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James ran his fingers through my hair. I hadn’t heard him sit down next to me, too focused on my anxiety which was already skyrocketing at the thought of looking for a new job. I leaned against him, closing my eyes.
“Come on, baby. Darren said we can go now, we don’t need to stick around. His backup is already here. I have to make a quick pit stop then we can get you home for some rest.”
I nodded, standing to follow him but when I flinched, he scooped me into his arms. He dropped by my desk to grab my bag and carried me to the elevator. We got a few curious looks by the officers who were exiting the elevator but James ignored them, pressing the button for the basement.
* * *
Apparently,shoving someone’s head through a wall puts you in a pretty good mood. James was relaxed and smiling the whole drive, randomly kissing the back of my hand. I giggled, shaking my head. He grinned at me.
“What?”
“You just shoved someone’s head through a wall and you’re almost giddy. It’s funny.”
He shrugged one shoulder. “He deserved it. Besides, he got off easy.”
As I watched the city fly by, a thought popped into my head. “The list of people who don’t like me is seriously starting to add up. If this would’ve happened a few days ago, Mr. Doolittle would’ve been who I thought was responsible.”
“Does he know where you live?”
I tipped my head back and forth. “It’s probably in my personnel file, though those are locked in the HR office. But if he’s willing to destroy all my stuff, I doubt breaking into a file cabinet would bother him so much.”
James nodded. “I’ll look into it, just in case. I still think it’s the little shit from the convention though. The timing is right.”
I frowned. “I guess, but it just seems a little weird. Who would have a run in with you and think ‘hey, let’s go make him mad.’ They’d have to be clinically insane.”
James looked smug. “You’re really stroking my ego, baby. I’m not that scary.”
I pursed my lips. “You aren’t scary. At least not to me. You’re more like Thor. You tower over everyone and one punch could do some serious damage. You know, with less hair.” I waved my hand dismissively. I was starting to embarrass myself with the nerd references but James just laughed, kissing my hand again.
He pulled up outside an electronics store attached to a mall and I frowned at him. “What are we doing here?”
“You stood up to your boss today, I’m getting you a present.”
I rolled my eyes. “I did not! You stood up to him, I just stood there.”
James shrugged, nonchalant. “Same thing. Let’s go.” He left the car before I had a chance to argue. When he pulled open my door, I shook my head.
“You don’t have to buy me anything.”
He gave me a bland look. “All of your shit was destroyed and you’re bored as hell at home. Most of your games looked fine, we just need to replace the systems.”
“I can’t afford to replace them right now, I need to save everything I can for rent and stuff in case it takes a while to find a job.”
“That’s why I said I’m buying it. Let’s go. I still haven’t gotten a chance to show you that I’ve been practicing.”
I scowled, letting him pull me from the SUV and set me softly on my feet. “I don’t need you buying me things. I can afford it myself.”
“When’s your birthday?”
“April. Why?”
“Consider it a belated birthday present.”
He seemed to have a million reasons to buy it for me so I relented, figuring since it would be set up at his place, it was technically his. I’d buy my own once I got a new job.
We wanderedup and down the aisles slowly. James tried to carry me inside but I screeched and demanded he put me down. It was embarrassing enough having to hobble everywhere and try and ignore the looks people gave me. I did not need him carrying me around. People would think it’s some kind of kink and I’d die of embarrassment.
“So, which one?”
