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“I’ve already explained. I’m involved in an investigation concerning a missing piece of jewelry, and—”
“What does this have to do with this creep sneaking around my workplace?”
I tried my damnedest not to roll my eyes. Did I mention Tamara was a bitch, and I kind of hated her guts? Because she was, and I did.
I took a deep, calming breath. “As. I. Was. Saying, I am involved in an investigation and have been placed under protection in case the suspect attempts to target me. I told you all this on the phone yesterday. You told me to come in anyway. Here I am.”
Tamara did not even try to hold back her eye roll. “You want me to believe that guy out there is a bodyguard? Do you think I’m stupid? He’s dressed like he’s on the set of some vampire movie.”
Not a vampire, idiot, incubus. Completely different type of monster. I didn’t correct her, though.
I shrugged. “I don’t exactly get to choose what he wears. You can tell him to wear something more appropriate, but I’m not sure he’ll listen. Maybe you can offer him one of our samples. He might look great in a curtain.”
Our office did product development and buying for the housewares division of the local department store, and there were always curtain samples lying around somewhere.
If Tamara could have growled, she would. “Look, I don’t know which cosplay event you picked him up at, but he can’t stay. Your boy toy is distracting everyone with his muscles and his inappropriate attire. Make him go away.”
“He’s not my boy toy,” I almost-yelled loud enough for everyone outside the thin-walled office to hear. “And I can’t make him go away. Even if you’re distracted by his muscles.”
Honestly, Prax wasn’t doing anything other than just sitting there looking like a delicious piece of man meat. He hadn’t harassed or catcalled anyone. He hadn’t even spoken to anyone other than me. Just as he’d promised, he’d dialed it back.
Imagine if the roles had been reversed and it had been a woman out there just sitting on a bench looking pretty, and the boss man inside blamed her for being distracting because his male underlings couldn’t get their heads out of the gutter! And then had the audacity to comment that what she was wearing was inappropriate, even though it covered all the important bits!
That was basically what Tamara was doing to Prax. He might not mind, but I did.
“I’m calling security,” Tamara said primly.
I shrugged. “Okay.” Before she could say anything else, I turned and walked out of her office.
A few minutes later, Kamal, the building’s daytime security guard, was outside my office too, talking to Prax, who looked more than happy to be getting even more attention and poured on the charm. He dug into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, which I knew was nothing more than his very own soul stuff made physical, and showed Kamal something inside. At this, the security guard visibly relaxed.
Then Prax pointed through the window at me, and I felt every head in the place turn to look. My face heated, and I pretended to be utterly engrossed with whatever was on my screen. A few minutes more, and the two were chatting and laughing like old friends.
I glanced over at Tamara’s office door, wondering what she was thinking. This probably wasn’t going the way she was hoping.
When Kamal returned, he came straight to my desk. I “confirmed” all the details with him, even the part where Prax claimed he was from the EA. It was a huge lie, but I ran with it.
Too pissed off to wait for Kamal to come to her, Tamara stomped over to him while he was still at my desk. “Why is he not gone yet?” she demanded. “Make the creep leave.”
Kamal’s face turned serious. “Ma’am, I realize you are concerned about a strange male outside your window, but he is not here to creep on you. The EA sent him; I checked his badge. I just spoke to Eva here, and his story checks out.”
Tamara looked like she was going to explode. “Are you saying you can’t do your job and make him leave?”
“With all due respect, ma’am, I don’t think it’s my job to interfere with EA business.” Kamal walked over to her office. Tamara had left her door open, so he walked right in and over to her window into the hall. “Here is the solution.” He closed the blinds. “There. He is no longer bothering you.”
One of the interns snickered as Tamara closed her office door a bit harder than was necessary.
Kamal approached me. “I will keep an extra eye out for your safety, Eva.”
“Thanks, Kamal. I appreciate it.”
I turned back to my screen but had forgotten what I was even doing. I got up and looked over the divider into Betty’s cubicle. Betty was the only coworker I would consider a friend despite having worked here since moving back to Darlington to live in my childhood home. “I’m going to grab coffee from the break room. Wanna come?”
“Sure.” She pressed send on the email she’d been working on and stood.
We made our way to the break room, which was just one room over and had a wall of windows, and started a new pot of coffee.
“The EA must’ve sent their best-looking agent,” Betty said in a low voice as we waited. “He looks like he belongs on the cover of a bodice ripper.”
