Page 47 of Rayne

And now on top of that, we have to prepare for the possibility of a blackout. The sky is darkening rapidly as we head into the afternoon, the clouds black and green. The rumbling of thunder is getting increasingly louder, and that's the downside of working in a tall building—you feel everything. Each rumble makes my windows shake slightly, and before long, rain is pelting heavily against the glass. It's so loud that I struggle to hear the client on the phone, her elderly voice cracking while I politely beg her to speak louder.

"Mrs. Castings, I'm terribly sorry but I'll need to call you back," I yell. "There's a storm and I'm not hearing you properly at the moment."

I think I hear the okay so I end the call, grumbling as I push back from my desk.

Heading over to the support area, I look at Mary, who's equally as buried in paperwork as I am.

"This is a nightmare," I sigh.

She nods, smiling warmly. "It will pass soon. I have earplugs in my drawer if you need some."

"I'm good," I laugh, heading to the staffroom to make a quick cup of coffee.

I'm not planning on finishing work anytime soon, and at this rate with the weather, I don't want to venture out into the rain even when I'm freed from the corporate chains for the day.

I take a sip of coffee, lingering in the staffroom for a moment. Movement catches my eye and I turn, spotting Elijah.

"Coffee break?" he asks happily. "That's a good idea."

Elijah walks over, grabbing a paper cup from the stack and making himself a coffee with the machine. I nod, looking out the window.

"I'm not game enough to go to the coffee cart outside. That's if he's even there still…"

"He's not," Elijah replies. "Bolted about forty minutes ago. I don't blame him."

"Neither do I," I remark, turning my attention to him. "Did you get my email with the file notes?"

He nods, giving me a grin. "I did. Thank you. I'm still trying to wrap my head around all the files and catch up with the clients, but it should ease up soon. Everyone always wants something at the same time."

"That's the truth," I laugh, checking the time on my watch. "Is your three o'clock meeting still going ahead?"

Elijah shakes his head. "Nah. Client rescheduled. No one wants to go outside in this weather. It works for me. I need to draft up a motion. Once it's settled, I'll send it through for filing."

"I can do that," I say softly. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

He pauses, scanning my face. "You've been a really great help, Rayne."

My cheeks start to pinken but I brush it off, taking another sip. "Happy to help. I'm sorry I've been a bit busy today. Nick's had some urgent matters pop up."

"I get it," he replies, leaning against the counter. "We can't anticipate the work flow. I don't mind sharing anyway."

I choke on my coffee, quickly turning it into a cough. It's a stupid reminder to dinner on the weekend, but I ignore it.

Elijah looks at me, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Just went down the wrong way and it's hot," I lie. "I'm fine. Just in desperate need of a good sleep."

Laughing, Elijah kicks off from the counter. "Sleep? What's that? Never heard of it."

We walk together back to our offices, making small talk. I spot Nick frantically pacing his office, cell up to his ear as he talks to someone. His face is scrunched up in frustration, and for a brief moment, I feel bad for him. It must be very stressful being an attorney—I get stressed as a paralegal, so I can only imagine how everyone else feels too.

Sitting back at my desk, I scan my emails to check for any new messages. I spot a new email that just came in from an unknown email address, so I click on it.

Tempest.

This storm is quite powerful. Reminds me of you.

Do you need any help getting home?

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