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I felt everyone’s eyes on me from their fish bowls, but I wouldn’t hang my head. I’d done nothing wrong. The less of a scene I made, the better. I plastered on a smile and walked briskly to the stairs. I wished I could jog them as Jake had done, so I could appear nonchalant about the move, but that was impossible in these shoes. Who was I kidding? It would be impossible in any shoes unless I held onto the railing for dear life.
At the top of the stairs, Jake stood with his arms by his side, staring straight ahead. He just needed a pair of sunglasses and he would look the part of the Secret Service.
Regrettably, I hadn’t asked Mr. Williams which one was my new office, so I reluctantly approached Jake. “Which one is mine, asshole?” I ground out.
His lips twitched, and his eyes danced. “First one to the left.”
I walked past him and set my laptop on the desk. I hadn’t been upstairs since my first day when Mr. Williams called me into his office to introduce himself. I’d noted how the walls upstairs weren’t made of glass but dark wood panels instead. I had hoped to make it to this floor one day, just not like this.
It will all be over soon. It had to be.
“Jacob,” I called.
He appeared at my door in seconds. “Yes, Ms. Adams.” He stood rock still.
“This isn’t over.”
He directed his gaze at me. “Respectfully, ma’am, yes it is. You agreed to follow my rules. When you broke them, I had no choice but to go above you.”
“You can’t fuck with my career. Or with me. I won’t let that happen.”
He stretched his fingers and wet his lips. Then, he stepped closer until only the desk separated us and he whispered, “I don’t plan to…” he began, but paused and scanned my face, his eyes roaming to my neck and back. “At least—I don’t plan to fuck with your career, Ms. Adams.”
7
Nikole
The next morning, I filled my travel mug with coffee and set it on the small table at the entrance, where I threw my keys every night. I’d thrown my coat on the chair as well, not having the energy to hang it after the day I had yesterday.
I put on my coat and checked the pockets for the gloves I’d stuffed in there last night. When I pulled them out, something fell to the floor and ricocheted down the hallway. I blinked, trying to make out the object. It was a white circular object with a black circle on top. My suspicion grew as I got nearer and when I saw the bitten apple logo, I knew. That was how he’d tracked me to work. I shook my head, annoyed with myself for not having found it sooner.
He was parked outside of my building, waiting in his black SUV. I hated that car.
He’d tried to come in to ‘sweep the rooms’ last night, but I flatly refused. He must have read the exhaustion on my face because he hadn’t argued further. I would have felt terrible that he’d slept in his cold truck all night if I didn’t know he had a warm bed of his own he could sleep in if he would just listen and leave me the heck alone. He started his car when I stepped outside and followed me closely the whole way to the office. I didn’t try to lose him this time. What was the point? He knew where I worked.
“Hello, Mary,” I said as I walked by her desk.
“Good morning, Ms. Adams,” she replied and smiled, but her gaze passed me. Judging by the heavy footsteps behind me, I knew the smile was for him. I rolled my eyes as I climbed up the steps.
Once inside my office, I shut the door, knowing he would be standing there. I didn’t want the constant reminder of how my mother was still interfering with my life. If I shut the door, I could ignore the entire ordeal and eventually, it would go away. Shutting the world out worked in the past. I learned it from my mother.
I kept up this routine for the next few days: waking up, going to work, closing my office door, driving home to sleep, then starting the day all over again.
Sarah had texted me a few times, checking in on me, but I only liked her messages, not ready to talk about this situation yet. But when another text came in, I finally messaged her back: I’m sorry I’ve been quiet. Still trying to process everything. I’m fine. Just a lot going on right now. And I’m not sure if you know this, but your brother is my bodyguard.
I’d barely sent the message when my phone rang. I wasn’t surprised to see Sarah’s face on my phone.
“Hello?”
“What do you mean, my brother is your bodyguard?”
I sighed and rubbed my forehead. “I guess he didn’t tell you. I should have figured you would have called me if he did.”
“Of course, I would. What’s going on? Are you alright?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. My mother received a threatening email and now it’s like DEFCON 1 around here.”
“Did you just use a military term? Is my brother rubbing off on you?”
