Silent Love (Scarab Beetle Fanfiction Spin Off)

Chapter 5.

As I help Emmeline off the desk, Bryant comes back in like a whirlwind through the previously shut office door. His face looks guilty, and that makes my body stiffens a little... preparing for the news of whatever he's now done to upset me. I don't want to jump to conclusions, but every fiber of my being wonders what he's done.

"Alright, so don't get mad?" He attempts to school the guilty look on his face into one of optimism, but he fails due to the lack of confidence behind his gesture.

"That's probably not the way to start the conversation, if you don't want me to actually be mad. What did you do?" I step over a little bit and block Emmeline from the conversation. Whatever he did, I don't want her to worry about it. I won't know how to explain it, if by some miracle she reads his lips.

Her tiny hands both brace onto my lower back, holding on with just the fingertips. I appreciate instantly that she didn't step around me to get involved, even if I don't believe Bryant to be a real threat. Her touch surprises me and gives me a quick warmth of relief throughout my tensed muscles, but my gaze doesn't falter as he thinks about how to answer me. Without my brain's permission, my right hand reaches back and rubs her arm.

"You know how I quit?" Oh, shit. He did. I need a new manager.

"Yes. It's rather... inconvenient." Being on a team with him will be hard, since I don't trust him after this whole spying on my ordeal,.

"Well, two quick things... I would really like to stay, working here. Please sir?" Why would he stay? He's Academy, don't they have a pay roll? Or did he do something that indebted him to them? I'm slowly starting to make the academy out to be a Mafia, not that the assumption is a far reach... since the similarities are creepily accurate.

"Why would you stay? They don't pay you well enough?" I'm not gonna pussyfoot around anymore. Real questions, especially if he is going to be my team.

"That's not quite how it all works, we don't get paid like that. You can earn money; but we lost favors when we became our own team and we're doing jobs more to get those back, rather than doing stuff for monetary value. Even doing jobs that earn money doesn't give you cash in your pocket."

"Will you get those back for letting us join you?" Why would it cost him to be with his girl?

"I'm not sure, it will be discussed when we all meet back together. Working here has a good salary, and I can fit... missions, in between shifts. Or during if I need to. I have a freedom here." I hold up a hand to stop him, I don't want to just talk around Emmeline here, she is still behind me, patiently waiting. So, I turn around and grab my phone.

I need to speak to him, I don't want you just sitting around. Do you want to wait here and use my phone to order some clothes online? Does she even know how to order clothes online?

I don't want you to order me clothes, I can get my own.

Do you have any money to your name? I doubt she has a penny if her parents were secret chemists. They died unexpectedly, the money is probably hidden in some foreign account.

Oh. Um, No. Exactly.

I pull up my shopping tab of apps and hand her the phone. I have a couple different stores apps and she can go through all of them and order whatever she wants. She takes a step back and sits down on the desk. Scrolling through the phone.

"So, you want to stay? What about your girlfriend?" I can't imagine she would want to waitress forever.

"She doesn't want to stay, she works as a nurse at the hospital with Doctor Roberts."