“It’s okay…” I’m all too aware of the fact he’s still holding my hand.
The stranger rolls his eyes once more and turns away, making his way to his table in the back of the restaurant. Assoon as he disappears from view, the tension in the air eases, and everything goes back to normal. I’m a little flattered that Mr. Graves stood up for me like that. The guy was a royal asshole, and totally deserved the world-class glare he got from my boss.
About fifteen minutes later, Mr. Graves gets up to use the restroom, leaving me alone at the table to finish my last few bites. As I wait for him to return, I can’t help my eyes from moving to the back of the restaurant where that awful man is sitting—but when I look, he’s not there.
Shrugging, I pull out my phone and do a quick scroll of my social media, the minutes ticking by slowly. Finally, Mr. Graves returns to the table, sitting down with a satisfied smile.
“I’ll finish up and we can get out of here. Sound good?”
I nod, my insides fluttering at the intense way he looks into my eyes. “Sounds good.”
Mr. Graves takes his time finishing, and we spend the rest of my lunch break having more pleasant conversation. When it’s time to leave, Mr. Graves pulls my chair back and offers his arm, a gesture so foreign it makes me blush.
Just as we’re exiting the deli, the one rude man from earlier rushes past in a hurry. Mr. Graves pulls me out of the way just before the man bumps into me a second time, pulling me flush against his chest and out of harm's way.
I’m able to get a glimpse of his face as he runs outside, and the sight fills me with alarm. The man’s face is pale white, one hand covering over his mouth and the other clutching his stomach. My gaze follows him as he runs across the street, kneeling over every few feet to spew a mixture of vomit and blood onto the pavement.
The sight turns my stomach, and I look away quickly so I don’t lose my lunch. “Damn,” I say. “That guy doesnotlook okay.”
I turn my head to face Mr. Graves, but he doesn’t seem nearly as concerned as I.
“Looks like a mean case of food poisoning to me,” Mr. Graves says, shrugging nonchalantly. “Good thing we didn’t order whatever he got, right?”
“Yeah… I guess so…”
He gives me a wide grin. “Well, I better get us back to the office. They’ll be wondering where we’ve gone.”
He gestures for me to follow him as he takes off down the sidewalk.
“Okay…” I hurry to catch up with his long strides.
I tell myself that Mr. Graves’s explanation makes sense, that everything I just witnessed is normal, that food poisoning totally makes you cough up blood, that nothing sinister is going on. Only, the whole way back, I can’t shake the feeling that something is very, very wrong.
CHAPTER TEN
SEVEN
I watchGrace from where I’m seated in my office, playing our lunch hour over and over in my mind. She touched me—actuallytouchedme—and I’ve never felt anything more divine than her hand in mine.
Then I recall the man who bumped into her, and anger replaces the lust thrumming through my veins. Heruined mybeautiful girl’s blouse. Herfavoriteblouse.
I might have let him live if he had given Grace a heartfelt apology like I demanded, but I couldn’t let his rudeness stand. He made my Grace uncomfortable, and for that, he had to die.
As soon as I saw the bastard get up to use the restroom, I excused myself from the table and found my way into the supply closet, grabbing a bottle of drain cleaner and slipping into the bathroom before anyone noticed me. Once I was inside, it was a simple matter of incapacitating the man and pouring the chemical down his throat. After force-feeding him, I knocked him out cold, leaving him on the floor of the handicap stall while I went back to Grace.
I was hoping he’d be out long enough to bleed out internally, but unfortunately, the asshole got himself together just as we were leaving the deli. He almost ran into heragain,but luckily,I was able to save her in time. If I hadn’t, I would have had to slit the man’s throat right there and then, which would definitely blow my cover. I didn’t read the hefty employee manual the company gave me, but I’m sure there’s some policy in there against COO’s going around killing people.
“That was nice,” Grace says as she steps through the doors into the main lobby of LoveBytten. “Thank you again for lunch. And for, you know. Standing up for me.” Her face heats ever so slightly as she says the last part, and my chest warms with pride.
“It was no trouble.” I want to tell her that the man who accosted her is likely dead or screaming in agony at this moment, but I don’t know how well that will go over, so I settle on giving her a smile. “I would be more than happy to pay to have your blouse cleaned.”
“Oh no! That’s so not necessary.” Her blush deepens. “It’s a stupid shirt. I’ll just buy a new one.”
“But it’s your favorite.”
She breathes a laugh. “You heard that part, huh?”
I nod, reaching past her and pressing the button to call the elevator. “I listen to everything you say, Grace.”
