Chapter 872

Chapter 872: Chapter 872

I left the kitchen and walked down the short corridor until I stopped in front of Minne’s room. I knocked first, not wanting to accidentally walk in on her while she was still sleeping. When I didn’t get an answer, I knocked twice more, just to make sure.

A moment later, the door opened, and a panicked Minne appeared in front of me.

She was wearing a short nightdress, and her short hair was completely disheveled from sleeping. Her eyes were still heavy with sleep, but they were wide with panic.

"I overslept. The alarm didn’t go off." She blurted the words out quickly. "I’m sorry, Master. This never happens!"

"Tessa turned off your alarm so you could get some more rest." I smiled. "Come on, wash your face. Breakfast is ready."

"Oh, I... I would’ve prepared the..."

"I know. And I know the pancakes probably suck, but what can you do?" I chuckled. "Come on, go wash your face."

She gave me a shy nod and stepped back into her room. I waited until she closed the door before turning around.

Just then, another door opened behind me.

Kim stepped into the hallway while yawning, her hair messy from sleep. When she noticed me, she gave me a sleepy peace sign before walking toward the common bathroom with slow, sluggish steps. She disappeared inside and closed the door.

I headed back toward the kitchen, but by the time I got there, I realized Nala and Jasmine were awake too.

Before I could say anything, the door to the common bathroom opened behind me, and Kim rushed out. She immediately grabbed my bandaged hand and lifted it slightly, examining it before looking straight into my eyes.

"What the fuck happened?" she asked. "What happened at Mendy’s?"

"Long story. I’ll tell you over breakfast."

"That a bandage?" Jasmine asked as she entered the hallway. She looked at my hand and then at me. "What happened?"

"Evan." Nala added. "Wha... you..."

"Like I said, we’ll talk about it after we eat." I gently pulled my arm back. "First, we eat the delicious, super awesome pancakes Tessa and I made. Then the story comes."

"Tessa and you made pancakes?" Jasmine stared at me in disbelief. "Oh, God. My poor stomach."

"Shut your bitch ass up," Tessa called from the kitchen, clearly offended.

Well, I couldn’t lie.

I was also a little afraid of those pancakes.

⟁ ⟁ ⟁

I was back at my desk, bored out of my mind. Things were quiet, too quiet. So quiet that I actually wanted something to happen, which was definitely not like me. Back when I was working as a clerk, I used to pray that I wouldn’t have to deal with another drunk asshole with an open mouth who wanted to babble nonsense at me for twenty minutes. Now? Hell, I’d listen to a drunken fool any day just to have something to do.

The elevator doors opened, and... what? Tuck walked out.

What the hell was Tuck doing here?

He had a small visitor tag clipped to his T-shirt, which made me even more confused. I couldn’t think of a single reason why he’d come all the way to my workplace. Had something happened?

"T?" I called, getting up from my chair.

Tuck looked around the lobby but couldn’t find me. He rubbed the back of his head, looked around one more time, then shook his head with an annoyed expression before walking toward the break room.

I put two fingers in my mouth and whistled. The sharp sound caught his attention, and he immediately turned toward me. When he finally spotted me, he walked over to my desk with quick steps. He looked... happy? Which wasn’t like him.

"Mr. Marlowe." He smiled as he approached. "What’s up?"

"I’m good," I said, dapping him up with a quick clasp and a shoulder bump. "How... why are you here, man?"

"To break the good news." He cleared his throat, putting on a ridiculously serious expression. "I finally got over Jane... and found a girl."

"Really?" I grinned and shook his hand again before giving him a shoulder bump. "That’s great news, man. Fuck Jane. You deserved someone better."

"Yeah. She moved into the neighborhood not long ago, and we get along really well." Tuck leaned against my desk with a proud smile. "Man, how lucky am I, huh? Her name’s Sherry."

"Hey, she’s the lucky one." I chuckled. "You came all the way here just to break the good news?"

"Oh, no, no. I was in the area. We met at a coffee shop nearby and hung out for a while. Since you were close, I thought I’d drop by and see your fuckass face."

"Wow. Maybe I am the lucky one." I smiled and sat back down. "Got a photo of her?"

"Nah. She’s not photogenic, she told me." Tuck shrugged. "But she’s the cutest, man. I swear."

"Man, if she breathes, she’s already better than Jane." I nodded approvingly. "I’m seriously happy for you. We should celebrate."

"Yeah... but I can’t." His smile faded slightly as he exhaled and placed both hands on my desk, leaning forward. "I have to be hard on Mel. Her grades have been dropping day by day. I should probably be home twenty-four seven, making sure she studies and doesn’t end up like me."

"Good brother." I gave him an approving nod. "You’re doing the right thing."

"Hopefully." He straightened himself and tapped the desk playfully. "Anyway, I won’t hold you. I gotta go. Mel should be getting out soon, so I’m going to pick her up."

"There’s still some time, though."

"In this traffic?" Tuck grimaced. "I hate this part of the city. Wherever I look, there’s a car. Disgusting."

"Ugh, ask me about it."

"Yeah." He pushed himself away from the desk and adjusted his visitor tag. "Well, that’s all she wrote. Take care, man."

"You too."

Tuck gave me a quick wave before turning toward the elevator. I watched him disappear through the doors, and once they closed, I settled back into my chair.

At least the boredom had been interrupted for a few minutes.