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“Sure,” I said against my better judgement, “I’m all ears.”
Chapter 4 - Andres
What was taking her so long?
The muscles around my mouth had been twitching since Sadie abruptly ran off. Just minutes ago, she had been comfortable in my office chair, relaxed as she was typing her responses to the emails that had been piling up in my account. All I did was show her a key component to typing properly. Effective typing would get the job done faster so she could move on to the voicemails that I hadn’t gotten around to checking.
So much needed to be done in such a short span of time. The building had gone relatively quiet since we had started catching up on my backlog of emails, but I worried about Sadie wandering off by herself. I knew part of the building was still in a state of disrepair. Those were the parts I had been drawing up with Xavier over the past week.
My half-brother had become intimately obsessed with this building. Lucky him that he had me on his side to keep the architecture fresh while utilizing green materials and building methods. This building would last for a long time while keeping our carbon footprint minimal now that we were implementing my ideas.
But Sadie, well, she rarely ever left this part of the building. She didn’t know about the dangers of construction as much as the others. While she had volunteered with some of the work, she had stuck to the gym area which had quickly evolve thanks to the help of the Elderlings.
Bitterness stabbed my tongue. Galanthia was fine, but Izdor made my skin crawl. He was too much of a lady’s man to focus on anything substantial. How he managed to get anything accomplished was incredible. He probably just used magic the whole time along with that superb strength that came from another dimension. Xavier boasted about Galanthia’s skills frequently. It was impressive enough.
Brains impressed me more than physical strength, but I wouldn’t doubt its uses. Not in this case. Proper engineering with the right foundation would be far more productive than muscle. It would keep this place in the right shape. Sure, I loved bench-pressing with Xavier as often as possible, but my mind needed to be trained too. I used puzzles and thinking games for that.
I released a heavy sigh that sent me across the room faster than I could grasp. No opposition came from my brain as my feet carried me toward Sadie. I could smell her now just as much as I could when she was standing in the same room. That vanilla and honey was so palpably her that I could track her anywhere, anytime.
Giggles burst from across the lobby, a sound that I knew all too well. Disappointment came with me as I walked briskly toward the sound. Why she’d gone in that direction for the bathrooms was odd. Usually, she stopped at the family bathroom right next to the reception desk because it was closer.
A man coughed and then said, “Yeah, I’m just saying…”
My pace quickened with my heartbeat. That must have been why Sadie was taking a while. She’d stopped to chat.
With another man.
Without me around.
I rounded the corner and halted right next to Sadie, nearly colliding with the end of a board that was balanced on Izdor’s shoulder. The guy gave me a friendly smile and held up his hand. “Oh, hey man! I was just letting Sadie know that—”
“Sadie, would you be a doll and help me get my voicemails under control?” I handed her my phone while glaring at Izdor. “It’s important that the inbox isn’t full anymore so I can take more potential clients from town.”
Izdor wiggled his eyebrows. “Man, you must be rolling in dough by now. Raven said she gave you a sweet office setup. How’s it working out for you?”
“As you just stated, I’ve been doing phenomenally well.” I touched Sadie’s shoulder as I stepped toward her, putting myself between her and Izdor. “Sadie has been helping me manage the load.”
“What a treat,” he commented, “because she’s such a sweetheart.”
Sadie shrank into herself while clutching the phone tightly in her hand. Such a reaction made me boil with irritation. Was Izdor making her uncomfortable? Had she been trapped by him this whole time?
My upper lip twisted toward my nose. Ah, that must have been the reason she’d been stuck. The Elderling, as friendly as he appeared, had likely blocked her way back to my office where she was safe. With the board over his shoulder and that deceptive smile, he probably was trying to solicit her help.
Clearly, Sadie had been attempting to politely leave the conversation. I knew something was off about the way she giggled earlier. And the fact that she was inthishallway couldn’t have been more suspicious. Had she been trying to dodge Izdor back in the lobby or something? No, that wouldn’t make sense. He wouldn’t have been heading in this direction.
Unless he had come in from outside. That was where the lumber was being kept now that the gym was finished. We didn’t want people getting hurt with a pile of lumber in the lobby.
Yes, that was the most logical reason.
And it amplified my anger by a thousand degrees. “If you’ll excuse us—”
“You’re probably busy. Don’t let me hold you up. But like I just told Sadie, be careful around the building,” Izdor said. “We’ve got a couple of places upstairs that are acting kind of wonky.”
I stared blankly at him. “Yeah, Xavier told me.”
“Well, I just wanted to make sure—”
“Your assistance isn’t needed. Thank you, Izdor.”
