he’s almost pouting.
My hand itches to reach forward and smooth the distress from his face. “I won’t let him do that.”
He continues glowering for a moment before sighing, his irritation melting away. “I see your point. But the feelings of dislike are mutual.” He glances at the clock in the kitchen and sighs. “I need to get ready for work.”
Thirty minutes later, we’re both dressed and standing near the door. He hands me a key and says, “In case you get back earlier than me.”
I accept it, clutching it in my hand. Some of his warmth still clings to it.
An awkward moment passes as neither of us says goodbye. I want to lean down and kiss him, but if I start now, he might not get to work on time. If I had my way, he’d be calling in sick again today.
As if he’s thinking the same thing, Alex’s eyes linger on my lips. He turns away first, breaking the stalemate, and we both step through the door to start our day.
It’s going to be a long, hard day without him.
Chapter Twenty-One: Alex
“Hey, Nick.” Felix’s voice is just loud enough to hear in my back office.
I freeze mid-keystroke, all my senses focused on listening to the conversation.There are at least three Nicks who work on campus. Maybe it’s a different one.
“How’s the library?”
Shit, definitely the same Nick.
“Oh, you know, quiet as always. How’s accounting?”
“Crunching the numbers!” Felix says in a high-pitched voice, and for some reason they both laugh.
They’ll just have a friendly chat, and then Nick will leave.If I believe hard enough, maybe the universe will make it true.
“Is Alexander here?”
Fuck. Before I even consciously think through my actions, I drop to the floor and crawl under my desk. The space isn’t really meant to hide a grown man though. My head presses uncomfortably against the underside, neck bent, the tops of my shoulders bumping into the corner.Right, because this is so much better than just facing him …
“I think he’s in his office? Is he heretoday, Jazz?”
Jasmine doesn’t reply. She probably has her headphones on.
“Oh, was he not here yesterday?” Nick asks.
I can’t tell if his question is casual chit-chat or if heknowsI wasn’t here yesterday. How much did his friend tell him? Did they describe me? Did they take apictureof me?If that’s the case, I’m leaving such a bad review of that shop.
“Yeah, one of those rare days when he actually called off. Guy’s kind of a workaholic.” Felix pauses and then raises his voice, “I say that with all admiration, boss, if you are listening to this conversation.”
I roll my eyes at Felix’s version of covering his ass.Just because I don’t call off every other Friday does not make me a workaholic.Not that I blame him. There are no classes on Fridays, so the college is basically a dead zone, even in the admin offices. No onewantsto work on Fridays, and that’s why I never call off.
“Mind if I head into his office?”
“Door’s open, which means he’s not in a virtual meeting. You should be safe.”
Nick’s laughter grows closer as he approaches my door. “Knock knock,” he says while knocking on the doorframe.
I can’t exactly spring out from under my desk now, so I commit to hiding. I pull my knees up to my chest, making myself as small a target as possible. Memories suddenly flash through my head of doing the same thing as a kid when I hid from my parents after sneaking downstairs to use the computer after midnight.
Nick steps into the office.
My desk is solid all the way around so there’s no hint of my feet or butt sticking out from underneath. The only way he’ll find me is if he’s bold enough to walk fully into my space, around the desk, and crouch to look underneath.
