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“I didn’t mean it like that. I was joking.” I try to cover my ass, knowing that if I piss her off, she’s going to hate me. Considering we’re going to be spending a lot of time together, I’d rather not have that happen.
She shakes her head, quickly pulling herself out of that dark mood. It makes me wonder if being a sassy, sarcastic jokester is her defense mechanism. “He’s not wrong. I am a pain in the ass—don’t you forget it.” She gives me a wink, trying to lighten the mood again, but I can sense her obvious irritation with Nix.
Instead of replying, I go back to working on the code I’m trying to configure. I want to set up our cameras on a new system, but I didn’t like the program the security company designed, so I told Nix I’d look into it.
“Where are you from?” She breaks the comfortable silence, raking her eyes down my body and back up to my eyes.
“Uh, Craibridge?” I chuckle.
She rolls her eyes at my vague answer. “West Side?”
“Pretty presumptuous.” Something about this girl makes me talk more than usual. I’m typically quiet around new people, but it’s kind of hard to be when I can feel her prying eyes on me. Or maybe you just want her to know all about you.
“Don’t bullshit a bullshitter. I can spot West Siders a mile away.” She takes in my face one more time, like she’s observing every inch to figure out all my secrets. I do the same back to her, roaming my eyes across her perfectly smooth tan skin, her sharp cheekbones, and those plump, pink lips.
Shit, snap out of it. She is your boss's wife.
“Looks like your bullshit radar is off. East Side, born and raised.” This makes her laugh, pulling a smile from me at the same time. That laugh is infectious, something that sounds so sweet coming from this firestorm of a woman.
“Ah, so I can add liar to that list of professions then?” She’s still chuckling, like I told the funniest joke.
“That obvious?” I look down at my all-black attire and the tattoos that line my arms. Yeah, it’s pretty damn obvious I don’t fit in here on the East Side. Never have and never will.
“No, I can just tell. You’re not pretentious or snobby.” She shrugs.
“Damn, pretty savage. Not all East Siders are like that.” I’ve met a few who haven’t looked at me like I’m trash. Nix has never once looked at me like I’m beneath him. He might be a dick to most people and have a hard shell, but under it all, he’s not that bad. He has a soft spot hidden so deep that not many people find it—you’ve just got to earn a place in his life to deserve to see it.
“Maybe not, but I’ve met my fair share who are. So does your family still live on the West Side?”
“Yeah. They all live together in a small house right across the tracks.” Thinking of how close we all are pulls at my heartstrings. When I moved out, it was a pretty big deal. My family relied on me—I supported them, made sure to help pay the bills, and protected them, so they were nervous about what would happen when I left. Thankfully, Nix pays me well so I was able to fix up the house, put in a security system, and pay off a lot of debt.
“Do you see them often?”
“Not as much as I’d like, but almost weekly.” I get to see them plenty; it’s just different from seeing them every single day.
“You live here though?”
“Yeah, Nix needs me close. Also, it keeps me out of trouble.” It keeps me away from the darkness that tries to consume me. From the demons that lie within me. If Nix didn’t take a chance on me, I’d probably be dead right now. I’d be rotting away six feet under, never to be seen again.
“You a real bad boy, Rush?” Her emerald eyes sparkle with mischief, but I doubt mine return the same playfulness. Thinking about my past always puts me in a bad place, one I wish I could forget all about.
“Not exactly. What about you?” I turn the conversation toward her, trying to get the attention away from me.
“My parents immigrated from India, but I was born and raised on the West Side. We have a small restaurant that most people would see as a waste of time and space. It would be better torn down. But my family has worked hard to make it something, and it means everything to us. Always planned on staying there, until all this. And now I’m just babbling about stuff you don’t care about.” Her words taper off as she picks at her fingernails. This is the most vulnerable I’ve seen her. Her family and restaurant clearly means a lot to her.
“No, I wanna hear all about it.” I really do. I want to learn everything about this woman with the piercing green eyes. I’ve learned a lot about her from Nix, and from doing a little research, but it’s so much better coming from her.
“We’ll have a lot of time to talk about this over the next year.” She smiles, obviously trying to deflect as well. I know she’s trying to change the subject, but there’s a question that’s been burning in my mind since she mentioned her friends.
“If your friends own VPAC, what did you need Nix for?” They could easily get her out of financial trouble, so it doesn’t make sense that she’d need to take Nix’s money. I bet they would’ve happily given her a loan and let her pay it back at whatever pace she could manage. Why resort to tying yourself down to a stranger for a year?
“I... It’s complicated.” She looks nervous now, shifting uncomfortably in the chair beside me. When she won’t meet my eyes, I can feel myself becoming even more curious—suspicious, even—about why she’s here. “I should go unpack. Wouldn’t want to make Marnix’s home unpresentable with boxes lying around.” With that, she gets up abruptly and slips out the door before I can say anything else.
I spend a lot of time observing my surroundings to make sure people are safe, and I can read people like the back of my hand. Tara Mangal is hiding something. She’s a mystery to me, keeping a secret I’m not sure Nix even knows.
Good thing I’ve got the next year to figure it out.
