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I returned to the waiting area and began going through my email on my phone. I spent the rest of the day fielding calls from Mike as he worked to secure the best guys for the Rio job. In between, I checked with my parents and Elena to see how things were going. As much as I wanted to be home so I could keep an eye on everyone, I needed to follow through on this job.
As the day turned to night, Simon went home, leaving just me and Jude. I hadn’t seen Jude all day. Since I wasn't sure if he’d eaten anything, I ended up calling out for a couple of sandwiches to be delivered and then knocked on his door. Not surprisingly, there was no response, but the door wasn't locked either. I opened it slightly and peeked in, fully expecting to find him asleep like I had the one time, but he was hard at work on his computer.
I stepped into the office and closed the door behind me. Jude didn't even look at me until I was standing in front of his desk and then he seemed startled by my appearance. He took his glasses off and bit out, “What?”
"I wasn't sure if you’d eaten today," I said as I held up the sandwiches. "Do you have time for a dinner break?"
Jude immediately began shaking his head. "No," he said before putting his glasses back on and turning his attention back to his computer. He had that frantic look about him that I was coming to learn was associated with him losing focus.
I left the bag with his sandwich on his desk and slipped back out of the office. Hours later as the clock began to approach midnight, I once again checked on Jude. The food was sitting untouched on his desk and he was still working on the computer. Andy had offered to come to the office to relieve me for the evening, but I'd been reluctant to leave Jude in his heightened state of agitation so I’d told Andy I was good for the evening.
This time, when I approached Jude’s desk, he didn't seem surprised to see me. He did, however, seem very annoyed. "I told you, I need to work," he snapped impatiently. He looked haggard and pale.
"You need to take a break," I said softly.
“No, what I need is to be left alone!" Jude shouted.
"Talk to me, Jude. What's going on?"
"What's going on is that you're not the only one who has a job to do," he bit out.
His anger was over the top but instead of taking the bait, I calmly said, "Tell me what's going on."
Jude jumped to his feet and slammed his hand down on the desk. "What's going on is that I'm about to lose this entire fucking deal and you want to know why?"
He didn't even give me a chance to respond, not that I would have anyway because he clearly needed to vent.
"Because instead of closing the deal yesterday like I should have, I let you call the shots. The biggest deal of my entire career is on the line because you can't get past this ridiculous need to play the role of my protector. Well, congratulations, Nik, you did your job. Too bad it's going to cost me mine."
His blistering attack left me reeling. I couldn't reconcile the man before me with the one who'd held my hand the day before. The one who'd put his arms around me and promised me everything would be all right. The one who'd stayed by my side as I’d faced my fears and sorrows.
For once, I was at a loss for words as well as what to do next, so I simply turned away from Jude and left the office. My hope was that if I gave him enough time, he’d calm down and tell me what was going on. But not ten minutes later, Jude came bursting out of the office. He looked disheveled and wasn’t wearing his suit jacket. He was still beyond agitated and didn't speak to me, nor did he wait for me to clear the hallway before he left the suite. He’d reverted back to his behavior from the first day where he ignored me completely. It took everything in me not to grab him and demand he explain what the hell was going on. I told myself that his behavior was likely due to extreme exhaustion and that he’d be back to normal after a good night’s sleep.
Once we were safely inside the SUV, I told Tony to take us back to Jude’s apartment, but Jude cut me off and said, "No, Club Four."
My eyes latched on to Jude's. Even in the darkness, I could see the defiance in the way he held himself.
