Page 28 of EverGreene
“And you look—relaxed.”
I looked up at him, noticing he seemed to be studying me intently with—wait, was that hunger on his face? Hold up. Was longing sprinkled in there, too? Because it sure seemed like he was looking at me the same way I looked at those guys who posted thirst traps of themselves splitting wood on social media. God, what I wouldn’t give to climb them like a tree as they used the head of their ax to split my legs open. Warmth overspread my face, and I knew I was blushing.
“I told you. I have a boyfriend. He provides me with relief from all of the stress I have from dealing with you every day.”
Curiously, Loche’s smug smile still clung to his face like a leech. Normally, if a woman tells a man they’re getting a good bonin’ elsewhere and they have no chance in hell with them, the man’s fake smile falls, and they look at the woman like having a conversation with her had kept them from meeting the one woman on the planet willing to put up with their bullshit.
“Do I stress you out that badly, Ever?” We stepped from the pedestrian walkway connecting the parking ramp to the building housing our firm. In the lobby, Loche pushed the button, summoning the elevator to take us to the fourth floor.
The truth was he didn’t. No, Loche Greene didn’tstress me out. If anything, before the promotion that was unceremoniously ripped from my clutches by Nepotism Ken over here, I was intrigued by the brooding, dark-eyed, ungodly tall fellow paralegal who kept to himself amidst the rumors that circulated around the office about him, which had only made me even more curious to get to know him. But then misogyny reared its ugly head, lifting the veil of mystery. Loche was exactly like all the other men I’d met.
The elevator door opened, and Loche gestured for me to step in as though there was a hint of a gentleman underneath his hard exterior. I stepped inside, with Loche following in my footsteps, positioning himself next to me in the car. A yellow and green discoloration on the ridge of his cheekbone caught my eye. He’d tried to cover it with makeup, but it was still faintly visible. I’d noticed bruises on his face and hands before, which he’d always taken pains to conceal in some way. A few months ago, I overheard a hushed conversation between Loche and Conrad from outside Conrad’s office, where the word ‘bruise’ was referenced, but I couldn’t make out anything else.
“You still haven’t answered my question,” Loche said when the elevator doors opened, and we stepped into the lobby of the fourth floor, turning the corner in unison to make our way to our office.
“You don’t stress me out. You repulse me.”
In my peripheral vision, Loche winced. Calling him repulsive must have struck a chord. Surely, it was the first time anyone had ever said such a thing to the privileged pretty boy. He opened his mouth to say something, stopping short of it as we both entered our office just as Shelby was walking out of it.
“Loche, Ever, you’re early.” She tried to plaster a smile on her face, but underneath it, there was a look that reminded me of a video I watched recently of a guilty Golden Retriever who wouldn’t look his owner in the eye when they got home andfound the trash can tipped over and trash scattered about the floor.
Damn, I needed to quit watching TikTok videos.
“Ever’s early,” Loche corrected her. “I’m actually on time for me. What are you doing in our office?”
“Oh, I was just grabbing some of these.” She held up a pad of square Post-It notes in neon pink. “Our supply order hasn’t come in yet, so I just figured I’d borrow these until it does.”
“Interesting. Because I would have sworn I saw a whole box of Post-Its in the supply room the other day.”
“I must have missed them, I guess.” Shelby shrugged her shoulders, continuing her walk down the hallway back to the lobby.
“You don’t have to be such an ass to her, you know.” I walked past him to my desk, opening the bottom drawer to stash my tote bag.
“She’s obviously lying about why she was in here.” Loche took off his jacket and hung it up on the hook on the back of our door.
“I got on her about rifling through my desk for the snacks I keep in there. She probably grabbed some gum or something and didn’t want to admit it.”
“Which makes it even worse.”
I rolled my eyes as Loche sat down at his desk, noticing that my computer was on. “Did someone turn you on?” I blurted out, instantly wishing I could snatch those words from the air and return them to my big mouth.
“I beg your pardon?” Loche snickered, and I purposely kept my head turned toward my screen so he wouldn’t see how dark red I’d turned.
“Is your computer on?”
“No.”
“Huh. That’s weird. Maybe I forgot to turn it off last night before I left.”
“You never do that.”
“What? Are you watching me every day or something?” I peered behind my shoulder at Loche, who looked like he was going to upchuck his protein bar at any second. “Jesus. It was a joke, Loche. You don’t have to look so disgusted.” I took off my coat and hung it on the back of my chair, reaching inside the pocket to retrieve my phone, noticing I had a new text message from V.
Did I break out in a smile like some pathetic teenager when I read his message? Yes. Yes, I did.
My friend Cole is coming out tonight at around six to set up your security system.
And Cole was going to be sick of all the questions I had for him in my attempt to figure out who his friend is.
