Chapter 27 Mira
Mira
“You headed home?” I asked, standing in Micah’s doorway, holding his latest findings in my hands.
I’d been right. Hale had only asked me to work on the Stevenson project.
Micah kept tabs on who was testing what software at all times.
While it wasn’t abnormal to have two people attacking one piece, someone needed to know about it.
It was usually a test to see if those two analysts were paying attention or if one of them could get inside without being detected.
“Yeah, just need to finish this,” he said, swiveling back toward his computer. “I’m right behind you.”
I shrugged. “You sure?” We’d all been burning the overtime, but we were so close. The trap was set, and right now we didn’t know if Stevenson was connected to the accounting mishap.
“Unless you want to tell me what you’ve decided.
” He wagged his brows, his smirk widening.
I’d called him when I’d gotten home last night while I waited for my take-out and given him a run-down of my day.
Reid leaving like he did had come up, and so had lunch and him asking me out.
Immediately, I wanted to take it back, but while Micah could get everyone to drop their secrets, he, himself, was a vault.
So I knew other than maybe Noah, he wouldn’t tell another living soul.
“Nope.” I shook my head and turned, heading toward the elevator before he could push more. Why had I told him Sebastian Reid had asked me out? Why had I hesitated giving him an answer. I hadn’t said no, not really, but I’d told him I was involved. While it wasn’t a lie.
Your Master stupid.
I was a mess, and it didn’t help that I was falling for both men.
Falling for my master was against the rules, and I didn’t know how long I could keep it from him, but when I was with Sebastian, he made me feel special, and we’d only been on the one date.
It wasn’t even really a date, but I’d never connected with someone like I had that night, and the way he opened up, I wasn’t sure that was something he was accustomed to doing.
Then there was the lunch in his office yesterday.
Unexpected. But at the same time, so him.
Sighing, I pushed the button on the elevator. It was a long night, and I just wanted to go home. Sebastian had been gone the last two days and would get back tomorrow. We were hoping to have this done. We were so damn close.
The elevator arrived with a soft chime. I stepped inside, rubbing my neck, tempted to go back to Sebastian’s office, but I promised him I’d be out of here by eight when he called an hour ago.
He’d kept the phone calls mostly business, but he’d asked me out again and if I’d eaten. We’d already talked twice today.
His mom had been released and he was helping her get settled at home along with hiring a nurse, that she openly and loudly complained about. I’d like to meet her one day.
The doors were almost closed when a hand shot between them.
It took all I had in me not to roll my eyes. The best part of the reassignment, well, other than working with Sebastian, was not working with the man standing in front of me.
Stan Mercer.
He’d been making the analysts’ lives hell, which was hard to figure out the reason, since we hadn’t taken on any new clients. No new clients meant not a lot of stuff to analyze.
“Long day?” he asked, as he stepped in. He looked like hell, his tie loosened, his hair a mess. He smelled worse. Had he been drinking?
“Something like that.” I shifted my bag on my shoulder, raising my hand over my mouth, hoping it looked like I was stifling a yawn, but in truth I was trying to cover my nose. The hum of the elevator filled the silence between us. I could feel him watching me. God, he was a creep.
“Burning the candle at both ends? Huh?” He chuckled, sending ice through me. “Reid keeping you… busy.”
“I do my job,“ I muttered. “Not that you’d know anything about that.”
I fixed my eyes on the floor numbers as they headed to the garage. This all started because he refused to do his job and give the information that Sebastian needed, but at the same time, if he had, we might not know about the leak and the missing funds.
His smile sharped. “Oh, I think you do your job very well. Maybe see to all three of their needs?”
The elevator wasn’t moving fast enough. Where was this going? I was going to be sick.
“Tell me, does your boss know about your late-night hobbies?”
I gritted my teeth for a moment before I forced a smile. What the hell was he talking about?
He didn’t wait for a reply. “What would they say if they knew where you spent your Saturday evenings.”
My head snapped in his direction.
What the hell?
His lips turned into an evil smirk, and my blood ran cold. He leaned in. “You need to drop this witch hunt, Ms. Rhodes, if you know what’s good for you.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
” We’d been discreet, but with the code and reports we were pulling, it wasn’t a surprise people were talking.
Micah had pulled in a couple of people to check on the thing with the Stevenson account earlier with Hales’ blessing.
Was that what he was talking about, or was it the accounting thing?
Stan laughed under his breath. “Come on, Mira. You’re smarter than that.”
I hated how he used my name. We weren’t on first-name basis nor would we ever be.
My stomach knotted. The elevator hummed, moving too slow. I needed to get out of here. Could I just get out on a random floor?
“What I’m talking about is you digging where you shouldn’t. Pissing off vendors you shouldn’t.”
“I’m doing no such thing.” I stepped to the side but his fingers dug into my biceps, shoving me back against the cold metal wall.
“Let go of me.” As scared as I was, it didn’t come out in my tone. Talk about a small mercy. I couldn’t let him know he had the upper hand. I needed to keep my cool.
