Chapter 693

I headed to the pantry and asked casually, "So, Mr. Roulder's not here today?" A few people tried to hold back their laughter, which only made me more curious. "What's so funny? Did something happen to him?" I asked. "Yeah. His face got scratched!" "Sounds like it was his girlfriend." "Who knew Mr. Roulder's girlfriend was such a feisty one?" "That's what he gets for hitting up nightclubs. If I were her, I'd scratch him too." I picked up from all the gossip that Xander skipped the office because his face got hurt and was too embarrassed to come in. Once I got back to my office, I dialed his number. I knew I probably shouldn't bring it up—his pride was on the line after all—but I wanted to check in on him because he'd always had my back. I wasn't trying to tease him. As soon as Xander picked up, he said, "Ignore the office gossip. It's all nonsense." He was definitely trying to keep it under wraps, so I played along. "What do you mean? Who's saying what?" There was a short pa