Page 129 of Hate to Love You
“I told her that you’d felt bad about our interaction the day of the bombing, and about my loss of employment, so you offered me a position with your company, Sir,” Trevor says, his eyes briefly falling to the dagger in my hands before immediately looking away. “I expressed how grateful I was for your…generosity.”
I grin, nodding.
“Impressive.”
I really do like this kid.
“Tell me what you’ve learned about her,” I say with a nod. “What are her activities outside of here? Who is she hanging around with? Where is she going?”
He stares back at me, considering his answer, which is something I’ve learned that I appreciate about him. He never asks me to repeat myself, or pretend he didn’t understand my question, and always gives me straight concise answers.
“She’s quiet, Boss,” Trevor says slowly. “She sticks to herself mostly. She’s mentioned going to The Studio and the Black Cat Lounge on occasion, but from what I’ve seen it’s not excessive.”
“Does she…have a boyfriend?” I ask, trying to sound as disaffected as possible. “Or male visitors that come over?”
“No, Sir, not to my knowledge,” he says, shaking his head. “And I haven’t seen any visitors to her home. Male or female. As I said, she’s pretty quiet, and it seems she prefers to be on her own.”
“Anything else?”
Trevor opens his mouth, but then immediately closes it, biting his lip.
“Tell me,” I say firmly. “What is it?”
“That’s the thing, Boss,” he says, with a sigh. “I’m not sure it is something. She made a comment to me the other day that made me wonder if perhaps she’d been in a…bad relationship.”
“Bad?” I ask, narrowing my eyes at him. “How bad?”
“Well, she said something about falling down a set of stairs,” he says quietly before looking at the floor.
“What do you mean? How did she…I mean why would she bring that up? With you?”
Trevor swallows hard and shakes his head.
“I don’t remember the context exactly, Boss,” he says softly. “But she kind of just zoned out for a few minutes, staring out the window. I don’t know, I guess it just felt like she was referring to something like that.”
“Why?” I ask. “What made you think that’s what she was referring to?”
“Just a hunch,” he says, shrugging. “And given the fact that she mostly likes to stay at home with her cat, it can’t be a current boyfriend, so I guess I just got the impression that maybe someone had hurt her in the past.”
The very thought of anyone hurting Abby, in the past or present, makes my blood boil.
And then another feeling creeps in. A twinge of guilt maybe? Or perhaps regret for how aggressively I had fucked her in my office just a few days prior.
Was I too rough with her?
And yet, I distinctly remember the way she’d deliberately provoked me, and goaded me the entire time. I mean, she actually smacked me.
My mind is still racing when I realize that Trevor is still standing in my office while I sit and rub my chin, lost in my own thoughts.
“Thank you,” I say, clearing my throat and standing to my feet. “Go home for the day. You’ve done well, Kid.”
And for the first time since I met him, I see the faintest traces of a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Thank you,” he says excitedly, before correcting himself. “I mean, Boss.”
After he leaves, I swipe my phone from the desk and walk over to the windows overlooking the city, replaying the information he just gave me.
Abby was an anomaly I didn’t quite understand. A contradiction that screamed to be noticed. She was far too observant, too clever, and too intentional, to just be the meek, innocent, naive assistant she was masquerading to be.