"This is a lot more complicated than you made it sound," I said, watching as James typed away at the keyboard, his eyes glued to the screen.

"What's the next line?" he asked without looking up.

I glanced at the jumbled mix of numbers and letters. It was giving me a headache just trying to make sense of it.

"Um, 13 11 22. Wait, not 2 it's a 4." I could feel embarrassment creep up on me as I fumbled with the prompts.

In my defense, I had already told him at least two other pages of lines and my brain was starting to protest, making all of the symbols meld and swirl together when I tried to read it.

I rubbed my temple, hoping to ward off the growing tension. "Sorry."

The clicking of keys stopped, and I glanced up to find James looking at his wristwatch.

"There's nothing to apologize for," he murmured, standing up and stretching. "We've been at this for a while anyway."

He moved toward the door, the energy in the room changing with every step. "Come on, let's check on everyone."

He started toward the door. Rather quickly I might add considering I had to scramble to catch up with him before he was out of the room.

I eventually found my pace right behind him as we walked to the center of the building toward the large room of workers. James marched forward until we ended up just outside of the room. Not having gone in yet, we stood still and what seemed like deliberately quiet.

James looked on from the darker hallway. As his employees went on with their day, some talked to each other while others stood about.

I didn't understand why we weren't going in , feeling a bit weird just spying on people.

The man next to me leaned coyly against the wall, further camouflaging him in. I found myself getting closer to him, pushing myself to the wall as well when people walked past the archway. Somehow getting trapped in his scheme of not being seen.

"What's the point of this?" I said this keeping my voice just barely audible "Why are we spying on them?"

He shook his subtly, "Observing, not spying."

His breath was warm against my ear as he leaned down. "People act differently when they think no one's watching."

I did my best to fight off the shiver then ran down my body at the feeling of his breath on my neck. And fight I did, as James was so close to me, he would have definitely felt the shiver.

"Except you. You don't change when I'm around."

The playful tone was quickly replaced by something almost wistful, and it left me with a strange feeling as he pushed off the wall, moving into the room.

The atmosphere shifted instantly. Heads turned, conversations hushed, and a few people straightened in their seats and cleared their desks.

"Good morning, everyone," James greeted, his tone professional. "How's everything going?"

A chorus of affirmations and status updates followed. Their backs were straight as a board while they smiled perfectly from their desks.

The smiles were so forced and over stressed, it made them look more like tight grimaces as they competed with each other to be as invisible as possible.

We didn't linger very long. Only taking a few minutes to check in with each staff member before James b- lined for the waiting area where Amanda was.

I could see from a distance that Amanda was reading something. The second she sensed someone was coming, her hands were planted on the keyboard. Her attention was undivided to her blank screen.

When she looked up eventually and saw us, I could see a glimmer of surprise. Her eyes darted between him and I as we approached. James stopped in front of her desk, folding his arms and leaning slightly forward.

"Good morning, Amanda." James started.

"Good Morning Mr. Thomas." Her eyes sparkled as she looked at him.

Amanda leaned forward on her desk, pushing her cleavage forward. I had to bite back the discomfort bubbling up in my chest, the subtle, unsavory intention behind it clear now.

James, oblivious or perhaps deliberately ignoring it, continued, "Have you been busy this morning?"

Amanda tilted her head, swaying slightly, "A few check-ins, some calls... nothing I can't handle."

Her smile was dazzling, but I could see the flicker of something else in her eyes. "Do you need me to do anything else?"

James smiled slightly and reached into his jacket. "Yes. I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

She stood and leaned even further forward, practically hanging off her desk now. "Yes, sir?"

James pulled out a few bills, and the air shifted instantly. "Can you go get Jane and me coffee? I'll pay for yours too, if you'd like."

Amanda's face froze, her bright demeanor dropping as she looked at the money, clearly caught off guard. "Yes, sir. Thank you." Her words were curt, and she moved away from the desk with a sharp click of her heels.

I couldn't help the sense of satisfaction that bubbled up as I watched her stomp down the hall.

"Jane."

James stood far away, having turned his neck to look back at me. I blinked and realized he was waiting for me to follow.

We left the empty waiting room to go to the intern's office. I could see the approaching door as we neared it. The rectangular glass portion showing a glimpse of the teens inside.

I could immediately see Nick and the others as they acted very similar to the adult employees we just left not too long ago.

Nick worked silently in the corner while the others wandered around the room aimlessly.

James placed one hand on the door and started inside for a moment before pushing the door open suddenly, causing all of the teens inside to scream bloody murder at the intrusion.

"Holy shit!"

"What the hell?"

A few other curses dispelled themselves from the group as they calmed. I had to stop myself from laughing when I saw that Carter had fallen out of chair and was lying on the marble floor in shock.

"I see you are all staying busy." James said with very obvious sarcasm and a hint of a threat.

The four of them stayed quiet and simply watched as James looked back. I could see through the barrier of the authority he radiated, he was amused by this.

"Carter get off the floor."

The younger boy scrambled at the words. Obeying the command instantly, pulling him from the initial surprise.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry."

In the midst of the chaos, I managed to share a brief, silent look with Nick. He returned a small nod, but there was something different about him today—more withdrawn, less open. He turned away quickly after our exchange, and I wondered what was going through his mind.

James talking from the background eventually came back into my conscious mind as I noted him starting to move.

James backed up a few steps as his hand came to the edge of the wide open - door we just came from, pulling it closed as we exited.

"I will be checking all of your work before you leave."

The door clicked closed with a satisfying click. With a low murmur coming from the closed door.

I pulled at James' sleeve, "Why did you do that?" I laughed as we walked back to the other end of the building we came from.

He pushed open a door so I could walk through first, "Well, they need to be directed a little more than the others around here. Also, it's fun."

I tried to keep my tone serious, but laughter slipped through. "That's so terrible, James."

He only gave me a quick glance, "And yet you stood there right next to me, enjoying every second of it."

We weaved through the large center room again, dodging desks as we went. When we reached the tall mahogany door, it was exactly where we left it.

James stopped just before the door, turning toward me with a smirk. "That route we just took? You'll be using it every day when I need you to deliver things. Remember it, because next time you'll be on your own."

James made the motion to grab the door knob, but just as his palm was able to wrap around the small silver ball, it turned on its own.

The door came open swiftly.

All I could see was red hair.

"Sweet Child!"