AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It’s your first day. How are you feeling?”
Mitch quickly checked the corridor — empty, thank god — then offered Eva a smile. It was sweet that she still checked in on him, but did she have to do it right this second? Talking to himself was pretty high on hisDon’t Do This in the Officelist.
And yeah, he wasn’t the most put together person, but he could handle himself. He’d done so for a number of years now, thank you very much.
Maybe there was some kind of clause in the imaginary friend contract that said she couldn’t leave until he was married or something. Which honestly sucked for Eva. Mitch hadn’t had a solid date in two years, and he’d have to get pretty loose with the term girlfriend to say he’d been in a relationship for the two years before that.
But if she felt better popping up from time to time, he couldn’t stop her.
“Hey, Eva. Don’t you worry about me. I’ve got this.”
“I know you do. It’s okay to be nervous though.”
First his dad, now Eva. He was getting sick of having to remind people that he was capable. He knew how he came across, of course, but he’d worked hard to get through his postgrad and the several promotions through Eastbank that had led to his transfer here.
Mitch might goof off sometimes, but he wasn’t a completeidiot.
“Me, nervous? Nah.”
Her doe eyes softened. If she could, she’d probably try to kiss his cheek the way his mom had done on his first day of kindergarten. Back when she still cared.
“If you say so.”
Okay,thattone definitely worried him, but before he could side-eye her, a door squealed open on his left, and Rufus appeared.
Mitch didn’t have to check to know Eva was gone.
“Mitch. I’m glad to see my instructions made sense.” He hadn’t given any instructions. “You’re all set to go?”
“Think so.” Nope. Not even close. “Actually, I do have a couple—”
“Sophie will be the best resource for any questions.”
“Great.” Or it would be if he had any idea who Sophie was.
“Good.” Rufus pointed toward to the opposite end of the hallway. “The Vault and Archives are down there. I have to run, but find me if you need anything.” And with that, Rufus disappeared into the elevator. Either he had somewhere to be, or Sophie was terrifying.
Only one way to find out.
The Vault was easy enough to find. Not even Mitch could get lost when there was only one option to choose from. The thick door was propped open with a stack of boxes. They multiplied inside, lining the walls and making the room feel tiny. The sliver of space left was filled with two desks and an industrial scanner.
But as Mitch hovered at the entry, it wasn’t the mountain of records that stood out.
No, that honor belonged to the most gorgeous woman he’d ever seen. Dark curls running past her shoulders, big blue eyes and a pillowy pout that was absolutely going to be a workplace safety issue. And the body… Shit. He was a walking harassment claim.
Mitch tried to put in an effort when he came to work — pants that weren’t stained, a button-down he wasn’t swimming in. But he wasn’t fashion conscious. He’d be lucky to recognize fashion if it walked up and slapped him.
Well. Consider him slapped.
Her pants were half spots and half stripes, all black and white. Her white boots poked out from beneath a wide leg. The black crop she wore was practically painted on. Mitch all but had an aneurysm as he pushed away the instinct to memorize the outline of her chest. He refused to be hired and fired on the same day.
Can it, Langford.Stop noticing how well everything hugs the curves of her body, the rise and fall of material against her breasts, her hips, her ass.
Nope. He had to stop. Immediately. Or maybe quit, because how the hell was he supposed to work in an enclosed environment with this woman andnotmake a complete fool of himself?
From all accounts, Sophie— he assumed this was the mysterious Sophie— wasn’t having the same issue. Nothing was getting through her professional expression.
“Excuse me, ma’am?”
