Chapter 16.5
Nika
He was exactly like his picture but larger. At least a foot taller than me. So broad that the suit looked faintly wrong on him—like something designed for a man and fitted to something else entirely. Those green eyes were hooded. Deceptive. Calculating.
I understood immediately why there was an innate need to destroy him.
He was dangerous.
Something pressed hard against my sternum.
Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill.
I blinked at the laptop screen.
Wiped my forehead.
My hand came away damp.
“Please excuse me for a moment,” I said, and moved across the room toward the door.
His chair scraped back so fast it toppled over.
“Where are you going?”
The snap in his voice stopped me at the door. I turned.
“To the ladies room.” I kept my voice cold and level. “Unless you’d prefer I do what the rest of your staff did and squat on the floor?”
Francis made a sound beside me that was somewhere between a gasp and a prayer.
“Nika,” she murmured.
Something shifted in his expression. He stepped forward.
“Why don’t I show you where to go.”
Not a question.
“No thank you,” I said, and walked out.
In the corridor I glanced back once.
He wasn’t there. He wasn’t following. The hallway was empty and quiet and my heart was hammering against my ribs for reasons I didn’t have a clean explanation for.
What was wrong with me? What was wrong with him?
Finley had scared me once—that look in his eyes in the hallway, the hatred I hadn’t seen coming. But this was different. This wasn’t hatred. I didn’t have a word for what it was and that was somehow worse.
I found the bathroom and locked the cubicle behind me. Pressed the toilet seat down and sat on it and focused on breathing.
Slow. Steady. One breath at a time.
He’s an animal. The voice was quieter now, but certain. Territorial. A destroyer.
I stared at the pale grey cubicle door.
Kill or be killed.
I pressed my fingertips to my temples and pushed in, trying to physically silence whatever was happening inside my skull.
I waited.
And waited.
Then stopped.
The voice had gone. Just—gone. Like something that had said its piece and retreated.
The bathroom door squeaked open.
“Nika.” Francis, whispering. “He’s waiting.”
I stood. Flushed the toilet. Stood at the door for a moment and let one thought land cleanly before I opened it.
No one was going to make me feel less again. Not my ex. Not my colleagues.
And not this CEO.
I slid the bolt back harder than necessary.
Francis was watching me through the mirror as I washed my hands, the question written all over her face. I didn’t look back at her reflection. She was dying to ask and I had no answers, so I kept my eyes on my own hands and said nothing.
My mind forged ahead as I dried my hands.
I wouldn’t be running away with my tail between my legs.
That was the old me.
“Let’s get this over with,” I said to Francis.
??
??
??
“…and this is where the current problem lies,” I said, completing my final statement.
I still hadn’t looked at him. All throughout the presentation I could feel his eyes on me. Steady. Unmoving. Like a weight pressed against the side of my face.
“If you have any issues, take them up with Andy. All this is above my pay grade,” I said stiffly.
“Andy?” he asked, while I busied myself with my laptop.
“Andrew.”
“And what’s your job title?”
“I’m a systems tester. I have been for three years. Your supposed pay progression doesn’t include people like me.” I drawled the last bit. “Plebs.”
“Do you need a hand, Nika?” Francis asked, rushing towards me.
“Ms Horvat.” His voice cut clean across hers. “Why don’t you come into my office and we can discuss this further.”
“No thank you. I have work to do.” I raised my eyes to his at last. “You don’t want to be late in delivering the end product to the client, do you?”
He wasn’t happy. There might as well have been an actual cloud hanging over his head. This man was used to getting his way — in every aspect of his life.
“You may email me if you have any pertinent questions regarding the project,” I said, closing my laptop and turning to Francis.
She was ready to leave. I think the entire meeting may have traumatised her.
He was going to fire me and I just didn’t give a damn anymore.
We walked out.
Down the corridor.
Into the lift.
And only then did I breathe.
“Seriously?” Francis choked out the moment the doors closed. “What was that?”
“What? It was the presentation,” I said, glancing at my wristwatch to avoid eye contact.
“My boobs never stood a chance,” she grumbled. “I couldn’t decide if I should get a fire extinguisher or call the police to report a possible homicide.”
“You watch too many American crime shows,” I said, chuckling.
“How do you know?” She narrowed her eyes at me.
“We don’t say homicide.”
“Hm. True.”
She didn’t say anything further. Once we were outside, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways.
I reached the boundary of the office property when I felt him.
His eyes.
Watching.
I turned and scanned the building until I found the correct floor for the exec level. The dark outline of his body was clear against the glass. My new eyesight made it all possible.
I raised my hand and waved.
By the time I finished blinking, he’d vanished.
He was more than a CEO.
And I was going to find out what his secret was.