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Jamie forced him roughly toward the door and said, “Yes, you are. Get the fuck out of here. Now. Don’t come back.”
Muttering curses, the man hurried down the hallway with surprising speed. Jamie waited until he disappeared down the hall before he closed her lobby door and then locked it.
Moving over to Cora, he put his hands on her shoulders and immediately examined her. He asked, “Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?”
It looked like she was still in a daze, but managed to shake her head no.
Jamie sighed and cupped her face. He used his thumb to tilt her chin up so he could see her eyes. “Cora, baby. Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked again.
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “I’m okay. I’m not hurt.”
He stroked a hand over her hair and said, “I need to call security. Can we do that from my office? I’d prefer if we didn’t stay here until I’m sure he’s gone.”
“Okay,” she said as she grabbed her purse from off of the reception desk. “I was on my way to come find you anyway. Aren’t we supposed to look at a table?”
“Let’s go make the call first,” he said with no intention of following through on his plans. He could see the hand that held her purse was shaking.
He took the keys from her hand, opened the door. After making sure the hallway was empty, he locked the door to her office and quickly ushered her toward his.
When he unlocked the door and opened it, the lights in the main lobby came on automatically. He locked the front door, gave her one last look, then flipped on a light in his office and said, “Be right back.”
He strode to desk, picked up his phone, and dialed the security desk. When the guard answered, he asked, “That man in the flannel shirt. Dark, crazy hair. Torn, dirty jeans. Did he leave?”
The guard said, “He did. Why? What happened?”
“He threatened Dr. Blanchard. Please make sure he’s not allowed on the property again.”
“My god. Is she okay? Did he hurt her?” the guard asked as he typed furiously.
“She’s okay. At night. If I’m not here, can you escort her to her car?”
“Yes, yes. Absolutely. Just have her call me. I’ll stop where I am on my rounds to escort her,” the guard assured him.
“Thank you,” he said as he disconnected the line.
When he looked around, he saw she no longer stood in the lobby. As he moved off the edge of his desk, she stepped back into view at the end of the hallway.
“Cora,” he said softly. The last thing he wanted to do was to frighten her any more.
She turned to face him but, even in the dark, her face was too pale and her eyes were still too wide. When she swayed, he closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms.
When she burrowed into his chest, he said, “Oh sweetheart. You’re shaking. It’s okay. It’s okay.” Silently, he stroked a hand up and down her back then continued to hold her until she eventually settled down.
When she spoke, her voice was laced with confusion. “Jamie. I don’t have any idea who that person was.”
“He was clearly not right in the head. Still, he made a threat. So, please let me walk you out on nights that I’m here. If I’m not, call the security guard downstairs. He said he’d walk you out to your car. And whoever that guy was, security is aware that he’s not allowed in the building a
nymore.”
“Okay,” she said, nodding. “By the way, thank you. I just—I just froze.”
“It’s okay. You’re okay,” he said, his voice carefully not betraying any of his concerns. “Do you carry pepper spray?”
“No,” she answered, quietly. “I guess I should though.”
Jamie nodded his head and agreed, “It makes sense.”
She shifted slightly, tilting her head up to look at him and said, “I’m really glad that you were there.”
