Marked. Part II: Becoming Noah Baxter by J. M. Sevilla Page B

kid needing to ask an adult for permission.
    She scrunches up her nose and pushes up her glasses with her index finger as she looks up to examine me.
    Her eyes get wide and she jumps up, knocking over some paper and pens, hitting her knee on the desk, and grimacing in pain.
    “Miss Evans, what can I do for you?” She nervously squeaks, pushing up her glasses again with her index finger before sweeping away the stray auburn strands that have fallen over her face from her loose ponytail.
    “ I just wanted to know where a bathroom is?”
    Her skin turns bright red, “I'm so sorry. Please, let me show you.” She awkwardly scurries around her desk. There's something about her you can't help but smile at. She's so awkward it's cute.
    “No need to show me, just point the way.”
    She points a finger to the door on the left side of the empty desk, “It's the last door on the right before the hall turns. Directly across from it is the door to Mr. Cole's office. Don't confuse the two,” she warns, then taps her index finger to her lips, “Never mind, Miss Evans. I'm sorry, I forgot you have Portkey access.”
    What the hell is that? I'll have to ask after I finish in the bathroom. I rush out a thanks and hurry towards the bathroom, closing the hall door behind me. There's only one door on the left wall, which means that whole side is Ben's. Now I'm even more curious. I have to see it before I go. 
    All the doors I pass on my right are closed. One of the doors flies open and almost smacks me. The guard Jay stole the gun from is standing there, the man Jay has told me he calls Asswipe. 
    Asswipe eyes me, a sneer shaping part of his lips, “Miss Evans, if you're looking for Lincoln he's with his girlfriend right now.”
    “ Well good for him. I was headed for the bathroom,” I'm detached, successfully coming across as uncaring despite the mental punch to my gut I just took.
    I brush past him, heart revving into full gear, battling with myself to not ask him what he meant by that, but I don't think I could handle it if he gave me an answer I didn't like.
    I close the bathroom door behind me and lean against it.
    Has Jay been dating another woman? Please no, please don't let him have found someone else while we were separated.
    Is that why he was so cold to me in the beginning and end of our encounter? Despite my jealousy radar beeping, I have a hard time believing it.
    I become aware of my fingers twisting Jay's ring around my middle finger. I stare at it and remember what it meant for Jay to give me something like this. I remember how he told me he loved me and saying something like that didn't come easy to him; it's huge that he expressed that to me. I remember the phone calls and the words he spoke, expressing how much I mattered to him.
    Trust me.
    His words ring clear in my ears. How many times did he tell that to me? More than a handful.
    He's right, I need to trust him and would want him to do the same for me. Getting jealous and insecure without hearing the full story will only cause arguing, heartache, and unnecessary pain.
    Trust: it's a bitch of a word. 
    I do what I came in here for and hurry back out, hoping to not encounter anyone else.
    Ben's assistant is busy at work when I reenter the waiting area. I don't want to go back inside that office where I'm alone, so I decide to engage her in conversation, “Thanks for the help.”
    She jumps and pushes her glasses up. She gives me what I think is supposed to be a friendly smile, but it's more of a twitchy grimace. “Of course, Miss Evans. Can I get you something to drink?”
    “No, thank you. I had some of Ben's whiskey.”
    A gasp starts in her chest and her eyes get wide. I can't tell if it's because I called him Ben or I helped myself to his whiskey. 
    “And please, call me Lily,” I extend my hand out to her.
    She rubs her hand on her thigh before offering it to me. Her hand sits loosely in mine, shy and unsure of herself, “Harriet.”
    I smile warmly