Page 76 of (Mostly) Human Resources

A cool breeze swept through the trees, and Alexys shivered. There was something off about the red-headed woman and the look on Waylan’s face when he spoke about her. His eyes had been so haunted, and Alexys wasn’t sure she wanted to know why.

CHAPTER 39

“All out-of-office, work-related events (such as: conferences, research opportunities, or academic events) must be approved by the corporate office and are subject to denial should they see fit.”

Entity Employee Handbook: R&C Edition

Waylan and Nic ended up getting along extremely well.

Although the kid had a habit of interrupting Nic mid-lecture and distracting him with an entirely new topic which was fairly amusing. Nic appeared to have endless patience and managed to keep up with each new line of thought effortlessly. From pill bugs to family pets to favorite foods, Nic navigated one conversation to the next without missing a beat. Alexys was content with taking a back seat, happy to watch the two race circles around each other and chatter the time away.

The temperature was cooler today, so the hike through the woods was far more enjoyable than it had been the day before. The humidity had, unfortunately, turned Alexys’s hair into a frizzy mess of a ponytail, but it was tolerable with the light breeze.

“You ain’t from here,” Waylan said sagely. It was apparently time to switch topics once again. “I can tell.”

“How can you tell?” Nic asked, smiling.

Waylan looked him up and down, deeply considering his answer. “The way you walk. Like you’re in a hurry and got places to be.” Waylan pointed at her. “See her? She walks the right way.”

Suddenly aware of her every movement, Alexys froze. Why was it that as soon as someone pointed out a thing about your body, you forgot what to do with your hands? Her movements felt robotic and stiff as they both turned to look at her with critical eyes.

Waylan rambled on, “She walks like she’s got plenty of time. My Papaw says you can trust a person that ain’t in no hurry.”

Nic’s lips twitched. “She does walk rather slowly, doesn’t she?” He winked at Alexys and then asked Waylan, “Does that mean you can’t trust me?”

She pursed her lips to keep from smiling. The banter was cute, but that wink of his was becoming too comfortable. She was willing to accept the fact that Nic wasenjoyableto be around, but admitting he was attractiveandnice was just too much.

Waylan stopped to inspect Nic, squinted up at him. Alexys allowed her own gaze to do the same, admiring his still-white t-shirt that clung to his shoulders in just the right way. The rain had made his curls extra bouncy and … She shook her head and forced her eyes away.

Coworker, she reminded herself firmly. Horribly attractive, pain-in-the-asscoworker!

“I dunno,” Waylan finally answered. “But if Miss Alexys trusts you, then I can, too.”

Nic turned his gaze toward Alexys just in time to catch her blushing. Did she trust him? At this point, she’d kind of have to be an idiot not to. He’d tracked her down, voluntarily trekked into the woods with her, was even prepared to fight feral Jackalopes and ancient creatures. There was no way around it.

Nic had her back.

So, yes, she did trust him. The man had ditched work, abandoned his precious research, and put up with her sour attitude forseveral days, all while sleeping in a dusty cave or on a lumpy couch in a witch’s house. Okay, okay, maybe Nic’s motivations weren’t entirely selfless given his fascination with the Hollow Walker, but he’d proven time and again already that he was truly there to help. She should’ve trusted him from the beginning, they might have found Elliot already, but she justhadto fight him every step of the way. It annoyed her, this little revelation, both that Nic was possibly very helpful and that she herself had been downright stubborn.

Alexys looked up to find Waylan and Nic both looking at her expectantly. Waylan was bouncing from one foot to the next, incapable of staying still for even a moment. Nic was waiting for her reply, an expectant look on his face.

“I do trust him, yes.” She smiled down at Waylan because she was too nervous to look at Nic. “He’s a good friend to have.”

Waylan asked, “Is he your best friend?”

“No,” she laughed, thinking of Natalie. “He’s not my best friend.”

“Why not?” Waylan frowned at her and pointed at Nic. “He’s the smartest person I’ve ever met!”

“We only met today,” Nic pointed out. He was smiling at the pair. Alexys fidgeted despite herself. Turned out discussing feelings with yourself was only half as hard as discussing them with a ghost boy in front of your work nemesis.

“Well, I already have a best friend, she’s back home,” Alexys said, then added, “Can I have two best friends?”

Waylan pondered this with a deeply serious expression.

Nic, in his endless capacity for being helpful, asked her, “Is Natalie your best friend or your best work friend? MaybeI’myour best work friend?” He was very pleased with himself. Alexys wanted to groan.

“Wait!” Waylan bounced up and down on his toes. His smile stretched wide with excitement. “Natalie is a girl name!”