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“Good.” He tapped the tips of his fingers together thoughtfully and nodded before repeating, “Good.” He motioned to me. “You know, thank God for my unwitting brilliance in making you wear that mask to the party. Now, no one will know you were even there, in case, someone actually saw you guys sucking face.”
I wrinkled my expression over the term sucking face before asking, “Unwitting brilliance?”
“It’s a thing. Look it up.” He pointed both thumbs at his chest. “My picture will be next to the description.”
Slumping both arms onto his desktop and then plunking my forehead down on them, I mumbled into the inner part of my elbow. “What am I going to do, Brick?”
“Well, for starters,” he said, sitting forward. “You’re never going to talk to Ezra Nash again. Not if you value your life, anyway.”
Pain slashed through me, like a knife severing all the organs inside me. Even the idea of never talking to Ezra hurt. I knew I didn’t know him well, but everything we’d shared together, even when we weren’t seeing eye to eye had just felt so right.
But I knew Brick’s suggestion was smart. So I nodded and drew in a deep, bolstering breath. “Okay,” I said, sitting upright. “And?”
He shook his head. “What do you mean and? Don’t talk to him again. The end. All crises averted.”
When I scowled at him, he lifted his hands. “Hey, what else do you want me to say? Don’t go near him, don’t message him, and don’t even think about him. My mother will have you cut into little pieces and fed to the fishes if you do. It’s as simple as that.”
“But—”
“No buts. I never told you about the guy she dated before meeting your dad, did I?”
I shook my head, surprised to learn this. “No. What about him?”
“Turns out, he was already married. After my mother found out, neither him nor his wife were heard from again.”
With a snort, I shook my head. “That’s not funny, Brick.”
Brick shrugged. “I’m not joking.”
A frown puckered my brow. Of course he had to be joking. When he didn’t crack a smile, I narrowed my eyes. His expression didn’t change.
Okay, then. Good way to intimidate me into following his instructions.
“But I can’t just avoid him completely. What if he comes in here to talk to you, or we accidentally run into each other in the hall, or—”
“Nope.” Brick shook his head. “He doesn’t exist to you anymore, little sister. If Lana Judge wants him—and she does—then she’d sooner see you both dead than let you anywhere near each other. And this isn’t me having any kind of loyalty for my mother talking. This is me being honestly worried about you. Don’t ever kiss him again, kid. It’s for your own safety.”
I blew out a long sigh. I didn’t think this was as life-threatening as Brick was making it out to be, but yeah, I got his point. Lana would put me through a personal, living hell if she ever saw me around Ezra. Not that such a situation was even a possibility anymore, anyway. After our conversation on the elevator, I’m pretty sure I was the one who was dead to Ezra. But the added hopelessness made it even more depressing.
“I got you,” I murmured, dejected and staring down at my hands. “I’ll never talk to him again.”
“Good.” He slapped his palms together as if that was that. “Well, since everyone’s into late breakfast, early lunches these days, I’m off to dine on someone myself—I mean, with someone.” He winked at me, letting me know he really meant the former, as he pushed to his feet. “Be back in a while.”
I rolled my eyes. Eww. “I guess I’ll just finish my filing project then.”
He shot a finger gun at me. “Sounds like a plan, kid. Don’t wait up.” And he was out the door, leaving me alone in his office with two piles of papers left to put away.
It made me wonder exactly how much he actually worked at work. But then, today was a strange day. I don’t think I’d ever strayed from my own tasks as much as I had this morning either. Meaning, I really needed to get my tush into gear.
Humming to myself—a tune by Pink—I picked up the papers to file and got to it. Time passed. Pink became Linkin Park. Two piles shrank to one. And finally I was left with only the problem-child sheets. I either needed to make new files for them, or I wasn’t sure what they needed to be filed under.
When I heard footsteps enter the office behind me, I huffed out an exasperated breath, asking, “Where’s the file for the purse designs by Chauncy,” without even glancing Brick’s way. Then I gave an irritated growl and shoved a piece of hair out of my eyes. “Do you have a file for Chauncy or do I need to make one?”
“I have no idea.”
The answer made me jump and yelp in surprise before I whirled around, and not because of what Brick had said, but because the words hadn’t come from my stepbrother at all.
Ezra’s turbulent blue eyes swirled as they met mine before he stepped fully into the office and shut the door behind him.
