Raine (Gods of the Fifth Floor #2) - M.V. Ellis Page 0,25

And so was I, apparently.

Chapter 10

Raine

* * *

“Hey Niles?” She looked up at me like a rabbit in the headlights. I didn’t bother waiting for a response, sensing it was going to be a long wait. “I’m going to need more beer. Like a lot more. Just bring me an entire sixer. And wine. A bottle. Red.”

“It’s Noa.”

“What is?”

“My name.”

“Oh. You’re still on that?” She nodded slowly.

“It’s still my name, so I guess so.” God, she was so serious all the fucking time.

“I still don’t care. But, do you want to know what I do care about?”

“Sure. What?”

“Booze. Why are you still here?” She scuttled toward the kitchen like the same startled rabbit. I stood and watched her go again. She had a hot little body, even under the Mrs. Doubtfire clothes she was wearing. I always thought that a woman had to really be rocking something sweet if I could tell even under the crappiest clothes. I could only imagine how she’d look in some decent couture. Or naked. I was willing to bet she’d be epic naked.

I wandered back into my office to wait for her to bring the drinks I’d asked for.

“You can put them on the table.” She did as she was told. “Thank you.” She looked shocked at my display of rudimentary manners, and I wasn’t sure if that was more of a reflection of her than me, but it was worrying, regardless.

“What’s this?” If I’d thought she’d looked worried before, it was nothing compared to the abject terror on her face now. She looked like a kid who’d been caught lifting in a candy store. I smiled at the thought—it brought back happy childhood memories.

I wasn’t dumb enough to ever have been caught, though. For a start, nobody was ever going to suspect a well-dressed wealthy blond-haired, blue-eyed kid of stealing candy he could afford to buy a thousand times over. Secondly, I was just too good.

“Umm... nothing. I’m sorry, I was just. When my mind wanders, my hands just kind of get a mind of their own. I don’t even know I’m doing it sometimes.”

“So, it’s clearly not nothing, then, is it?”

“Okay, no, it’s not nothing. I just meant it’s nothing important. I should have thrown them in the trash. I would have, it’s just that I got a little flustered when you asked me for the drinks.” That was a big understatement.

“Why would you want to throw them away?”

“They’re just doodles,”

“Well, one man’s disposable doodle is another man’s award-winning ad campaign. These aren’t hideous.” Far from it. They were actually really fucking good. Rather than pleased at the compliment, she looked as though she wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole, spiriting her off to another dimension, never to be seen again.

“You have skills. Are you an artist?”

“Graphic designer, but I did go to art school.”

“So why are you temping as a PA? You should be in a studio. You’re easily good enough.” She looked at me as though I’d shat on her grandma’s sofa, and blinked so slowly, I thought she might have had a stroke or some shit, but didn’t say a word. Jesus, she took awkward to a whole new level.

“You can go now.”

“Excuse me? I mean, sorry, I’ll take those and get out of your hair.” She reached for the papers I’d gotten from her desk, but I didn’t hand them over. When too many seconds had ticked by to be anything other than awkward, she finally realized that I wasn’t about to give them back to her.

“Right. Okay. Cool. I’ll be outside.”

She practically scurried out ass backward, as though she didn’t dare to turn away from me, in case I did something out of line. Again, I wasn’t sure if that reflected more on her than on me, but I did know that it bothered me that she thought so badly of me. Not that it was her fault. I was fully aware that the way I behaved didn’t suit everyone. Or really anyone apart from the guys, and I was okay with that. Mostly.

I emerged from my office a few hours later, out of booze already.

“Naill.”

“Noa.”

“That too. You’re a chick.” There was that startled look again. She said nothing, just sat it out, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“I need to borrow you. And your...” It was on the tip of my tongue to say tits, but I feared she’d throw herself out of the fucking window just to make me stop