#7 The Twins of Satin Moon
Chapter 20

Maizey

At work on Monday it was clear that the rumor mill was running rampant. Everyone was whispering and giving me mean girl glances. I sighed. This was exactly what I wanted to avoid and everyone made fun of me for my “because he’s my boss” excuse. I ducked my head and practically ran towards the elevator when I spotted Hunter and Carmin in the lobby, passionately sucking each other’s faces.

“I heard she slept with him.” said a blonde girl, “I heard he wouldn’t sleep with her and she went mad!” her friend whispered, “Well, I heard she tried to do him in the bathroom at the bar.” The third girl squeaked. None of them were very quiet as they scurried down the hallway.

“Well I heard that you’re all a bunch of snobby bitches!” Pen screamed after them, grabbing me from the hallway and pulling me into the safety of my office.

“Thanks, Pen.” I grumbled as she slammed the door shut.

“Hunter is a dick and I don’t know why.” She huffed.

“Aren’t you his friend?” Pen was from the reservation so I, naturally, assumed she was on his side.

“I thought I was. Not anymore.” She said, dropping down on the sofa with a plop.

“He didn’t really do anything. It’s not like we were dating and we did not sleep together.” I said defensively.

“Oh, I know you two didn’t mate and so does everyone who matters.” Pen sat with her arms crossed and a sour expression on her face.

“Mate? Pen, that’s a little graphic.” I scrunch my nose up in disgust. She looked at me with wide eyes before chuckling nervously,

“Yeah, right, sorry. He just pisses me off. And don’t defend him, he did do something. He strung you along and then ditched you for that bitch!” She yelled so loudly it made me jump in my chair.

“At the party he told me that he didn’t like Carmin in that way. He said she was always after him because of his status and money, not because she loves him.” I said, thinking aloud.

“Yeah, that’s all true. Carmin is a gold digging whore just like her mother. He’s always turned his nose up at her, it was pretty comical how she followed him around like a….well, like a lost puppy,” She snickered at her joke, “I have no idea why he’s with her now.”

“Do you think there’s something wrong?” I felt a pang of concern in my chest for Hunter but I shooed it away.

“The Greyback’s can handle themselves, Hunter is a big boy. They don’t need anything that Carmin or her family has to offer.” Pen sounded as angry as I felt watching Hunter and Carmin making out in the lobby.

“I just don’t get him, he’s so hot and cold. One second he’s telling me to stay away and treats me like I have the plague, and then he’s ripping my date off of me in bar bathrooms.” I mumbled.

“So you were in the bathroom getting it on.” Pen laughed.

“Yeah, but not with Hunter, that’s for sure.”

“And Hunter broke it off?” She gasped, talking over top of me.

“Not just that, he literally tossed the guy out of the bathroom and told me that I was driving him crazy.” I threw my hands in the air dramatically. Pen nodded slowly, like she was understanding some secret code.

“He’s a dick.” She said again.

“Whatever, I just need to stay away from him and stay focused on my work.” I stood up and grabbed Pen’s hand, pulling her from the couch, “Let’s get to the lab.”

Gabe didn’t so much as look in my general direction the entire day. As a matter of fact, neither did his entire team including Natalie and Merlin who were at the bar on Friday. Typical. He probably told them all that I did something before I could tell the truth and make him look bad in front of any prospective females. Lord knows that being beat up by another guy in the middle of sex was a huge ego blocker.

Ryker kept looking at me like I was going to implode and I couldn’t figure out why. I think in the two months since I started here I’ve only heard him say a grand total of five words. He worked mostly by himself, offering up help whenever someone asked for it. He had a degree in mathematics so he was definitely the best at calculations. Something felt off, though, he didn’t have the passion for the work like the rest of us did. He was more interested in solving complex calculations for everyone else than his own robotic projects.

Luckily, my team knew me well enough to not to listen to any rumors. They didn’t even ask me about it, just gave me apologetic smiles and warm embraces. At the moment, I was helping Vera with an engineering question she had for her project. Suddenly, the lab grew cold and quiet, like all the air had been sucked out of the room. I felt a chill creep up my spine.

