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Cheap Heat

Page 127

by Lily Mayne

“No,” I said quickly, because I did not want to get sucked into a conversation with Holt in his office. He’d tell me his password had changed itself again. Or he’d start showing me something as weird as the custom-made ironing board cover with a printed pattern of his face on it—a gift for Taylor, apparently—that he’d eagerly shown me the last time I had to go in there.

Flicking a nervous glance at Holt’s office door, I said, “I just need—”

“Do you want a donut?” Larkin interrupted yet again, enthusiastically picking up the box, and I just about managed to suppress my irritated huff.

Then I realised I did, in fact, want a donut, and stepped forward to pick one.

“Do you know where we keep the spare office supplies?” I finally managed to ask. It should’ve been a given that he would, seeing as he was Holt’s assistant, but I was guessing there was a good chance he had no idea.

“Yeah, there’s a cupboard.” Larkin scooped some jelly out of his donut with a finger and popped it into his mouth. When I noticed Seb side-eyeing him with a very specific gleam, I realised I needed to hurry this along.

“Where is it?” I asked as patiently as I could. “I just need a stapler.”

“Down the corridor where your office is. Right at the end.” Larkin noticed the way Seb was looking at him and blushed.

“Great. Thanks.” I turned and left as quickly as possible, making sure to close the door behind me.

The corridor was quiet as I headed back down it, taking a bite of my donut. Taylor’s office door was shut, but I couldn’t hear him inside. There were two more doors at the end of the hallway, and I opened one to reveal the supply closet—some cleaning products stashed away alongside a few shelves of office supplies that were a complete mess. I rolled my eyes. Probably Larkin.

After grabbing a stapler and a couple boxes of staples, I elbowed the door shut and turned for my office. A faint sound from behind the door opposite made me pause and look over. It kind of sounded like a muffled voice, followed by some hissed whispers.

I grimaced and quickly started walking away, figuring it was Taylor and Holt busy fucking in there. But then I paused again when I remembered Larkin saying Holt was eating lunch. When I heard some shuffling sounds and something being knocked over, followed by another hiss, I frowned and glanced back.

Who was in there?

None of the wrestlers came to this end of the building except to speak to Holt. I didn’t even know what was in that room. I’d just figured it was empty, because I’d never seen anyone coming or going from it.

Curiosity got the better of me. I walked back over and hesitated. Because I was still holding my donut and the staplers, I used my elbow to knock on the door.

“Uh… everything okay in there?” I called cautiously, wondering who the fuck I was talking to. Some unseen member of Goliaths who never showed their face? Who hid in their office even more than I did?

There was a burst of whispering inside that abruptly cut off. No one answered me. When I heard a creepy little giggle a few seconds later, my frown deepened. I awkwardly bent and used my elbow again to push down the door handle.

The door swung inward, revealing a dark room with chairs stacked to the side and a conference table pushed into one corner. The lights were off, but my ghoul eyes let me see perfectly well in the dark.

Which meant I immediately spotted the two small, murky yellow shapes standing by the table.

Frank and Beans were both frozen in place, like they believed that if they just stood still enough, I’d think they weren’t in here, even though I was staring directly at them. They both wore identical guilty expressions.

Like I’d caught them doing something they shouldn’t.

I flicked the light on with my elbow and frowned at them. “What are you doing?”

“Nothin’,” one of them answered quickly. He was hiding something behind his back.

“What are you holding?” I asked suspiciously.

“Nothing,” he repeated straight away. The other one let out a tiny snort. “Beans, shut up,” Frank hissed.

“Show me,” I told Frank sternly, because they were definitely doing something they shouldn’t.

Then I froze as whatever he was hiding behind his back made a noise. It didn’t sound like an animal, which had been my first worrying thought. It almost sounded like that muffled voice again, speaking furiously around something in its mouth.

My nostrils flared when I recognised it.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Frank and Beans Steal Dan’s Head