Antun, as it turned out, had a rather busy schedule. It shouldn’t have been surprising, given what he did for a living, but it did leave our final question unanswered for the time being. We did ask him over text, but he said that the story would be better told in person, whatever that meant. So for now, Michael had no answers, and my curiosity wasn’t satisfied.

  I tried not to overthink the text Antun had sent. “Ah, my story is better told in person. You never know who’s listening in on phone calls.”

  Is he talking like FBI or something? Is he actually a dangerous criminal on the lam or something? I shivered, trying not to think about the government trying to listen in on every smart device. My fingers twitched to unplug everything in the apartment. That was creepy enough. But now there’s vampires. The shiver stopped but the chill remained.

  Regardless of the odd message, I got ready for the day and headed to work.

  We both arrived at work at the same time on Monday morning, Michael his sunshiny self, me a grey cloud behind him. He went straight to the break room, presumably to get both of our coffees, and I went straight to the desk.

  Trevor had left a note on my keyboard saying to come by his office ‘at my earliest convenience’. Sighing through my nose, I looked over to Trevor’s office, blessedly empty for the moment. Or so I thought until a voice thundered in greeting behind me.

  “Drew!”

  Trevor had made me nearly leap out of my skin with that.

  I tried not to growl my reply, keeping my mask in place. Mostly. “Trevor! Gods above, don’t do that. What is your note about?”

  My heart still thudded in my chest, taking forever to calm down. I knew my face must’ve been very flushed for the evil grin that he gave me before fixing his face.

  “How are things going with Michael?”

  My brows drew down, “They’re going fine, why do you ask?”

  “I wondered if, as his trainer, you had any notes or things you might want to tell your floor manager about.”

  Trevor always said floor manager when just manager would have sufficed. He was the only manager on this floor anyway, the blowhard.

  “Nothing of note. He’s picking up the training really quickly, as expected. I don’t see why I can’t start giving him a few of his own documents to work on instead of assisting me with mine. Do you have any problems with this, floor manager?” I couldn’t help but emphasize.

  “None at all, none at all,” he boomed. “I’d love to see some of his work if you wouldn’t mind throwing together a few examples for me?”

  A beat passed and I blinked before saying, “It might take a day. As you’ve said before, you don’t want me falling behind, and I haven’t had a chance to login and see what awaits me for the day.”

  Trevor acted surprised, like he hadn’t realized that he had ambushed me. Again. I did not like this pattern.

  I need to figure out how to shut this down. No way I’ll become a pushover in my own workplace.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  To that end, I sat at my computer and put down my bag, signaling to Trevor that I was done with the conversation.

  “Well, I can’t wait to see what you bring me, Drew. If Michael is half as good as you are, our floor will beat out the rest.”

  “Do we get a pizza party if we win?” Win what I didn’t know, but something had to get rid of him.

  “You know what, maybe,” Trevor marveled, as if it wasn’t the most basic and overdone thing in office celebrations. “And hey, smile! It’s a good day to have a good day.” He made finger guns at me before heading to his office, waving at Michael but not stopping to talk to him.

  …The hell? Why can’t he ignore me like that? And what was with the finger guns? Smile? Misogynistic ass.

  Michael set down my mug carefully before going to his side of the desk, already looking like he had moved into the space. A small picture of him and (I’m guessing) his parents and siblings at his college graduation, a lei from an office party several months back, and a succulent. Or maybe it was a cactus? I didn’t really know the difference, or care.

  Michael had been getting our coffees since day one of training. I had unintentionally come to expect it by now.

  “What did Trev need?” He took a sip of his coffee before setting it down.

  “He’s wanting me to put together a few examples of your work so he can see how your training is going. Nothing big.”

  I skimmed through my emails, looking to see what needed to be handled first.

  “Ah, got it,” was his only response before he began his own work for the day.

  It wasn’t like him to stay this quiet. Had I said something wrong? Or was he finally learning to take a hint? Somehow, that thought didn’t feel like the victory it should have.

  I wasn’t going to put stock into it; I had enough to do today and I had the additional work that Trevor had just given me as well.

  Maybe if it's still bugging me later I’ll say something.

  ? ?? ?

  I said nothing all day beyond the most basic of conversation to get by, wearing my headphones to avoid talking.

  Coward rang through my head but I tried to pay it no mind, knowing that stewing over it wouldn’t change anything. Although, knowing something in one’s brain doesn’t mean that one’s brain actually applies that knowledge to oneself. It weighed on my shoulders more than I liked, and that made me irritable.

  I clenched my jaw so hard during a meeting that my temple throbbed. If one more co-worker asked me how my weekend was, I was going to throw someone into a filing cabinet.

  By the end of the workday, my avoidance and silence had made me irritable. People parted out of my way on my way home, my entire being radiating my irritation and essentially saying, “You better stay out of this chick’s way or you might get a very angry short girl up in your business.” Not that I’d ever actually do that; I’d likely feel too bad for snapping at an innocent stranger to stay angry for long.

  I heard a notification on my phone when I had reached my door. Going inside, I pulled out my phone and checked the incoming message: Michael.

  Michael: Hey, I heard back from Antun. He said he could meet up this Friday morning to talk to us. Does that work for you?

  Drew: What time Friday? I don’t need a couple vampires forgetting the mortal with sleeping needs.

  Michael: …

  Michael: You do realize he’s also very busy and semi-famous and needs to protect his privacy, right? What if early morning is the only time he has?

  Drew: *hand slapping forehead emoji*

  Drew: How early are we talking?

  Michael: Around 6 am?

  Drew: You both are cruel.

  Michael: You don’t have to come. I can fill you in afterwards if you want.

  Drew: I am, unfortunately, too invested to quit now. Come pick me up at 5:30, we’ll walk together. That should be enough time, right?

  Michael: I imagine so. I’ll get the address and double check. I’ll let you know later.

  *Five minutes later*

  Michael: So you may want to meet up a little earlier.

  Drew: Fml fine. What time?

  Michael: 5:00?

  Drew: *you’re killing me smalls GIF*

  Michael: *laughed at GIF*

  I stared at my phone way too long before replying, trying to convince myself I wasn’t smiling. But I was. Just a little.

  This was just pure curiosity. Not worry or loyalty. Definitely not friendship. Yet.

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