Page 53 of Feel It in the Air

14

MARGEAUX

“Whoa, nice shiner.”

My head whips up, Aaron’s statement echoing through the office like a morning announcement over the junior high loudspeaker. My eyes immediately land on Gus, his trademark stoic expression firmly in place. He’s in the same charcoal pants he was wearing Saturday night on our date, but today’s shirt is a deep teal, the color of a tropical ocean, and immediately sends my mind to thoughts of sitting on a beach with Gus. Of playing in the waves, lounging in the sun, and wasting away the day.

I turn back to my screen, hoping that no one else has noticed that it’s suddenly five hundred degrees warmer in here. The last thing I need is for one of my coworkers to think that my gaze lingered a little too long on the man who is currently our boss. It’s bad enough that him walking through the door sends me into epic daydreams.

“Whatcha do to get it?” Aaron presses when Gus doesn’t respond to his initial comment.

“Got hit in the eye.”

Well, that’s not a lie…

I press my lips together, keeping my focus on the email in front of me. Bronwyn’s question about the status of some of the filings for the Southern Brothers trademarks we have been working on doesn’t require quite as much concentration as I’m giving it, but right now, if it keeps Teresa off my back, then I will respond to this inquiry in calligraphy.

“How?”

Give it a rest, Aaron…

“How’s that risk assessment coming?” Gus counters, his voice steady, yet subtly accusatory. The same way my grandmother’s was every time she would ask me if that was what I was wearing to church.

Aaron seems to take the hint, nodding and turning back to whatever it is he’s working on. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Teresa roll her eyes but then perk up, like she’s ready for Gus to pay attention to her. Ever the teacher’s pet.

Only she doesn’t get her wish.

“Margeaux,” Gus says. I turn to him, eyes wide, pulse skipping, waiting to see what’s coming next. Gus keeps it simple though, nodding, his smile nothing but professional. “Morning.”

“Morning.”

Another nod, and he turns on his heel, looking to Percy’s assistant. “Mabel, got a moment?”

The older lady nods and follows Gus into Percy’s office. The door closes behind her, the click of the latch barely filling the air before Teresa scoffs.

“What was that?”

“A black eye,” Aaron says. “Seriously, I wonder what happened. Gotta be one of his brothers, right? Unless he was up in Atlanta this weekend.”

I open my mouth to correct him, to say he was down in Savannah, but then I stop myself. I don’t need to volunteer that I know that kind of information. Because then the next line of questioning is going to be why I know such a thing. And that’s not a road we need to travel down.

The look on my face must give away something though, because Aaron continues, explaining why he said he thought Atlanta. “His best friend, Dylan Barrowcliff, lives up there. We all went to high school together. Although Gus and Dylan are like two of the most boring guys on the planet, so I don’t know what they’d be getting into a fight over.”

He’s not boring…

“Not important, Aaron,” Teresa snarks. “And not what I meant. Why did he talk to you?”

No one—even the half dozen other people in this office who haven’t been a part of this conversation—has to ask who she means. We all know that she’s talking about me. It’s crystal clear by the vitriol in her voice.

“He said my name,” I defend.

Shit…

“And good morning.”

“Hardly a capital offense.”

“Why you?”