Blind Spot - Katana Collins Page 0,32

tucked behind his ear. “Well, yeah.” He made a note in the margins of his top sheet but looked up at me as a bit of brown hair fell over his forehead. “Good.”

I sank into my chair, the heat rushing to my cheeks. Sure, Ryan and I were friends. And he was always really nice to me. But he couldn’t seriously like me. I mean, he was older than me—an adult in the work place, and I was still just a student. That would be weird, right?

“The new kid’s not so terrible, you know,” I said. “We have classes together.”

Ryan snorted. “Maybe not. But according to the clerk who sent his paperwork, his parents are just awful. Paid off a judge to get the community service without facing a trial.” He met my eyes, one brow arching. “His dad’s a senator or governor or something.”

I gulped. I knew his parents had to be loaded, of course. He had the friggin’ penthouse apartment. But I’d had my share of political parents, and it was plenty for one lifetime.

Ryan’s face crumpled with concern. “You okay? You’re looking really pale.”

“I–I’m fine. Just been a long day, you know?”

He nodded, pushing to his feet and grabbing a paper cup from the water cooler. “How’s the waitressing going?” He filled a cup to the brim and set it next to me.

I took a sip as he pulled his chair closer. “Eh, not so bad now that I cut my hours. I’ll be popping in for a shift this weekend, but otherwise, I’m hoping to stay away.” I managed to sound pretty normal. “I don’t want to be a professional waitress for the rest of my life,” I said, my mind drifting to my mother.

“You’ll be totally done with it soon.” He grinned and pulled his ankle up to his knee. “Then you’ll never have to pour another cup of coffee again. You’ll be off to London or Paris, making an amazing living.”

I groaned. “Anywhere but Paris.”

He glanced at the window beside the door where Tate was waiting. “Looks like your boyfriend needs something,” he said, eyes darkening. “And he doesn’t look all that happy, either.”

Standing, I headed to open the door for him. “Ryan, could you give us a moment?”

Tate stepped inside, his eyes darting back and forth between Ryan and me.

Ryan gathered the papers, tapping them together on the table before slipping out. “Sure thing. I’ll be in the other study room if you have a question about those donations.”

I shut the door behind him and took my seat. “What’s up?”

Tate stared at Ryan as he left the room. “Is he the reason you stopped our kiss?”

Shock registered deep in my hollow stomach. “What?”

Tate didn’t seem exactly angry as he lowered himself into the seat Ryan had just occupied. But there was something darker to him than before. “Is he your boyfriend?”

“No. Not that it’s any of your business. He’s my boss and…a friend.” Why did I feel the need to validate that we weren’t just colleagues? Maybe because of the way I would catch Ryan looking at me, or tugging on my hair. If I’d noticed it, then clearly Tate had, too.

“So, he’s just a friend?”

I nodded.

Tate exhaled and leaned back, a soft smile splaying his lips. “You might want to tell him that, then.”

I rolled my eyes, suddenly exasperated with Tate once more. The guy had my emotions running the gamut—I was going to have whiplash before the semester was over. “Anyway, are you done with Sophia for the day?”

He nodded, sliding his time sheet over to me. “She’s finishing up her homework—almost done with math. I think she’s got it down, but she might trip up on one or two questions.”

I scanned his sheet. “So, let’s see…you got here at four.” I glanced at the wall clock. “It’s now five and change. And you spent forty-five minutes with me yesterday, so I’ll give you two hours for today.” I made some scribbles, and Tate moved to take the sheet from me, but I pulled it back. “Let me file it. I don’t want a superior looking at it and seeing that you left earlier than I jotted down.”

Tate nodded and pushed to his feet. “You wanna come? Maybe grab some fries somewhere?”

I sighed. “Fries would be awesome, but I have paperwork to finish up here, and someone’s got to wait with Sophia until her mom comes, and answer any homework questions she may have.” I shrugged.

Tate drifted back down to the