Not in my Job Description - Avery Clavens Book 1

Chapter 12 - Okay really, why did I get out of bed?

On the way to work, Nate spent even more time watching me than usual. I didn’t know if he thought I’d crumble into a ball of tears or what, but he had another thing coming if he’d come to that conclusion. I might have turned a little nuttier than usual, but crying wasn’t something I’d ever been big on.

“Maybe I should come stay with you, or you could come stay with me for the next couple of days,” he suggested. “We don’t have any idea who this person is or how closely they’re watching you.”

 “You’re joking, right? Have you not noticed I’m currently plotting your demise? Trust me, you wouldn’t be safe sleeping within ten miles of me at the present moment. If we want to get technical, I really think you should be boarding a plane because the entire state may not be far enough away from me.”

“Okay, maybe staying the whole night isn’t the best idea. Can we at least meet in the middle and I stay with you until midnight or so?” he asked. “I just want to make sure you’re safe in case this person decides a warning isn’t enough. At midnight, I’ll lock you in tight and come back in the morning to pick you up.”

I was a little surprised he backed off staying glued to my hip that easily. Staying until midnight wasn’t a good idea either, but at least he was going in the right direction.

“I can protect myself. It’s not like I don’t have training. What is it you think you can do that I can’t? I know I’m smaller than you, but I do have equalizers.”

“Training and actually being in a life-threatening situation is a little different. When someone is coming at you with a gun or knife, you may clam up. Your shyness could be used as a weakness in this case. Are you armed? You said you like knives; are you currently carrying any?” he asked.

“Of course. What kind of idiot do you take me for? I always carry them anyway. Putting them on has become part of my morning routine,” I replied. “I live in New York City and take public transportation. I’m pretty sure that’s been brought up in our conversations more than once.”

“I don’t need you reminding me of the dangers out there; I already have bad dreams. Are you going to tell me where you hide them yet?”

“No.” I glared over at him.

“Can you at least tell me how many you have? Then maybe I can figure out where they are.”

“No. You never know when I’ll have to use them against you and I wouldn’t want you to have the unfair advantage of knowing where they are. As far as the hanging out tonight to ‘protect’ me, my plans include watching the hockey game on TV tonight, so if you don’t disrupt that, I guess you can stop by. I enjoy watching at home over going to a game because I find there are significantly less people crowded around my TV.”

“Great. I can drive you home and we can grab some dinner,” he said as he pulled into our parking lot.

“I’ve been eating out too much lately and I really want to make something at home. How about we stop at the store on the way back and I can grab some things to make a mess of appetizers we can snack on during the game,” I countered.

It wasn’t like I’d been eating grease-filled fast food, but I liked to cook and I was sure I’d feel better being in control of something. Even something as simple as making food.

“That sounds really nice. As long as I don’t see rat poisoning going in the cart, you have a deal.” He got out of the car and walked around to open the door for me.

If I was operating at full capacity, I would’ve had it opened myself. Between my sluggishness and Nate’s lightning speed, he got the job done.

“You sure we should be seen going in together? I mean we’re both arriving late and I wouldn’t want people to get the wrong idea,” I said as I stepped out of the vehicle.