Page 92 of The Bet
Chapter 27
Xavier Stone was a pig.
He might not be quite as bad as Shoemoney, but he was a pig nonetheless. He didn’t even seem remotely concerned about her, only the goddamn document. He hadn’t even asked if she was ok.
He had given her access to the network, and left her at his desk, to use his computer. She could hear him in the living room, on the phone, making his calls. He seemed to be extra edgy and she sensed he was nervous about tomorrow, anyway, and she had just made things worse.
She worked hard, put her head down, and got on with it. The motivation high to prove to him that she was sorry and to do the best report she could.
Every so often he would stick his head around the door and ask her if she needed anything. And each time she would give him a curt “No, thanks,” and continue with her work.
“I’ve got some leftovers.”
She looked up. “No, thanks.”
“You must be hungry now?”
“No.” She wanted to be gone as soon as possible.
“Not even a washroom break?”
She eyed him with disgust. “No.”
He held his hands up, as if surrendering. “Just asking. You’ve hardly moved.”
“I’m rushing to get your work done.”
“Don’t rush and make a mess of it.”
“I won’t.”
“I didn’t mean that you would make a—”
“I know what you meant.” She didn’t even bother turning around, and hoped he would leave.
“Izzy.” Oh, dear god, he was still here. He perched on the side of the desk. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you earlier.”
“I heard you. Can I get on with this? You’re making me lose concentration.”
His mouth started to curve into a smile. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”
She shook her head. “What gives, Stone?” He was making crude jokes at a time like this? And after the way he had behaved earlier?
“I’m going.”
Luckily re-doing everything didn’t take as long as she feared because everything was still fresh in her mind. She’d added better charts and made the whole thing much easier to understand at a glance.
She stood up and had a big stretch, feeling the muscles in her shoulder blades loosen. She moved her neck around slowly, easing out the tight knots that had formed. It was something she tried to remember to do because sometimes, as was the case now, when she sat down and concentrated too hard, she forgot that she held her breath, and often stayed in the same rigid pose for too long.
“Done?”
She jumped, as Xavier’s voice startled her from behind.
“All done. Here, take a look.” She bent over to pull up the report.
“Could you print it off?” He nodded at the printer.
“Sure.” At least that way he wouldn’t need to look over her shoulder. He walked away, leaving her to print it off. When she walked out into the living area, he was lying on the couch, with his legs up, and a TV remote in one hand. An easy life for some people.
