Chapter 2
Carla
I look at the building in front of me and swallow thickly.
I can do this.
No, I can’t.
Yes. I absolutely can!
I don’t move so much as an inch. Okay, that’s not true; my chest rises and falls faster because I’m panicking, and I never panic.
I’m going to stop thinking about it and just do it.
I let go of my steering wheel and flex my fingers. The parking lot is busy. There are black SUVs in neat rows. The building itself is all dark glass and clean lines, rising three stories.
Why am I even here? This is humiliating. I’m about to throw myself at a man who, six months ago, took me home, gave me the best night of my entire adult life, and then never called me again, which was absolutely fine.
It was a one-night stand. A hookup. It was good, and then it ended.
Only I saw him again recently, more than once, and apparently decided I wasn’t done with him.
I unbuckle my seatbelt. Then I buckle it again.
I’ll call him instead. That would be the sane thing to do.
I can do it from the comfort of my desk. I could even do it right now, and then I wouldn’t have to humiliate myself.
I pull my phone out of my purse, find his contact, and then lock my phone again, tossing it back into my purse.
Crap!
He’ll turn me down if I call. I know he will. He’ll say something polite and noncommittal, something like “I’ll get back to you,” and then he won’t. Same goes for a text.
It has to be face-to-face.
I’m sure he’ll agree to a date…or a coffee…no, a drink…something.
Holy crap!
I’ve never been this up and down before, and I don’t like it one bit.
I need to get myself together, and then I need to do this already.
I’ll put my big girl panties on. So what if he turns me down? I can take it. It isn’t a big deal.
Only, it is because I want him to say yes. I really want him to agree.
The thing is, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. Not since seeing him again.
I have never been one to back down from a challenge, and Flint, whether he knows it yet or not, is now a challenge.
I glance down at myself. I’m in my usual work suit. My favorite one with the little jacket. The skirt comes to around mid-thigh, and yet it’s professional. A good balance of sexy and sophisticated, and I wore it today with this in mind, so best I get my ass in there.
I check the time on my watch. I’m on lunch break and only have forty minutes before I need to be back at the hospital.
I take one last look in the mirror. My makeup is light.
Just mascara and a touch of concealer. I don’t want him thinking I went full glam to come over here, because that would be mortifying.
But at the last second, I reach into my bag and pull out my pink-tinted lip gloss, which I swipe across my bottom lip.
My hair is up in a ponytail, and I have pearl earrings in my ears.
I look cute, even though I’m not trying too hard.
I rub my lips together and get out of the car before I can change my mind again.
The lobby of Draig Security is cool, with marble floors and a reception desk staffed by a woman who smiles at me the second I walk in.
There’s a security guard near the doors, and another one by the elevators, and a low hum of activity I can feel in my bones.
People are moving about. Phones ring in the background. Somebody is on a radio in a back room.
I walk up to the desk and try to look like I belong.
“Hi,” I say. “I’m here to see Flint, please.”
The receptionist taps something into her computer. “Do you have an appointment?”
“No. Sorry. I was hoping I could just have a quick word with him. I’m from Draig Hospital.”
Perhaps if they think I’m here on official business I’ll have more of a chance.
She gives me a polite once-over. “May I have your name?”
“Carla Price.”
She types something else, then picks up the phone and murmurs into it. I catch the word hospital and my name, and then she hangs up and gives me a smile.
“Take the elevator to the third floor. His PA will meet you.”
“Thank you.”
I walk to the elevator and head up to the third floor into utter chaos. People are moving fast, all of them in fatigues, leather uniforms, or suits. Phones are ringing on every desk. Someone shouts from down a hallway.
A woman with dark hair waves me over to her desk.
I go over there.
“Hi, I’m Jess. You must be Carla?” She smiles as I arrive. It’s a little tight.
“Yes, hi.”
To the side of us, there are easily a dozen people clustered around a large screen, talking over each other.
“I’m afraid Flint isn’t here at the moment,” Jess says. “Would you like to wait? He’s due to arrive within the next half an hour. Is it serious?”
Crap!
I need to leave before then if I hope to make it back to work on time.
I shake my head. “No, I’ll have to come back.”
I suddenly feel like an idiot. Maybe I shouldn’t have come.
