I strode to the end of the corridor and stopped, facing some piece of fancy artwork obviously chosen by Saint. As I looked at it, I ran through my relaxation exercises, tensing every muscle before I released it. I finished by closing my eyes and exhaling all the stress from my body. I didn’t need stress on top of anxiety.
No matter what I’d imagined or not imagined, it didn’t matter. Saint’s rule took priority over everything—especially when we all worked together. I really wouldn’t come between my brother and his best friend—both due to the fact I was his intern and had to make it through the whole internship, and also due to the fact Saint would lose his shit if anything happened between Nico and me.
I stifled a shudder. Saint losing his shit didn’t happen often, and it wasn’t pretty. The mere thought had the power to kill all my boners—present and future.
Muscles relaxed and inappropriate boners firmly under control, I made my way to the staff breakroom. It was more comfortable than Nico’s office—Saint must have been the lead designer on this space, too.
I flopped onto the couch while I considered if I could work the coffee machine that looked like it could double as a flight deck for some experimental military technology.
“You need me to show you where anything is?” Malcolm spoke as he heaped ground coffee into one of the attachments on the machine.
“I’m good, thanks.”
He stood mostly turned away, focused on his task, giving me a good opportunity to study him. He was kind of on the short side, but his dark hair and blue eyes made an attractive combination—if he was my type. His voice was kind of on the sexy side, if he wasn’t using it to whine, but his suit was more wrinkled than it should have been for meeting with clients.
Something about his territorial stance by the coffee machine reminded me of the way he had stood so close to Nico, his shoulder brushing against him, almost as though the two of them might merge into a single being. Nilcolm. Mico. Perhaps they had something going on. Malcolm certainly had a way about him when he was around Nico that stunk of ownership.
I shook the thought away. I didn’t care. I totally didn’t care, and it was absolutely none of my business. Saint’s rule decreed Nico’s relationships would never be any of my business.
“So.” Malcolm turned to face me as he cradled a steaming mug of aromatic coffee between his palms. “How’s it going? Are you settling in with Nico as your mentor?”
As he said Nico’s name, a slightly dreamy expression passed across his face, and my gut clenched.
He didn’t even wait for my answer before he continued talking. “You know, you look a hell of a lot like Saint. I mean, the hair, the eyes…it’s almost uncanny.”
“Uncanny if we weren’t brothers, right?” I laughed, glad when the forced sound came out easy and natural.
I couldn’t let my wariness of Malcolm over his behavior with Nico color my working relationship with him, so I was on a mission to be pleasant. Well, cordial at least.
Then I hesitated. I wasn’t actually sure how much he knew. I mean, the Caldwell brothers were hard to hide and easy to spot—we’d each taken Dad’s blond hair and Mom’s blue eyes—but I didn’t want Malcolm thinking I was here on a familial favor or some sort of nepotism jag.
“Naturally.” He bowed his head a little, and a smarmy grin appeared on his lips.
Ick. I suddenly needed a shower from merely being in his presence.
He shook his head in a rueful motion. “I just hope you’re a good, hard worker and don’t think you can get by here just because you’re the boss’s brother.”
I closed my eyes, trying to find my Zen again. If Nico and this guy had a thing going, I didn’t know whether to feel sorry for Nico or laugh at his stupidity. But Nico had made a good point earlier, and dealing with Malcolm was excellent practice for hiding my true feelings.
I forced myself to grin. “Absolutely, Malcolm. I can assure you I’ve one hundred percent earned my place here at Caldwell & Holton, and I’m here because of my qualifications, not who my brother is.” I added some extra width to my smile for effect.
“Uh huh. I see.” Disbelief crinkled his brow for a moment, but then he focused his attention over my left shoulder and his earlier smarmy smirk reappeared,