25. No One Likes an Unexpected Visitor
”SIR?”
I glance up at the security guard standing in my doorway, waiting for him to explain the interruption.
”You have a visitor.”
Sliding off my readers, I drop them on the desk as I lean back in my chair. I’m opening my mouth to tell him I better fucking not have a visitor when a familiar voice carries in from the hall.
”You guys always this uptight here?” She makes a sound of disgust. ”No wonder Vincent always acts like he’s got a stick up his ass.” Heidi appears in my doorway, a bag slung over one shoulder and a giant cup gripped in her hand. ”Hey, grumpy pants. Heard you need a little help.”
My mouth is still open, but nothing’s coming out. Heidi”s unexpected arrival has stunned me into silence. Sure, we”ve been exchanging emails over the past few days, but not once did I allude to the fact that we were struggling.
”Holy shit.” Heidi”s head rolls back, aiming her cackling laugh at the ceiling of my office. She swipes at one eye, clearly amused. ”That is fucking awesome.” Coming around my desk, she uses her big bag to bump me in the shoulder as she continues to laugh. ”Move over. You gotta share.”
”What are you doing here?” I roll out of her way, because I don”t want to take an elbow to the face as she unpacks her computer. ”And what is so fucking funny?”
”I”m here to help figure out your bullshit, and what’s so fucking funny is you didn”t know I was coming.” She slides her laptop onto my desk, pushing mine to one side as she continues unloading.
”You shouldn”t be here. You know Pierce is going to—”
”I know you’re not about to tell me you think Pierce gets to fucking tell me what to do.” Her eyes snap to mine, narrowing into a glare. ”Because if that”s what you”re going to say, you better make sure your shit’s locked down, because I”m gonna steal all your fucking gas points from the grocery store.”
I press my lips together, both to hide my smile, but also to ensure I keep my gas points. Julieanne has stocked my refrigerator well, and I”ve got a decent amount for this month.
”That”s what I fucking thought.” Heidi looks me over, her blonde brows lifting. ”Are you going to get up so I have a seat to work in?”
I grind my molars together, staring her down for a few seconds. She’s out of control and I”m pretty sure could”ve been diagnosed with oppositional defiance at some point in her life. She’s loud and brash and does whatever she wants. Always.
I really fucking wish she would”ve taken me up on my job offer instead of going to work at Alaskan Security.
Standing, I slide the chair her way, sweeping one hand in the direction of the seat. ”Be my guest.”
Heidi snorts as she drops down. ”Seems like I”m not your guest.” She starts cackling again, laughing wildly as her fingers hit the keyboard.
I lean one hip against the desk, crossing my arms in an attempt to look aggravated with her presence. ”You still haven”t told me why you”re here.”
The air in the room shifts just as I finish asking my question, and I don”t have to lift my eyes to know it”s because Julieanne is back from her trip to the breakroom. She holds two cups of coffee in her hands as her gaze flicks from me to Heidi and back to me again, widening just a little as it meets mine.
And now I don”t need Heidi to tell me why she”s here anymore.
Julieanne”s full lips press together and her hands tighten around the cups. I hold her eyes for a second before turning to Heidi. ”Will you excuse me for a minute?”
I don”t wait for her answer before stalking around my desk to where Julieanne still stands in the doorway. I grab her by the elbow, turning her as I haul her out of my office and head toward the back of the building.
”I was going to say something as soon as I knew for sure—”
”I would save my breath, Jules. You”re gonna need it.” I rest my thumb on the pad of the first interrogation room in line, waiting for the newly installed device to open the lock before twisting the levered handle and dragging Julieanne inside. I slam it behind us and grab the coffee cups from her hand, setting them onto the single chair against the wall.
Her eyes are still wide when I turn back to her and she continues trying to explain. ”I didn”t know she was just gonna show—”
”Get on your knees.” I”m not mad. Technically. What I”m feeling is probably anger adjacent. But more than anything, I love seeing that Julieanne isn”t afraid of me. That she won”t hesitate to do what she wants, even when she knows there”s a chance I won”t like it.
She”s stood up to me from the beginning. Taking me on time and time again. Held her ground when most grown men would back down.
And I fucking love her for it.
Just as much as I love how easily she drops to the floor, her pretty skin flushing in anticipation of what she knows is coming.
I unbuckle my belt before flipping the button of my pants loose. ”It seems like you went behind my back and made arrangements. Is that true?”
