Black Heart (Cursed Hearts #1)(22)

He took several more steps until she found him nose to nose with her, but she wouldn’t back off. If she did he would know that he could push her around and she wasn’t having that.

“You don’t know shit. I’m lead detective because I have the highest rate of solved cases, the most education, and I put more hours in than the two other detectives combined. I also have my own office, Princess, as you will soon find out, because I am, without any regret, the biggest ass**le you will ever meet. I give you a week before you go begging Daddy for a new desk.”

She squared her shoulders even though inside she was trembling. From his anger? She didn’t think so, and she most certainly didn’t want to examine the reasons any further. “I give you a week before you give up and go back to full medical. If you think you’re going to push me around like everyone else, then you have another thing coming. So, you better cut the shit and stop trying to push me or I’ll push back until you leave here crying for your mommy to lick your wounds, Mama’s boy.”

Oh….crap. Perhaps she’d went just a tad too far with the “mama’s boy” comment judging by the homicidal glare he was sending her. She opened her mouth to backtrack when he leaned in, placing his mouth next to her ear.

“Better get a change of panties and a box of tissues, sweetheart, because you’ll be leaving here in the same fashion as your predecessor,” he whispered harshly in her ear, sending a tremor throughout her body that had nothing to do with fear.

Chapter 7

You can do this, she repeated in her head as she walked through the station on Monday morning. Her arms were filled with boxes of pastries and donuts, making walking through the pit difficult. She’d picked them up on a whim on her way into work. She thought it would be a nice gesture on her first day, but she was also nervous, very nervous and when she was nervous, she ate. Usually when she got this nervous she snacked away on her favorite fruit, but she ran out of apples over the weekend and hadn’t had a chance to go to the market to get more. She really should have bought more. The idea of working with Tristan was enough to give her an aneurism.

She really hoped that he'd calmed down by now. When he’d stormed out of the office yesterday after their little spat, she had a feeling that she’d just stepped into hell. Unfortunately that feeling only increased overnight. Now she was on the verge of hyperventilating. Maybe an apple fritter would calm him down? She could only hope. If they did she was running out and buying ten dozen for him. She’d do anything to keep that side of Tristan hidden from her.

For years she’d heard people bitch and whine about him. Never once had she truly believed any of it. It was just gossip, she'd thought. That is until the past couple of run-ins she’d had with him changed her mind. Now she had to wonder how he’d managed to keep that side of him hidden from her all those years ago. The man truly was the biggest prick that everyone claimed him to be and she was stuck with him.

Just great.

“Good morning, Marty!” Rosemary, her father’s secretary, said cheerfully as Marty entered the pit. She didn’t know much about the woman other than she was a busybody. The older woman came around her desk and walked towards her.

“Oh, aren’t you a sweetheart! Here let me give you a hand with all of that,” she said. Her “hand” was gesturing Marty towards the break room and standing back while Marty struggled to place the boxes down without dropping any of them.

Marty stepped back as the woman began searching through the bags. “Oh, the boys will love you for this!” she said as she helped herself to several pastries.

“I’m glad. Um, listen is Detective Black in yet?” she asked, trying not to sound nervous, but failing miserably.

Rosemary tsked around a mouthful of bear claw. “I still cannot believe that your father did that to you. I told him that he should keep Detective Black on medical leave and give the rest of us a break, but would he listen? No,” she said, sounding absolutely disgusted as she shoved another bite of pastry in her mouth.

“And now you’re stuck with him, you poor thing,” she said, shooting Marty a look of pity before she turned her attention back to the pastry boxes. “I think your father should at least assign a uniformed officer to drive him around. There’s really no need for you to be stuck with him all the time. Not when you have so much to do.”

“I don’t mind,” Marty responded, wondering again what exactly she was supposed to do. She had a vague idea, but she’d feel more comfortable knowing exactly what was expected of her. “Did my father leave instructions for me?” she asked, knowing that her father wouldn’t be around today or tomorrow to show her. He was going to be stuck in conferences for the next couple of days up in Manchester.

Rosemary studied her for a moment. “He didn’t tell you?”

“Well, not all the details,” she admitted with a shrug.

“Hmmmmm.” Rosemary looked back towards the door and then at her. “Well, I believe you’re taking your turn to watch over the administrative phones while the secretaries take their lunch. You also need to log in some reports that came in over the weekend into the computer. It’s really not that bad. That is, when you’re not with Detective Black,” the woman explained as she smiled sweetly at Marty.

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Marty agreed.