Page 6 of Fighting My Demons

I knew this impossible man would be a nightmare to work with, and he is now proving it.

"I could always use my mouth," he says, smiling deviously back at me.

His smile is breathtaking, and I suddenly forget how to breathe before coming to my senses.

"I could always have you fired for sexual harassment. Eli and Cyrus don't take kindly to men harassing their co-workers here, Latham. Keep that up, and you won't last the day," I warn him.

He smirks and goes to say something when my phone rings again. I answer it using any distraction to break the weird eye contact.

"I have been calling you all morning. Where the fuck have you been?"

I should have checked the call before answering. Latham is still staring at me, and he cocks his head to the side, his eyes narrowing. He steps away, and I see Blaine watching me curiously too.

"Do you mind?" I ask him.

He presses his lips in a line and turns around.

"Bella, where are you? I will come see you," my brother snaps at me over the phone.

"That is none of your business. When did you get back out?"

"You don't talk to me like that. Don't forget what I did for you. You still live in the same place? I will be waiting for you when you get home," he says before hanging up.

I shudder at the thought. My hands shake as I jam my phone back into my pocket when the doors suddenly open.

Latham hops out, and I step out after him. He is watching me with a strange expression, and I notice the other two looking at me with the same look.

"Who were you on the phone to? You seemed…" he doesn't finish. Instead, his eyes dart to Blaine over my shoulder.

"This way," I tell them, ignoring his question.

I walk down to my office before shoving my key in the lock, my hands trembling, knowing my brother would be waiting for me when I get home. Blaine suddenly takes the keys from me and unlocks my door after I fumble with them embarrassingly. He pushes the door open.

"Geez, what happened here?" Latham asks, and I feel my face heat.

My office is a mess, with piles and piles of paperwork everywhere. I never seem to have time to file anything. I am becoming swamped with more and more work. I could actually use someone to share the workload, but why him?

"Yeah, sorry about that.”

Even the smaller desk is littered with paperwork. They look around, and Blaine pulls a stack of papers off the couch before sitting down.

"Where do you work, exactly?" Xavier asks.

"You sure this isn’t the filing room?" Blaine adds, and I roll my eyes.

"I don't have much time, and Troy, the old manager, was not very good with filing either," I admit.

"So, you need a secretary?" Blaine asks.

"No, I am fine. I know where everything is… Don't touch that," I squeak, rushing over and slamming the door shut on Latham's fingers as he goes to pry the drawer open.

"Ouch, what is in there?" he asks.

"Nothing that concerns you," I tell him, locking it with the key.

"Well, until we figure out what to do with these two, they can help sort out this bloody mess," Latham says.

They get up and start rummaging through everything.