“It’s Mr. Greyback.” Vera whispered, looking at something behind me.

“’Course it is.” I mumbled, bringing her attention back to the computer screen. She was fidgeting uncomfortably as I tried to describe the solution to her problem. I knew she wasn’t paying any attention to me but I had to keep talking in order to distract myself.

“Mr. Lock.” Oh dear God, no.

“Yes, Mr. Greyback?” Gabe’s voice was tense. I knew his jaw was locked and his brow was furrowed in his classic tough guy expression.

“It has come to my attention that you have not earned your place here at Greyback Industries.” Shit.

“I’m sorry, sir?” Gabe’s voice began to tremble.

“We felt there were some discrepancies in your resume so we made some calls. It turns out your father paid for not only your good grades, but also your entire degree. Even your letter of recommendations were bought. Isn’t that right, Mr. Lock?” Hunter’s voice was cool and sultry.

How the hell did he know that? I never told him and I know Matt isn’t on speaking terms with him anymore.

“I….uhm….” Gabe stammard. I heard the sound of paper rustling and a loud slam! Finally, I turned around to see what had caused the noise. Hunter had slapped a piece of paper down onto Gabe’s desk.

“These are your real transcripts, aren’t they?” Hunter was positively fuming. Gabe’s eyes fluttered over towards me, the only other person in the room who knew the truth.

“You!” He shouted at me and I jumped back, “I wouldn’t have sex with you so you destroyed my reputation!” He hurled his accusations across the room at me. Hunter grabbed his arm and literally threw him out of the lab. Gabe landed face first on the ground.

“Don’t speak to her, don’t even look at her!” His voice came out as an animalistic growl, almost like it wasn’t his voice anymore, “You have no one to blame but yourself. You’re fired. Get out of my sight!” Gabe nearly fell trying to stand up and ran away from Hunter.

Hunter turned back towards the glass window and caught my gaze. His entire demeanor was rigid and angry. His expression, which usually softened when he looked at me, remained cold and distant. He turned on his heels and stormed towards the elevator. I moved to go after him but something was holding me back.

“Don’t, Maizey, just give him some time.” It was Pen. I ripped my hand from her grip and ran out of the lab.

“Hunter!” I yelled his given name, making him freeze on the spot, “Why did you do that?” I demanded. Hunter wouldn’t turn around,

“He is not up to Greyback standards.” His voice was level.

“That’s convenient timing.” I scoffed. Hunter turned around then, glaring at me,

“Remain informal with me, Miss. Grace, and you might find yourself in the same situation.” I stumbled backwards at his harsh words. He stepped back into the elevator, never taking his eyes off of me.

I felt the tears brimming in my eyes, but I refused to let them fall. I stayed in the hallway, frozen, for a long time before I was in control of my emotions. I adjusted my clothes and fixed my face before returning to the lab like nothing happened.

“I told you not to go after him.” Pen mumbled at my expression as I joined my team. I ignored her and everyone else for the rest of the day.

Ana was at the front desk when I got down to the lobby and she actually looked at me with pity. I narrowed my eyes at her in question until I realized that Hunter and Carmin were both standing outside his car. Usually they were gone before I got there or I was able to leave before they even arrived. The more time Hunter spent with Carmin, the softer Ana became towards me. Clearly she liked me more than Hunter’s current plaything, and that was saying something.

I mustered up all my courage and threw open the side door, marching to my car. I was just thankful that they were on the passenger side and not near the driver’s door of my car.

“What are you looking at, bitch?” Carmin sneered. Literally nothing, I thought to myself, but said,

“Oh just making sure that I won’t hit you when I pull out.” Not for a lack of trying, anyway.

“Yeah, right.” Carmin scoffed as she slapped her hands on either side of Hunter’s face and slobbered him with her kisses. I made a face. Honestly, that was pretty disgusting.

I sighed loudly and got into my car. I turned it on and whipped it aggressively out of the parking spot, missing the back of Carmin by meer inches. I heard her yelp and jump into Hunter’s arms. I stifled a laugh. Hunter’s bright green eyes were the last thing I saw in my rearview mirror.

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