I don’t want us to feel strange around each other. To be awkward every day when we pass in the halls. But I also need to put up some boundaries. Draw some lines we have to stay within.
Clearing my throat, I take a deep breath, preparing to start that difficult conversation.
But Tobias beats me to the punch.
“I’m sorry about what happened in your office today.”
My mouth opens, then clamps shut again. I was prepared to be the one who brought up the elephant in the room, and Tobias has sort of thrown me for a loop by digging right in. I know I should just accept his apology and tell him we can act like it never happened, but I find myself asking, “You are?”
Because while it shouldn’t have happened, I’m not necessarily sorry it did. Another complication to add to my already messy life.
His eyes come to me, hanging for a second before going back to the asparagus he’s preparing. “I shouldn’t have done that.” He drizzles the line of olive oil over the vegetables. “It wasn’t fair to you.”
Does that mean he regrets it? Wishes it never happened?
And why in the heck does it matter so much to me?
He slides the seasoned steak into the oven, wiping both hands on a towel as he straightens, gaze locking onto where I sit as he shifts the conversation. “How was your first day?”
Talking about work is slightly safer territory, and the tension in my shoulders eases a little bit. “Good. Busy.” A smile works onto my face. “It was nice to get back to doing what I love.”
Tobias’s expression doesn’t change, but the air between us shifts. “Get back to?”
I haven’t told anyone about what really had me running from California. Not Deidre. Not Mariah or Titus. Not even Bruno. I’m sure they’re all dying to know, but I’d rather no one ever finds out.
And shame is a great motivator to keep my mouth shut about it.
“I’ve just been out of the field for a few years.” Taking another drink of water, I sit up a little straighter. “What about you? How was your day?” I hold my breath, hoping the diversion works and Tobias lets me off the hook. That he doesn’t press me for more.
He seems to barely nod his head before delving into something about a guy named Pierce and twenty jeeps. I don’t know enough about what happens at McKinley Security Systems to understand all of it, but I get the gist.
Reaching across the counter, I steal a piece of asparagus from the baking sheet he’s just removed from the oven. Taking a bite of the tender, perfectly seasoned vegetable, I sum up my observation. “Seems like Titus isn’t the only one who is understaffed.”
Tobias lifts the foil off the steak he left to rest while microwaving the tray of mashed potatoes. Slicing it into thinstrips, he shakes his head. “I’m not understaffed. There’s just only so much space and so many hours in the day. It doesn’t make sense to hire additional people just to lay them back off again.” He separates the meat onto two plates, adding a healthy serving of mashed potatoes to each before topping them with asparagus spears. “Pierce is just used to getting his way, and doesn’t mind pushing his luck.”
“Is he that good of a client?” I ask, watching as Tobias slides the plate with slightly bigger servings in front of me before taking a seat on the stool at my left.
“Yes.” He tips his head as he shovels in a mouthful of steak, talking around it as he chews. “He’s also somewhat of a friend. He helps us out when we need it, the same way we help him.”
Going for the mashed potatoes first, I scoop up a pile. “How does he help you?”
Tobias’s eyes move from my plate to my face as I take my first bite, like he’s gauging my reaction. “He’s helping us figure out who Dan really was.” One corner of his mouth tips up in a hint of a smile as I take my first bite of steak, moaning around the savory flavors. “And he’s going to send some additional men to help us with security until we get to the bottom of what’s going on.”
Just like with Maren, I find myself leaning closer, eager for more information. “What’s going on?”
While we finish our food, Tobias explains all the strange and kind of scary things that have happened involving MSS. How someone tried to breach our servers through Pierce’s company’s servers. That they then attempted to go straight for ours, and when that didn’t work, Dan—whoever in the heck that is—decided to blow them up.
I will admit, it is a very interesting story. One I’m able toget lost in while Tobias is telling it. But once it’s over, I’m left feeling uneasy.
“Should I be worried?” I’m not excited about the prospect of jumping from one frying pan to another. “Is it dangerous for me to be working there?”
Tobias’s expression turns weirdly intense, and his voice is sharp when he says, “You will always be safe.”
That’s not true at all. I haven’t been safe in years.
But I can’t really argue the claim without making a confession I don’t want to make, so I nod, trying to look appeased. “Okay.”
Tobias stands, collecting my plate and his, and carries everything to the sink.
