Chapter 10
CHAPTER TEN
Sutton
As I walk toward my office, I see Allen Jeffries standing there, a sheaf of papers in his hand.
I nod at him to acknowledge his presence but focus on unlocking my door and getting inside before I say anything to him.
After I set my laptop briefcase next to my desk, I turn and ask, “Is there something I can help you with this morning?”
“Well, I had planned to set it on your desk, but your door was locked. Why is that?” he questions.
“Not that I owe you an explanation, Allen, but most things I work on are confidential in nature, so I make sure that my office is locked when I leave for the day,” I state, being cocky.
I’m trying to make myself seem as unattractive as I possibly can, because he apparently doesn’t like independent women.
What he doesn’t know is that I upload those documents nightly to a secure server, and my laptop, as well as my desktop are password protected, so if I forgot one night, I wouldn’t worry about information falling into the wrong hands Plus, thanks to Skippy, I now have an innocuous little owl on the shelf behind my desk that is actually a nanny cam and it activates when motion is detected.
The tiny light is so small, I’m positive he can’t see it, but even if he can, I don’t care.
“Well, I don’t know if that’s allowed,” he replies, his nasally voice irritating me half to death.
He’s full of shit. I didn’t put the lock on my door, it was already there when I took the position and was assigned this office space.
One of the best things about having just finished my degree is that I took classes in cybersecurity so I could protect the information I was working on.
The first line of defense is being able to lock your office, even if there are no paper trails to see.
After that, it’s all about unique passwords, utilizing a secure server, and coding documents appropriately, depending on the security risk.
This asshole isn’t going to keep me from doing my job; he can fuck all the way off with his pretentiousness and I don’t give the first fuck that he’s the CEO’s grandson.
Shrugging, I retort, “Whether or not it’s allowed, it’s the process and procedure that I have to ensure that anything I’m working on is protected, plain and simple. If my boss is okay with it, that’s all that matters in the long run, not whether you approve.”
Dammit, Skippy told me to avoid this bozo, and here I am, engaging with him! Stupid, Sutton, real stupid. Because the gleam in his eyes tells me this isn’t over for him. I’ve virtually waved the red flag in front of his damn face.
He hands me the papers he had in his hand and walks away, muttering, “You won’t get away with this.”
With those parting words I’m confused on what angered him the most. The fact that I stood up to him and didn’t let him run over me, or the fact that I have a lock on my door.
Either way, I determine here and now that I’m going to avoid him at all costs.
Maybe Skippy is right and I need to reach out to Gemini.
Because just the brief interaction we had has my skin crawling and not in a good way at all.
But what could Gemini actually do about Jeffries?
I mean, he can’t eliminate him, the family would miss him at some point since they’re so prominent in town.
Plus, is the fact he skeeves me out reason enough for him to die?
No, not in the grand scheme of things. Still, telling Gemini is probably the right thing to do.
* * *
“You didn’t have to come over,” I say to Gemini who is standing on my front porch.
“You texted that you had an issue,” he replies. “I was out and about so it was easier to stop by.”
I snort because I know there’s no way in hell he was just ‘out and about’. Especially since we got another two inches of snow in the last half hour. “Gemini,” I sigh. “I know better than that. I do appreciate you coming this way though. I have an issue I need an outside perspective on.”
“Well, you can lay it on me once you invite me inside, Sutton. It’s cold as fuck out here and I’m not getting any warmer standing on your front porch.”
“Shit. Sorry. Come in,” I say, swinging the door open wider so he can shuffle past me.
I don’t move too far because I need to keep the warmth in the house.
“Have a seat and I’ll make us some hot chocolate to warm our bones.
” Instead of taking my offer of a chair, he follows me around the corner and into the dining area, which branches off into my kitchen.
“I haven’t heard that saying since I was a kid and the aunts would say it on those colder, Texas days where it was thirty degrees.”
I release a quick giggle before retorting, “Texas winters are a joke compared to Montana, huh?”
“No doubt. My eyes water the second I step foot outdoors. The wind on top of the chill is brutal,” he complains. “I even bought some warmer clothes but it doesn’t make a damn bit of difference, I’m always fucking cold. It seeps down into my bones.”
“I think we could add up all the snow we’ve gotten in our lives and it would work for maybe one snowfall here,” I add. “I’m going online to order some things from the northern stores that make outerwear designed for frigid temperatures.”
“Good idea. Let me know when you find a company that does that so I can get the link from you. The guys are busting my balls about theirs shrinking due to the ‘frozen tundra’ as Orion calls it.”
