Big Ben (See No Evil Trilogy #1) - Nana Malone Page 0,52

senses. “Hey, Olivia?”

“Yeah?”

“Is there a reason you don’t want me going down to Bridge’s office?”

She swallowed hard. “Yes. Bram Van Linsted is in there with him. I think they have an appointment. Given how you two reacted the last time you saw each other, I figured it would be ugly. And you don’t want your employees seeing you get into a fistfight, so I’m trying to take you away. Anywhere but there basically.”

I grinned down at her. She really was very cute. “Fine.?Where are you taking me?”

She blinked in confusion. “What?”

“You said you were going to take me away so I don’t lose my shit over Van Linsted. Take me somewhere.”

“Oh, right.” Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to think. And then away went the worry lines and that brilliant smile appeared. “Follow me.”

It scared the shit out of me that my immediate response was to follow her anywhere.

15

Livy

Why wasn’t he mad?

I would be mad. I would be so livid if Telly started having secret meetings with my arch nemesis. Amy Sorensen from the second grade who told everyone my hair was like a Brillo pad. But no, Ben seemed cool as a cucumber. Not fussed at all. Why not?

He waited until we passed the square that sat kitty corner to the hotel before he leaned over. “So, you were worried about me?”

Jackass. I frowned. “No. Just so happens that I like my new job, pain-in-the-ass boss notwithstanding. It would be a shame if he got put in jail and then I lost my new gig. I’m being self-serving, really.”

His low chuckle was like warm whiskey by the fireplace on a winter’s night. Warm and crackling, sending a chaser of heat through my core. “So, you’re enjoying the new gig?”

“Jessa is amazing. She’s a powerhouse. I mean, she lives on two different continents and handles it with a husband and royal duties. I dig her so much. Can you explain to me how it is you know a princess?”

His smile was quick. “Starting to believe in my magical abilities, aren’t you?”

“No. Never that.”

“Of course not.” His gaze searched mine, leaving tracks of heat everywhere it touched. “How are you doing?”

That was a good question. Was his question about the job or about my emotional state after our night out? It was such a loaded question. It had been a couple of weeks since the attempted mugging, and I was mostly normal if normal meant that sleep was a distant memory, but I was sure that would come back at some point. “I’m fine.”

He shook his head. “Don’t lie. You don’t look fine. You look tired.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You are the worst. How is it someone hasn’t told you yet that you can’t tell a woman she looks tired?”

I watched with rapt attention as his big shoulders moved up and down in a shrug. Even though he had a lean frame, his shoulders were set wide. I had never noticed anyone’s shoulders before, but I certainly noticed his.

“I have a thing about honesty. I didn’t say you still weren’t stunning, but you do look tired.”

“I’m fine. Everything is just peachy.”

So far from peachy.

Dexter had his own bad couple of nights. He’d been so drunk last night he hadn’t made it to the toilet… or the bedroom.

I’d found him asleep on the bathroom floor, so I’d had to wake him, toss him in the shower, and then clean up the bathroom. Not like I was sleeping anyway, but it would have been great to have pretended.

At least we’d finally been able to pick up a new prescription for him last night, so he didn’t complain of pain this morning. Sooner or later, I was going to have to have a huge come-to-Jesus talk with him.

But it was easier to be at work, easier to deal with challenging new responsibilities. Coward.

Easier to run.

I didn’t want to run. Hell, I wanted to stay and make it work, which is why I’d done it for so long. But God, it was hard. Too hard. I was getting to that point that I was losing so much of myself and had no idea where the old me had gone.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I didn’t realize I’d sunk into a reverie. “No, it’s all good.”

“So, you are having fun?”

“Yes, and you know, in case I didn’t say it the other night, thank you.”

“I wish you’d told me about the earlier incident.”

“What was I supposed to say? You’d just become my boss. I didn’t want