Page 37 of Hunger
I’m just glad she didn’t spot me this time. After Micah, the insidious fear that crawls into you when you know you’re being watched is not a feeling I want to experience again.
As my water bottle fills up, I close the lever and goosebumps rake across my skin. I turn, only for a sharp inhale to fill this smaller of their kitchens as I find myself face to face with a man I already know I don’t want to know better.
Landon Everitt, Grey’s father.
To say the man is an imposing figure is the understatement of the century. He has that shark-eyed stare that comes with power and ruthlessness and the same kind of poise in his muscular body as his son has, only without the edges of warmth that smooth down the rough.
He looks so much like his son. There are a few creases around the eyes and the skin is a little more weathered, his hair mottled with smoke, but they’re practically twins, save for his eyes which are the color of pallid winter earth.
He's also a freaking giant compared to me, a foot taller and one of those men who seem to fill an entire room just by his presence.
His ravenous eyes wander to my lips before his cruel gaze almost knocks me down.
“How’s your day, Indigo?”
Filing, printing, sorting, stapling, date entry…
Oh, it’s been heaven…
“It’s been fine. Thank you.”
“Good. Not long to go now.”
“Another two days,” I say, aware that I felt an ache somewhere to think it.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m happy to leave the monotonous admin work behind, but… Greyson.
Maybe we can stay friends or something…
Or maybe I need to stop letting my stupid imagination get the better of me. For all I know, he just sees me as this weird little pain in the ass he has to deal with for a week.
My therapist told me I need to be careful about not latching onto another man as some kind of safety vest, assuming this one could even keep me safe, that is. That’s why I tried my best not to let Kohl get too close to me. I guess I need to apply the same logic to this man I barely know.
I feel myself quiver inside as he inspects me like some freaking dragon rotting away in some dank cave, smelling human flesh for the first time in years.
What do you want?
“I spoke to Carrie yesterday,” he says, that deep gravel of his voice consuming the air in the room. “I’ve informed her she’s needed back.”
What…?
“If she returns tomorrow, we won’t need you for the rest of the week. You’ll be paid in full. In fact, because I’m a generous man, I’ll be kind enough to pay you for two weeks here for your trouble. I have your number. I’ll confirm with you shortly.”
My mind spins.
Back tomorrow? What the hell?
“How… how do you have it?”
He encroaches a step, a wall of flesh blocking me off from the door behind him. “You filled out our form. I have the numbers of all those who enter this company.”
“Well, it’s… Greyson who hired me, so… he can tell me what he wants me to do.”
“And it’smycompany, Ms. Nilsson. He’ll inherit it one day, but until then, I decide who comes and goes.”
I gulp down my unease, deciding not to let this man see what I feel. I stare back up at him as boldly as someone facing a rancorous, ravenous beast can do.
“Fine,” I respond. “I’ll let him know.”