Page 99 of The Reluctant Hero

I wave the pink one around threateningly as if it’s a knife. He smirks at me like the threat isn’t real. He’s about to find out I’m very serious.

“You want to know what he did? It’s what you’re doing right now. Assuming that I want to hop into bed with people based onyourpathetic view of the world. I’m not some carbon cutout woman. No one is. Not everyone wants to suck dick twenty-four-seven.”

“S-should I come back?”

My startled gaze lands on a wide-eyed Vanessa standing in the doorway with a stack of paperwork. She looks horrified, and I wilt in my seat.

“What happened to knocking?” I try to tough it out even though my cheeks are hot.

“Your timing is exemplary,” Gabriel says in his cold tone. His face has gone back to being frozen, too.

She quickly glances between my shamed face and his blank one. “I have a few documents for you to sign.”

He stares at her, and she looks lost. It’s like she’s never done her job before and doesn’t know what to do.

“He’s being an ass. Just drop them on the floor,” I recommend with a grin.

“Donot,” Gabriel’s expression cracks into a glare as his head whips towards me. “Amanda, I’m about to strangle you.”

“See? You’ll be safe,” I say, settling back with my arms crossed. I give him a smug smile. “Go for it.”

“I’d like to keep my job,” Vanessa says, watching me with wide eyes. “Do you talk to him like this all the time?”

“You should hear what he says to me,” I try to play the pity card, but Vanessa doesn’t seem to be on the girl’s team today. She’s looking at Gabriel with a pitying expression. Hello, he just threatened to strangle me. No concern? Ok then.

“I am nowherenearas bad as you,” he protests with a sneer.

“You made me cry last week,” I lie to his face.

Vanessa quietly approaches his desk as he gapes at me and slides the papers by his hand. The slow backward retreat toward the door has me struggling not to laugh and blow it.

“You’re lying,” he hisses angrily.

“Am I?” I raise a brow.

He pauses, and I try not to betray my surprise. If I had pulled this last week, he would have laughed in my face. Now, he looks unsure.

“You’re called the boogie man around here,” I tell him casually. His expression doesn’t change as he waits for the zinger. Vanessa wisely keeps backing away until the door is quietly shut with her safely on the other side. Once she’s gone, I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face.

“If that were true, you would show me more respect.”

I burst into laughter at that one. “It’s true but you need more than a scary nickname to make me shake in my shoes.”

He sits back, his expression turning thoughtful. The pen starts whirling again as his mind drifts off somewhere.

“And Shade doesn’t scare you,” he mutters as if he’s talking to himself. “Neither does Ace. South?”

When his eyes flick to me, I shrug. “They all scare me sometimes. Underneath it all, they’re just people. If they can put up with me yelling and acting destructive, who am I to judge? They don’t call me out on stupid things like my hairstyle or if myshoes don’t match my outfit. They stop therealshit. My temper and the spiraling I hate with a passion. They’re… friends? I think?”

The confused end of my statement makes me think back on what I said. The interactions I have with South and that crew are very different from my friendship with Janine and hers. They don’t care what I look like or if I get pissed at the drop of a hat. They go with the flow. I would never act that way in front of Janine. It isn’t trophy-wife behavior.

Instead of wallowing in self-realization, I give Gabriel a smug smirk. His eyes narrow on the look.

“We’re friends too, you know,” I tell him serenely. I don’t honestly categorize him in that list. He has his own slot in my life. Mainly the petty vengeance area. And a little flirting, too. I can’t help it.

“Really,” he says in a deadpan voice.

“Yup,” I nod once and start working again.

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