WELL ACTUALLY was the worst thing to hear. Even if Eiji had the courtesy to only say half of it, it was still evident in his tone, and Mallory braced himself. Yep. There it was.

"Of course." Why the hell couldn't this brat have just waltzed in the next morning so he wouldn't have to spend his last evening as a free man grumbling over it? He scrunched his entire face up, sighed in resignation, and reminded himself that there was still chocolate.

"Listen. I'm only saying this once. I've got no choice but to acknowledge we're equals as far as this job goes, but I'm not calling you my partner." That was far too friendly a word for a man who preferred to do things either alone or with a team of weary underlings. Only certain people deserved that kind of camaraderie from him. "Coworker is as good as it gets. Got it?"