I’ll be waiting, Mr. Karia.
He shot out of bed and headed to the shower. There was no way he could sit at home after that. He needed to see her immediately.
His relationship with Shauna was changing. It was alive, growing, and impossible to ignore. This new version of them was electric. It was filled with easy flirtation and an acknowledgment of just how drawn they were to each other. He loved it.
He reached work nearly an hour later, but the moment he stepped inside his office, he was inundated with people waiting for him and decisions that couldn’t be delayed. His phone buzzed relentlessly, and his emails piled up faster than he could clear them.
The moment he finished one thing, he was pulled into the next, giving him barely any time to find Shauna or even text her. It wasn’t until several hours later that he finally paused. He lifted his head from his laptop and exhaled. He pushed to his feet and, out of habit, turned toward the glass wall of his office overlooking the newsroom below.
The space was alive as always, with cameramen, producers, and all the crew needed to film a show. He scanned the people below, his eyes finally landing on her. Shauna stood off to the side, watching the set with quiet focus. As if sensing him, she lifted her head, and her eyes met his.
She gave him a naughty smile that tugged somewhere deep inside his chest. The urge to go to her, to hold her in his arms again, and to keep her near thrummed through him. Reaching into her pocket, she began to type furiously. His phone beeped. Lifting it, he saw a message from her.
Shauna
Game on. You have 15 minutes to catch me…
A rush of adrenaline kicked in. She wanted to play, and he was all for it. Turning away from the glass, he grabbed his jacket and headed for the newsroom below. But when he got there, she was gone.
Of course. He asked one of the staff there, who told him she’d gone to the production department. He hurried there next, only to miss her again. The team there told him she’d gone to meet Chitra and the news team.
He checked his watch. He had seven minutes remaining. He quickly headed down to the newsroom, only to be told he’d just missed her. Fuck.
He growled low in his throat. It was as if she was always one step ahead of him, leaving crumbs for him to follow and catch her. He went down to the accounts team, where he finally caught sight of her.
She was standing with the accounts team mid-conversation, her posture composed, but her attention shifted the moment she sensed him. Her eyes flicked to his, just for a second. And then her lips curved in a knowing smile. She knew exactly what she was doing.
Before he could reach her, she turned and slipped away, heading toward the elevator. He quickened his pace, intent on catching her, but the same person she’d been talking to stepped into his path, asking him a question and mentioning that Shauna had asked for his approval on a decision.
He told the man to send him an email and rushed to the elevator bank. Shauna glanced at him from inside and gave him a quick, wicked wink just before the doors slid shut.
Fuck, that woman. She was infuriating and irresistible and had turned his day into a chase, one he was enjoying very much. He was going to enjoy himself even more once he caught her.
He tracked the ascent on the elevator panel, finding that it had finally stopped on the top floor.
His floor.
He took the stairs up, and when he reached his floor, he didn’t step out immediately. He stayed to the side, just out of view, watching her.
Shauna stood a little distance away, talking to his assistant, Reema, but her focus wasn’t fully there. Her eyes kept flicking toward the elevator, as if waiting. For him.
A smile crossed his mouth as he stayed where he was. She had started this game of cat and mouse, and now he was going to finish it.
Minutes ticked by. Shauna’s gaze kept drifting to the elevator bank. She pushed a hand through her hair, her teeth catching her lower lip. Finally, she moved away from Reema and began walking toward the elevator bank. He caught her arm and swung her inside the stairwell, shutting the door behind him.
She gasped as he pushed her toward the wall and slammed his mouth against hers. The moment her lips parted beneath his, something in him snapped. He deepened the kiss, claiming her mouth with a hunger he couldn’t hold back, tasting her, losing himself in her. She responded instantly, her arms tightening around his neck, pulling him closer as if she couldn’t get enough either.
Her tongue met his, searching, demanding, and he answered without hesitation. His hand slid to the nape of her neck, holding her there, tilting her head back to give himself better access as he kissed her deeper, slower, more deliberately. He finally lifted his head, wiping her lipstick from her mouth.
“Hello, Shauna,” he murmured.
She gave him a soft smile. “Hello.”
“Told you I’d catch you.”
“You caught me because I wanted you to catch me,” she replied. “Why do you think I came here to your floor?”
Something unfurled in his chest at that. He studied the truth in her gaze and realized that she was just as involved in this… whatever this was now blossoming between them.
