That means I’ll have to ask Kas if I can leave two hours early.
I dread the thought.
But knowing I have no choice but to ask—because this is about Jesse, and he’s all that matters—I push to my feet, which are still bare.
I make my way out of the bathroom and pad down the carpeted stairs, heading for Kas’s office. Nerves are tumbling around in my stomach.
Come on, Daisy. The worst he can say is no.
And be an arsehole about it.
Sucking it up, I lift my chin and march toward his office. I reach his office door and knock on it.
“What?” he barks from the other side.
Okay…that isn’t a good start.
Reaching for the handle, I turn it and let myself in his office before closing the door behind me.
I turn to face him, and he’s leaning back in his chair, arms on the rests, staring at me with those coal-black eyes of his.
My stomach flips, and I suddenly feel queasy. I bind my hands together in front of me.
His eyes follow the movement and then shoot back up to my face. “Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to tell me what you want?”
I guess the nice clothes-bringing-and-apologizing Kas is gone, and Kas-hole is back.
I swallow nervously. “Mr. Matis, I know this is only my second day working here, and I really do hate to ask…but I was wondering, if I came in an hour early on Friday and worked through my lunch, would it be possible for me to leave at four instead of six?”
“No.” He sits forward in his seat and turns the chair to his computer.
Bolts of frustration and anger fly around me, buzzing like bees in my head. I’m not normally quick to temper, but this guy makes me want to scream my head off.
Dropping my hands to my sides, I curl my fingers into my palms. “Mr. Matis, I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t important—”
“And what’s so important that you have to leave work? A hair appointment? Nail appointment?” His eyes drag over me. “But then, looking at you, I’d say it’s neither of those things. So, what is so important that you have to leave work early?”
Mother…effer.
I take a step back, affronted. “I’m sorry, but have I done something to give you the impression that I deserve to be talked to like this? I know I’ve been in prison, but that doesn’t give you the right to judge me for it. You don’t even know me.” Even as I say the words, I know how ineffectual they are because they sound weak to my own ears.
Fire lights his eyes. The look in them makes me want to take a step back.
He looks like a scary-arse fire-breathing dragon.
He leans forward, pressing his hands to the desk. His voice is so low that I feel the temperature in the room drop. “Trust me,” he seethes, “that’s not what I’m judging you on.”
What?
“God, you’re a—” I bite my lip to stop the words from coming out.
“I’m a what, Daisy?” Then, he smirks.
The bastard smirks.
I have a vision of wiping that smirk off using the chair he’s sitting on.
I’ve never been one for violence, but this guy just brings it out of me.
Closing my eyes, I blow out a calming breath, wishing I were anywhere but here.
Why does this guy hate me so much?
“Unless you’re a magician or you’ve figured out the theory of time travel, I’m still going to be sitting here when you open your eyes.”
Argh! I want to throttle him!
Going back inside for murder is looking pretty appealing right now.
Two days, and I want to kill my boss already. This is not good. I need to get a handle on this and find a way to deal with his Kas-hole-ness.
He’s just a man. A man whose opinion of me doesn’t matter.
All I need from him is the paycheck at the end of every week.
I can do this. I’ve handled worse.
I open my eyes, and his smug, handsome face is there, staring back at me.
I force the brightest smile I can onto my lips. “It’s not you I’m trying to wish away. Sorry to have wasted your time. I’ll get back to work now.”
I turn for the door, but his deep voice stops me. “You haven’t told me why you needed the time off.”
Blowing out a breath, I turn my eyes his way. “I had an appointment with my brother’s social worker to discuss me getting custody of him. But it doesn’t matter now.”
I yank open the door and walk through it before he can throw another barb at me.
I run up the stairs, anger and frustration and a bunch of other emotions burning through me.
I get in the bathroom, grab a folded up towel off the shelf, press it to my face, and scream into it.
I hate him!
Hate! Him!
I’ve never had such an instant deep-seated hatred for another human being as I do with Kastor Matis.
Don’t get me wrong; I hate Jason. God, how I hate that bastard. He is the reason I went to prison.
But Kas…he’s just so fucking…mean. And heartless.
He’s…Kas-hole.
I pull the towel away from my face and take in some deep breaths.
When I feel a little calmer, I put the towel back on the shelf. Then, I perch my bum on the edge of the bathtub, curling my fingers around it, and I let my head hang.
I’ve got to call back Anne and tell her that I can’t make the appointment, thus delaying things further with Jesse.
What if she can’t see me again for ages? Or she takes me not making the appointment as a bad thing, thinking I’m unreliable?
I really need to make a good impression, and I can’t do that when I can’t even make the first appointment she’s tried to make with me.