“I’m heading to River Rain.”
Of course she was.
Dodging him rather than dealing with him.
Her normal MO.
Rix clenched his teeth.
“What’s going on?” Judge asked.
But before Alex could pull an Alex, avoid getting anywhere near him as she made a hasty exit, probably (although there wasn’t much around except that folding table) finding something to bump into along the way, which would have been cute, if the reason she so desperately wanted to get away wasn’t so fucked up, she looked up at him.
And then, shocking the shit out of him, under her breath, for only him to hear, she decreed, “You aren’t the only double amputee on the planet, John Hendrix, but you sure are the stupidest one.”
After delivering that, she was not awkward, and she didn’t bump into shit.
Except him, because she far from avoided his person.
She crashed her shoulder right into his arm, doing this deliberately, so he swayed in a twist and his coffee sloshed in his other hand as she stormed past him and then through the space, her loose curls contained in her signature ponytail at the back of her head bouncing as she went.
Okay.
Again.
What in the fuck?
“Give us a minute, Kev,” he heard Judge mutter as Rix stared after Alex, who shoved angrily on the bar on the door to the stairs and then disappeared behind it. “My office.”
At Judge’s last two words, Rix looked to his bud.
Or more accurately, watched Judge walk to the biggest office in the space, the one on the northwest corner.
Still clenching his teeth, Rix followed.
“Close the door,” Judge ground out when Rix made it into the space.
Oh yeah, his friend was pissed.
Though, Rix reckoned he was a helluva lot angrier.
Rix closed the door, and for the second time that day (and it wasn’t fucking eight-thirty in the morning, for shit’s sake), he crossed his arms on his chest, even still holding his coffee.
It was a power maneuver, because, as previously noted, Rix was not unaware he was significantly developed in his upper body.
It was also a defensive maneuver, one his mother pointed out to him that he’d started using a lot, particularly during initial rehab after the amputations, and again when he went back to begin the painful and frustrating process of learning to use his prosthetics.
“We’re all official now, work has started, we’re not in our permanent offices yet, but this is happening, so you’re going to have to get your shit tight about Alex,” Judge demanded.
“I’m sorry?” Rix whispered.
“You need to be professional, and that means none of that shit you pulled last night, or whatever you did just now.”
Rix didn’t trust himself to speak, so he didn’t.
“We have the means to do some pretty amazing things, Rix, so get it together,” Judge finished.
“She just called me stupid,” Rix pushed out, sounding just as furious as he actually was.
Although Judge looked surprised, he didn’t look surprised about what Rix thought he should be surprised about, considering his response was, “In a sense, she’s right.”
Okay.
Not even eight-thirty and this was maybe the sixth time that day he couldn’t believe his…goddamned…ears.
“So you’re standing there, telling me that I gotta get my shit tight to work with some woman who has absolutely no clue how to behave around someone with a physical disability?” he asked. “Is that what you’re saying to me?”
“No,” Judge bit out. “I’m saying to you that you gotta get your head out of your ass and work with a woman who is so into you, she can barely see straight, and not turn on the charm and lead her ass on, only to dump her when something better catches your eye.”
This time, Rix stood silent, still and unblinking.
“She’s good at her job. Really good at it, Rix. But she doesn’t need it, and she could get hired practically anywhere she wanted to go. Don’t make us lose her. She’s been by my side for a while now, we work great together. I need her. So pull your shit together, because I need you too.”
On that, Judge made his way to the door, but stopped at Rix, who was just inside it.
“You know, I don’t get it. I never will. But buddy, whatever you’re working out, leave people like Alex out of it. She’s way more vulnerable than you’ll ever be, I don’t give a shit you lost your legs. And if you open your eyes and see beyond you, you’d get that and stop acting like an asshole, and not only to Alex.”
And with that, Judge walked out and back to where Kevin stood at the long table, not hiding he was watching.
Rix twisted away from them in order to stare out the windows toward the square, Judge’s words slamming through his brain, along with a fuck ton of memories of run-ins with Alex Sharp.
Work with a woman who is so into you, she can barely see straight, and not turn on the charm and lead her ass on, only to dump her when something better catches your eye.