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I smile back. “Thanks. I’ll be honest, I’ma littlenervous—”
I flinch at the incredible loud clang of metal against metal, my eyes darting up to see one of the workers attaching some kind of metal hoop to one of the rafters.
Jacob sighs. “Nothing to be worried about, it’s just noisy today.” He raises his brows up to the workers.
“Perfect timing for our meeting, huh?”
When I grin, he grins back.
“And seriously, Ella, don’t be nervous.”
I nod, but then my brow knits, something I wasn’t sure about bringing up at all bubbling to the surface.
“Look, Jacob, the other day at the gala, I’m so sorry. I feel like I left a bit abruptly, and I hope I didn’t come off as rude?”
He just chuckles.
“All good, Ella. Besides, it wasn’t you leaving abruptly,” he winks. “It was Noel.”
My cheeks flush.
“And c’mon, that’s his whole shtick. Stomping around taking what he wants and leaving when he wants? That’s basically what he’s infamous for.”
He grins.
“Your being ‘Mrs. Ransom’ is case and point.”
He chuckles when I blush.
“I’m sure he doesn’t have much good to say about me, given he and my dad’s history. But I actually look up to him.” He laughs. “I actually did a paper on his first corporate takeover when I was in business school.”
Jacob opens the glass door to the conference room, both of us jolting a little at another of the metal banging sounds from above.
“Take your time, get set up, and enjoy the latte when Nat brings it. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
“Thank you, Jacob. For the opportunity, I mean.”
He winks. “Thankyou, for joining the team.”
He turns to go. The glass door begins to close, and I turn to find a seat at the table as the guys above bang another piece of metal around.
“Watch out!”
The world slows to a crawl. My eyes fly up, my mouth falling open in shock and horror as a giant spool of wiring basically right above me suddenly seems to snap free from a tether. The whole thing crashes down, ripping down hanging lights and other wiring as it plunges towards the glass-walled conference area.
I whirl to bolt through the door, bracing for the crash of the spool of wire through the conference room table.
I’m not bracing for the thunderous explosion and wave of liquid heat when it does, though.
I’m not even turned all the way, halfway through the doorway, when the spool hits the table, and the whole thingdetonates. The whooshing rush of fire and smoke slams into me, punching me right off my feet as the glass door and walls shatter into a million pieces.
I’m numb on the ground. I blink, hearing my breath from inside my head. Everything is hazing, and out of focus, and I can’t hear a thing. I taste blood and ash in my mouth, and I can feel the all-too-familiar feeling of heated, burned skin. There’s something hot and heavy in my hand, and I realize I’m still holding the metal handle of the glass door—just the handle.
What just happened.
My pulse thuds loudly in my ear as I raise my eyes. Shattered, pebbled glass covers the floor, with people screaming as they run all over the place. An alarm is going off. I wince, turning to call for help, when my mouth falls open in horror.
A body lies barely a meter away from me, covered in shattered glass, smoldering bits of conference table, and blood. A body with blond hair, dressed in hip jeans, a crisp dress shirt, and a vest.
