Filed to story: Sinful Mates (Imogen) Book by Jessica Hall
Reaching in, I grab my belt from yesterday and do it up, holding my skirt in place before shrugging into my blouse, with care this time, and pull my blazer over the top. Luckily, it covers the belt that doesn’t match my outfit at all. I decide I look decent enough, but I won’t be able to remove my jacket today. Slipping my heels on, I quickly flip the visor down and do my make up. I look terrible and I’m not about to even risk just doing it in the bathroom today. My face is gray and drained of life. My eyes are exhausted, puffy, and have no light left in them, just dull orbs. By the time I’m done, Tom is walking up the ramp towards me, coffee in hand.
“Hey Tom,” I greet with a wave.
Tom smiles upon seeing me. “Ready early dear, hair and all.” He nods at my appearance. At least he thinks I’m doing better. I don’t want him worrying about me.
I just nod. Yes, it’s a rarity that Tom doesn’t see me with my car head glory. He walks me to the elevator like every morning. It’s good listening to him tell me what Mary and himself got up to the night before. It makes me forget about everything. When it comes time to part ways, I’m actually sad to see him turn and leave because I know I’m going to be left with my own torturous mind. I’ve been distracted so far, but once I’m left alone I’m afraid of the darkness that will seep in.
Once I make it to the office, I turn everything on and get to work. Just before 9 am, I make the coffees for Theo and Tobias and have them waiting at my desk for when they enter. I busy myself with sending and replying to emails. When they step out of the elevator, they both stop and stare. For a second, I wonder if I forgot something or that maybe something is on my face, until they continue walking towards me.
“Good morning,” I chirp with a broad smile. They both raise an eyebrow at me, looking like twins. I nearly laugh. They clearly don’t think there’s anything to be cheery about this morning. Truthfully, there’s nothing joyful in my life at the moment. But hey, fake it till ya make it, right?
“Are you sure you should be here? We don’t expect you to work, Imogen.” Theo’s voice is soft as he studies me with concern. I notice Tobias glance away, guilt stamped on his face. It kind of pisses me off. I don’t want their pity and sad, worried looks. It isn’t his business to tell what he has seen, even if he has only told Theo. It’s bad enough that I listened to this yesterday.
“Nope I’m good,” I say. My face goes blank. I don’t want to talk about my mother, I want them both to drop it. Just treat me like they do every day. I need this job to survive until all the bills are handled.
“No, really Imogen, if you need some time off to organize funeral arrangements. We can manage on our own,” Theo tells me, repeating exactly what Tobias said yesterday.
“No, everything is fine. Funeral arrangements have already been organized,” I say, turning back to my computer. There won’t be a funeral; I can’t afford one. Instead, the hospital will have her cremated and notify me when I can pick the remains up. Of course, they will add it to the already never-ending hospital bill. Besides, where will I even go with time off? Go stare at all my junk in the storage locker? That won’t make me feel any better, I’ll only be lost in memories.
No, I need the distraction of work. Need something to do. But most of all, I need to be left alone about the matter. One thing I’m good at is hiding my emotions. I make sure never to rely on anyone, that way when they don’t come through or step up when I need them, I can’t be disappointed. I’m already disappointed in myself. I don’t need the added disappointment of others.
“I have your schedules here and coffees,” I tell them, passing them everything they need before putting my head back down and ignoring them. They must have got the message because after a few tense seconds of feeling their eyes lingering, they both walk away into their offices. I sigh, relieved to be left to go about my work with hopefully no more mention of death and funerals. I shove my problems to the back of my mind. I throw myself into the tasks in front of me, focusing only on them.
When lunch time comes around, I know that means seeing Theo and Tobias, so instead of staying at my desk like I do most of the time, I duck down to my car. Sitting in my passenger seat, I recline my chair all the way. The sun feels nice and warm on my skin. There’s a slight breeze but not too chilly. My lunch break is an hour long.
Rummaging through the bag Sally gave me, I pull out the last protein bar. I quickly unwrap it and take a tiny bite. If I hadn’t been so damn hungry, I would have spat it out. The taste is terrible, like cookie dough but chewy and sugarless. The bar has nuts in it that are rock hard, and I’m surprised I don’t break a tooth. Swallowing the last mouthful down, I try to rid the taste from my mouth by licking the back of my hand. Even that doesn’t help.
