Nicco

Ch. 11: The Hell That Hides Inside Her

"He says he goes to Hawkins as well. Jaime Ortega."

"Oh! Jaime Ortega?" I repeat with a lighthearted laugh, "I guess we're classmates. But I don't know him personally. It's not like we're friends or anything."

He's definitely not my friend.

And Jaime Ortega is definitely not his real name.

"Good," grunts my mum. "You know the rule, Aria."

I smile and nod like a good, obedient daughter. "Of course, Māma. No boys and no dating until college."

***

The moment Todd heads back to his cubicle, from the corner of my eye, I notice that Manning, of all people, is now barreling my way in quick, aggressive strides. He must be here for his rescheduled meeting with Nicco.

Oh, bloody hell.

The man might have apologized to me on Friday, but I doubt he meant a word of it. He probably resents Nicco for bullying him into doing it. I'm not in the mood to deal with an asshole of Manning's proportions right now, but, of course, he stops right in front of me.

"Ms. Senarath," Manning nods with a grunt.

I eye him with a wary expression. "Good morning, Mr. Manning. Should I let Nicco know that you're here for your meeting?"

Manning narrows his beady eyes. "That won't be necessary. I just spoke with him on the phone, and he's already expecting me. I'll show myself in."

"Very well."

Then, he smiles at me strangely. Like he might know something that I don't want him to know. It's making me hella uncomfortable.

"By the way, before I go..."

"Yes?"

For some reason, he decides to tell me, "I wanted to let you know that I'll be bringing in a very high-profile new client next week."

What does this have to do with me?

"Oh, how exciting," I murmur flatly. "Congratulations."

"I understand he might have been an old friend of yours."

Hold on—what?

My eyebrows rise up. "Really? What's his name?"

When Mr. Manning doesn't answer me, I get a bit nervous.

Could he be one of my classmates from Hawkins?

"You'll find out soon enough, Ms. Senarath," Mr. Manning assures me. His tone, however, feels anything but reassuring. "Have a good day."

Without waiting for me to respond, he turns away from me and continues into Nicco's office.

I frown.

The fuck was that all about?

I push this odd exchange out of my mind and get back to work on my laptop. About an hour later, Nicco's meeting comes to an end, and he promptly calls me into his office right after Manning leaves. My intercom buzzes, and Nicco's deep, accented voice travels through the speaker, "Can I see you for a moment, Aria?"

I find myself hitting the respond button right away. "Coming!"

I berate myself for replying so quickly. This agreement between us is supposed to be no strings attached, but I'm behaving like an infatuated teenager. An undeniable flutter runs through me as I approach his office. The sensation literally feels like butterflies in my stomach, and I've never experienced anything quite like it. Hell, I didn't think it would even be possible for my heart to feel such softness and light after what he did—