Page 20 of Crash
“Do I know you?” she asked, fluffing her blonde hair. Now that I was actually looking at her, I could tell it wasn’t natural.
“I work here.” After my argument with Ash, I wasn’t feeling so shy anymore. Talk about a confidence booster.
“Oh, that’s right, your Ash’slittlesister.”
I didn’t miss the emphasis on the word ‘little’.Little as in child.“I’m pretty sure we’re the same age.”
“How do you know Lincoln?” she asked, ignoring me.
I shifted uncomfortably, pushing the button on the soap dispenser. “He trained at the same gym as my brother when we were teenagers.”
Andrea smiled, obviously pleased at my answer. She didn’t see me as competition, not that I was in the first place.
Turning the tap on, I washed my hands as quickly as I could, just wanting to get the hell out of there. Shaking them dry as Andrea primped in the mirror, I turned to make my escape, but she called out to me at the last moment.
“Nice to meet you, Viola.”
I rolled my eyes. Lincoln was interested inthat? I was well aware that she knew exactly what she was doing, which was trying to put me off and stake her claim on Lincoln. Lucky her—it was working. She didn’t really have to try though, right? Confrontation terrified me.
Without acknowledging her remark, I slunk out of the bathroom and around the corner, rushing back up the stairs to my safe little office.[CS1]
Seven
Violet
I took to hiding out in the office after that.
I spoke when I was spoken to, but mostly I kept to myself. It was easier, maybe not healthy, but it allowed me to cope. I was smart enough to realize something needed to change, but I didn’t know what it was. Confidence? Maybe, but how did you get that? It didn’t grow on trees, and no amount of wishing would make it true.
Andrea had warned me off Lincoln in her subliminal catty way and it was another kick in the guts I didn’t need. I already knew he would never be mine, so what was the point?
Ren stuck with me for a couple of days to make sure I was understanding my new job, which made the settling in a little easier to handle, but by the end of the first week, I’d picked most of it up like an old pro. It was ironic really. Ash had a talent for athletics and I had a talent for office administration. How boring could youget.
I went in to Pulse on Saturday, even though I didn’t need to, and pulled a half-day getting the office just the way I liked it. I decorated the place by sticking up a framed poster with a motivational quote about fitness on it, getting a potted plant for the empty corner, and just generally making the place more inviting. If I was going to spend most of my time hiding out in that place, then it had better be visually appealing.
Come Monday morning, I was ready to get back into it with renewed enthusiasm. It was never going to be easy after so much time hiding away, but now that I knew Lincoln was going to be hanging around, I could mentally prepare myself with the bit of distance Sunday afforded me. Dr. Ormond had said much the same thing when I saw her at my regular Thursday night appointment. At least I was on the right track, I supposed. A little at a time was all I could do.
First order of business was branching out, and by branching out, I meant, skipping my morning coffee at home and getting one at Pulse, which was where I now found myself. I stood outside the kitchen, my feet stuck to the spot.Confidence, Violet, I thought to myself.
Stepping inside, I paused as I saw Bobby unpacking boxes of supplements. He glanced up and smiled when he saw it wasme.
“Hey, Violet,” he said.
I moved further into the room, casting my gaze around. I hadn’t been in here yet, and I was surprised at how clean it was. Bobby must run a tight ship.
“There wouldn’t happen to be any coffee in here?” I asked shyly.
“Not a Monday person, huh?” he asked, leaning his elbows against the table and ticking something off the invoice in front of him.
“Mornings in general.”
“I’ll make you a cup. How do you like it?”
“Black.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Strong anddark,got it.”
Venturing further into the kitchen, I studied his tattoos while he turned the pot on. They were all black and gray, no color, and from what I could see, some kind of geometric design…almost like a kaleidoscope. He had well-defined arms and a broad chest, but he didn’t look like he was a fighter, just a fitkindaguy. From the little I’d seen, Bobby seemed friendly and carefree and hadn’t once looked at my tits. I decided I liked him.