His grip tightened. “Tell Mr. Reid, you made a mistake. Hell, you made it up. If he doesn’t move on, no one will get paid this month and what about next? It’s in everyone’s best interest for this to go away.”
I squared my jaw. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, you do.” His smile twisted, something dark and triumphant flickering in his eyes. “You think you’re so damn clever. But you’re not untouchable.”
I dragged in a breath, forcing myself not to shy away. “Let. Me. Go.”
He didn’t. If anything, his thumbs pressed harder into the inside of my arms, and white-hot pain flared beneath my skin.
“Let me put it this way,” he whispered. “You stop this—or your friend Micah takes the fall. And I’ll make sure everyone in this building knows exactly where you spend your Saturday nights.”
The world seemed to tilt for a beat.
My heart stalled.
He couldn’t possibly know. He couldn’t. I’d been careful. Sanctum had protocols for everything. Short of the time I’d gone with Micah and Noah, I had used their private entrance.
But the way he looked at me
The certainty in his voice.
It felt like a blade pressed beneath my ribs.
“Get your hands off me,” I said again, but this time the edge in my tone was razor-sharp.
The doors chimed.
Stan finally released me, stepping back just as the elevator slid open—but not far enough. His shoulder brushed mine as he exited the elevator.He paused at the threshold, glancing back.
“Clock’s ticking, Ms. Rhodes.” He pulled out his phone and punched a few buttons. A second later, my phone dinged and there it was. A photo of me walking out of Sanctum timestamped. “I would hate for everyone to know you hang out there.”
Then he walked away like he hadn’t just threatened my career, my friend, my life. What would people think? What would Sebastian think if he knew how I spent my Saturday evenings. How did he know?
The doors closed again, leaving me alone with the lingering sting on my arms and the crushing realization that this wasn’t just about missing money anymore.
As much of an eel Stan was, I had a feeling he knew exactly where the money was.
Maybe that was the problem. We’d been focusing on an external threat unit recently but what if it had been under our noses this whole time.
Would he really pin this on Micah? Could I fix this before all of it came crashing down?
I made my way to my car in the lower level. Sebastian had given me permission to park down here. Stan got off at the lobby level, but I still slid into the driver’s seat and locked the door behind me. Gripping the steering wheel, my body shook. What had just happened?
My arms throbbed where he’d grabbed me, but I didn’t want to look. Would I have bruises tomorrow?
My phone buzzed.
Sebastian Reid.
I sighed. What did he need?
Taking a breath, I tried to calm myself, then swiped to answer. “How’s Arizona?”
“I know why my mom and dad moved down here, but it’s not Seattle.”
I huffed. “Too hot, too dry?”
“Quiet.” He paused. “Did you finally leave the office?”
“I did.” He didn’t need to know how I was still in the building. “How’s your mom?”
“She’s good. I’ll get in about ten, and we need to figure this out. I can’t keep pushing pause.”
I wanted to tell him about Stan, but he had enough to worry about. He’d lost his dad a few months ago, and his mom refused to move back to Seattle. When she’d slipped and fell, he’d taken the first flight out. The good thing was she’d only broken her wrist.
“Mira, what’s wrong?”
I shook my head. “I’m fine.”
“Talk to me,” he said. “Please.”
Sebastian Reid wasn’t one to plead.
His words hit harder than they should. How was I supposed to tell him the truth?
How was I supposed to tell him, I wanted to accept his invitation for a date but I wanted my master too.
Sebastian was easy to talk to. My master gave me something else completely.
I knew I couldn’t have both but which one did I want.
Then there was Stan revealing my very personal information and ruining my reputation but he’d bring down the company too.
“Mira, I want you to call me when you get home.”
“Mr. Re…”
“Are you in your car?”
“Yes, Sir.” The second the word slipped out, heat flooded my core.
Sir. I hadn’t meant to say it. Not to him. Not that way.
He went quiet for a beat. Not long, but enough to make my pulse race.
“Go home, Mira. Call me when you get there so I know you’re safe.”
I wanted to call out and ask where he was five minutes ago when Stan assaulted me in the elevator, but I didn’t.
“Okay,” I whispered.
“That’s a good girl.”
My breath hitched. Oh sweet heavens. Sebastian Reid calling me a good girl was doing far too many things to my body—none of them appropriate.
None of them were safe.
My thighs pressed together instinctively, the reaction immediate, uncontrollable. His voice—rough silk—slid down my spine.
“Keep your doors locked,” he added, authority dripping off each word. “Don’t hang up until you’re ready to drive.”
Jesus. I was going to combust.
I swallowed hard, gripping the steering wheel. “Yes… Sir.”
Another pause.
He heard it.
“Good,” he murmured. “Stay with me.”
I sat there in silence for a few minutes, thankful he wasn’t pushing. As soon as I stopped shaking, I’d drive home.
Only one other man in my life had sent these shivers through me, this heat to my core, just with his words.
While the words Sebastian used did not carry the same dominance, they carried just enough that they did the same thing, and when he called me a good girl, I wished I was at home so I could take care of this ache that seemed constant with him and my master around.
Damn it all to hell. What was I going to do?