“That’s not an answer.” I roll my eyes.
“It’s the only one I have.”
My teeth grind at his sidestep, but I guess with the power and money, and most of all, the dangerous enemies he has, he has to have security. I’m not sure why it makes me angry.
But I do know. I have always watched my surroundings, but in the presence of this man, I’m missing things left and right.
I’m constantly being pushed back into my thoughts and making mistakes. I don’t like this at all. I need to always have my wits about me, and I’m starting to understand that I might be in a little over my head where this single, solitary man is concerned.
I follow Tobias to the elevator.
Then we are stepping in and are enclosed in the space. The usual elevator music isn’t present. Nope. Not here. Instead, there is a peaceful sound that makes me feel as if I’m walking into a spa instead of a business.
“Interesting choice of music.”
“Trent’s trying to calm his life. For some crazy reason, he says elevators are stressful.”
“They are,” I respond.
“Are you stressed?” he says, but his voice is a bit rougher as the elevator climbs.
I look over at him and notice the knuckles on his left hand are white.
“I don’t like elevators very much.”
“To be honest, me neither.”
I can tell, I think, but I don’t say anything because he looks uncomfortable.
“Normally, it doesn’t bother me. But sometimes, like now, since we are talking about it—”
“Yeah.”
“It’s almost more defined if that makes sense. Like my—” I stop myself. What am I doing? This is going against rule number one, my biggest rule—never let your guard down. All it took was one look from him, and here I am, blowing my rules out the window.
Pressing my thumb against my pulse, I will myself to calm. Luckily, I don’t have to deal with this for long because as tall as the building is and as high as we are going, the elevator travels so fast, we are already there.
As soon as the elevator stops, I swear I let out an audible sigh. I’m not normally like this. When I was going to Tobias’s office, it didn’t even dawn on me. Maybe because of the height of the building? Or maybe it’s the size of the elevator. Maybe it’s him.
Tobias steps back and reaches out to signal for me to go first. I take a step and am happy to be on flat ground again. Once off the elevator, I wait for him to move forward.
“This way.” He starts to move, and I follow suit. I increase my pace to keep up with him. We move down the hallway side by side. I watch as Tobias takes long, powerful strides from the corner of my eye. He looks in control as if he owns this building and everyone in it. He appears larger than life.
There is nothing this man doesn’t appear to master. It’s actually quite annoying. No one this attractive should be this sure of himself. Maybe that’s what makes him so hot.
Nope. That’s not just it.
It’s the dark hair and light eyes. He looks at you like he can see everything. I wonder if he does.
Does he see everything?
The thought makes my hands feel clammy. I sure hope he doesn’t. I don’t need him to see the real me and know anything about who I really am. The more distance I can put between us, the better.
This office is nothing like Tobias’s. There are numerous employees. This isn’t a front or pretend office. Nope. This place reminds me of my office, only higher up. Much higher up.
Tobias doesn’t bother talking to anyone. He just proceeds down the hall and opens an office door. I have to assume he comes here often.
“You don’t bother knocking?” I hear someone laugh.
“No.”
“Good to see you are in your usual chipper mood.” The voice is playful and sarcastic and pissing Tobias off. I like the voice already.
Stepping in, I scan the room. Trent Aldridge is reclined behind a large desk, wearing a broad smirk.
He is the opposite of Tobias, who looks like he’s never heard nor understood the punchline to a joke.
“And who are you?” Trent lifts his brows as I step into his office.
“This is my new lawyer.” Tobias’s voice is stern, and I swear it sounds like a warning. Why? I don’t know, but it’s there, nonetheless.
“Does this lawyer have a name?” The smile that lines this man’s face is contagious, and even though I want to smile, I have a feeling Tobias does not.
And just as predicted, my new client shows no emotion. He looks like a goddamn robot. A hot one, but still.
I step forward, hand raised. “The lawyer,” I say in introduction. “But you can call me Skye.”
“Skye. I like that. Nice shirt,” he says, wrinkling his brow as he takes in my look.
“There was a coffee incident. I was able to borrow a shirt from Mr. Kosta’s wardrobe.”
“Really? Coffee. I would really love to hear the details of this one.”
“How’s Payton?” Tobias cuts in and asks. I don’t know who Payton is, but something tells me I just entered a pissing match.
“She’s fine, thanks for asking. Take a seat, guys, and we can go over everything. And before you ask . . . you still have money. I haven’t Ponzi schemed your ass yet.” My upper teeth bite down to refrain from laughing, but a squeak comes out. I play it off as a cough, but Tobias’s scowl deepens. I’m not fooling anyone.
I can’t help but watch them. The back-and-forth banter between them reminds me of a tennis match. Except Trent is playing for fun, and Tobias, well, Tobias basically is being forced to play despite hating the game.
It’s pretty interesting to observe them. I can tell right off the bat that they are friends. I can also tell Tobias likes him. But even with all that, Tobias doesn’t smile or smirk. He doesn’t have the sound in his voice that you often hear between friends. It’s not warm. There’s no tinge of humor. It makes my heart clench in my chest.
Does he have anyone?
My eyes narrow as I take him in. He’s not that different from me. In truth, other than our chosen careers, we are pretty similar. Both jaded and closed off with tragic pasts.
I have to stop thinking about this.
Recently, my childhood—my memories—have been haunting me again. Which is not something I can think about.
“What do you think about that, Skye?” I hear Trent Aldridge say, and I realize I have no clue what he is talking about. I had completely tuned him out, lost in my own thoughts and the similarities between Tobias and me.
“I’m sorry, I missed the question.” A normal person might pretend they were paying attention. A normal person might be worried that their client is pissed that they weren’t paying attention. I’m not that person.
I can give two shits what either of these men thinks of me. However, that being said, the faster I get done here, the faster I can get back to the office and see if I can get myself to work with Mr. Bernard again. From what I have heard, and read in my father’s files, he was involved that day . . .
“Here are the forms you need to look over.” Trent reaches out and extends the paperwork to me. It’s a huge pile. So much for getting anything else accomplished today.
What is all this shit?