“Who the hell are you?” I grumble as I rub my aching elbow.
He stares me directly in the eyes and says evenly, “Sauron.”
I arch an eyebrow at him, and the man smiles widely at my annoyance.
“You’re a dark lord seeking to conquer middle earth?”
“And why shouldn’t I be, huh?” He hops down from the ladder and stands directly in front of me. “If you must know, because you seem like a total party pooper, Amanda called me. She told meallabout you and I decided to do you all a favor. I’m installing cameras in here. Lex, at your service.” He gives me a curtsey, which looks ridiculous because he’s so lanky and tall, and he does the movement all wrong. It looks more like he’s lunging for something on the ground.
My eyes slide over the tattoos lacing his skin and the piercings on his face once more. “You look like you just were released from prison,” I quip.
“Oh, but what if I was? Are you going to discriminate? What if I’m just trying to get my life back on track,” he snarks, and I rub at my temples. The headache that has been there all day is intensifying.
Apparently, Amanda has it out for me. Maybe she’s been slowly poisoning my coffee.
My eyes flash to Lex and then to the cameras he’s installing.
“Why are you installing cameras in my office again?”
“Amanda ordered them. For security. I’ve also upgraded your modem and router because yours were from the nineties. Didn’t even know those were still around….”
I sigh heavily. “I didn’t ask her to do this.”
“She said you’d say that, and she told me to tell you…” He lifts his hands in air quotes. “Tough shit, boss.”
I sag against the wall and rub at my neck.
“Fine. Although you don’t look trustworthy.”
“Oh, I am absolutely not trustworthy, but I wouldn’t do Amanda wrong. She’s my kind of person.”
I don’t know what that means, and I don’t really want to know. Amanda has always been a bit of a mystery. I never asked what her deal was, and to be honest, I don’t know if knowing would make anything any better. Sometimes mysteries should stay mysterious.
“How much longer will you be?” I ask because I don’t want to go home yet. No, I’d much rather stay here and converse with this possible felon. That’s what my life has been reduced to at the moment.
Lex glances at the ceiling and shrugs. “Meh, twenty minutes.”
“Fine. I’ll wait,” I say, sinking into a chair and then pulling out my broken phone. I stare at the shattered screen, and Lex whistles.
“Broke that bitchbad, huh?”
“Yes.”
“I know a guy who can fix it. He’ll even give you a discount if I show up with you.”
I glance at him and narrow my eyes. “Will you have him put tracking software on my phone, and will you then stalk me with it?”
“Quite possibly,” he responds, moving back to the ladder and fiddling with the wires.
Well, why the hell not? Maybe he will lurk outside my house and keep me company, so I won’t have to feel so alone. “Fine.”
What else do I have to lose?
Nothing, that’s what. I have absolutely nothing left to lose.
I’ll be dead by the weekend, anyway.
Thirty minutes later, Lex and I are walking toward the parking lot. The sun is slipping behind the horizon, and the glow on Lex’s silver hair makes it almost translucent. The rings in his eyebrow and lip twinkle in the rays, and it almost hurts to look at him.