The Skin Thief

Chapter 42

Marcus leans against my desk and crosses his arms.

"Is everything okay?" I ask, somehow keeping my voice from shaking.

He narrows his eyes slightly. "I heard from security that you were still here,"

"Am I not allowed to work overtime?" I reply and sit on my chair.

"Yes, as long as that overtime isn't something you're not meant to be working on."

I let out a breath of relief and smile, realising what this is about.

"I am not working on the translations, if that's what you're worried about," I tell him and then open up my report. He looks at my screen.

"I just had to be sure," he finally says. "You can understand that in my line of work, there are rarely such things as coincidences. You staying late for the first time after I've given you highly classified documents is slightly suspicious."

"I understand," I say then sigh. "And it isn't a coincidence. The only reason I have to stay late is because my work got deleted whilst I was in the office talking to you."

"Oh?" he says, then chuckles to himself, shaking his head as he comes to the realisation. "Ah."

I nod my head in agreement. He smiles and my heart flutters at how genuine it is.

"So yeah, nothing to worry about," I say awkwardly. "Just trying to get my assignment done so it can be submitted at 9 am tomorrow."

"That's a big push," he replies.

"Well, I'm a graduate. I'm used to pulling an overnighter," I reply.

"True," he chuckles. "How much do you have left?"

"I should be done in an hour or so. Then I'll come in early tomorrow to edit it before I submit it."

"Sounds like a solid plan, Ivy."

"Yes, I'll get it done."

He chuckles and moves away from my desk. "I suppose you want me to leave you alone so you can get back to work."

"Is it that obvious?" I ask jokingly.

"A little," he replies and laughs. "Alright, I'll leave you be. Before I go, how do you plan on getting home?"

"The trains run all night, thankfully. My flat isn't too far from the station."

"Let me drive you," he replies. For a second, I don't know what to say. I stammer over my words until I nod my head.

"Oh, er, yeah, that would be great. Are you sure?" I ask, frowning.

He smiles that horribly charming smile that makes my stomach flutter. "I wouldn't have offered if I didn't mean it," he explains.

"That's very kind of you, thank you," I reply.

"You're welcome. I'll come back in about forty-five minutes or so."

"Thank you."

He grins, turns, and leaves quickly. I let out a long breath and lean back in my chair, struggling how to comprehend how that even happened. I can't help the smile that forms on my lips as I think of the irony of it all.

Serena deleting my work has only bought me closer to Marcus.

Thank you, Serena.

Giggling to myself, I lean forward and get back to work. It takes me a few minutes to try and concentrate again as all I can think about is Marcus and how this is going to work. What is my plan from here? If I do this right, then...