Chapter 31
Mariah
I’ve started looking forward to our weekly trips to the office.
It’s fun to get out of the house, and I love getting to explore the company Titus and his brothers have built.
The building alone is freaking gorgeous, and now that Titus is a little more comfortable here, I feel okay sneaking out of his team meetings to scope the place out.
Normally I wander around on my own, taking in the striking architecture and counting the brightly colored fish in the gigantic saltwater tank outside Trevor’s fancy office.
But today I’ve noticed a few people tracking my movements.
Titus assured me I could go anywhere I wanted, but maybe he’s not familiar enough with the place to know there are areas my presence is unwanted.
When I notice a pretty brunette eyeing me, I flash her a bright smile, trying to appear nice. Friendly. Palatable. “Hi.” I wave. “I’m Mariah.”
She looks from side-to-side, like she’s making sure it’s really her I’m talking to. Even after confirming there’s no one around, she still approaches me cautiously. Like she’s not sure if she really wants to talk to me.
It shouldn’t sting, but it does.
The woman finally manages a wobbly smile. “Is everything okay? Can I get you something?”
“Umm…” Now it’s my turn to be uncertain. “No. I’m fine.” I smile again, taming it down a little since she didn’t exactly seem put at ease by my usual expression. “I just wanted to introduce myself.”
“I know who you are.” She glances around again, stepping closer and lowering her voice.
“You’re the woman who got Titus Bradshaw to come out of his house.
” She doesn’t give me time to respond, just plows forward, like now that she’s talking, she can’t stop.
“Is it true he carried you out of here the first time you came in?” Again, she doesn’t give me time to respond.
“I’ve heard he looks at you like you are the best thing he’s ever seen in his life.
” She sighs, expression dreamy. “It sounds like he is so freaking in love with you.”
“It’s not like that.” Why do I sound so squeaky and defensive? Titus only carried me out of here because I gave him an out when he was starting to panic, and it was the fastest way to reach the doors. “I’m his personal chef, so he just loves the way I cook.”
My brain tries to tell me there’s more. That Titus's feelings for me go deeper than I’m acknowledging. But that chick has a habit of being a dumb ass, so I ignore her.
The brunette’s brows pinch together so tightly they nearly touch as she frowns at me. “That’s not what I heard at all.”
I snort, reminded of how pissed Trevor was at Titus over all the rumors flying around here. “Yeah. Trevor said something about all the gossiping going on.”
At the mention of Trevor’s name, the brunette’s frown turns into a scowl. “Ugh. Trevor is such a prick.” Her eyes widen, skin paling. “That came out wrong. I just mean—”
“Pretty sure it didn’t come out wrong.” I grin.
“I’ve heard more than enough to know you probably hit the nail on the head.
” It doesn’t seem like Titus’s brother does himself any favors here in the office.
And based on the majority of the stories Titus has told me, Trevor is in fact an asshole at work.
The brunette relaxes a little, finally returning my smile. “Thanks for not being offended.” She holds one hand out between us. “I’m Maren.”
I shake her hand, glad we’re finally getting to a point where she seems comfortable. “Nice to meet you, Maren. What do you do here?”
Maren’s smile dims. “Right now, I’m just a temp. I get the exceptionally important task of stocking and dispersing office supplies.”
“Actually, that probably is really important.” I lean, checking out the rolling cart behind her. “Mind if I walk with you as you work?”
I don’t want to keep her from doing what she’s supposed to be doing—especially if there’s a chance Trevor could give her shit for it—but it would be really nice to get a guided tour.
“Yeah. That would be awesome.” Maren turns, gripping the handles of her cart as she pushes it down the large hall. “I was on my way over to the wing where they modify all the cars. Have you been there yet?”
“So far, I’ve only seen Trevor’s office and fish tank, Titus’s team’s space, and the break room with the fancy coffee maker.
” Our first couple trips here, I hated leaving Titus for too long, just in case he got overwhelmed and needed an out.
But he’s doing so freaking good now, I’d probably only make things worse by hovering.
“And this place is huge, so I’ve only seen like, a tenth of it. ”
“Probably less than that.” Maren strides down the hall, looking confident and capable.
“Tucker’s wing is basically a gigantic warehouse, and Tobias’s is a whole-ass garage.
” Her steps falter a little as one hand lifts to press against her mouth.
“Shit.” She says the word under her breath.
Closing her eyes, she pauses for a second before gripping the handle again and offering an explanation.
“I’ve been trying really hard to do well here.
Outside of dealing with Trevor’s crappy personality and the occasional asshole, I think I could love working here.
” She wrinkles her nose. “So I’ve been trying to keep my potty mouth in check. ”
“Do you think cussing is a big issue?” I did my best never to curse when I worked at the inn, but that was because I was usually standing directly in front of visitors. Here, it’s just other coworkers. I can’t imagine a little slip here and there would be a huge problem.
“I mean, I’m sure it won’t help.” Maren’s eyes come my way. “And my three-month contract is almost up, so I’m doing everything I can to make it more likely Trevor will hire me on full time.”
There’s a hint of panic in her voice that I recognize. I felt it myself when I came here. The desperation to hang onto an opportunity. The fear it might slip through your fingers and leave you screwed.
“What do you want him to hire you to do?” I reach out to tap on the cart. “Would you like to be the permanent and official supply delivery person?”
Maren snorts. “I would freaking scrub toilets if that’s what he wanted. Whatever it takes to get my foot in the door and my hands on that fantastic benefit package this place provides.”
“I can’t blame you there. Their insurance is pretty fantastic.” It was one of the things that made me desperate to hang on to my job. “I’ll talk to Titus. See what he can do.”