My teeth ache from constantly chewing, I have never eaten a protein bar that resembles nutty chewing gum. When I try and fail to remove the taste, I look at the bottle sitting on the floorboard of my car. Smirnoff Vodka, it’s one of the better tasting ones. Will it be inappropriate to have a mouthful while at work? It’s definitely inappropriate, I know that, but the taste is foul, and I also need the liquid courage to go back up there and pretend everything’s peachy.
Reaching over, I grab the bottle and twist the cap off. Bringing the bottle to my lips, I take two big mouthfuls and swallow them down, suddenly feeling the burn all the way to my stomach. Placing the cap back on, I sit back, only to find the watchful eyes of my new stray friend staring at me. He’s sitting directly in front of my car, looking through the windshield. Maybe it’s my imagination, but I swear he looks like he’s scolding me with that glare of his.
For some reason seeing him sends a shiver up my spine. He looks more like a predator now that I can see him in the light. He’s huge. Even sitting down, his head can easily peer through the windows. I wonder what mutated breed he is. I assume it’s a he, I’m not game enough to go check.
And that was the last area I paid attention to last night. I know I wouldn’t want anyone checking between my legs to see what I am, if I were a dog. Cracking my car door open, he walks over to me. I pat his big head and sigh. He’s just as soft as last night. He presses his nose onto my side where the gash is. I hiss a little from the direct pressure on it. I don’t know how but since he touched it, I’m fully aware of the zig zagged cut across my side.
Deciding I should recheck it and be on the lookout for an infection, I lift my shirt. The dog watches, turning his head from side to side like he’s studying it too. I pull the gauze back. It holds together well and isn’t pouring out blood at least. Examining it in the light, I’m pretty confident that across my hip bone, that juts out under my skin, the puncture might have gone down to the bone. I try to pry it open with my fingers a little so I can see layers of tissue outside my skin instead of under it. I have thankfully stopped bleeding, but I need stitches or it will either get infected or leave a terrible scar. That’s the last thing I need.
Placing the gauze back over it, I reach for the bottle of vodka. The stray tilts his head watching me. His eyes look so human-like as he stares at me. Is he still judging me? I turn away from his watchful gaze and take another mouthful. The dog sticks around for a few more minutes before he trots off back down the ramp, leading to the lower levels of the car park. I have only five minutes left of break so I decide to lock my car up and go back inside.
When I reach the office, Theo is perched on the end of my desk like he’s waiting for someone. That someone is me.
“Where did you go?” He asks and sniffs the air for a second. It’s such a strange thing to do. I have caught him doing it multiple times over the last few months, maybe it’s like an involuntary tick or something. But it’s definitely strange. I have even seen his eyes go dark a few times after doing it, like right now when he glances at my face before quickly looking away.
“I had to go get something from my car.” I tell him. He eyes me suspiciously like he doesn’t believe me. I know I don’t smell of vodka. Not with only a couple of mouthfuls and there aren’t any cameras on the top level of the garage, so he couldn’t have seen me either. If there had been, everyone would have been witness to my house by this point.
The way he stares at me gives me goosebumps. His eyes dart down to my injured hip, staring as if he can see through my blazer and peer at it. I shiver but he stands up and walks away without so much as a glance back in my direction. Shaking my head, I walk into the kitchenette. I place the kettle on, needing a caffeine hit.
I make myself, Tobias, and Theo coffee before walking back out to the foyer. I place my cup down on my desk before knocking lightly on Tobias’s door. No answer. I crack it open, searching, he isn’t in there. The curtains are closed, and the only light comes from his computer screen. I walk over and place the cup on his desk. I turn around and I bump directly into him. I jerk back at his closeness, my hand goes to my chest as my heart hammers away. “Sorry you startled me,” I whisper. He stares down at me. I feel tiny next to him, my face is level with his chest. I have to crane my neck to look up at him, his eyes glued to me.
I try to step to the side but he moves closer, effectively trapping me between him and his desk.
I gulp and take another step back, my ass comes in contact with the edge of his desk. I dare a look up at him, and he stares down at me with eyes that for some reason feel familiar and not because I see him every day at work. I can’t place why I feel that way. He reaches his hand up. It lingers in the air for a second when the door opens. His hand drops to his side and I peer around him and notice Theo stepping into the office. Using the distraction, I scoot away and practically run from the office. Theo’s eyes widen when he sees me, having not noticed me when he stepped in. He moves out of my way as I bolt from the room.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?