15. Annoyance

Bastien

I’m sitting here at my desk, staring at the screen that refuses to hold my attention. My thoughts keep drifting to her. Anya—or whatever the hell her real name is. She’s over there, plugged into that switchboard like some kind of machine, but I can see the tremble in her hands, sense the tension radiating off her.

I’d have to be blind not to.

She’s scared, and the dark part of me relishes it. She should be scared. She lied to me. But another part of me, a part I’m not all that fucking comfortable with, asks what I really expected.

She found herself in a goddamn auction, for Christ’s sake. Lying probably seemed like the least of the evils she had to consider.

I swivel my chair slightly, watching her closely as she picks up another call. Her voice shakes for a split second before she regains composure, handing the call with a professionalism that almost makes me proud. Almost.

She’s efficient, I’ll give her that. The way she’s handling the calls, you’d think she’d been doing i