Our Cruel Hearts

Chapter Seven

My brain hasn't stopped reeling since what I overheard last night, who was Mr Marbroi with and what did he mean by lying low. Who could possibly need to lie low. Mr Marbroi rarely ever visited the office let alone the staff headquarters offices. The rain from last night hasn't let up just yet and I've been laying on the couch for hours, trying to keep myself busy by watching tv or cooking but all that left me with was a mound of dishes to wash and more overthinking. I needed to get out of here and do something, anything to distract me from my thoughts of Mr Marbroi and Griffin.

Within 20 minutes I've gotten myself decent enough to wander around the building. I leave my phone but strap a dagger on and take my throwing knives along as usual. The hallway is freezing and deserted, as expected since it's a Saturday afternoon and the other staff must be out partying and living it up, unless they're anything like me and are crumbling under crippling anxiety. I head past the staff kitchen and down the hallway. Curiosity has been eating me alive since I discovered that office yesterday, and I figure if I can get in there must be some information worth sharing with Luca. This section of the building has cool concrete floors and antiquated wooden doors, this is excluding the gym on the other end of the same hallway. A dirty brown carpet spans the distance of the hallway. I didn't notice it last night but it must have greatly contributed to how quietly I was able to walk around undetected. For a moment I try to familiarise myself with which door it was that was open last night, three doors line each wall of the hallway. I retrace my steps from the gym entrance and land right outside one of the doors, it had to have been this one. I pause and listen, nothing. I pull a hairpin from my hair and begin picking the lock, only to find it's already unlocked. The door squeaks a little as I steadily wedge it open, I then pop my hairpin into the lock to prevent it from locking when it closes -because that has absolutely happened before. As I turn to face the room it's exactly what I had imagined for the parts I hadn't seen last night. There's a massive wooden desk in the middle of the room, and two single chairs in front of it. The walls are a deep rust colour and lined with framed awards and paintings that I'm sure cost an arm and a leg. A massive bookshelf resides right behind the door and it takes everything in me not to run my fingers over each book, pull them out and sniff their pages.

I gawk at the room in awe for a moment longer before I remember what I'm here for, I swiftly cross the room to the desk and begin searching the draws. None of them locked, someone really has nothing to lose huh. Each draw is filled with files that hold nothing of particular importance, and the middle draw holds a gun and bullets. That one caught me off guard. I finish on the draws and begin shuffling through the papers on the desk when a blue file catches my eye. The file isn't thick at all and it's labelled Ms Reyes. My heart nearly drops out of my arse. I blink, truly bewildered. It feels as though the air has been knocked clean out of my chest. My first instinct is to flip through the file and take photos but I didn't bring my damned phone. So I scan the desk for anything else and only see a bronze name plaque, I flip it around with my shaking hands. Mr Marbroi. Mr Marbroi has my file on his desk, okay. I breathe out and try to bring myself back to earth and be rational. That's fine, he just hired me, it makes sense. Right?

"Right."

I whip my head up, completely awestricken. Griffin stands at the door, his hands in the pockets of his grey sweatpants. I immediately step back from the desk, and hold my hands up. Why the hell am I holding my hands up like I've just been caught by police? I drop my hands before my thought even lands, the air between us immediately growing awkward as I stand there staring at Griffin.

"What on earth are you wearing?" I ask, and only realise what I've said when my words ricochet off the walls. But it truly is weird seeing him in sweats, it's foreign.

"What on earth are you doing in here?" He asks, his jaw twitching as he bites those words out.

"I asked first," I fold my arms and purse my lips, slowly realising how bad this might look. Griffin doesn't answer, he just stands across the room with a stupidly beautiful smirk growing on his face.

"Is this amusing?" I snap, "And please elaborate on why the hell you can't stay away from me?"

Griffin's eyes narrow at me as he rolls his tongue on the inside of his cheek, "I wish I knew, Ayla." I pause as his words sink in, what the hell does that mean?

I let out a low grunt, "You and Meera should start a damned club the way you sneak up on people." I walk around the desk, not exactly sure why, but I don't feel threatened and I won't allow him to intimidate me. I lean against the front of the desk, as if it were my own and he finally closes the space between us. He's standing right in front of me now, his gaze dark but not as hollow as it seemed days ago.

"What are you doing in here, Ayla?"

"I was just dropping off some files I forgot about earlier this week, I was told he keeps the office open." I lie through my teeth and pray he doesn't pick up on it, "Why are you here? You don't strike me as the type to stay in on a Saturday."

Griffin gives me a small smile but it fades quickly, "I came here to invite you out for drinks, everyone's meeting at a local bar. You weren't at your apartment so I checked the gym, but noticed a hair clip sticking out of my fathers door." Mental note not to try that again. I just stare at him, not quite sure if I should. Griffin inches closer to me, and I let him. He places a warm hand on my thigh to part my legs, his touch absolutely electrifying. I nearly let out a sigh of relief that he didn't touch the thigh with a dagger, he would've felt it and I'd be even more screwed. Griffin now stands between my legs and I've somehow shifted to where I'm seated on the desk, his hand rests on my thigh and I fear I may be set alight by the feelings fluttering around my stomach. His mouth is mere inches from mine, his enchantingly sculpted mouth. I'm so focused on Griffin's inebriating scent and how it clouds my judgement, that I don't notice how he's leaned in with his mouth just above my ear. The warmth of his breath sending chills down  my spine.

"Forgive me, Ayla. Join me for drinks, I'm asking you." He whispers, his voice so low and amorous that I lean into him. His lips meet my ear for half a second before he pulls away.

I clear my throat and snap out of it, "I'll be there."

"Good," Is all he leaves me with, along with a stupidly charming smile.