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“I told you, Neil, I don’t have the cash this week.” He paused, clearly listening to the person on the other end. “Then why did you quit? You couldn’t afford it!”
I held in a snort as I made my way over to the ancient coffee maker. It was old but still did a pretty good job making a decent cup, and everyone was attached to Betty, as someone had affectionately named her. The name had caught on quick, and she even had googly eyes glued to the lid on top so she could judge us for the number of cups we guzzled every day.
“I know you’re sick, but you can’t afford not to work.” Wade glanced at me, eyes sad, and from where I stood, they almost looked teary. He gave me a shaky smile and turned his back on me.
I shrugged and went to work making my coffee. And just to prove to fucking Will I wasn’t selfish like he’d claimed, I made one for Wade, too. I didn’t know how he took it, but he could add whatever he wanted.
“Just.... I need to go. No. I don’t want to argue with you. Goodbye.”
I ignored Wade for a moment until he approached me cautiously, eyes downcast and a blush spread across his cheeks.
“Um.”
I shoved the mug of coffee I’d made for him in his direction, careful not to slosh the scalding liquid on him. “I don’t care.”
“Huh?” He blinked at me, confused.
“Whatever happened there, it’s none of my business. Here, drink the damned coffee. I didn’t add anything to it, didn’t know what you wanted.”
Wade offered me a small, nervous smile and finally took the cup. He moved to the counter and added two sugars and a touch of half-and-half, and I watched as his long, thin fingers wrapped around the mug timidly, almost shyly.
I sat down at the round table in the middle of the room and opened my phone, scrolling the boring social media apps that never quite interested me. I didn’t understand the fascination with other people’s lives, especially when all they wanted you to see were the highlights, the best parts and not the worst.
Wade sat beside me cautiously, eyeing me as though he expected me to snap because he’d chosen to sit there. “You’re Albion, right? I’ve seen you around.”
I snorted. “Seen me around or heard the rumors of what an asshole I am?”
Wade chuckled and took a sip of his drink. “An asshole wouldn’t have made me coffee.”
“Shh. Don’t tell anyone my secret.” I glanced up at him and winked, and he laughed.
“It’s safe with me.” He thumbed the rim of his mug. His pale lashes fluttered over his cheeks, and I watched, not quite sure why. He wasn’t the prettiest man I’d seen, and the office was big enough that we didn’t see each other often, since he wasn’t on my team, but there was a softness about him I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
It drew me in.
He didn’t speak for a long time, and neither did I. Others came and went, the conversations they were having with each other loud in the otherwise quiet room, and by the time I was ready to go back to work, he seemed to be as well.
He rose and grabbed my mug without asking, taking it to the sink to wash it out, and I gave him a nod.
“Thanks.”
He flushed and dropped his head forward like he was embarrassed. “You’re welcome, Sir.”
If I felt anything about being called Sir by him, I didn’t think too much of it. I rarely saw him anyway. He belonged to Xadrian’s crew.
* * *
Monday morning I walked into the office with my shoulders squared and my mouth pursed in a thin line. I nodded at my personal assistant, and she gave me a shaky grin in response, but it was a reaction I was used to because everyone thought I was a little scary. Even though Annie had been working for me for a year now, she still seemed unsure around me, as though she wasn’t certain if I was going to yell at her or not, and I hadneveryelled at anyone. Expressed my disappointment in a very hard tone, yes, not yelled. I found that using a dissatisfied voice worked better anyway. My Dom play came in handy at work.
“Annie, please call Wade Lee and tell him I want him to come see me. Immediately.”
She nodded fast, her blond curls bouncing with the movement, as I walked past her and into my office to sit down at my desk. I rolled my chair closer to the steel desk and rested my briefcase in front of me. Leaning back in my gray chair, I crossed a leg over my knee and waited patiently. I checked my watch, the same one my dad had given me for my twenty-first birthday, and took note of the time.
7:45 a.m.
It took Wade twelve minutes to knock on my door. Twelve minutes too long.
“Come in,” I barked out in a hard tone.
