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I took a deep breath and reached into my purse for my phone. My first thought was of calling Anderson to ask if he would mind escorting me home. However, I knew there was a chance he was with my brother. With the exception of the brief break Anderson and I had shared together, today had been a busy day for him, and he’d been at Tobias’s side for the majority of it.
My fingers flying across my phone’s screen, I hurriedly called Tobias instead. As I listened to the rings, I scanned the parking lot again, the feeling of being watched growing by the second. Shakily, I walked backwards, heading back to the building in case I needed to dash back inside.
“Yeah?” said Tobias’ voice on the other line.
“Tobias…” I said, my voice quivering in ways I wished it wouldn’t. If I was truly being watched by—I couldn’t even bring myself to think the name—I didn’t want him to hear and see how frightened I was.
Tobias, on the other hand, instantly knew something wasn’t right. “Joanna, where are you? What’s wrong?”
“I’m in the parking lot. I was about to leave, but…I think I’m being followed. Someone is watching me.”
“Okay, relax. Calm down and come back inside. Who’s watching you?”
Without wasting another second, I rushed back into the building, feeling close to hyperventilating. Standing behind the safety of the door, I closed my eyes and rested my hands on my knees, forcing a series of deep breaths to slow my speeding heart. Now that I was no longer out in the open, the feeling of being watched dissipated and my ability to think logically returned. I also was no longer afraid to think his name.
Zander.
He couldn’t have been out there though. He just couldn’t. I had been so sure it was him, but now, the thought seemed preposterous—or at least I hoped it was.
I stood up straight, having successfully gotten my breathing and heart rate back under control. Just as I was about to head farther into the building and up to Tobias’s office, I heard the ding of the elevator around the corner. Mere seconds later, Tobias was rushing down the hall.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
I shook my head as he waved me over toward him. We met each other halfway, standing in the middle of the hall. “Uh…never mind. It’s nothing,” I said.
“What do you mean nothing?” Tobias demanded. “Joanna, who’s following you? I know you’ve been holding something back from me. Enough is enough. Tell me what’s going on.”
I sighed and took another deep breath. “I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want to seem like I was overreacting,” I prefaced, “but Zander called me last week.”
Tobias’s eyes widened. “And what happened?” he asked.
“He sort of…threatened to come after me…”
Tobias swore. “You mean to tell me this happened last week ago and you didn’t tell me, Jo? What the hell is wrong with you? Why didn’t you say something?”
“Because I never told him where I was going, and he doesn’t know anything about you or this company, so he has no way of finding me.”
“How do you know he isn’t tracking your cell phone?”
“Because I blocked him.”
Tobias shook his head. “You’re not making sense. And besides, if you blocked him, how did he call you?”
I swallowed nervously and averted my gaze, looking down to the deep burgundy and tan carpet lining the floor. “He didn’t call my cell phone. He called my office phone. Here.”
Tobias was silent for so long that I had to look up at him. He simply stared at me in disbelief. “How did he find out your office phone number, Joanna?” he finally said at the long pause. “I just gave you that line. No one should have it.”
“I know… And I don’t know,” I said with a sigh.
Tobias looked toward the exit door behind me as if he had suddenly developed x-ray vision and could see right through it. The grimace on his face made it seem like he was looking right at Zander, ready to smash him to smithereens. “I can’t believe you waited this long to say something, Joanna.”
“Because it’s not important!” I said, growing defensive.
“Is he out there now?”
“No! How could he be? He doesn’t know where this place is, I just told you that. I just…I don’t know. It’s been a long day. I’m tired and I must have been imagining things. My imagination got the best of me, but I’m fine now, so I’m going to go.”
I turned around, but Tobias called after me. “Not so fast,” he said. “And stop being so stupid, Jo. If he found out your office phone number, stop acting like he can’t find this place. You don’t underestimate crazy people like Zander. I wouldn’t put anything past that bastard. We need to file for a restraining order against him.”