“Really?” Maren seems genuinely surprised by my offer. “I hope you don’t think that’s why I started talking to you. I wasn’t trying to —”
“Technically, I’m the one who started talking to you.” I give her a conspiratorial wink. “And it would be my pleasure to take this directly above Trevor’s head.”
I like Trevor as a brotherly sort of person, but I have… opinions about him as a boss. I know he doesn’t expect anything from someone else he doesn’t expect from himself, but what he expects from himself is ridiculous. Putting that on other people is simply asinine.
Maren seems so sweet, and considering how quickly we’re walking, it appears she takes this job pretty seriously. There’s not a doubt in my mind they can find some sort of position here for her to fill.
Especially once I see how much bigger this place is than I initially thought. I hadn't realized how far back it went, and by the time we start to slow, I’m feeling really freaking tired.
“You walk all over this place all day?” I swipe at the mist of sweat clinging to my forehead. “No wonder you look like you’re in such good shape.”
Maren isn’t just sweet, she is cute as a bug and sturdy as an ox. She’s short and tiny, but when we pause at the office indicating it belongs to Tobias’s administrative assistant, Maren hefts a box of printer paper like it weighs nothing.
After adding a few more items to the closet situated in one corner, we’re moving again.
And as much as I’m enjoying spending time with Maren, I’m starting to regret my decision to tag along. I don’t feel nauseous as much anymore, but there are times where I just feel gross. Hot and sticky and like all I want to do is sit down and close my eyes.
This is one of those times.
But since I know everyone is watching me like a hawk so they can whisper about what Titus and I have going on, I put on a brave face and suck it up.
No way do I want suspicion about the state of my uterus to become the next hot topic.
I’ve already pretended to nearly pass out once.
Too much more, and someone is bound to start adding things up.
We pause outside a heavy door with a permanent sign affixed to it warning about proper ear protection. Maren collects two sets of earmuff sort of things, handing one-off to me. “It can get really loud in here, and they’re funny about people coming in without these.”
I nod as I put them on, swallowing down what seems to be an abnormal amount of saliva as we step into Tobias’s domain.
As Maren claimed, it is a gigantic garage, with soaring ceilings and racks upon racks lined with boxes of all sizes.
There are a number of car lifts centered down the middle, each one holding up various types of vehicles.
There are shiny new trucks, SUVs, luxury sedans, and even a few older model units being worked on by teams.
“Holy shit.” I technically understood Tobias retrofitted vehicles with top-of-the-line security features, but I guess it never occurred to me the sheer volume he might be handling. “This is insane.”
Maren must not be able to hear me well, because she just gives me a thumbs up and leads me deeper into the space.
We get a few double takes—most of them aimed at me—but for the most part, everyone is too busy to notice us.
Thank goodness, because I feel like I’m getting sweatier and stickier with each step I take.
This part of the building is way hotter than the area we just left, and I’m starting to bake.
Using one hand to wave around in front of my face so the air feels a little cooler, I trail behind Maren as she leads me to the back corner where an office has been framed in. We go inside, and a familiar face grins from behind the desk.
Tobias jumps up and goes to close the door behind us, motioning that it’s okay for me to take off my ear protection. “Holy shit. What are you doing here?”
“Maren has been nice enough to let me tag along while she works so I can check this place out.” I was hoping I’d feel a little better once I took the ear things off, but I still feel weirdly overheated. “You guys are really busy back here.”
Tobias rakes a hand through his dark hair, smile slipping. “We’re so fucking far behind I don’t think I’m ever going to get caught up.”
I try to shoot Maren a look so she pays attention to the swear Tobias just dropped, but instead of picking up what I’m putting down, my new friend is looking at me strangely.
“Are you okay?” She drops the box of ink pens in her hand and starts toward me. “You don’t look so good.”
I try to wave off her concern, but my arm ends up flopping weirdly instead. “I’m fine.” My tongue doesn’t seem to want to work right and the words come out a little garbled.
“Mariah?” Tobias steps closer, his eyes narrowing as they move over my face. “What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong is pregnancy is stupid and obviously doesn’t like me. “Maybe I should sit d—”
I can’t finish, because my body decides it’s already going down.
“Catch her.” Maren’s voice sounds so far away.
“Holy shit.” Tobias grunts, and my body bounces a little. “Call Titus right fucking now.”
I try to blink, but my eyes stayed closed. I’m in a familiar position, but not a familiar space. The arms holding me are strong, but not right. The chest under my cheek is probably plenty attractive, but it doesn’t have a familiar feel or scent.
I don’t like it.
“He’s not answering.” Maren sounds panicked.
But not as panicked as Tobias. “Go find him. I don’t know what in the hell’s wrong with her, but he’ll kill me if I sit here and wait until we get a hold of him. Tell him I’m taking her to Willowdale.”
My body bounces with a steady beat, but I can’t identify what’s going on. I want so much to tell Tobias this is fine. That I’m fine. But my mouth isn’t working any better than my eyes. When I try to talk, all I do is make a weird groaning noise.
“Hush. Just relax.” Tobias's voice is calm now. “You and I are going to go to the hospital real quick. You’re probably fine, but Titus will kick my ass if I don’t make sure.”
I don’t need to go to the hospital.
Well… maybe that’s not entirely true, but I don’t want to go. Not when it’s just another obvious example of what a shitty mom I am. Can’t even figure out how to stay conscious.
“Here we go.” Tobias jostles me around, and then I’m in some sort of seat. An engine starts—loud and vibrating—and then my body jerks as we take off. “It will take us two minutes. I can get you there before an ambulance could have even pulled out of their garage.”
I start to feel heavy. My limbs. My head. My mind. The last thought I have before everything goes black is how grateful I am it’s Tobias who had to whisk me away.
Because Trevor would have lost his shit if he’d been forced to pretend like he was anything other than the asshole he’s convinced everyone at McKinley Security Systems he is.