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My breathing stills and I close my eyes, listening for anyone else. Minus a stray pop or two, an aging house settling into its joints, everything seems still. It then dawns on me how stupid this is. If someone catches me in there, I’m done. There’s legitimately no good reason for me to be anywhere but in bed next to Jake. No believable excuse I can give. Admiring the décor?
Not sure I have that good of a poker face.
I decide to risk it anyhow, the journalist in me pleading, and tiptoe my way to the office, edging along the wall to avoid any creaking boards.
The filing cabinets are my main objective, but like most they have a lock on them so I carefully slide each drawer of the desk open to see if I can find the keys. Each one is mostly empty, minus a stray notebook or two, but with nothing of use. A couple of pens and pencils. Sticky notes. A well-used spongy stress ball.
Riveting.
Now shivering because of how drafty the house is and how little clothes I have on, I lower to my knees to feel beneath the desk and see if something is taped or secured to the wood.
But there’s nothing.
I sigh and sit cross-legged on the floor. Wrap my arms around myself for warmth and look around. My eyes settle on the bookshelf. One of the books could be a fake. It’s a long shot, but it doesn’t hurt to see.
I stand to get to work, and a noise down the hall makes me freeze.
A door opens and closes. Footsteps hurry this way.
Shit.
As quietly as I can, I skitter beneath the desk, my heart pounding wildly. I try to slow my breathing as the footsteps get closer, but it’s no use. My lungs demand air.
The door down the hall opens again and someone whisper-yells, “Hey, genius! You forgot your underwear.”
Ruby.
Something hits the floor with a light thud and slides. “Thanks,” someone says. A guy.
Frederick.
More intrigued than scared now, I shift to see beneath the desk and a pair of bare feet and legs hurry by the office.
I stifle a laugh.
So, I guess his thorough vagina check is done.
When everything drifts into silence again, I decide to bail and head back to bed. If people are still awake it increases my chances of getting caught, and the last person I want busting me right now is Ruby Genevieve Mitchell.
