I rolled my eyes and yawned. “So what you’re saying is pancakes are the healthy choice for breakfast.”
He waved a hand dismissively. “Whatever. They’re homemade. We’ll start there.”
“Please warn me before you get to the gluten-free stage so I know to put more local restaurants on speed dial,” I quipped.
Xander passed me a fork. “Eat.”
I spread butter on the pancakes and drizzled syrup first. “Real china, too,” I mumbled.
“Pancakes and paper plates are a bad combo,” Xander told me, piling pancakes onto his plate as well. “I know from experience.”
I put the first bite in my mouth, then angled my head. “They’re actually…good.”
“Best compliment I’ve had all week.” Xander grimaced. “Which is sad because it’s true.”
I ate more, enjoying the breakfast.
“You could probably get something better at work,” Xander told me from the other side of the counter.
“Sure, but this is made with love.”
He chuckled. “Maybe I should apply for a job at Dark Enterprises so I can benefit from all the perks.”
“I hear their intern program is amazing,” I said with a roll of my eyes.
Xander propped his hip against the counter. “I wonder what real interns do there.”
“Beats me. And that reminds me, did you hear what that girl at the cafeteria said? That they weren’t even going to do the internship this year?”
“Mmm-hmm,” he said around a mouthful of pancakes.
“Isn’t that kind of suspicious? Dark made it seem like I was doing him a favor.”
“Maybe they didn’t plan on doing it but then you helped his friend and he felt like he owed you one. Or he remembered that lady who does all the boring paperwork had a baby and he was like, ‘Oh, fuck, who’s going to work around here? Oh yeah, the chick standing right here who just fixed my friend’s phone.’”
“You do an amazing Declan impression.” I set down my fork with a laugh. “I bet he talks just like that in his head.”
Xander nodded. “Just an octave lower.”
I fought back a shiver at the memory of his voice. It was so low, it was almost a growl. A very primal, sexy growl. I missed it.
That wasn’t the only thing I missed. I hadn’t seen Declan all week. Not even a peek.
Tim came in, gave me more work, and then I’d add more to my notes on the project. It had become a whole pile with information from what he already had and everything I’d come up with since then.
I could practically give an entire proposal on the topic if I needed to.
By this point, I figured he was just avoiding me. He hadn’t even sent me a text. No, Miss Thompson, we have a new project. Or, Miss Thompson, don’t forget to wear your galoshes, it’s going to rain.
“I should get going,” I told Xander, standing. “I might not have any clue what I’m doing there, but I guess I’m not a quitter.” I pointed at him. “At least not this week.”
“That’s the spirit. I have an easy day, so I’ll be watching.”
I backed to my room. “Every day is an easy day for you. Oh, hey, I forgot to ask. Randy told me that—”
“Who’s Randy?”
“My Uber driver. He said—”
“You’re on a first-name basis with your Uber driver?”
I frowned at him. “Why not? He’s a good guy. He works hard and he—why am I justifying myself to you? He mentioned that Declan’s father was working on stem cell research and a whole bunch of stuff like that. Declan took over, but only recently. Do you think you can find anything out about that? Like what specifically he was working on or looking for or…trying to accomplish?”
Xander grinned. “First of all, tell Randy I say hi. Secondly, are you still on the superhero track with Dark? I thought, after this week, we figured he probably just…has really fast reflexes.”
I gritted my teeth. I didn’t want to argue about this with Xander, especially when I was beginning to doubt myself too. “He’s hiding something,” was all I said before I turned to get ready.
Randy took me to work like usual and I coaxed more information from him about his family. He didn’t sound like he minded. He sounded like he thought it was nice to talk to someone, and it was a good distraction for me.
I was dreading another day in the office with The Case of the Vanishing Boss and more piles of paperwork.
Tim was more like a magician than an executive assistant.
“Do you work weekends?” I asked Randy before I got out.
“Most of the time,” Randy told me. “Except Saturday night when I play Dungeons and Dragons with my son. He’s twenty-three but he still lives with us because…” Randy shrugged. “It makes sense. And yeah, I know, Dungeons and Dragons…but Max loves it. It’s how we bond.”
“Sounds fun. I might go hiking tomorrow so I’ll hit you up if I need a ride to the wilderness.”
He grinned. “Looking forward to it. Here, take this.”
I took the card he passed over the seat and gave him a questioning look.
“It’s my cell number,” he said. “So you can reach me if you need a ride. It’ll probably be easier this way.”
I tucked the card into my purse. “Thank you.”
I put on my badge and headed inside. The security guard nodded at me halfway across the lobby and I headed for the elevators.
It seemed quiet this morning, but maybe that was because I was in a little early. I wanted to get a jump on that project.
The elevator bell dinged. I looked up and froze when I saw who was coming
