He frowned. “I didn’t realize that. I was trying to?—”
Cait scowled. “You were doing your best; it just so happens your best involved making a bigger mess.”
“Thanks, all you need to do is call me an idiot, and you’d sound just like Big Boss,” Jake muttered, and to my amusement, I could see she had hurt his feelings.
She saw it too and sighed. “Oh, God, yank at my heartstrings, why don’t you? Grab a couple of mops from the cleaning closet and we’ll get all this water and mud cleaned up, alright? And if you’re an extra good boy, I might even share something I have stored away in my desk.”
I actually did laugh when he forgot all about his hurt feelings and brightened up immediately. “The good stuff?”
“The good stuff,” she said, then eyed me. “I think you should get your ass moving. Youreallydo not want him coming back to find you still standing here, I can promise you that.”
I sighed. “And here I was hoping for a nice quiet end to my night, a shower to soak in for a few minutes, and a reasonablycomfortable bed to curl up in. Woe is me; my life is full of trials and tribulations that no man or woman has ever had to endure.”
“Spare me,” she said with a wave of her hand. “If there're any pieces left when he’s done with you, maybe I’ll have something warm to drink when you get back.”
“Best news I’ve heard all night,” I said as I left them behind to what was undoubtedly going to be a better night than I was going to have and headed toward the back doors and outside into the petering storm and my fate. Perhaps this one would be a kinder one than some people had suffered tonight, but I was ready to accept whatever happened.
Not as if I had any other choice.
XANDER
“Fucking idiot,”I muttered as I slammed a thick glass down with a heavy thunk, then moved over to where I kept my bottle. I opened it and let the smell waft up as I poured it into a glass, and sat down at my desk.
The idiot had been here just over a week, and he was already pissing off someone enough that he’d ended up in a fight. He was, of course, sticking to his story that there had been no fight. He must have thought I was born yesterday, either because I was going to buy his stupid ass story or let the matter drop despite knowing he was lying. I really hoped for his sake it was the second he believed, because I didn’t think I could tolerate being consideredthatstupid without losing my mind.
Along with my temper, which was unreliable at the best of times.
Which was only getting worse as I realized he had not followed me immediately and I was left to cool my heels while he took his sweet time. The whole thing needed to be settled, and it needed to be settled tonight, or I was never going to manage any sleep, and that was already a dubious prospect after the shit show the day had been.
There was a knock on the door, and I huffed. “Open the damn thing.”
He came in, his eyes darting to my face before he closed the door behind him and chuckled. “Forgive me, I was raised to believe in manners, even when you feel like being anything but polite.”
I stared at him as he watched me expectantly from the doorway, and I resisted the urge to shift from foot to foot, as if I were the one who was going to be interrogated about what exactly happened today. Two things occurred to me: first, this was the first time in a long time that I’d had someone other than Cait in my space. It had always been private, a place I would retreat to when I needed to…be myself. And then I had brought him here to grill him, I suppose, when in reality there were plenty of places I’d used in the past.
Second, other than Cait, he was the only person who’d have some idea what I’d gone through today.
Great.
“Well?” I demanded.
“Well?” he responded with a shrug and the beginning of a smile. It was then I saw how tired he was, and I wondered how long he’d been awake.
I sighed heavily, gesturing to the chair, pouring some whiskey into the glass, and holding it out. “Sit. Drink.”
He raised a brow before taking the offered seat and, after another hesitation, took the drink, sniffing it and then, with a grunt, took a sip. “That…huh, that’s not what I was expecting after I looked at that little bottle she gave you.”
“She may drink nothing but piss, but she has a good knack for picking out liquors she would never touch in a million years,” I told him with a snort.
“I have a question before we continue,” he said after taking another sip and looking like those two drinks were enough togive him strength. “And I really need you not to get furious. I expect pissy, but just don’t rip my head off for asking.”
“This is starting off great,” I said dryly. “Fine, go ahead.”
“How much of the anger you’re about to blast on me is because of what happened here, and how much of it will be because of…” he thought about his question even though I already knew where he was going with it, “what happened with you today.”
“That’s…actually a fair question,” I admitted, feeling like I should be irritated that he looked so surprised at my reaction. I scowled. “And let me fucking worry about my shit rather than you.”
“I could point out that what affects you could affect the rest of us, and it’s worth worrying over,” he said, smiling when my eyes narrowed. “But I won’t because I don’t feel like dealing with all the growling and snarling, and I value my life. So what is it you want from me?”