Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65489 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 327(@200wpm)___ 262(@250wpm)___ 218(@300wpm)
Could I do this? Could I spend all day around Miles? What if I broke down and started crying in the office? What if I confessed everything to him and begged him to love me?
No. I would not do that. He’d toyed with me and—
But had he?
I wasn’t sure of anything anymore, except that I was a mess, and this was a terrible idea.
31
MILES
After Ben left, I went for a long run, then punished myself further by burying myself in work. I sent Carter a message telling him to use any available resource to find out who hurt Ben. When he asked me how hard I wanted him to push, I told him he had carte blanche. We made a plan to meet in the morning to discuss anything he found.
I worked until long past midnight, and even then, I only stopped because the numbers in front of me had ceased to make sense.
I tossed and turned for the rest of the night. Around 5 AM, I woke drenched in sweat from a dream of Ben telling me he never wanted to see me again, then disappearing into thin air. At that point, I gave up on sleep.
I showered, dressed, and headed into work. I left my office door open because I wanted to see Ben when he arrived. How pathetic was that? I would take a single glimpse of him if that was all I could get. If only Frank hadn’t called when he did. I’d told him not to bother me at home. Maybe I would have found the right time to tell Ben the truth later that day.
Would you really?
Maybe. It’s possible.
It was torture to leave Ben alone and let him work through the list of tasks I’d sent him. I wanted to go full throttle with a plan for getting him back, but I needed to give him as much space as I could. But I also I wasn’t going to risk him getting attacked again. I would see that he was safe; that came first, before either of our feelings, bad or good.
Martin, the security guard who was accompanying Ben to work, texted me like Carter had instructed him to to let me know they’d arrived. I filled one of the mugs in my office with coffee, added sugar and cream, and set in on Ben’s desk, then I returned to my desk.
A few moments later, the elevator slid open, and Ben walked down the hall. I forced myself to look at my computer screen as he approached. Once he was seated, I indulged myself, watching him take a sip of coffee. He glanced my way. He had to know I’d left it for him. I smiled, and he quickly focused on the folders in front of him.
My concentration was even worse now that Ben was mere feet away from me. I needed to convince him that I hadn’t been playing with him, that what I felt for him was real. I was in love with him; I knew that now. I wasn’t going to let him go on thinking I had been playing with him. How could he truly think that?
He was scared and hurting from his attack. You were supposed to be his protector and you fucked up.
Carter had perfect timing. If he hadn’t stepped out of the elevator when he did, I would have broken down and ordered Ben into my office so we could talk. Carter closed my office door behind him and took a seat.
“Do you have answers for me?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. The main players are Ben’s father and brother, but they have plenty of associates who could have been sent to attack Ben.” He glanced toward the closed door. “I guess you don’t want to just ask him?”
“I did, and he refused to tell me.”
Carter raised his brows. “You didn’t ask him again? You didn’t use your charm to get the answer out of him.”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “No.”
“Would you like to tell me why? Along with why you didn’t have him stay at your place since you’re so worried about his safety.”
“If he had his way, he’d probably never see me again.”
Carter’s eyes widened. “Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
Carter stood. “Come on. I’m taking you out to brunch.”
“I have work to do.”
“You have seething to do here or moping or both. I know how you are when things don’t go your way.”
“You make it sound like I’m some fucking spoiled little brat.”
Carter grinned. “I mean….”
“Goddammit.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
I reluctantly stood. Carter was right that I wasn’t going to get any work done.
We headed to a diner a few blocks away. It had been there since the forties, and they had the best pancakes I’d ever eaten.
Carter and I found a booth, asked for coffee—not my usual quality, but since they didn’t serve brunch cocktails here, I’d have to make do—and ordered pancakes for me, and eggs, sausage, and hash browns for him.