Total pages in book: 141
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 141428 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 707(@200wpm)___ 566(@250wpm)___ 471(@300wpm)
Although she hadn’t gotten much sleep; she’d been too on edge, worried that he was going to come home drunk and mad.
But by the time she’d left this morning, he still wasn’t home.
Long may that last.
Rushing back to grab the next coffee order, she realized it was for Sondra and Donovan. Her new bodyguard.
Where was Hayes? Had he been replaced?
You do not feel sad about that.
You barely knew him.
“Here you go,” she said as she put the drinks down on their table.
“Thank you, Devi,” Sondra said.
“Yes, thank you, Devi,” Donovan added.
“Are you all right today?” Sondra asked, surprising her. “No bruises?”
Shit.
How did she know about the bruise on her arm? For one moment, alarm filled her. Then she realized that there was no way Sondra could know about Vega.
She had to be talking about the fall she’d taken yesterday.
Urgh.
She’d forgotten about that. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t a major occurrence. And it happened often.
Still embarrassing, though. Especially in front of Hayes. It was like having a giant pimple on your nose when you run into your crush.
Not that she had a crush on Hayes. That would be stupid.
“Oh, I’m fine. Thanks for asking,” she told the other woman.
It was kind of her to ask even if she wished that she hadn’t.
“Did something happen?” Donovan asked.
“I’ve got to go back to work,” she said hastily.
“Devi fell over. Smacked down hard onto her hands and knees. I’m surprised you didn’t bruise your knees, dear,” Sondra said.
“Nope. All good. I’ve really got to—”
“Hayes rushed over and just picked her up. Very kind of him.”
Urgh, she really wished the other woman would stop talking.
“Hayes touched you?” Donovan sounded incredulous.
Was that so hard to believe? That Hayes might touch her? Why? She wasn’t gross or anything.
Oh God, was she?
“Um, yes,” she replied. “Why is that so surprising? He was just helping me up.”
“Helping you?”
Why was Donovan repeating her? And how come he sounded like he’d been sucking on a Carolina Reaper?
“Yes. Should he not have helped me?” she asked.
Even Sondra was giving Donovan a curious look.
“Uh, no, it’s just I haven’t really known him to help people. Or to even really take notice of other people unless he’s guarding them or they’re a threat. So it’s interesting that he noticed you. And helped you.”
“Yes, it is,” Sondra added.
“No, it’s really not,” Devi told them quickly. “I’m very noticeable. People notice me all the time.”
Dear. Lord.
What the heck was she saying? People noticed her all the time? She spent her life trying to remain unnoticed.
Her nickname was Mouse for God’s sake!
She was losing it, she really was.
“I have to go.” She rushed back to the counter, ignoring Aaron’s glares.
She guessed that she wasn’t getting a lunch break again today.
No lunch break. No food. No Mr. Tragic Eyes.
This really had turned out to be a crappy day.
Fuck this guy was annoying.
And boring.
He was jumpy.
Hayes got it. He was being threatened. But he acted like he’d been attacked or something.
“You need to wait out here,” he ordered Hayes as he walked through the waiting room toward his office. Then he stopped at his door. “After you check the office. I shouldn’t have to tell you that.”
Wow.
He hadn’t realized that Donovan was a saint. But he had to be to put up with this jerk without murdering him.
Hayes moved to the door. If Alan hadn’t run off from him once they’d exited the elevator, he would have reached the door to his office first.
“Actually, Mr. Stein, it’s locked.”
Hayes glanced over at Stein’s receptionist as she stood from behind her desk off to the side. She was an older woman, her white-gray hair twisted up into a bun. She wore a bright floral top which was a bit sore on the eyes.
“Locked?” Stein snapped. “Yes, of course it’s locked.” He drew a key from his pocket and unlocked it. Then he stepped aside and gestured to Hayes. “Well, go. I don’t have all day.”
Hayes gritted his teeth together. He wanted to point out that it was highly unlikely that anyone would be waiting in his locked office.
However, he would have insisted on checking it first anyway so he headed in. It didn’t take him long until he was walking back into the other room.
“All clear.”
“Good, good. You can’t come in with me, I’ll be taking some sensitive phone calls. You can wait out here and watch me through the glass.” Stein pointed to the glass wall.
Yay.
Lucky him.
Yeah, Donovan was definitely some kind of saint.
“Doris, get me some coffee,” Stein ordered without even looking at his receptionist.
God, he was a dick.
Hayes shook his head as Stein walked into his office.
“Do you want a coffee or anything, dear?” Doris asked him.
Hayes glanced over at her and then looked around the room. This was going to kill him. He would likely need the caffeine to stay awake.