Chapter 15
Lily
Iglance up from my laptop and find Connor staring at me. Despite the crisis that’s growing by the hour, he smirks.
“It feels good working together again,” he says. “Now do you see what a great team we’d make, if only you’d stop resisting this pull between us?”
I’m so stunned that I just stare. Which Connor naturally interprets as his gravitational pull holding me in his orbit.
“Unbelievable,” I hiss. “Walter ordered me to this godforsaken town because so far, you haven’t been able to unravel the mess you made of one of our top client’s accounts.
How could you lose all the back-ups, Connor? ”
“Hey, I inherited your systems. Count yourself lucky that Walter hasn’t made the leap yet. I’m trying to keep you out of trouble, Lily.”
Connor glances around to check Felix Sanderson hasn’t suddenly appeared.
We’re in our client’s home office, but the cabin on the outskirts of town is mostly open-concept, and there’s no telling how sound travels.
Connor arrived yesterday to fix his own screw up, but when a notice arrived that the IRS wanted to inspect Felix’s records next week, I was drafted in to help.
Connor leans over the table we’re sharing. “Don’t pretend you’re not enjoying our little break from the office, Lily,” he whispers. “Look on the bright side. If we don’t finish rebuilding the accounts today, we could be spending the weekend together.”
“The hell we will,” I mutter. It’s bad enough that I’m giving up my Friday night. I’m not losing a Saturday too. I’m contemplating a return to Heatrush.
“Seriously, stop playing hard to get. I saw the overnight bag in your car.” He’s smirking again. “I can see you’re blushing just thinking about what we could get up to.”
I could almost laugh at how wrong he is. The overnight bag is nothing more than a last resort. I’ll work into the night if necessary, and if I can’t make it home, I’ll drive to a motel outside of town. There’s no way I’m booking into the local guesthouse where Connor’s staying.
If I’m flushed, it’s because I can’t help thinking what Shade would make of me disappearing on a business trip with my ex. Or more to the point, what he’d do to Connor if he heard the way he’s talking to me.
I haven’t seen Shade since last week’s nighttime visit, and his only contact was via the note he included with the pamper package he sent for me and Kaitlyn.
Oh, and the message he included in the contractor’s work order when she installed the new locks on my front door.
And yes, he did send a woman. I’d laughed when I’d checked the paperwork to find it had been arranged by someone called Mr. Nicetry.
He knew I’d look. That man is just as protective of his identity as he is of me.
I tighten my ponytail and put on my game face. I rarely tie my hair back, but it matches the no-nonsense look I’m going for with my black turtleneck sweater and a dark grey trouser suit. Unfortunately, my subliminal messaging is completely lost on Connor.
Ignoring his lingering looks, I continue to manipulate spreadsheets and punch in numbers. I’m ready to send through some of the information the IRS has requested, but when I go to upload the files, I get the circle of doom.
“Have you had any problems connecting to the internet?”
“It has been slow,” he replies. His eyes light up in a way I don’t particularly like. “Hey, we should head into town. There’s free Wi-Fi at the diner, and we could get something to eat. My treat.”
I pick up my phone, searching for another solution, but the signal on my cell is weak. I have to accept that going to the diner will get the job done faster. “Fine. We can take our files and work through until it’s done,” I say. “I’m sure Felix will be glad to get us out of his hair.”
Connor gets up from the table and before I can stand, he’s behind me. He puts his hands on my shoulders and starts to massage my neck. “You’re holding yourself so tense, Lily. Fortunately, I know a way to work out some knots.”
“Get your hands the fuck off me,” I hiss. When he doesn’t, I slam my laptop shut and shove my chair backwards. “Now!”
“See what I mean about you being so tense?” he says, as if I’m the problem.
But he does back away, and I just have to hope that I don’t have to fight him off again later. It’s a small mercy that we’d arrived at Felix’s in our own cars, and I don’t have to worry about his wandering hands on the drive into town.
I’m the first to arrive at the diner, and as I settle into a booth, I watch Connor park next to my Audi. I quickly set out my laptop and folders to create a clear demarcation of my personal space. This is not a dinner date, or any kind of date.
I log into the diner’s Wi-Fi before I glance up again. Connor got out of his car, but there’s no sign of him now. If I had to guess, I’d say he’s making a call he doesn’t want me to overhear. He’s probably talking to Walter, spinning the narrative to cover his own ass as usual.
