LOVE ME LIKE A CURSE
That restraint said more than touch would have.
“You know,” he said, voice lighter now, “I’m glad you’re surviving here. at Aragon Enterprises … they chew most people alive.”
“Comforting,” I muttered.
---
We turned down a narrower street, the kind with fewer cars and more shadows. The quiet pressed close, broken only by the rhythm of our steps.
“So,” Julian said after a moment, “what’s the story?”
“What story?”
“Arabella Vale. New hire. Smarter than she lets on. Immune to hypnotic bosses. Prefers coffee dates to after-work drinks.” His voice was laced with amusement. “I’ve got fragments, but no whole picture yet.”