Page 43 of Not In The Contract

“And you never looked into it?”

“No.” She sniffed. “I’m no more their daughter than they are my parents. I never felt anything particularly warm for them, and I think it would have hurt more to find out that they’d given us up. Sometimes, ignorance truly is bliss.”

I frowned and a weight pressed onto my chest as her words sank in. I had all of a second to dwell on it before she clapped her hands together.

“Right,” she declared. “On to the next meeting.”

14. This Isn’t Working

Alex

Iglancedovermyshoulder for what must have been the seventeenth time, wondering where thefuckDevon had run off to.

Again.

“Katya,” I called, pressing the tips of my fingers into my temples, doing my best to fight off the impending migraine.

“Yes, Alex?” she answered immediately, her dark eyes pinning me to the spot.

“Have you seen Devon?” I asked, exasperated.

“She went to the lunch room an hour ago,” she said, double checking her watch to confirm the time.

“For fuck’s sake,” I grumbled.

“Would you like me to call her?” Katya offered, but I shook my head, too annoyed.

I needed to move to work the frustration out of my system. “I’ll get her myself.” I sighed.

When I reached the lunch room I found Devon scribbling away in a notebook, her headphones snug over her ears. Try as I might, I couldn’t muster the ire I needed to drag her to the next site visit. I dragged in a lungful of air and blew it out, walking over to where she sat hunched over her work. I knocked twice on the table, part of me smirking when she jumped in fright.

“Alex?” she said, her voice kicking up into a question at the end. She glanced at her watch and her eyes went wide. “Oh, shit, I’m so sorry!”

She scrambled to pack her things, sending her pens scattering across the table.

Tension squeezed my upper back and I forced out a sigh, turning to walk back to my office. I heard her bound after me, but I refused to say anything to her. I’d told her to be more conscious of the time, and yet this was the third time she’d gotten sidetracked in a single day.

And it wouldn’t be the last.

The tension turning my neck into a tightly coiled spring was only worsened by my constantly looking over my shoulder. Devon was never where she needed to be. It was maddening; I couldn’t imagine living my life without a care for the seconds that ticked by, relentless and ruthless. To make things worse, my assistants had noticed my frustration.

Katya had made a point to save Devon’s phone number to her personal phone so she could call Devon whenever she disappeared. I hated it because that was Katya’s personal phone. She didn’t need to babysitmyproblems outside of work.

Jean rushed up to me and handed me my iPad, her own phone nestled between her ear and shoulder.

“Yes, Mr. Bennett,” she said, nodding at me. “Ms. Bell has already approved the site plans. Your team is free to commence this week.”

Muffled shouts of approval sounded from the speaker and I winced for her.

“Alex, your appointment has been moved back an hour,” Katya added.

“You’re fantastic,” I said absently. I squinted at the gray blocks on my schedule.

I despised the color.

“If we leave now, we can reach the site in time,” I continued, letting Jean take my iPad. She speed-walked back to her office, still talking to one of the civil consultants.

It was going to be a long day.