“That is not a point, Rabbit. That’s a problem.”
“I’m not trying to eat well. I’m trying not tostarve.”
His neck tightened hard enough that the vein there jumped. “You think those are the only two options?”
“I think those are the options I can afford.”
His eyebrow arched in challenge. “No.”
I frowned.
“Just so we’re clear—you’re telling me the stipend attached to this position is being cut?”
Uhm…
I bit down on my lower lip.
“It’s not gone,gone.It’s just… reduced.”
Drastically.
It wasn’t ideal, but it tracked. This was the kind of thing that kept happening—numbers shifted and support disappeared.
Nothing big enough to flag, but enough to make things harder for one person and one person only.
Loved that for me.
“I’ll figure it out.” I shrugged, as though my lungs weren’t turning inside out. “I always do.”
For a second, he didn’t speak.
His jaw was set firm, brown eyes intense and unblinking. Something behind them shifted, recalculating fast enough that I could almost track it.
There was a calmness that surrounded him, butoh, it was lethal.
His fingers vibrated against my skin, flexing once around my wrist before settling on my pulsepoint.
“That stipend was negotiated before the position was even posted. The package was approved at a fixed rate. I made that crystal clear. I don’t assign that level of work without proper compensation.”
“I know this wasn’t your fault.”
Of course I know.
His mouth clenched. “How much did they cut?”
“Half…ish.”
He made a choked sound.
“At least, I’m still getting paid.”
“For fucks’s sake, Archibald,” he spat. “That is not acceptable.”
“It doesn’t really matter if it’s acceptable. It’s what happened.”
“So, instead of coming to me, you were planning to work two jobs so you can afford to eat instant noodles?”
I swallowed. “It’s?—”
