17Mar

{teaser} Inside Man Chapter 40

• Saved in: Inside Man, Teasers
• by ooza
• with 1 Comment

A quick glance at the clock told Edward it was almost time for his break. The store was mostly empty of customers, so he slipped into the break room.

He didn’t expect to come face-to-face with Rose.

“Edward, hi,” she said in surprise.

“Hey. Uh… your six o’clock needs to reschedule. There’s a message on the desk. ”

Edward moved to step around her. They had remained civil toward each other ever since Edward let his secret slip, but he still tried his best to avoid her. What bothered him the most was that he didn’t know what Rose thought about him. She had stopped flirting with him completely, for which Edward was grateful, but he hated thinking that his presence made her uncomfortable.

Much to his surprise, Rose followed him.

“So how’ve you been?”

Edward looked at her questioningly. “Fine, you?”

“Good.” She stayed by Edward’s side as he retrieved his dinner from the refrigerator and sat down at the long rectangular table.

“Jasper and I were going to get a small group together after we close tonight. I know there’s somewhere you have to be, but I thought maybe after…” Rose looked at him, silently begging for him to agree to go. The hopefulness in her eyes was so unexpected that Edward didn’t know what to think.

Once the initial shock wore off, there was a heaviness in his chest. He was frustrated that Rose hadn’t taken the hint, and he was angry that she hadn’t paid attention when he told her he couldn’t go. At the same time, he was hurt, because even though he couldn’t go, he desperately wanted to.

“Rose, I can’t,” he whispered, not trusting his voice.

“We found a new place—no bar. You can bring Bella,” she added. “It’s not strictly a work event or anything like that. Please, Edward? It’ll be fun.”