Page 36 of Midnight’s Captive (Stroke of Midnight #2)
In the elevator, Ash sagged against the wall after finishing his time up in Portia’s office for the day. His head hurt and he struggled to regain his focus on his next moves. Juggling Hope and Taryn and Portia, as well as all the secrets, was getting overwhelming. He feared the situation would come to a head before Taryn had extricated Hope.
He wanted a nap and a drink.
No. Scratch that.
It wasn’t a drink he wanted, it was Taryn.
But he’d screwed up and that wasn’t an option.
So, he should focus on his future. His and Hope’s. One without Taryn in it.
Fuck, that was depressing as hell.
Ash stepped off the elevator and ran right into Mendez.
Crap. This day was getting worse and worse.
His brow nearly to his hairline, Mendez swept his gaze from Ash to the executive elevator.
“Moving on up, huh?” He waggled his brows in a suggestive manner.
Ash didn’t bother to dignify that with an answer.
“Sorry. Just joking.” Mendez looked him up and down. “You’ve been pretty fucking tense lately, man. What’s going on?”
Ash rubbed his hands over his face. Where to even begin? Especially when Ash couldn’t tell him the truth. He liked Mendez, but he wouldn’t make the mistake of trusting the other man. Not when the stakes were this high.
Taking Ash’s silence as an answer, Mendez scowled and stepped back. “My bad,” he said. “Thought you could use a friend.” He turned.
“Sorry. I just...” What the hell could he say? “You know those woman troubles everyone was giving me shit about today? Well, I just realized that I fucked up. It was completely my fault.”
Mendez’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re not talking about Portia Tremaine, are you?” He jerked his head toward the executive elevator.
“Oh god no.” Ash’s tone was just as horrified.
“Good, because there was no helping you if you were.” Mendez laughed and slapped Ash on the shoulder. “You thought everyone was kidding when they told you it was your fault and you should apologize?”
“Maybe?”
“Didn’t your daddy teach you how to treat a woman?” Mendez asked as they walked down the hallway.
Ash blew out a harsh breath. “He wasn’t around much.” At all. Ever really. “Except when he needed money.”
“Shit, man, sorry. I didn’t know.” Mendez actually looked like he felt bad.
What would it be like to have a friend he trusted enough to talk about this shit with? Since he’d been hauled into the Tremaine Corporation, he’d rejected—and distrusted—any overture of friendship. Maybe that had been a mistake.
“No way you would have. Unless that’s in my Tremaine file and you somehow got into it.”
Ash had meant it as a joke, but Mendez squirmed.
“Fuck. You have?”
The other man shoved his hands in his pockets and looked around the hallway. “I got bored.”
“How the hell did you get that deep into the system?” Sure, Ash knew how to do it. It had taken weeks of careful poking and prodding and circling to make sure he didn’t trip any sensors or set off any traps.
“I have my ways.”
Ash laughed at the non-answer. “Yeah, I wouldn’t share my secrets, either.”
“Like I’m going to tell the guy coming out of the executive elevator anything.” Mendez pursed his lips.
Ash stiffened at the implication. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Either you’re fucking her or you’re ratting us all out.” Mendez watched Ash skeptically. “I don’t think you’re doing either, but something is going on.”
Crap. Ash had told Portia this would happen. “Maybe it was computer repair.”
“There’s a whole department for that.” Mendez’s tone said Ash was stupid for even suggesting it.
“She had a question.” He couldn’t say more. He wished he could confide in the other man. Helping Portia while keeping his activities under the radar would be easier if he had another professional to bounce ideas off of.
“Yeah, whatever,” Mendez said. “Whatever you’re up to, just remember, they’re not like you and me. You can’t trust them.”
“Well aware,” Ash said, letting his frustration with the whole situation color his words.
Mendez stared at him. “Good luck, man,” he said finally and walked away.
If only Ash could do the same.