Page 16 of Fighting My Demons

“Stop, she is right there,” Blaine says.

“She doesn’t care. Right, Bella?”

“Why would I care?” I ask.

“See?” Xavier says.

“Xavier said you had issues with your brother yesterday,” Latham says behind me, and I glare at Xavier.

He shrugs while Blaine tries to get out of his clutches. They look carefree while wrestling for a bit before Xavier laughs, letting him go.

“No, I didn’t. Thank you, Xavier,” I snap at him.

“If you had no problems, then why did he hit you?” Latham says, his voice a growl of anger.

“My personal life is none of your business. Now, are you going to give me a lift to work, or should I call a taxi?” I ask him, and he sighs before walking over to me.

“Come on then,” he says, gripping my elbow and steering me toward the front door.

I follow Blaine and Xavier out before Latham closes the door.

Chapter Ten

For most of the day, I manage to avoid them completely. Working out of the conference room to avoid their staring and inappropriate comments and prying into my personal life. Latham was relentless the entire way to work, poking his nose where it wasn't wanted. Looking out the window, I see it is dark outside and sigh, having once again lost track of time. My mind has been consumed with everything going on. My brother has been trying to ring me all day, and I have been rejecting his calls. I am not looking forward to going home on the off chance he is there. In fact, I am dreading it but know it is unavoidable. He would have figured out I canceled my credit card by now, and I hope he hasn’t been giving Jack a hard time by loitering around the apartment block.

Packing up my laptop and the files I am using into my handbag, I am getting ready to leave when the door opens. Latham walks in, stopping not far from me. I grab my phone looking at the time. It is 8PM. He should have left three hours ago.

“You’re still here?” I ask, walking past him and into the corridor.

“I did drive you here, so I have been waiting for you to come back to the office, but you didn’t.”

“You waited for me?” I ask him, a little shocked.

“Yes, Bella. Besides, I was working late too.”

“Blaine and Xavier?”

“Caught a taxi home,” he says with a shrug.

I walk out and press the button for the elevator. I wait awkwardly beside this man. I am very aware of his presence. There is something very strange about him—about all three of them. The vibe they give me is a cross between creeping me the fuck out and turning me on until I am all hot an sweaty. Stupid hormones. The fact they are all gorgeous is not helping.

“Why did you work from the conference room? Do we make you uncomfortable, Bella?” he asks.

Hell yes, they do. Who the hell could work with them around? I would spend all day cleaning my own drool instead of working or screaming at them for the inappropriate shit they say or how they stare like I am a piece of meat to be devoured.

“It’s a little cramped in there,” I lie.

“I thought you would say that, so we fixed the office up some more today,” he says, and I look up at him to find him smirking.

“So, let’s see what your excuse is tomorrow,” he says, leaning down before he laughs softly.

“Excuse?” I ask him.

Fair enough. I lied about why I wouldn't work in the same office, but he won’t understand my reasoning. Yet the way he’s said it is like he knows I am lying. Addie wouldn’t have told them how flustered I get around them, would she? I told her that in confidence.

The elevator doors open, and I step inside . Latham reaches over, pressing the button to the ground floor before moving to stand next to me.

Seriously, has he not heard of personal space?