Chapter 61

Aria

I looked down at the stack of paperwork in my arms, the numbers swimming slightly on the paper as I tried to make sense of it all. The columns, the calculations, the graphs—it felt like I was staring at a page full of hieroglyphics.

But there was something about Tracy’s words that made me want to give it a try.

“Unless, of course… you can’t?”

My jaw tightened. I wanted to give it a shot. Maybe I could handle this, even if it was outside my usual work. I’d managed difficult tasks before. This was just another one—just… with a lot of math.

“No, um… I can do it,” I said, managing a small smile.

Tracy looked almost relieved, and her grin was genuine. “Oh, good. I knew you could handle it, Aria. Can you have the reports finished before we leave today?”

I nodded and turned on my heel, hoping that she wouldn’t notice my reddened face as I returned to my desk. I plopped the stack of papers back down and stared at it for a moment, chewing my lip uncertainly, before I sat down.

I could figure it out. Surely, if I took my time and stayed focused, I would get the hang of it. Numbers weren’t that terrifying, and I was pretty good at math in high school. Besides, I had the whole internet at my disposal. Anyone could learn how to do pretty much anything with the right tutorials.

And if I did it right, then maybe I would earn Tracy’s respect. Show her that I wasn’t just a human assistant hanging around only because Darren had taken pity on me. I’d show Lily, too, that I hadn’t only been hired because I was his mate.

Picking up the first page, I got to work. I squinted at the numbers, trying to decipher what each column represented.

An hour passed. Then two.

By lunchtime, I had barely made a dent in the work. My eyes blurred as I tried to keep track of each row, each formula. But every time I thought I had it, I would catch some mistake or another, and I would have to start all over from scratch.

Still, I refused to let it beat me. Not yet, at least. So, after page upon page of internet tutorials, I managed to get the first page or work done. Sort of. Although I still wasn’t entirely certain if I had it correct.

By mid-afternoon, I felt like I had gone in a circle, and whatever confidence I’d previously had was quickly squashed. I cursed under my breath as I went back and erased all of my work, even the parts I had been so sure about earlier.

“Dammit,” I whispered, tossing my pen down on my desk and rubbing my ink-stained hands over my face.

I wanted to figure it out for myself. I really did. But… maybe it was time to be honest. Time to admit that this was beyond me. Tracy would help me, right? She was kind, and Darren said he trusted her.

With a sigh, I gathered the papers into a pile, trying to keep my hands from shaking as I carried it back over to Tracy’s desk. She was tapping away on her keyboard and didn’t even look up from her computer as I approached.

“Finished already?” she asked without lifting her eyes from her screen.

I swallowed hard. “Actually, I wanted to ask for a bit of help. I’ve tried to go through this, but…” I hesitated, suddenly feeling a rush of heat come to my face as those dark eyes of hers flicked up to meet mine.

“Yes?” She raised an eyebrow, clasping her slender hands on her desk and giving me her full attention.

“I, uh… I’m really struggling with this,” I said, my cheeks warming. “I thought I could handle it, but this specific type of work isn’t something I’ve done before. But I really do want to learn. If you could show me, or maybe assign someone to help, I’d really appreciate it. I just want to make sure I’m doing it right.”

Tracy’s lips curved into a small smile, but there was something in her expression that made me uneasy. I couldn’t place my finger on it, though. Maybe I was just nervous.

“Oh, of course, Aria,” she said gently. “Just give me the papers. I’ll see what I can do.”

Relief washed over me, and I handed the stack to her, grateful for her understanding. Maybe she wasn’t going to be as harsh as I’d thought. Maybe she would assign someone to help me, and I could finally learn the ropes without feeling so… lost.

But then, to my horror, she held up the papers—not to look them over but to announce my failure loudly to the entire room.

“Aria is incapable of doing this work, apparently!” she called out. “Surely someone with a degree can handle it.”

The words echoed in the quiet office, and I felt my stomach drop, my heart pounding in my ears as I felt every pair of eyes turn toward me. I’d just told her in confidence that I was struggling, that I didn’t know how to do it, and she had turned it into a spectacle.

I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out. My cheeks burned as I looked around the room, seeing the stunned faces, the raised eyebrows, the glances exchanged between people as they processed what Tracy had just said.

Finally, Melissa was the first to break the silence. “Aria, you don’t… have a degree?”

I swallowed, my throat dry as sandpaper. “It’s true,” I managed, hanging my head. “I never went to college.”

The room fell silent again. This was the first they had all heard of this little tidbit; people in this office had probably assumed I was just like them—qualified, educated. And now, with one sentence, Tracy had stripped away that illusion, exposed me as… lesser.

I chanced a look at Lily, figuring that she, if no one else, would be supportive of me.

But she was staring at me with her mouth hanging open, her expression a mixture of disbelief and something else, something that looked suspiciously like… disappointment. Once, we had been friends. But now… she looked at me like I was someone who didn’t belong here.

The silence seemed to stretch on for an eternity.

Finally, Brandon stood and walked over to take the stack from Tracy’s outstretched hands. “I’ll do it,” he said, glancing up at me from beneath his eyebrows before turning abruptly and walking back to his desk.

My body felt frozen, but my face felt like it was on fire. I couldn’t move, but I felt like I was about to erupt.

Tracy cleared her throat. “Did you need anything else, Aria…?”

I quickly shook my head, not even able to look at her. I made my way back to my seat, trying to keep my head held high even though all I wanted to do was curl up and disappear.

As I crossed the room, I could feel Tracy’s gaze on me, watching me, waiting. I didn’t dare look at her, not wanting to see whatever satisfaction might be lurking in her eyes. But after a few moments, curiosity got the better of me, and I risked a glance in her direction.

She was sitting there, her hands folded neatly on her desk. When she saw me looking, her eyebrows lifted a little, the smallest of apologetic smiles tugging at her lips. I felt my throat clench as I looked at that face.

Innocent. She was… innocent. She didn’t mean to cause any trouble, it seemed.

But the damage had been done.

And in the cubicle next to me, I felt Lily slam her notebook shut, shove her chair back, and storm off to the breakroom without so much as looking at me.