my shift passed as usual as I assisted the lawyers and made those calls, but the mundane admin tasks didn’t do much to quell my frustration at how much this woman had to deal with on top of all the obstacles constantly being thrown in her way. I helped Jasmin tidy up and close for the night, and we left together just after eight.
“Thanks for your help tonight, Donna. I’ll see you in two weeks.” Jasmin deadlocked the front door, waved at me, and headed for the bus station around the corner.
I was parked a few blocks away in the opposite direction, so I pulled my coat in tight and started walking.
Even this late at night, the lobby beyond the glass windows of the BestLyf building was bright and lit up as I passed. DCLC’s offices were in a dingy two-story building right next door, which also happened to be owned by BestLyf. I probably wasn’t supposed to know that, but I’d glimpsed a rental statement once when I was doing some filing. The rent was astronomical. I understood that real estate in the heart of Devilbend was in high demand, but DCLC was a nonprofit, for fuck’s sake, and BestLyf owned the biggest building in Devilbend and half the other properties on the block. It wasn’t as though they couldn’t afford to give a charitable organization a discount on rent for the shittiest building on the street. I guess they wanted to help everyone live their best life, but only if you weren’t poor.
Glaring at the pavement as I powerwalked, I didn’t notice the other people approaching on the sidewalk until a deep throaty laugh slammed me right back to Saturday night. My steps faltered, and my head shot up.
Sure enough, there was Hendrix, walking toward me with a man and a woman next to him. He had his hands stuffed into the pockets of a dark blue coat, the collar popped against the harsh wind, and his hair was even more disheveled than usual.
Our eyes locked, and we both slowed until we were standing in front of each other. His companions stopped too, throwing curious glances between us.
I recovered first, clearing my throat and shifting my feet. “Hey.”
Ugh. I’d figured just walking away without saying anything at all would be worse, but . . . Hey? I mentally slapped myself.
The side of his lip quirked. “Hey,” he said, his jaw slowly working a piece of gum as he stared at me.
The woman cleared her throat. “Hendrix? Are you going to introduce us to your friend?”
“We’re not friends,” we both rushed to say. Laughter bubbled up in my chest, but I kept it contained and smiled at her instead.
“Oh.” She raised her eyebrows. “Girlfriend?”
I snorted, and Hendrix laughed. “Definitely not. This is my aunt Hannah and her partner, Robbie.” He gestured to the couple. His aunt gave me a friendly smile, and her boyfriend waved, stomping his feet against the cold. “Guys, this is Donna. She . . . goes to my school.”
For some reason, I enjoyed how hard he was finding it to define who I was to him. Remembering my manners, I turned to face them and reached out my hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
They both shook my hand, and then Robbie asked, “Are you all right out here on your own? It’s getting late.”
“Yes, I don’t like you walking around downtown on your own,” his aunt added. “Would you like to join us for dinner? We can drive you home after.” She was genuinely friendly. How the hell was that surly asshole related to her?
Hendrix stiffened next to me, his jaw clenching on the gum. I decided to put us both out of our misery.
“That’s very kind of you, but I’d like to get home. I just finished a volunteering shift at Devilbend Community Legal Center, and I’m tired. I’m parked just up ahead. I’ll be totally fine.” Without waiting for them to insist or ask more questions, I started sidestepping away. “Enjoy your dinner.”
“It was lovely to meet you,” his aunt called after me.
“You too!” I waved and tore my gaze away before I was too tempted to march back over there and demand to know why Hendrix was frowning at me so hard.
When I got home, I headed straight for my father’s study at the back of the house. The door was ajar, and warm light was spilling onto the marble tile in front of it. I could hear soft voices and