case and trying any earlier than after the case was finished might result in a grumpy Saint who wouldn’t listen properly to my very valid arguments.
I rested my fist against the glass, swearing to myself that by the end of the week, I’d talk to my best friend about his outdated ‘no dating my siblings’ rule. Or maybe it was his ‘no dating my friends’ rule that was causing all the issues. I cast a glance at Jamie, almost sure I could see his inner turmoil, and it renewed my determination to fix everything for him.
I needed to claim back some control.
11
Jamie
A feeling of relief overwhelmed me as I approached Nico’s office down the now-familiar corridor that smelled of a mix of lemon-scented cleaning fluid and cinnamon.
Friday.
I’d made it to Friday. Something in my heart lightened at the realization I only had a few hours to live through before I wouldn’t need to see Nico’s face for another two days.
And as much as my chest loosened at that welcome thought, it also constricted, because I loved seeing his face. Despite everything, my crush was stronger than ever. Stronger, and leaving me increasingly weak to fight my attraction. I definitely needed my two days of respite.
Not being able to physically see him would definitely help when he spent so much time hanging out in my head, anyway.
And I had to fight myself not to do things for him. I wanted to make his life more comfortable or to treat him. Just this morning, I’d nearly headed into his favorite coffee shop on the way into work, but I’d stopped myself when I had my hand ready to pull the door open.
The more I did for him, the more I reinforced my feelings, and the more I encouraged both of us that we could be something we couldn’t. And that wasn’t fair.
So instead, I’d shoved my hand into my pocket and walked as fast as I could to the office before I could change my mind. Now that I was here, though, there was nothing to stop me from grabbing him a lesser quality breakroom coffee. That was pretty much expected from an intern.
I walked into the breakroom and had just shrugged my bag off my shoulder as Malcolm followed me in.
“Good morning.” I greeted him with as much neutral politeness as I could.
I’d known from the first week I didn’t like Malcolm. Really, from that first moment where he plastered himself up against Nico like they were essentially the same person or two halves of a Saint-created power couple. Sometimes, I had to fight a wave of revulsion when I saw him, but that also brought a residual feeling of guilt, because maybe my negative feelings about him stemmed totally from jealousy that he was free to pursue Nico and I wasn’t.
I was pretty sure he felt the same, though. Something about the guy made the skin on my body literally want to crawl off and leave the room by itself. His smile held no warmth or humor, and something sneaky glinted in his eyes, almost as if he saw me as a threat rather than simply an intern, although that could have been as much about my family connections as about my proximity to Nico.
Today, true to form, he shot me a nasty grin as he approached the coffee machine ahead of me, effectively cutting in line, but I deferred to him and his status at Saint’s company.
“If you’re in here making coffee for Nico, he likes it best with hazelnut milk.” His words were casual, but his sly glance wasn’t. and I narrowly avoided rolling my eyes as I perched on the edge of the overstuffed brown leather couch. The hum of the minifridge under the countertop grew louder as Malcolm opened the door.
“I’m pretty well aware how he takes his coffee, thank you,” I murmured, determined not to be impolite but also determined not to let Malcolm somehow think he had the upper hand over me.
I just had to wait until he was done before I could get on with my day. I checked my watch. Surely making his coffee wouldn’t take very much longer. I also didn’t want to be late to Nico’s office. He’d stayed true to his word by being nothing other than professional this week, and I owed him the same consideration.
“Of course,” Malcolm continued. “We all like our interns to make our coffee during the office day, but it’s that first coffee of