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I wasn’t looking at her.

Except I was absolutely looking at her.

She was laughing at something Patty had said, her head tilted back, her ponytail swinging. A salad sat in front of her, half-eaten. As I watched, she picked out a tomato and set it on the edge of her plate.

Monday. Salad with chicken. Picks out the tomatoes.

“You’re staring,” Veskar said around a mouthful of bread.

“I’m not.”

“You are. You’ve been staring at her table for at least five minutes.”

I dragged my gaze back to my plate. “I’m thinking.”

“About your hip mobility work?” His grin was dangerous. “Sure you are.”

Fedor snorted into his water.

“Shut up,” I muttered.

“She doesn’t like tomatoes,” Veskar said, leaning back in his chair. “You’ve noticed that too, haven’t you?”

I had noticed. I noticed everything.

On Monday, she always got the salad with chicken, then picked out the tomatoes.

On Tuesday, she ordered a sandwich, but she only ate half and put the rest in a container. I assumed she ate it on the nights when she worked late.

On Wednesday, she ate whatever pasta dish the chef offered.

On Thursday, Ellie got the meat with vegetables and a starch.

And on Friday, she treated herself to something from a nearby café, usually a wrap or a panini.

I was keeping track like a creep, and I couldn’t stop.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I told Veskar.

Veskar’s grin widened. “Right. And I’m the queen of the orc kingdom.”

The door swung open, and Mikael walked in. He grabbed food and dropped into the empty chair at our table, his plate loaded with enough meat and rice to feed three people.

“So Kedish,” he said, gesturing with his fork. “The new doc’s really putting her hands all over you twice a day, huh?”

The table went quiet.

Veskar stopped mid-bite. Fedor found his plate fascinating.

“What?” Mikael looked around. “I’m just saying, you’re a lucky guy getting that kind of attention.”

I stood up.

The entire break room went silent.

Mikael’s smile faltered. “I didn’t mean anything by it.”

I stared at him, barely restraining my anger. This was the look I used in net when a forward thought about getting cute with me. The one that said try it and see what happens.