Troublemaker (The Men of Matiz 2)

I feel like I haven't.

The circus was over by nine, but instead of going home to bed, I hung out on Ellie's sofa. We drank virgin daiquiris and talked about our high school days. It was fun, and I needed the time to unwind with her, but I didn't get into bed until shortly after eleven so the unexpected wake-up call was rough.

"It's not considered rude if it's the truth, Donovan."

"Do you want to head home?" He stands back and looks me over. "You can take the rest of the day off."

It’s a generous offer, but my pay is based on my presence in this place. I can't just leave. If I do that, I'll lose out on enough money to feed me for a week. "I can stick it out."

"We'll compromise." He turns to look at the cabinet that's against the wall. "You'll stay for Kim's going away party and then you'll clock out at five."

How is that a compromise? My shift ends at five.

I watch as he picks up a small bottle of vaccine before he places it on the metal tray next to the exam table. "You forgot to scan your security badge when you left today, Adley. I'll make a note on the schedule that I send to payroll that you didn't leave until five on the dot."

I get an afternoon off with pay.

"I'm forgetful like that." I bite back a grin.

He doesn't hold back as his mouth curves into a smile. "Next week let's meet to talk about school. You up for that?"

I nod. We circle this same topic every couple of months. I knew he'd bring it up any day now. He hasn't made a secret of the fact that he assumes I'll take the same path as Antonella, a woman who used to work here and will be again in two years. She left as a vet assistant and will be returning as Dr. Javier.

"Let's get our patient in here so we can give Kim the farewell party she deserves." He scans the tablet in his hand. He has no idea that a big part of me wishes that goodbye cake in the lunchroom had my name written on it.

***

"You scared me." I rub the ache in the middle of my forehead. "Never do that again."

Crew takes a step back. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Your reaction scared the hell out of me."

I was walking toward my apartment listening to music with my earbuds in when two large hands grabbed my shoulders from behind. A knee to the groin was part of my instinctive reaction to protect myself. The quick drop of his hands to cover himself was part of his.

There's no way I could have known it was Crew behind me. The man has a stronger work ethic than I do. I would never have expected to see him in the middle of the afternoon, especially in front of my building.

"I hope I didn't hurt you." I wince.

He looks down at the front of his gray pants. It's hot out today and yet he looks cool and collected in his suit. The black button down shirt underneath and the sunglasses still resting on his nose give him just enough of an edgy look to draw the attention of most of the women passing by us on the sidewalk.

"It's still in workable order."

He's referring to the fact that he's semi-hard beneath his pants. I can see that for myself.

How do men do it? How do they wander through their day with their cocks springing up to say hello whenever they damn well please?

"I called out to you." He fingers one of the earbuds that I pulled out when I realized who I was trying to maim. "When you didn't answer I thought a tap to the shoulder would do the job."

"What job? To get yourself killed?"

He laughs a little. "I have no doubt you could kill me if you wanted to, Ad. I hope that it's not part of your agenda after the other night."

The other night. I'm still trying to process that. An afternoon nap would help me do that.

"The only thing on my agenda right now is sleep."

"You're not making a pit-stop here? You're skipping work to take a nap?" He takes off the sunglasses and his eyes cut through me. "Are you feeling all right?"

"I was called in again last night." I pull the cord from the earbuds out of my phone. "Dr. Hunt let me leave early today."