15
Brock
“Are you okay?” Josh’s voice is timid, just like it always is these days. It’s almost as if everyone thinks that I’m a ticking time bomb that’s about to go off at any moment. I kinda feel that way too. “Do you need anything?”
“These numbers.” I bang the paper down on my desk much too hard. “They don’t add up.”
“Wh-what do you mean? The numbers in this place are always meticulous.”
A heat rises through my body. To be honest, I’m sure it should be aimed at something else entirely, but I don’t want to get lost in that right now. “I know, but things have been a little slack recently, haven’t they? I’ve been slack. Always spending my work hours fucking around with some woman who didn’t even respect me.”
“Uh, well . . .” Josh averts his eyes everywhere. Clearly, he doesn’t want to get into this conversation. “I can always take a look at them if you’re worried. See if I can spot anything that needs improving.”
I slide the paper over to him and dart my eyes over to the desk still sitting in the middle of my office as a torturous reminder that the best time of my life wasn’t anything like that at all. It was all a lie.
“You know what? That needs to be moved as well. Get someone up here to take it out.”
“Are you thinking of finally hiring another personal assistant? It’s been over a month now . . .”
“I wasn’t, but yes, you’re right, I should. I’m tired of trying to do it all by myself. I need someone here.”
“There isn’t any chance of . . . well, you-know-who coming back to work here?”
“I know that’s what everyone thought was going to happen, but it isn’t. I will not be fucked around by anyone. I’m not going to be made a fool of again. She’s done, I’m finished with her, it’s over.”
“No, I know. I just wasn’t sure if she would come back to work. You don’t want a lawsuit on your hands.”
“Trust me, I’ve thought about that, but it won’t happen. If it was going to, it would have been done already. Or at least on the way. Plus, she knows that she did wrong, so I’m certain she won’t bother. It’s fine.”
“Yeah, okay, I just . . . I don’t know. It doesn’t feel quite right to me.”
“Well, it isn’t up to you anyway. And you were the one who told me not to get involved.”
“Yeah, I know. I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t have started this topic. I’m sorry.”
I blow out a giant breath of air, irritation bursting through my veins. I’ve been like this the whole time, ever since I first saw Jodi with fucking Lucas. Like I’m on the edge of everything I can handle, and anything else will explode. I curl my fists tighter, trying to keep it all locked away. I don’t want Josh to feel the brunt.
“Right. Well, is there anything else you want to talk to me about?”
“No, I suppose not. I just came in to check on how you are.”
“Yeah, well, you can see. I’m doing fucking marvelous . . . is that what you want?”
“I don’t want any of this. I just want the old Brock back. This has changed you.”
That comment knocks me sideways. I knew everything was hard, but it’s taken a lot for Josh to say this to me. He must really think that I’ve changed. I don’t like this one bit. It winds me up that I’ve let another woman do this to me, take me out of my comfort zone and turn me into someone else.
“Right, well whatever. I’ve got a lot to do, so I’ll speak to you later on, okay?”
Just as he’s about to leave, I see another face peeking around the corner. Shelley, with a guilty expression playing on her lips. It takes everything I have not to yell at everyone to just get out.
“Hey, Brock, I just wanted to pop in to see what’s going on here?”
“Why?” My expression hardens, and I fold my arms across my chest. “So everyone can gossip about it?”
“No, boss, we’re all just concerned about you. You don’t have a new PA, and you seem very stressed.”
“Shelley, I know you aren’t here because of me. You don’t ever go out of your way to talk to me unless it’s work-related and you have to, so what is it? Hmm? What’s going on?”