Echo (Bleeding Hearts #1)(8)

“Hey, need a hand?”

I glanced up to see Matt leaning against my desk with a grin on his face. He was another intern on this floor, and he claimed to be completely dedicated to the job. Though, I suspected by the way he tossed flirtatious smiles around the office that wasn’t exactly the case.

“Sure.” I slid over to make room for him. “If you feel like staying late again.”

“What else do I have to do?” he teased. “Not like I have a life outside of this place.”

Nicole was on her way out, and she stopped by my desk to say goodbye. It was her little ritual to ask what I wanted for dinner or what my plans were for the evening. But tonight, she looked like she had something else on her mind.

“Hey.”

Her and Matt looked at each other and then away. The temperature in the room ratcheted about a thousand degrees, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed this before.

“Hey,” Matt replied.

His face had grown serious, and in place of his usual carefree smile was a look of pure agony. He caught me staring, so he dragged his attention back to the files while I spoke to Nicole. She looked just as miserable herself as she regarded the back of his head, and I wondered what was going on between them.

“Is Stacey keeping you late again?” she asked.

“It’s fine,” I told her. “I made a mistake, and I offered to stay behind to fix it.”

She frowned and then gave Matt one last glance as she clutched her purse against her. “Well, I’ll get you some sushi for dinner if you want.”

“Thanks.” I nodded. “That would be really nice.”

Nicole padded off to the elevators and Matt’s shoulders fell. I wanted to ask him what the deal was, but I didn’t know him well enough to pry like that. So instead we spent the next two hours bantering about nothing in particular, which made the work go by fast. By the time I glanced at the clock, it was already seven pm. Most of the workers had gone for the day, and we had the entire floor to ourselves.

When Matt applied the last label to the file, I sighed in relief.

“Huh,” he muttered.

“Huh, what?”

“Well, don’t look now,” he said beneath his breath. “But we have an audience.”

I didn’t have to look to know who he was referring to. Ryland was always here on nights that I had to stay behind. The man was a certified workaholic. And even though I often felt someone’s eyes on me, I’d been too chicken to turn around and check for myself.

“He seems to have taken quite a liking to you,” Matt observed.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” I laughed. “He doesn’t even know I exist.”

“There’s a rumor going around the building that he pulled you into his office on the first day.”

I glanced up at Matt in confusion, noting his eyes held a hint of concern.

“Nicole said he likes to meet all the interns.”

Matt shook his head and laughed darkly. “Of course she did.”

“What are you saying?” I asked. “Isn’t that normal?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve been here for six months, and I’ve never once seen him bring any other intern into his office for an introduction.”

His words made my stomach flip, and I had more questions on the tip of my tongue. But a shadow passed over my desk, and I could have sworn a gust of cold air moved through the room. When I looked up, Ryland Bennett was standing over us, his expression unreadable.

“Matthew.” He glanced at his watch. “Shouldn’t you be getting home?”

Matt looked like he wanted to argue, but thought better of it. He gave him a stiff nod before he stood and glanced back at me with a smile.

“Still on for tomorrow night?” he asked.

“Yeah.” I shrugged, my eyes darting back to Ryland. “Just text me.”

Matt nodded and walked to the elevator bank, leaving me to gather up my things under Ryland’s sharp gaze. I didn’t know why he was still standing there, hovering over me. It took me three attempts to get the zipper on my bag shut, and I ended up knocking over a jar of paperclips in the process.

I moved to clean them up when Ryland stopped me.

“Do I make you nervous, Miss Valentine?” he asked. “You seem to be in the habit of dropping things around me.”

My gaze swung to his, and there was a hint of a smile on his face. He was teasing me, and I couldn’t stop my own lips from curling in response.

“Maybe a little,” I admitted. “I guess I didn’t expect to be seeing so much of you here.”

He leaned back against my desk and scrutinized me with an arched brow.

“This corporation is my lifeblood, Miss Valentine. You can’t accomplish anything in this world without the right amount of motivation.”

“I can see that.” I massaged the tension from my neck, unsure what else to say. I was only highly motivated not to be sleeping on the street.

Ryland surprised me as he reached for my arm and pulled me closer. For a moment, he just let his eyes roam over my face. I wanted to ask him if he remembered, but I couldn’t find the words. And when he swept my hair over my shoulders and wrapped his fingers around the nape of my neck, I forgot them completely.

I shivered beneath his touch as he started to massage the tension from my muscles. His fingers were warm and strong, just like I remembered, and they still made my legs feel like jelly too. I hated that part, but I couldn’t admit it while he was touching me. His breath was hot on my skin, and I was afraid that if I opened my eyes, his lips would be right there. Teasing me of memories past.