When a waitress comes by, I order coffee.
Connor can look after himself. His absence has stretched beyond any reasonable excuse, and my annoyance is upgraded to barely contained fury.
Minutes tick by and daylight fades. Is he going to leave me to do all the work?
I swear I’m going to need all my self-control not to hit that man when he does show up.
I work my way through my files, trying not to be distracted by my colleague’s continued absence, when flickering lights catch my attention. Blue lights.
An ambulance pulls into the parking lot and two paramedics climb out. The diner sits next to a gas station in an otherwise empty lot, but the first responders aren’t heading for either. They disappear around the side of the diner.
As I stand up for a better look, I make an uncomfortable connection between Connor’s disappearance and the arrival of the emergency services.
“Do you know what’s happened?” I ask the waitress who joins me at the window.
“One of our cooks found some guy out back. He’s saying he had a fall, but apparently he looks pretty beat up,” she says. “It happens.”
I snap my laptop shut and put away the papers I’d been working on. “Could you watch my things?” I ask the waitress. “I need to check something.”
Hurrying out without waiting for a reply, I turn the corner to find Connor being lifted onto a gurney. “Oh my god! Connor!” I cry out, immediately feeling bad for practically wishing bad karma on my nemesis. “What happened?”
Connor appears too traumatized to respond, so I turn to one of the paramedics.
“Will he be OK?”
“Do you know him?”
“Yes. We’re colleagues.”
The gurney rattles as they wheel Connor towards the ambulance. I’m almost at a jog as I try to keep up.
“He has suspected broken bones,” the paramedic explains. “He’ll need to be treated in the hospital. Did you want to come?”
“No!” Connor shouts, his eyes wide as he comes out of his stupor. “Stay away from me, Lily!”
I almost trip over my feet. “Connor? What’s going on? What happened?”
His face twists in fear and something else. Disgust? “I don’t know what I ever saw in you. Just keep away. Tell the office I had a fall. Tell them whatever you want. I’m done,” he says. To the paramedic, he adds, “Keep her away from me. Please.”
I’m already stepping away, my hands lifted in surrender. “It’s OK, I’ll go.”
As I approach the diner, there are faces at the windows, and I’m grateful they were too far away to hear what Connor said. I’m as shocked by his behavior as I am from his injuries. I should let the office know, but my mind is still reeling. What did he mean I could tell them whatever I want?
Avoiding the curious stares, I keep my gaze down as I head back to my booth. If I don’t clear my head, there’s a real risk I could be here all weekend now that I’m working alone. Is it bad of me to feel a little relief that I won’t be fighting off Connor’s advances later?
I reach what I think is my booth, but someone’s sitting there with their back to me. My gaze flicks to my laptop and papers. They’re on the table where I left them. It’s definitely my booth. And then I clock who it is that’s waiting for me.
“Hello, Slayer.”
I almost choke on the gasp. “What are you doing here?”
Shade picks up one of my files. “I thought you might need some help.”
Before I can reply, the waitress arrives with two coffees and a side order of fries.
“Hungry?” Shade asks, nodding his thanks to the waitress before she leaves.
My legs have turned to Jell-O and I drop down into my seat so I’m facing Shade.
He’s more casually dressed than usual, in a black button-down and dark jeans.
I’m trying to figure out how I should react.
I know I’ve given Shade permission to pursue me, but I’m on a business trip.
I’m supposed to be working. And Connor has just been…
“What did you do?” I rasp.
Shade pushes the fries towards me. “I don’t know what you mean.”
My stomach growls, but that could be because my insides are tied in knots. I search Shade’s face, and find the faintest trace of what I think is amusement.
“Shade, my colleague has just been taken away in an ambulance,” I say. “And he practically screamed at me to keep away from him. Why would he do that?”
When Shade reaches for a fry, the skin on his knuckle looks red and slightly swollen. He notices me noticing, and shrugs. “It could be that I told him I’d kill him if he ever touched you again,” he replies. And then he stretches out his legs beneath the table. His feet bracket mine.
“And would you?”
“He touched you, Lily,” Shade replies. “He’s lucky he got a warning.”
“By breaking his arm?”
“Actually, it was both arms.”
My mouth gapes open until I’m able to form words. “I can’t believe you’d do that… I can’t believe I’m…” I don’t like where my mind’s going.