Chapter 34
1 dropped the file a little louder than necessary on the desk. He didn’t flinch. He just nodded once and kept flipping through whatever he was reading. I turned quickly, lips pressed tight, and walked back to my desk, but I could feel is. My jaw was tense. My tone, short. My eyes rolled before 1 could stop them.
I was giving him an attitude.
I ran a hand through my hair and sat down, trying to pretend like nothing was wrong. Like I wasn’t acting like a jealous idiot. Like the idea of Gypsy staying in our house didn’t make my stomach twist every time I thought about it. I picked up the next folder and tried to read the first line.
Nothing registered.
I kept looking up at him, waiting for him to say something, anything, I crossed my arms. Then uncrossed them. My foot tapped against the leg of the desk without rhythm. He still didn’t say a word.
Finally, he looked up.
He pushed back his chair slowly and stood. He walked out of his office and stopped right in front of my desk. His hand rested against The edge of the partition as he leaned slightly forward,
“Do
you
have a problem?” he asked.
I sat back in my chair and looked up at him. “No”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You’ve been acting strange all morning.
1 shrugged. “Maybe I’m just tired”
“You were tired last night too. Yet you had enough energy to storm our in the middle of the evening.”
1 looked away quickly, pretending to flip a page.
He stayed silent for a second, then stepped closer. I looked back up, expecting another one of his cold, clipped comments.
But his gaze was no longer on me.
His
eyes had moved behind me.
His face changed.
The usual calm was gone. His posture straightened. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out
I turned slowly in my chair. My eyes followed the direction of his I hadn’t heard the door open. I hadn’t seen anyone walk in.
But someone was there.
I turned my head slowly, following Karl’s frozen stare.
Gypsy.
She was standing just inside the office doors, her arms crossed loosely over her chest. Her heels clicked softly as she walked forward, like she belonged here. Her skin was flawless, smooth with a warm glow. Her lips looked naturally pink, curled up in a small, practiced smile. Her long dark hair fell down her back in soft waves, like she didn’t even have to try. She wore a fitted cream blazer with a deep neckline and matching pants that looked like they were tailored straight onto her body,
My stomach twisted.
I hadn’t realized it until now, but that knot in my chest, the one I’d been pushing down since last night was jealousy, Not just over what she looked like, or the fact that she had history with Karl. But because when she stepped in, she didn’t have to prove anything. She didn’t need to be introduced. She just showed up, and the air around him changed.
Karl stepped back and gestured slightly toward his office.
I didn’t wait to see what else he’d do. I turned around and walked straight to my desk, sitting down quickly and grabbing the nearest file. My hands shook slightly as I flipped through the pages. I wasn’t reading. I couldn’t read. I could still feel Karl’s eyes on her. I could hear the quiet click of her heels trailing behind him as he led her into his office.
Chapter 34
The door shut
1 leaned back and stared at it.
For a while, I just sat there, waiting. Hoping to hear something…anything. I tilted my head, strained to pick up a muffled word. Nothing. The walls were thick, Soundproof. Just like before.
1 let out a small breath and forced my eyes down to the paperwork again. I flipped a page, then another, trying to keep busy. The knot in my stomach only grew tighter.
No. I wasn’t going to just sit here.
I stood up, smoothed the front of my skirt, and walked toward the office. I paused at the door for a second, pressing my fingers lightly against the handle.
I was going to find a way to go in.
I walked in with the tray steady in my hands, balancing two cups of coffee like it was the most natural thing in the world. My face stayed neutral, even as both their heads turned toward me the second the door opened. Gypsy raised one perfectly sculpted brow. Karl didn’t kay a word, but his eyes narrowed just slightly.
They didn’t say anything, so I kept moving.
I walked to the table near the window and set the tray down. My movements were calm, unbothered. I poured the coffee slowly, listening
“I’m going to be working here,” Gypsy said suddenly, brushing nonexistent lint from her sleeve.
My hands froze. I didn’t even realize I was still holding the second mug.
My jaw tensed, but I kept my back straight, kept pouring. I didn’t say a word. I didn’t look at her. I wasn’t going to be that girl, the one who interrupts and throws a scene. But inside, my chest squeezed tight.
Her voice floated again, light and casual. “But on one condition,” she added. “You let my father keep his shares”
Karl leaned forward on his elbows. “Deal
The word hit me like a slap.
I blinked, unsure I heard him right. Gypsy smiled. She looked pleased, almost smug.
I didn’t even notice the mug slipping.
It tipped forward, coffee spilling fast across my hand, my blouse, down the front of my skirt. The heat hit first, sharp and instant, followed by the crash of ceramic against the floor,
1 flinched and gasped.
Karl shot to his feet like he’d been burned too. “Ellen!”
He crossed the room in two strides, pulling his suit jacket off in one motion. The second he reached me, he crouched and grabbed a napkin from the tray, dabbing quickly at the spill on my shirt before shrugging the jacket around me.
“Shir,” he muttered, voice tight, “are you okay?”
His hands were fast and urgent. He pressed the jacket against my chest, blocking the view from Gypsy’s side of the room without even thinking
Itis eyes locked on mine, wide and filled with panic
I could barely breathe, not because of the burn, though that stung like hell but because of how close he was, how fast he moved, how his hands were still gripping my arms like I might collapse.
His voice dropped, solter now.
“Are you okay?”
1972