”It wasn”t really behind your back. I used your email. You could have seen what was going on at any time.” She pleads her case, even though she has to know the outcome is going to be the same either way, and it makes me harder. Makes me more desperate to sink into that sweet, smart mouth.
Dragging down my zipper, I shove my pants and underwear down just enough to pull my cock free. ”That”s not good enough, Jules, and you know it.” I slide the tip of my dick across her lips, shining them with the pre-cum already leaking free. ”You belong to me and I belong to you. There are no secrets between us anymore, and you’re going to gag on my cock until you remember that.”
Her sinful lips curve. “Good luck.” Her tongue flicks across the head of my dick. “I don’t have the best memory so it might take a few tries.”
”YOU SHOULD TOTALLY cometo our next girls’ night.” Heidi hasn”t stopped talking all afternoon, and I’m starting to get tired of the noise.
But, I have to admit, I like Julieanne having someone to talk to. As much as I want to monopolize all her time, I know that”s not what she wants. I”ve caught her trying to talk to Vera, who, despite her best efforts, is warming up to Julieanne. I”ve also caught her talking to the cat. Hell, I think she talks to the freaking walls when she gets desperate enough.
”You’ll have to get grumpy pants here to let you out of his sight for a few hours though.” Heidi makes the jab at me and she grins while she does it. It would seem Julieanne isn”t the only one who”s not afraid of giving me shit.
”Of course she can go to a girls’ night.” I cross my arms and lean back against the sofa I’ve been sitting on for way too fucking long. ”But, I can’t imagine Pierce would be thrilled to find out all the women who work for him are hanging out with my—” I stop, stumbling over the next word. Girlfriend isn”t anywhere near enough for what Julieanne is to me. I don”t like fiancée either. I want something permanent. Something binding.
There”s only one word I can think of that would reflect that, but legally, I can”t use it.
Yet.
Heidi doesn”t seem to notice I stopped short of identifying the role Julieanne has in my life. She continues on, rolling her eyes like I”m being dramatic. ”Pierce is just upset. You hurt his feelings.” Her eyes don’t leave her computer screen as she continues talking and working simultaneously. ”He thought you guys were friends, and then you royally dicked him over for no reason.”
It was for a reason, just not one I was willing to admit until very recently. But that’s beside the point. ”We weren”t friends.”
Heidi scoffs. ”Whatever.”
”What do you mean, whatever?” I don”t know what she”s getting at, but I don”t like it.
”I mean, you two were absolutely friends.” Heidi”s eyes finally come my way. ”Maybe not the kind of friends I”d ever want to have, but considering you’re both arrogant men who like to get their way, you might”ve been best fucking friends.”
I open my mouth, ready to argue, but once again words escape me.
Pierce and I were not friends. Associates is the most applicable term I can think of to describe our relationship. He was someone I could trust. Someone who understood the world we both live in. Someone who saw things the same way I did. Usually. If I had a problem, I knew I could count on him to help.
”Fuck.” I rake one hand through my hair as I stand up. Pointing at the two women sitting behind my desk, I shoot each of them a glare. ”This is your fault.” Heidi dragged Pierce into my life in the first place, and Julieanne is the one turning me fucking inside out and forcing me to see things a different way. She has the decency to look guilty, but Heidi just grins at me, unashamed of the turmoil she”s caused in my life.
”I”m going to do rounds.” I stride out of the office, doing my best to wear the mask I”ve kept in place for decades, but the fucking thing doesn”t seem to fit right anymore.
And that’s their fault too. Because, if I consider that Pierce might have been my friend, I have to consider Heidi is too.
Initially I pinpointed the unraveling of my life as the moment Julieanne smiled at me, but there”s a possibility it happened before that. She might have simply been the catalyst that shoved me over the edge.
That revelation has me storming through the halls, struggling with what all of it means. I’m moving fast enough when I hit the door that my entrance into the pit has everyone looking up, turning my way like they”re expecting me to start barking out orders. Unfortunately, I have no orders to give. Not when it comes to Julieanne’s situation anyway. And that adds another emotion for me to grapple with besides the guilt making me scowl.
Fear. I’ve worked hard not to have to face it again. Done everything in my power to ensure I didn”t care enough about another person to worry over their well-being. Yet here I am. Fucked sideways by Julieanne and a few assholes I can”t help but like.
