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I absentmindedly say, “Shut up, Halley.”
She doesn’t listen to me and continues, “Anyways, so I asked the shawarma guy to give me a discount since I go there every other day—Uncle Raymond!”
The delight in her voice makes me look up to see Raymond standing in the doorway, smiling in that gentle way of his. “Halley, I hope you’re not giving Jace a hard time.”
Not bothered that she’s in a workplace, Halley goes to him and hugs him.
When Raymond wraps his arms around her in greeting, I can see the love shining in his eyes. He truly did raise her, I muse.
I also see the innocence that stems from this girl.
It’s something that I’ve noticed over these past few days; Halley doesn’t have a filter and she doesn’t seem to be the type to hold onto things. She enjoys silly things, her laughter carefree. She talks about everything she’s seen in the past four days; I know each and every detail about her day. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was a teenager.
But at the same time, I often glimpse a maturity to her that belies her real age.
I also know how much she misses her uncle.
Raymond releases her and looks towards me. “I hope Sophie hasn’t been too much trouble.”
Why is he making it sound like I’m babysitting her? “She’s a hard worker,” I say, keeping my tone light.
Halley wanders back to her area and sits.
Raymond comes over to sit in the visitor’s seat. “I never did ask you how long this internship will be.”
“It’s a three-month thing for now,” I tell him, part of me wondering why he isn’t commenting on his niece’s attire.
Ever since she started here, Halley’s clothes have been nothing short of innovative.
She wears short skirts and fitted blouses, which sometimes have plunging necklines or look like an artist painted them on her.
It’s the reason I’m wearing the rubber band around my wrist, to snap it every time I find my eyes wandering.
I don’t want to say anything because it’s not my place but I am a man and Halley is a very well-developed woman, and on top of this, I have a thing for redheads. It’s very hard not to notice her when she’s flaunting herself so openly around my office.
Her sense of color and fashion is also a little unsettling. Like today, she’s wearing a feather in her ear, which is dangling from her lobe, and her shirt is blue while her skirt is a bright orange.
“Halley, you should come by for dinner,” Raymond scolds her, like one would a wayward child. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Halley blinks her eyes, innocently. “It’s hardly my fault. I’m being worked like a slave here.”
I gape at her, remembering how she had taken a half hour power nap in my office after the lunch hour and how I couldn’t say anything because she had finished the assigned work.
“I get home and then I’m out like a light,” she’s saying as I tune back into the conversation.
Raymond shakes his head. “Listen to you. You always were good at making e
xcuses.”
There’s not an ounce of repentance in her gaze, as she grins. “I know. But I honestly haven’t had the time. I have some freelance projects to work on as well.”
“Are you getting enough sleep?”
My sharp eyes catch the slightest flickering of the expression on her face before she lies in a cheerful tone, “Of course. I sleep like a log.”
Raymond, however, seems to buy it.
When he leaves, I stare at her.
