AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah. Sorry you’re stuck sharing an office with Liam,” Luke jokes.
“Same office, different desk,” I say quickly. “We don’t share desks here.”
Luke shoots me another quizzical look before patting the desk next to mine—brought in here after the meeting, no matter how much I wanted to protest. He smiles at Annie. “This one’s yours, please make yourself at home. And don’t worry, Liam doesn’t bite.”
Her cheeks redden.
Well. This should be fun.
11
ANNIE
Liam may not bite… but he does make the cutest breathing sounds while he sleeps.
STOP IT, ANNIE!
I swallow. Clear my throat.
“Thank you, Mr. Donovan,” I say to Luke, not daring to glance at Liam.
“Please, call us Luke and Liam,” Luke replies breezily.
“Speak for yourself.” Liam shoots him a look. “Now, let’s get to work. Annie’s on a steep learning curve, and time is of the essence.”
I resist saying “aye, aye captain” and saluting him, but only just.
“Woah, wait up!” Luke holds up his hands. “Liam, where are your manners?”
Exactly what I was asking myself all weekend!
“We haven’t asked Annie if she has any questions.” Luke fixes me with his dark eyes. Not as dark as Liam’s, I note. “Do you? Have questions, that is?”
I pause.
Honestly? I have about a million questions. But most of them are not questions I can ask my two new bosses.
Luke is looking at me expectantly, and Liam, meanwhile, tugs on his collar. I realize that Liam has not told his brother about the events of the weekend.
So how do I find out if everything is good here without actually coming out and asking?
“Um, well…” I start. “I do have one question.”
Liam’s eyes flicker, but Luke nods. “Go ahead.”
I choose my words carefully. “When you say that you don’t share desks at SITL, do you mean sharing a desk with a colleague—or boss—is against the rules?”
Luke says, “can’t say I’ve had that question before” at the same time that Liam says, “absolutely, it would be completely inappropriate.”
Luke blinks at Liam. “What are you talking about? We have no rule about desk sharing.”
“Some rules don’t need to be explicitly spelled out to be understood.”
I get his message loud and clear.
“But, let’s say you shared an, um… desk with someone, and hadn’t realized it was against the rules. Or even realized that the person worked here. And when you did realize, you moved to your own desk. Would that be okay?”
There’s a long silence. A dead silence. Save for the hum of the AC and the distant clacking of staff keyboards in the offices beyond.
