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“Then we’ll get along fine, because I don’t really know how to be anything else.”
“Hey,” he said, hands up in surrender. “I’m on board. Direct is good. You know, no beating around anything, no games. It’s nice to know where I stand with someone.”
“Oh,” she said, the flourish fighting back when she tried to push it down. This would definitely be a problem. “That’s good, then.”
ChapterFour
MITCH
One week in, and Mitch couldn’t shake the terror of messing up.
He just wanted to do his job and do it well. Honestly, he wasn’t asking for much. Maybe for the dickheads who lived next door to stop having such loud hate sex. And definitely for that douche canoe Campbell onLove Lockedto get his head out of his ass and realize Melissa is too good for him.
Mitch wouldn’t mind if Sophie wanted to go for a drink sometime either, but if he was asking for things, he might as well add world peace and a sports almanac while he was at it.
Fat fucking chance, bucko.
Better get used to not being on her radar. Not that it would stop him from trying. What could he say? He was a born optimist.
“Seen any good movies lately?”
In response, Sophie’s typing got louder and, if possible, angrier. “Which branch did you transfer from again?”
“Ferntree.”
“Huh.”
Ah. That was the “oh, you’re fromthere” huh.
Look. Ferntree was the quintessential rundown suburb, sure, but he’d grown up there, and he wasn’t moving. He’d hated having to split his time between houses when his parents divorced. And now that it was just him and his dad, he’d come to like his hometown.
Sure, the forty-minute commute was tedious, but he’d take a backyard perfect for stargazing over a pokey studio downtown any day. Plus, he couldn’t imagine leaving his dad.
“Did you—”
“File the contract in safe custody like you showed me? Yes.”
“And you made sure—”
He spun to face her. “To add a barcode and scan it into the registry? You know, I’m not incompetent.”
Suddenly, Eva was hovering in the corner. And her timing really was shit. Did she have some sort of “Mitch fucks up” radar?
With a pointed look in her direction, he added, “And I don’t need a babysitter.”
But it was Sophie who responded. “I never said you did.”
“No, you’re only treating me that way.” He sat a little straighter in his chair. “If we’re going to work together, you’ll have to learn to trust me. I might not know all the ins and outs yet, but I’m qualified, and I won’t put up with having my hard work diminished.” He held eye contact, unwilling to back down. “Not even by you. You know what you’re doing, and I respect the hell out of that, out of you. So I think you can offer me a little of the same.”
Sophie dropped her gaze in what could have been guilt. “You’re right.”
Mitch blinked. Then blinked again. It took a full twenty seconds for him to realize a punchline wasn’t coming.
“I’m sorry if I’ve been difficult,” Sophie went on, her expression softening a fraction. “I’ve been doing all of this by myself for a long time. And I guess I’m a little protective of the processes. I did write most of them.”
So she did have a human side.
He rolled a little closer to his desk and dropped his forearms to the surface. “Now you have a partner, so you can take the leash off.”
