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The man wasn't quite as tall or well-built as Nik but he was about the sa that I was so used to seeing on Nikolai
"Mr Archer," the man said as he extended his hand "My name is Mike Smithfield I own Smithfield Security Solutions"
I shook the ain, but then snapped it shut It was none of my business where he was, nor did I care That's what I kept telling myself as I nodded at Mike and then allowed him to escort me the final few steps to the car I should've been relieved to escape Nikolai for a day, but that wasn't what I was focused on
"Is Nik okay?" I asked before I could stopat h
"Oh, yeah," Mike said "Just a personal issue he needed to deal with"
I wanted to knohat that meant, but I couldn't very well ask I nodded my head
"Are you ready to go hoo to work?" Mike asked politely Like Nikolai, I was sure he had assumptions about my relationship with Cliff, but he didn't hint at it in any way
"Ho the words, I realized the very last thing I wanted to do was go to work
Personal issue? What the hell did that evenmore serious? Or maybe he had a date?
I hadn't allowedit was true I was certain I'd felt soainst my bathroom door, but I'd been pretty preoccupied with a certain fantasy inasIn any case, it didn't reen, rather
God, how had I gone fro over his absence and i him wrapped around someone else?
With my nerves co on anything Moreover, I didn't want to be around any people The ringing inmy head pound I was certain that if even one person spoke to hts would shatter into a ed to retain his position despite his ineptitude, probably because I’d felt a little sorry for the whole being held at gunpoint thing—a text that I wouldn't be in the office and then told Mike the same
As the SUV navigated the earlyrun over by a truck I knew it had to be the co hours I would've loved to have been one of those people who could handle weeks and months of nonstop work, but the limitations of my brain wouldn't allow for that It required downtime and if I tried to force it beyond its capabilities, I paid dearly for it
Once the SUV reached lad when he didn't press to enterNikolai had given up on, though he’d continued to do it whenever we’d arrived at the office in theIt made me wonder if he’d told Mike not to push to sweep my apartment
"Is there anything else you need, Mr Archer?" Mike asked
"No," I said because he couldn’t give me what I needed What I needed was a dark room and silence
And a pair of strong arain…
"I' the all-too-real sensation of having Nikolai’s body pressed up against the back of mine "Oh, and by the way, I wanted to thank you for what you did for Nikolai"
I was in the process of entering my apartment, so I turned to look at him and said, "What I did?"
"Dropping the charges like that," Mike said "I know Nik can be a little rough around the edges, but he takes his job seriously Not ht, but I know it ca to take responsibility for what he did Still, any kind of record would have tanked his career prospects and he just can't afford that right now Not hat his family…"