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She couldn’t hold back the giggles. “You said”— she pulled in a breath, but the laughter continued— “butt fuck.”
He threw his own head back with a laugh. “So you do have a sense of humor under there. I was beginning to wonder.”
“Hey, fuck you,” she said through the last of her giggles.
“Only if you ask nicely.”
At once, Sophie hated the hot glow pulsing through her veins.Bad idea.
He carded a hand through his hair, and she was definitelynotwishing she could follow the movement with her own. “Guess we’re going to be here for a while tonight.”
“Who said anything aboutwe?” Sophie asked.
Mitch cocked one brow, as though their teammate status was a given. Sure, they’d been working well together lately, but that didn’t mean Jeremy had to ruin the night for both of them. Besides, what would he do? Keep her company for the eight hours it would take to scan every document?
On cue, he reached into his backpack and pulled out a deck of cards. Yep, that wasexactlywhat he was planning.
“I’ve got those cartons coming today anyway.” That was true, but they were hardly urgent. “It’s not always about you, Soph.”
It was, and he knew it. But that didn’t stop the heat from rising up her neck. It had just been so damn long since anyone had done anything for her. Had inconvenienced themselvesfor her.
“You just carry cards around with you?”
He shrugged. “Never know when I’ll need them.”
She watched in awe as he shuffled the deck and cut it expertly, the cards cascading in a flourish between his hands.
“What are you, a magician?”
“The Magnificent Mitch, at your service.” He performed the smallest bow from his chair, but for once, he didn’t seem to be joking. “I used to perform at kids’ birthday parties. I make a mean balloon giraffe. And a pretty good balloon scrotum, but I only pull that out for bachelorettes.”
“You really are a different breed.”
“I’m unique. Like a snowflake.” He grinned, wide and unabashed. “It’s why we’re perfect together.”
“If you think flattery will change my mind about that date, then you should stop now.”
“There are so many things wrong with that statement, and it hurts me that you can’t accept a compliment. Which is why I’m going to keep giving them.”
A familiar joy spread through her, unbidden. She wanted to shove that good feeling as far down as possible. Mitch wasn’t meant to be sweet or interesting.
She wanted to hate him.
Be boring, she wanted to shout.Do something annoying, like whistle.
But no. This asshole had the gall to be likable.
Nothing about this was fair.
ChapterNine
SOPHIE
The Archives were stuffy, the air stale. It reminded Sophie of clearing out her grandmother’s house after she passed. Her mom had been too distraught. The loss was too raw, flayed open and stinging, so Sophie had stepped up. Her nan’s house had smelled exactly like this, a time capsule of history. Between the flaking paint and overbearing fluorescents, Sophie could almost sense the ghosts of bankers past, wandering the halls as she did now.
In a way, it was comforting. This was why she had chosen to work here. To step into the shoes of others and continue the journey they couldn’t. To have a hand in the solution, buoyed by the efforts of many who had walked the path before her.
Mitch hummed as he hauled the boxes over to an empty shelf near the door. Now that each one had been scanned, they could tag them for offsite storage, but the forms could wait until tomorrow. They had what they needed, and it wasn’t even ten p.m. Not a bad effort.