I start laughing as I walk to my kitchen to make us both some hot chocolate. “Sounds like him,” I muse, pulling two mugs down. I actually have it in the small crockpot I bought for just this thing, but the add-ons are important, so I turn to him and ask, “Anything special you want in yours?”
“Special? What do you mean?” he questions.
“Marshmallows, which come in two sizes, the mini ones and the regular ones, or whipped cream, or sprinkles, or—” I start to say.
He barks out in laughter as he shakes his head. “I get the point. Kinda getting fancy there, aren’t you, Sutton? I don’t think I’ve ever had one with any of those things in it. I’m a plain type of man when it comes to my hot cocoa.”
I hum with sympathy, because he’s been too sheltered and I’m appalled that he hasn’t experienced a mouth orgasm. It’s a crying shame is what it is. “You don’t know what you’re missing. I could even add a cinnamon stick to it and trust me, it makes your taste buds explode with flavor,” I state.
“If you're adamant about it, I’ll give it a shot,” he says, his tone full of teasing.
I busy myself doctoring them up while trying to get my thoughts in order.
I don’t want to get him riled up in case I’m imagining things and making them worse than what they are.
“Are you stalling, Sutton? Get your beautiful ass in here and talk to me.”
“I’m not stalling,” I fib, not wanting to come across as ‘needy’.
I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear him call my ass beautiful also.
I don’t have enough brain cells to contemplate that.
He and I have never had that sort of relationship.
I do, however, want his advice by getting a man’s perspective, but I don’t want him to think I want him to solve my ‘problem’ either.
It’s a catch twenty-two situation. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.
“Sutton, I know you and know when you’re avoiding something. You can’t play me.”
Sighing, I turn around with the two mugs of hot cocoa and hand him one. “Let’s sit down for this and before I get started, I want you to promise me something.”
“Not willing to do that until I know what the situation is,” he counters. “Because if it has anything to do with you or your safety, I won’t be able to make the promise I’m positive you’re going to ask of me.”
“Okay, Mr. Smartypants, what am I gonna ask?” I question as I settle in my favorite recliner. He’s sitting on the loveseat and has turned so we’re facing one another.
“You want me to say I won’t kill the motherfucker who is bothering you,” he retorts.
“How can you know what my issue is?” I parry. “And yes, that was what I was thinking, to be honest, but I’ll explain why I want you to grant me this favor. Are you ready for this?” I ask.
“Hit me,” he replies.
“So, there’s a man and he has been following me, or at least it seems that way to me,” I start.
“As an example, before I knew his name or the fact that he works for the hospital in the same department as I do, I saw him driving slowly down my road, but I also saw him in town at the gym that’s attached to the hospital, standing outside those windows that allow people to see inside.
Which is creepy to me, because who wants to stare at people who are all sweaty because they’re working out?
” Shaking my head, I say, “Anyhow, he was at the bank when I was there, plus he also showed up at the grocery store. It’s like he has my schedule memorized or something.
But the worst thing, at least to me, is he was waiting at my office door this morning, then he made a comment about how my door was locked. ”
“And I’m not allowed to kill him?” Gemini asks, disbelief rolling through his tone.
“I mean, you could argue the fact that he had to go to the bank, or even hit up the store for some food, but your road is pretty much a dead-end, with most of your neighbors’ places at the beginning of the road.
The gym? Yeah, I’d have an issue with that as well, even though it’s attached to the hospital as a perk for the staff, and I think I’ll introduce myself to the owner and suggest the tinting that allows participants to look out but protects y’all from people looking inside.
Now, why can’t I dispose of him and solve this problem for you because he sounds like a Grade A stalker, Sutton? ”
“Because he’s the CEO’s grandson, according to Skippy,” I reply.
“She says he’s pretty much allowed to get away with murder, plus I have to work alongside him on a few projects.
If you kill him, because his family is so prominent, it’ll come back on you and that’s the last thing I want to happen, Gemini. ”
“Has he done this kind of shit before?” he asks, now looking thoughtful.
“Skippy said that someone actually moved away because he wouldn’t leave her be,” I tell him. “Gemini, this is literally my dream job, and I don’t want anyone pushing me out of it!”
I leave off the fact that my interest in him has never waned since high school.
Even though I dated a prick in college, Gemini was the bar I used when it came to accepting dates from anyone.
And that’s just from the minimal contact we had in school.
I know he’s the protective type who’ll go balls to the wall for someone he cares about.
While he may only feel a familiarity because we knew each other back in the day and that’s why he’s been watching out for me, if I can pull up my big girl panties and let him know how I feel, things could be different between us.