Page 75 of Wildflower
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to.”
It sounds so sincere, I almost believe him.
“Well, please stop, okay? Just stay out of my personal space.”
“You’re the one pressing yourself up against me, leaning over me and making this whole thing quite the ordeal, to be honest,” he says, frowning at me now.
“Excuse me?” I can’t believe this.
“Oh, come on, the way you’re smiling at me all the time, you’re clearly flirting.” He leans forward and puts a hand on my bare knee.
The next thing happens so fast I can barely grasp it. There are loud footsteps coming closer. Silas looks up, and suddenly he’s on the other side of the creative corner with Mark looming over him, his hands on the armrests on either side of the pale young man.
I can only see the back of Mark, but judging by how the muscles strain under that tailored suit, I’d say he’s furious.
His voice is a growl, and I can’t fully make out the words.
“What the fuck do you think you are doing?” I believe he said. Blood rushes in my ears, a mixture of the anger adrenaline from Silas’s dick move and the surprise of having Mark intervene so abruptly. How did he read the situation so quickly? He must be on it like a hawk after Damian.
The rest of the exchange between Mark and Silas is lost to me. All I see is Silas nodding.
Mark turns to me and his lovely lips, I mean his mouth, is moving. He’s talking to me.
I shake my head. “Umm, sorry, I didn’t hear that.”
“Go to Nia and tell her what happened.”
Behind Mark, Silas’s eyes are the size of plates.
“What?” I swallow, not daring to look directly at either of them. “What will happen to Silas?”
“What will happen toSilas?” Mark steps towards me, and I back up instinctively. “Whatshouldhappen. He gets a formal warning. Another wrong move and he’s fired on the spot.”
“Oh,” I whisper and finally dare to look Mark in the eye. There’s a sharp frown on his face, a line cutting between his thick eyebrows. Silas mutters something behind Mark.
“I’m so sorry, Rey,” he whispers.
“Too late, Silas,” Mark barks at him and looks back at me. “Go now. Don’t pity him, and don’t be afraid of him. Do the right thing.”
I stand up too fast and stagger. Mark’s strong, warm hand finds my arm, and I look up at him again. His eyes are much softer now, but the worry crease is still there.
“Are you okay?” he asks, and when I nod he drops his hand, leaving my skin cold.
“Yes, just a head-rush. I’ll go to Nia now.”
As I pass him, the cedarwood scent hits me again, and Iglance back at him, catching him looking after me with that fierce gaze of his. He’s doing things to my insides today. I’m feeling thoroughly confused.
Two days later, and I’ve not seen Silas nor Mark again, which feels odd. Silas has been moved to another team, which is a bit extreme, but I’m not making the rules. He’s lucky he’s so skilled, or he’d be out on his arse, Nia said when I reported him on Monday. But I don’t know where Mark is, and I shouldn’t care. Yesterday I pretended to need something from upstairs just to stroll past his main office, but he wasn’t there either, and I guess that’s for the best, considering I didn’t have any reason to be up there. I’d look a bit suspicious.
I’m grateful this new tool is keeping my brain busy, because now it’s been four days and three hours since I last heard from Robin, and I’m wondering when it’ll be okay to text him again. He said he needed time, but what does that mean? How much time?
“Are you okay, Rey?” a small, monotone voice sounds from my right, and I turn to find Kaia. Although she’s been based with development pod three, we have lunch together almost every day. She, Tolu, and Noor are really growing on me.
“Yes? Why?”
“You just looked so profoundly sad. Even your hair isn’t its normal happy self.”
“Oh?” I can’t help but smile, imagining what sad hair looks like, and Kaia’s lips twitch. “Is that an Estonian expression, perhaps?”
