I look from side to side, as confused as he seems. “I work here? Titus hired me as a project manager.”
“You’rethe project manager Titus hired?” He scrubs one hand over his face. “Fucking hell.” His hand drops, gaze snapping back to me. “Does Toby know?”
My stomach clenches just at the mention of his name. Not a great sign, but something I am going to have to get used to. “I’m not sure.”
“Goddammit, Titus.” Trevor’s mumbling under his breath now. “Just as bad as our mother.”
“If now’s a bad time, I can come back.” I don’t want to though, so I go ahead and ask the question that brought me here. “I was just coming to find out if you knew where I could get office supplies.”
Trevor goes oddly still, one eye twitching the tiniest bit as he stares at me.
Is he… Is he okay?
“I’ll… just figure it out.” I back toward the door, wishing like hell Titus hadn’t already left for the day. Maybe I can just email him.
“Sorry.” Trevor rakes a hand through his perfectly combed hair, messing up the style I’m sure he spent way too long coaxing the dark waves into. “You just caught me a little off guard.” His eyes drop to the phone he was holding earlier. “I guess this is yours then.” He picks it up and holds it out, along with a credit card. “This too.”
I take the items, grateful to have them, but uneasy Titus didn’t seem to tell anyone outside of his team he hired me. “And office supplies?”
His eye seems to twitch again. “Find Maren. She can get you everything you need.”
“Okay.” I drag the word out. “Any idea where she might be?”
Trevor shrugs, the movement weirdly exaggerated. “No. It’s not like I keep track of her location all day.”
The sharpness of his tone sends a shiver of panic down my spine and my stomach dropping to my feet. I work hard not to stumble as I step back, before quickly spinning on my heel and all but running out of his office.
I know Trevor is an asshole. That’s sort of his thing. But I’ve had enough of assholes in my life, so it’s probably best if I steer clear of him. I won’t be able to move forward if I’m constantly being reminded of what’s behind me.
Since I don’t know who Maren is or what she looks like, I go to the place I think I have the best shot of figuring that out. The door to the security office is closed and locked, so I usemy newly acquired badge to let myself in, smiling at the man sitting behind a large desk monitoring all the camera feeds.
“Hello. I’m Brooke. I’m working for Titus’s team as a project manager.” I introduce myself, because if Trevor didn’t know I was working here, this guy for sure has no freaking clue who I am. “I am in need of office supplies, and was told to find Maren, but I have no clue who she is or where she might be.”
The universe must finally be ready to take pity on me, because the security guard turns out to be a delight. Not only does he tell me all about his wife and grandchildren, but he also explains exactly where the woman I’m looking for is and gives me a map he scribbles on with red marker to show the path I need to take to get there.
Map in hand, I leave Ray to his duties and hurry to a large room not far from where my office is located. Stepping inside, I’m a little surprised at the condition of the place. Stuff is everywhere. Like they just got the biggest shipment of supplies and stacked it all randomly. There are boxes of pens and pencils piled high. Crates of printer ink topped with plastic-wrapped rolls of packing tape. Pallets of legal pads blocking any kind of path I might try to take.
But while I see everything I need for my office, I don’t see Maren.
“Hello?” I step farther into the room. “Maren?”
I nearly jump out of my skin when a small woman sporting a cutely curled bob pops out from behind a pallet of what’s marked as printer paper. She gives me a bright smile. “Hey there.”
One hand comes to rest over my heart as I stumble back a step. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“Oh shit.” Her smile falls. “I’m super sorry. I was just excited to finally see you.”
I must not have heard her right. “Finally see me?”
Her head tips, confusion pinching her brow. “You’re Brooke, right?”
I’m shocked. “How do you know who I am?”
“I’m friends with Mariah and she told me Titus hired you.” Her eyes move up and down, looking me over from head to toe. “You are freaking gorgeous.” Her lips pull into a smirk. “No wonder Tobias is so fucked-up over you.”
My mouth hangs open as I try to respond. It takes a couple tries to get any words out, but I finally manage to say, “I’m sure Tobias isn’t…” I shake my head. “It’s been almost a decade.”
The woman—Maren, I’m assuming—gestures at me. “Have you seen yourself? Pretty much anyone with half a brain would be ruined for life if they let you go.”
