Mis-Judge By His Secretary

5

Nathan

Ever since I caught Eleanor talking trash about me to her best friend, she had been avoiding me like I was contagious.

She wouldn’t meet my gaze during meetings. She skittered out of rooms the second I walked in. And if I so much as said “good morning,” she turned bright red and muttered something incomprehensible before speed-walking away.

It was funny.

Until it wasn’t.

Now, it was just irritating. She was overdoing it, and I didn’t have time for games, or for a secretary who acted like I was the villain in her rom-com.

So when Kyle asked me about her, it just pissed me off the more.

“Where’s your secretary?” Kyle asked, leaning casually against the doorframe of my office.

I glanced up from the file I’d been reviewing and frowned. “What? She’s not here yet?”

“Nope. No one was sitting there when I walked past her desk.” He said.

That was odd. I had come in early this morning… earlier than usual… but it had been two hours since then. Surely Eleanor would have arrived by now.

I tapped my pen against the desk, irritation simmering in my chest. “She’s late?” I asked no one in particular.

Kyle shrugged, a smirk tugging at his mouth. “You look murderous. Have you given her that look before? Or is this one reserved for me?”

Before I could answer, the sound of frantic footsteps echoed down the corridor. Moments later, Eleanor appeared in the doorway, slightly out of breath, cheeks flushed.

Kyle’s eyes lit up when he saw her, and he grinned. “Eleanor?”

I frowned. Eleanor? The way he said her name made it sound like they were old friends… or something else.

To my surprise, Eleanor’s face shifted from embarrassed to delighted, and she smiled. “Hey, Kyle! What are you doing here?” She asked, looking surprised.

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” he said, his grin widening.

“I work here. Judge West is my new boss,” she said, gesturing toward me.

I watched their exchange, and it grated on my nerves more than it should have.

“You two know each other?” I asked, my tone cautious.

I wasn’t sure why I was asking… probably because my brain had taken a sudden and unnecessary detour into territory it had no business visiting. Kyle was a flirt, a smooth-talking charmer who never stayed with one woman long enough to learn her middle name. And Eleanor… well, there was history there.

Years ago, I had had a one-night stand with her, and the memory was seared into my brain for reasons I didn’t care to examine too closely. But now, watching her chat so easily with Kyle, I couldn’t help but wonder if they’d had a similar… encounter.

Not that it was any of my business.

“Oh, yeah,” Kyle said, glancing at me. “Eleanor’s parents live next door to my grandmother. Eleanor and my grandma are friends.”

I looked between them, searching for… something. Evidence of a shared past? A hint of familiarity that went deeper than friendly neighbors of his grandmother?

Nothing.

Clearing my throat, I shifted gears. “That doesn’t explain why you’re late to work, Ms. Rhodes.”

Eleanor’s head snapped toward me, her smile fading. “I’m sorry, Judge West. I had an issue with my landlord this morning.”

She hesitated, her hands twisting together. “I’m behind on rent, and he doesn’t believe I have a job now and can pay him soon. He gave me notice to leave tonight… or else he’s putting my things on the curb. He says he already rented the place to someone else.”

Her voice wavered slightly, and for the first time, she looked small. Vulnerable.

Before I could respond, Kyle jumped in. “What? Can he do that? Aren’t there laws about this kind of thing?”

His gaze bounced between Eleanor and me, full of outrage on her behalf.

“He can,” I said evenly, “if her lease allows for eviction after defaulting on rent.”

Kyle’s outrage deepened. “That’s ridiculous. There has to be something you can do, right?”

Eleanor’s head dipped lower, and she shifted uncomfortably. “It’s fine,” she mumbled. “I’ll figure it out. I’m sorry for being late. It won’t happen again.”

The sight of her standing there, trying to shrink into herself, made something twist in my chest. I wasn’t sure if it was guilt, frustration, or the lingering remnants of a memory I didn’t want to revisit.

Kyle on the other hand looked ready to launch into a full-blown tirade on her behalf.

“Eleanor,” I said, my voice steady, “you’re not working under the assumption that you’ll be homeless tonight, are you?”

She glanced up at me, startled. “I… no. I mean, I hope not. But I’ll figure it out. I always do.”

There it was again… this quiet, stubborn determination that made her stand just a little taller, even when the odds weren’t in her favor.

Kyle opened his mouth to say something else, but I shot him a look that shut him up. “Kyle, give us a minute,” I said, my tone leaving no room for argument.

He frowned but nodded, stepping out of the office and closing the door behind him.

Eleanor shifted again, clearly uncomfortable with the silence that followed.

“You don’t need to figure this out on your own,” I said finally.

Her brow furrowed. “I’m not asking for help.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

She stared at me, her lips pressing into a thin line. “I’ll handle it, Judge West. It’s not your problem.”

“No, it’s not,” I agreed. “But that doesn’t mean I’m going to ignore it.”

Her eyes widened slightly, and for a moment, she looked like she wasn’t sure whether to argue or thank me.

“Take the afternoon,” I said. “Sort it out. And if you need more time, let me know. I’ll call you as well if I need anything.”

She blinked, clearly caught off guard. “You’re giving me the afternoon off?” She asked as if it was the only thing she heard me say.

“Yes, Ms. Rhodes. Unless you would prefer I give you a lecture on punctuality instead.”

Her mouth twitched; halfway to a smile, but she quickly caught herself. “Thank you,” she said softly. “Thank you so much sir.”

Sir? I hated when she called me that for some reason, but I said nothing. She was my employee after all.

I nodded, already turning back to my desk. “Be here tomorrow. On time.”

“Yes, Judge West.”

And just like that, she was gone, leaving behind a faint trace of her perfume and a knot of something I didn’t quite understand, or maybe I do, and would just like to ignore it.