CHAPTER 4

Royce

“You sure you’re up for this tonight?” Ezra asks from the couch.

“Leave him alone. Rolly’s got this. Right?” Donovan gives me a worried look, but I shake both of them off.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you two were starting to get soft on me.”

“Pffft. After seeing that sweet little redhead you were talking to today, I’ve been nothing but hard,” Ezra chimes in and winks at me.

I throw the remote at his head before he sees it coming, hitting him right between the eyes.

“Dude!” he shouts, and rubs the spot where it connected. “I’m sorry, okay? Don’t mess up the moneymaker.” He takes out his phone and looks into the camera to inspect the damage.

I’d caught Pandora today in the lobby. She’s been avoiding me for the past few days, and I haven’t been able to corner her in her office. From what I’ve heard she’s usually at her desk, but lately she’s been giving me the slip. I knew something was up the last time I was there to see her and they told me she’d gone to the ladies’ room. I waited in her office for two hours and she never came back. Either she has some serious issues, or she was waiting me out. Lucky for her, I’m hardheaded and don’t give up that easy.

She’s been responding to all my emails, even if it’s just a one-word answer. I’ve kept the messages professional and haven’t stepped a toe out of line helping her the best I can with solving some of the problems she’s been having. And I think she’s right about hiring this Echo women. I’ve gone over some of her stuff and she’s impressive. I even thought reaching out to her myself so Pandora didn’t have to because she seems to get annoyed with her would help. I came up with a plan for Echo do just do spot project and not fully be on staff. More of a contractor for projects. She’d be more controllable that way. Giving her one task and program at a time then she is done until you need another done. She’d already come up with some amazing ideas that I knew would cut the work load down for Pandora. But somehow I think that’s made her even more skittish.

Today she’d been in the lobby talking to the security guard at the entrance. Ezra and Donovan were there with me meeting Henry to go over the last of the proposal. My job at Osbourne Corporation is ending soon, and I don’t know how many more opportunities I’ll have to visit Pandora’s office. When I saw her in the lobby, I had to take a chance.

She was wearing all black, and her eyes were rimmed with that dark charcoal, making her deep blue eyes pop. I ached to take her long hair down from its tight knot and dive into it with both hands. To smudge the soft lipstick on her lips and make her react to me. I can’t keep this bottled up much longer.