“Are you always rude when you meet people?” The soft smirk and quirk of her eyebrow were both hot and infuriating.
“Only when they barge into my office.”
“I didn’t barge in.”
Reese motioned to where she was standing. “You’re standing in the middle of my office. I didn’t invite you. I think that counts as barging in.”
She had no idea where her attitude was coming from. It was like her mouth had a mind of its own.
The woman tilted her head, then turned, walking back to the threshold. She lifted her hand and rapped her knuckles against the door once, paused for a moment, then knocked again. How she had managed to make the act come off sarcastically could only be described as talent. She cleared her throat. “Knock, knock.”
Reese’s left eye twitched as her lips pressed into a thin line.
“This,” she said, holding up a box, “is your new doorknob. I need to change them out.”
“What is your name?” asked Reese. Her eyes quickly took in the woman. She tried not to lick her lips at the sight of the tool belt hugging her hips. She was a sucker for a working woman. She barely noticed the name badge clipped to it. It was turned around where she couldn’t see the name.
“Matty, Matty Crew.”
“Well, Matty, I’m Reese Lloyd, and I’m very busy. Could you come back later?”
“I could, but then you’ll have to go to the end of the list, which could take a couple days to get back here.” Matty leaned casually against the doorframe. Reese tried to ignore the pop of her hip and those soft brown eyes that seemed to be challenging her.
She sighed, rubbing the sore spot on her head again. A dull ache had already started there. She didn’t want to deal with this. Actually, she didn’t want to deal with any of it. Once again, she was cleaning up someone else’s mess. She’d clean this office, then go home to her mother’s hoard. It wasn’t fair.
“Fine. Just do what you have to do.”
“Right. Well, it shouldn’t take long.”
“Uh huh.”
Reese turned to her desk, pulling her purse out from where she had hidden it under there. She rummaged around for the bottle of Tylenol she usually kept in it but couldn’t find it, then she remembered. “Dammit,” she mumbled.
“Something wrong?” asked Matty. She was on her knees, unscrewing the silver screws from the doorknob.
Reese wanted to tell her it was none of her business, but she knew that was just frustration and pain talking. Matty was the only one around to unleash it on, and that wouldn’t be fair to the dark-haired woman. “I thought I had Tylenol in my purse, but I think I left it at home.”
“Hmm,” she hummed dismissively.
They worked in silence for the better part of thirty minutes. Reese concentrated on filling more bags and deciphering what should stay or go. There were a lot of miscellaneous things in the desk and on top of the cabinets. Every time she bent down, the pounding behind her eyes worsened. There was a decent-sized knot where she had hit it.
Before too long, Matty disappeared, only to reappear again. Then she shut the door and opened it, making sure to try the lock. “Well, that’s got you all set. Here’s the keys.” She laid two silver keys on the desk, then two purple pills beside them. “And for your head. All I had was Pamprin in my backpack, but it’ll fix you right up.”
Reese’s mouth dropped open. She looked from the pills to Matty and back again as guilt washed over her. She had been such an asshole to her. “Oh, uh, thank you.”
“Not a problem. If you have any problems with the door, then dial 112 on your desk phone, and it’ll call the maintenance desk. One of us will come back.”
And with that, Matty left, leaving Reese with an odd mix of gratitude, annoyance, and curiosity. What a weird day.
Chapter six
Chapter Six
Warmth enveloped Matty as she slipped a black hoodie over her head. Spring had taken a cold turn overnight, and her usual work T-shirt wasn’t cutting it. Luckily, she kept a spare hoodie in the backpack she brought to work every day.
The walk to Main made her lungs burn from the cold but sent a shot of energy through her. Today had been pretty easy so far. She and Grady had spent the morning changing spark plugs, oil, and any other things needed to ready the lawn equipment for the summer. They would need to start regularly mowing soon.
She nodded to people as she entered the building. The building was always bustling with energy at lunchtime. A few clients looked her up and down, usually out of curiosity. It was something female staff, even the masculine-presenting ones, had to put up with.