“I’m from the hospital. I just wanted to…um…”
I trail off because I cannot, for the life of me, finish that sentence in a way that sounds like business.
Jess raises an eyebrow.
Before I can flounder any further, a deep voice carries across the room.
“Everyone in the bullpen now, please. I’m giving you five minutes to finish what it is you are doing. I have an announcement I need to make.”
I glance over there. A huge male in a suit turns toward me. He has the most vivid green eyes I’ve ever seen on a shifter. They seem to look straight into me. He’s a little older, but it almost makes him sexier somehow.
Stop!
I’m here for Flint and checking out someone else. What the hell is wrong with me?
The cluster of people around the screen quiets and starts to disperse, drifting back toward desks and doorways.
Then he starts toward me. Eyes still on me.
“I can see you instead of Flint,” he tells me. “This is my office. I can only give you four minutes, I’m afraid.”
Before I can turn him down, he turns and walks back into a glass-walled corner office without waiting to see if I’m following.
Jess gives me a “well, go on then” look, and I do.
Shit!
The office is large and tidy; all dark wood and glass. He’s already behind the desk, sleeves rolled up.
“What did you need to see Flint about?” he asks. “You can close the door.”
I do as he says.
“Sit.” He gestures at a chair. Again, I do as he says, even though I should just leave. “I’ve got about three minutes before I’m needed out there, so let’s get to it. What does the hospital need?”
“I…” I start because the hospital doesn’t need anything. I’m not here on business. I feel like an idiot.
“Are you here about the new protocols?” he asks. “Reed is supposed to send me an updated draft by the end of the day. I’m sure there’s a—”
He stops and cocks his head.
“You are here about the SOPs, right?” He lifts his brows.
“Um…not exactly.”
“Did the Council send you?”
“No,” I manage. “I’m not, um, I’m not… No…I…”
He looks at me with even more intensity, if that’s even possible. His shoulders are wide. His suit fits him perfectly but still looks like it might split open at any second.
I’m sure his muscles have muscles.
“What is this all about? I think I heard Jess call you Carla… Is that right?”
I consider lying for just half a second and decide against doing that.
“Yes, it’s Carla. It’s, um… It’s a personal matter,” I push out. My cheeks are hot. “I was hoping to see Flint. I know him…”
Had great sex with him.
“I recently saw him again. I’m not sure if you know Robyn. Dr. Keller and Ridge. I mean, you must know Ridge, since he works here.”
“He reports to me. I’m Magma.”
Crap!
This is Magma. The Magma.
I’ve heard all about him.
This is the boss. The bigwig who runs Security Central. I have to get out of here.
“I wanted to have a quick word with him. About something private. Nothing to do with work. It…I… Never mind. I can come back.”
“Flint isn’t here,” he says. “And this isn’t a good time.”
“Right. No. Of course. I’ll, um, I’ll call him. Or I’ll come back some other time.”
“Would you like me to pass on a message?”
I shake my head fast. “No. Thank you. It’s nothing important and can totally wait. I should get back to the hospital.”
Magma studies me for another second. He doesn’t look annoyed, exactly. I don’t think he does, but he’s really hard to read.
“Things are a mess here right now,” he says. “Flint is going to be tied up with work-related matters. I might suggest you try to get a hold of him outside of working hours.”
“Of course. I understand.” I stand up so fast, I almost make myself lightheaded. “I shouldn’t have come. I’m sorry to have wasted your time.”
He gives me a small nod. “Jess will see you out.”
I’m out of the office before he finishes the sentence.
Jess is hovering nearby, and she takes one look at my face and, mercifully, just turns and walks me toward the elevator without a single question.
The elevator doors close, and I am finally alone.
Thank god it’s over.
I didn’t even get to speak to Flint, but he will hear of my being here, I’m sure.
I should message him…and say what exactly?
The elevator deposits me back in the lobby, and I walk out as briskly as I can manage. The receptionist gives me another polite smile.
I make it to my car. I get in and close the door.
I could wait in the parking lot for him to get here and then…pounce out like a stalker.
I almost laugh out loud.
No way.
I’ll leave the ball in his court.
Maybe I’ll get another chance meeting now that Robyn and Ridge are together.
If it’s meant to be, it will be.
I sigh and start my car, driving back to the hospital.