Page 10 of Claimed By a Knight
“Straight to business, huh?” He raises a brow and awkwardly pinches the backrest of his chair with his thumb and index finger to pull it out. His face twists in disgust as he does it, brushing his hand down his pant leg, as if everyone who touched it before was a germ-riddled, disease factory.
When he sits, Ezra does so stiffly on the very edge of the chair. Limiting his exposure to the surface as best he can.
“We’re in my place of business, during business hours, why wouldn’t I get straight to it?” I lean back as far as I can in my own chair, trying to put as much distance between Ezra and me as possible.
I don’t want to stir the pot or make things more uncomfortable than they already are, but I’ll do anything in my power to show him that there is no second chance. My heart belongs to another,and now that I know Talon feels the same, nothing will get in the way of it.
Ezra gets as comfortable as he’s going to, kicking one leg over his knee while his eyes burn a hole straight through mine. He glares at me like he’s trying to look straight through me. An attempt to make me feel small, maybe? A way to show how I’m one of the peasants, while he’s a titan of industry, a conqueror, and I’ve missed the biggest opportunity I’ll have at being with someone like him.
The longer I think about it, the more delusional it sounds. It’s my mind playing tricks on me after I ditched him for the man I’d rather be with.
“Are you going to say something?” Someone has to get the ball rolling beyond the discomfort we both have on display. I hate that it has to be me, but I can’t sit back and let him think this power play is actually working. “Or are you just wasting my time until the clock ticks out?”
“Is that any way to talk to a new client? Perhaps I should have a word with your manager about this insolence.” Ezra’s lips prick upward into a twisted half smile. He’s looking for ways to push my buttons, and while I’m in my office, I can’t fight back and defend myself.
There are no personal boundaries here. “The customer is always right” is a statement my boss adheres to, even through the worst transgressions against his staff.
So, fighting against my body’s want to gag in disgust, I force a smile onto my face, beaming with false joy, and want to satisfy a client’s needs. “My apologies, Mr. Green. I got ahead of myself. How can I help you today?”
“Much better.” Ezra smirks and folds his hands over his knee. “And I do hate to be a bother, but I’ve got a lot of questions about one of your investment packages. I’m sure we’re going to be here a while, so don’t get any ideas of rushing out the door at…” His neck cranes down to his watch to check the time, and it inspires another sickly grin. “Well, now. Wouldn’t it be a shame if I took my business elsewhere?”
Still continuing to fake my pleasant demeanor, I start clicking and typing away at my computer as though I’m actually taking him seriously. He doesn’t question my actions, though his eyes do drop to my hands, watching them tap away at the keyboard. Most of my typing is nothing, a visual flair to keep suspicion off his radar, but my true intent is to open my emails and send an SOS to Talon.
If Ezra thinks he’s going to stand in the way of me and my man by keeping me glued to this chair all night, he’s got another thing coming.
“Yes, sir. That would be a tragedy. Mercury Bank has your back.” I click on Talon’s details into the email line before turning my attention to Ezra.
This dance won’t play out the way he thinks it will. Either his façade will crack and give Talon reason to storm the gates, or my man will come in here and swoop me away the same way he did last night. Hell, this job is just that. A job. Somewhere to make ends meet, and there are plenty more available nowadays. If I felt safe in the idea of walking out of here without Ezra following me back home, I’d do it in a heartbeat.
But I can’t risk what he’d do to me alone. An unhinged lunatic who thinks the world revolves around him? I’d rather take mychances with security at the front door and wait for Talon to get here.
“Which package are you looking at?” I ask when the deafening silence makes my ears ring.
“All of them. Why don’t you list the pros and cons from top to bottom, and we take it from there?” His lips move, but the rest of him remains statuesque.
“Very well then. Give me a moment.” Taking the brief time I have to “search” for our packages, I type my message to Talon.
Ezra’s at my office. No danger, yet. Boring me to tears. Save me?
After hitting send, I find the documents listing our packages and start the boring process of going through them. It’s out of my hands now. I can only hope Talon’s close to his phone or a computer to get me out of this mess.
7
TALON
“They’re worse than we thought they’d be. No outward acts of crime, but belligerent and unruly,” Hush says. He’s leaning on a big red toolbox, playing with a spanner the way one might a knife. I’ve known the kid for years, and I’m pretty sure that’s the longest sentence I’ve ever heard him say.
“Not the sort we want to keep company with,” I add, tearing the stopper off a bottle of oil and casually pouring it into a funnel sticking out of my bike. “They puff out their chests and make a lot of noise. It’s a matter of time until someone tries something stupid.”
At the top of my list to pull a stunt is Ezra Green. Being higher on the food chain in their corporation, he’d know about the Knight Riders. Might not see us as the threat we truly are, but he’ll have heard rumblings. And having his date stolen out from under him isn’t going to do well for his ego.
“Boys, come now, you’re looking at this all wrong.” Knight grins at me while he pats Hush on the shoulder like he can see some great scheme that the two of us are oblivious to.
“How do you figure?” I tilt my neck to him, but keep constant vigilance over the oil. I really don’t want it to spill over and have to clean that mess.
“What are we? First and foremost.” Knight’s gaze shifts from Hush to me and back again.
Before either gets to answer, a loud clang comes from behind, making Hush jump in place. His sudden fright makes Knight chuckle, but all three of us turn our attention to the mechanic fixing up a black panel van with the Knight Riders logo painted onto the side.