I check in with Elias, going over all our current jobs instead of just asking what he”s found regarding Julieanne. He seems relieved by the change, and quickly briefs me on where we stand on each op. All of them are going well, so I linger for a while, moving around the space and among my employees, many of whom have worked for me for years.
Fuck me. I think I might like these bastards too.
I’ve just finished my first lap of the upper tier when the entry door opens and Amos comes in. He scans the room before realizing I”m only a few feet from him, tips his head toward the hall, and I follow him out.
”One of my teams just got back. Thought you’d want to touch base with them about the op.”
It”s not something I normally do—usually Amos handles all that and relays any relevant information to me—but my second might have noticed I”ve been a little bit detached from the workings of my company the past few... Months.
I jerk my head in a nod. ”I do.”
I glance around the room once more, refusing to offer anything but my usual frown. Because, while I might be forced to admit I like some of the people surrounding me, I haven”t yet become a complete sap. I’m not the type to ask about children or family vacations.
And I won’t ever be.
Amos stays at my side as we exit the room and stride down the hall, following me away from the pit into the portion of the building set up for the more hands-on portion of GHOST. I find one of the teams sorting through gear and breathe a sigh of relief when I see everyone is accounted for and appears unharmed.
Fuck it all. Maybe I am a goddamned sap.
”Team.” All their eyes come to me, widening slightly at my presence. ”Should I assume everything went as planned?”
Darius, the lead of this particular team, stands and starts laying out the events of their op. As he’s speaking, I glance over and see Amos has gone on about his day, leaving me on my own. It”s another good idea. Keeping him between us was probably lazy of me. I should spend more time here. Make more of an effort to be present in all aspects. Even if I take a small step back, I should still stay more on top of things than I have been.
Darius finishes explaining the complete success they had, and I thank them before I leave. They all look at me like I have two heads when I show appreciation, and at this point I wouldn”t be surprised to discover I do.
My steps are quick as I go back to my office, ready to be close to Julieanne again. It”s ridiculous how much I crave her. How much I need her brightness in my life. It”s been so dark for so long, and now that I know what it”s like having her near me, I feel like I”m drowning when she”s not.
But when I walk into my office, Heidi is alone behind the desk.
I scan the room like I might have missed her. ”Where”s Julieanne?”
Heidi doesn”t glance up, just keeps working. ”She went for some coffee.”
Heidi’s still not looking at me, so I don”t bother saying anything else. I go straight to the breakroom, steps quick enough my men would judge me if they could see the way I’m fucking chasing a woman around, but I don’t fucking care.
I stop short when I reach the room, irritated when Julieanne isn’t there. I do a quick check of the bathroom, but it”s empty too.
My next stop is the pit, where I expect to see her down with Elias, but he sits alone at his desk. My eyes snap around the dim space but there”s no sign of the dark-haired woman who has changed more than I ever imagined.
”Elias.” I wait for him to turn to me. ”Has Julieanne been here?”
He shakes his head. ”I haven”t seen her.”
My stomach twists uncomfortably. I know I shouldn”t be panicking. I know she”s here somewhere. There”s no way for her to get out. All the doors lock automatically and, because I”m an asshole, I haven”t added her prints into the system. I liked that she needed me. I liked knowing where she was.
And knowing she has to be here somewhere is the only thing that keeps me from sprinting back to my office. But when she”s not sitting behind the desk, my pulse spikes. ”How long has Julieanne been gone?”
Heidi lifts one shoulder. ”I don’t know.” She glances at the corner of her computer where the clock is. ”Holy shit, it”s already five o”clock.”
If Heidi doesn”t know what time it is, she sure as shit doesn”t know how long it”s been since Julieanne left. I leave her again and this time go directly to the security room, barging in. The guard monitoring the feeds spins to face me. He starts to greet me, but I cut him off.
”I”m looking for Julieanne. I can”t find her.” My eyes roam the feeds. “Have you seen her?”
His brows pinch together like he doesn’t understand the question. ”She left about fifteen minutes ago.” His lips press into a frown. “Nothing looked odd. Is something wrong?”
I grip the door frame as the world starts to spin out. ”She left?” I”m yelling and I don”t give a shit. ”How in the fuck did she leave? She can”t get out of this place on her own.”
The man in front of me goes white as a sheet, his throat working as he swallows. ”Well… She didn”t actually leave alone.”