Page 71 of Apparently, I’m Torture

And I laughed, dumbstruck. Because nothing about this was funny. My boss, the head of my faculty, the man who once wanted me so badly he didn’t care if his cousin had to pull strings to get a date from me, was trying to get me fired.

Meanwhile, here I was, trapped in a truck with a man who kissed me, who knew me as well as anyone ever could, who wanted to protect me. And he still said working with me was torture.

“Well, that sounds like hatred to me.”

He just shook his head and turned the wheel, pulling into the loading dock behind Tristy’s shop.

Thursday Morning

Tristy’s Coffee Shop

Lilly

Nikki held me tight, and despite her lean frame, she was all warmth and comfort. Her hair swished around me as I let my tears sink into her blouse.

Little Lilly pulled on my skirt. “What’s wrong, Aunty Lil? Why won’t you play with us?”

Kelly bounced on her toes behind her mother’s shoulder. “Yeah. I want to play.”

Tristan’s footsteps, the heavy and consistent thud of them, came in second to the deep rumble of his voice. “Aunt Lilly’s here to work, girls, not play. Come with me. Uncle Henry needs another cuddle.”

He pried the girls from me and I mumbled an apology into Nikki’s blouse. She smoothed her hand down my hair. “No, don’t worry about them. What we should be worrying about is how we’re going to prove you didn’t do it.”

I sniffed, pulled back from Nikki and wiped my eyes on my wrists. “Brianna said she saw him sitting there. Maybe I could get her to write a statement?”

Nikki folded her arms and tapped her chin. “I’m not sure that’ll be enough to get him fired. His word against Brianna’s won’t build a strong case.” She shifted her weight from one leg to another. “What about security cameras? Do you have any in your staffroom?”

I shook my head. “Nothing like that.”

“Well then, is there a chance you could get him to confess?”

“I’ll get that fucker to confess,” Shawn growled from behind her. “As soon as this fundraiser is done.”

She gave him a weak smile and raised a brow. “I don’t recommend you do anything that’ll make me have to represent you in court.”

His stare hardened. “I can’t promise I won’t.”

Nikki shot me an amused glance. “Are you teachers usually so violent?”

I rolled my eyes at him. “He isn’t going to do anything to Trevor, don’t worry. His career has more riding on it than mine.”

Shawn’s icy black stare landed on me. “Your career is just as important as mine. He can’t get away with treating you like this.”

Nikki flicked her glance from me to him and back again. “This is a screwed-up situation, don’t get me wrong, but this–” she wagged her finger between the two of us “–is really nice.”

“Don’t get used to it. As soon as this fundraiser is over, Shawn will go back to forgetting I exist.” I met his glare. “Won’t you?”

He shook his head. “I should. You’re fucking impossible sometimes.”

I gave Nikki a triumphant flash of my teeth. “See what I mean?”

Thursday Evening

Tristy’s Coffee Shop

Lilly

Karim and Dean were sweet kids when they replaced Shawn and I five years ago. They were all skinny limbs and ridiculous height, not unlike a nineteen-year-old Shawn. But, in his usual big brother way, Tristan took them under his wing and taught them everything he knew.