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“I’ll cope.”
Why was she baiting him? It was clear he wouldn’t rise to it. He was too cool, too professional. It would be better for all of them if she simply accepted this arrangement. She steeled herself then turned to face him. “Well, if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Noah nodded and she held her nerves together, assuring herself she’d be alone, soon, sure that Gray would walk out with his friend. Only it was Gray that moved to the door, offering one last ‘thank you’ in Noah’s direction before disappearing, leaving the two of them alone.
If she’d thought he was attractive before, seeing him like this, just the two of them in her office, was more than overwhelming. The air around them seemed to grow thick, and she was conscious of every breath, every movement. While outwardly doing all that she could to appear natural and poised, she felt clunky and wrong, completely out of place. His scrutiny didn’t help matters.
“You can’t mean to stay in my office and stare at me?” She asked, cursing the unsteadiness of her voice.
“I’ll start with an inspection of your space,” he said curtly. “Then, I’d like to take a look at your phone, laptop, ipad, any other communication devices. I’ll need access to your digital diary, your calendar of past events, and I’d like to interview your executive staff, as well as anyone who has access to this floor of the building.”
“Is that all?” She asked, incredulous.
“I will need to interview you as well,” he responded, setting her pulse going all over again. She gripped the back of her office chair, hoping it sent a message of calm when actually she was using it for support.
“What about?”
“Any detail you might have forgotten to mention to your security detail in the past. These incidents began twelve months ago. That’s a long time for someone to have stalked you without slipping up.”
“You think he’s made a mistake and I just haven’t noticed?”
“Why would you have noticed?” Noah brushed aside her concerns. “You’re not a security professional. I presume you don’t have much experience with stalkers?”
“None whatsoever,” she responded with a shiver.
“Then relax. I’m not accusing you of covering this up. I’d like to evaluate the investigations to date, that’s all.”
“What exactly is your experience with stalking?”
She’d hit a nerve. Fascination burst through her. She wanted to press on it, to press him, to make him uncomfortable and uncertain, to shake some of his arrogance from his handsome face. But a second later, he was himself again, so she almost wondered if she’d imagined his response.
“I’ve worked private security for over six years. In that time, I’ve had many clients engage me for purposes similar to this.”
“And do you always catch the bad guy, Mr Storm?”
“I intend to catch this bad guy.”
It was a deflection. She analysed that, him, her eyes probing his face, his eyes, even when she knew, somehow, that he wished to remain closed off to her. Yet he didn’t look away. He stared back unflinchingly, and her heart sped up, crashing hard against her ribcage.
“Well, our tete a tete will have to wait. I have a jam-packed day of meetings. I’m afraid your shadowing is going to be a little boring.”
Chapter 2
IT WAS AN UNMITIGATED disaster.
She had a hectic day of meetings, both face to face and via zoom, and yet she found it nigh on impossible to concentrate. Far from being her shadow, Noah Storm had become something of a horizon all of his own. He was a whirlwind of activity, setting up a command center in the boardroom attached to her office, he worked as though she weren’t even there, barely raising a glance in Max’s direction.
But she glanced at him. More than glanced. She found her eyes wandering to him more often than she liked to admit, studying the lines of his face, the strength of his body, wondering about his workout routine, his habits, his life. He’d dropped everything and come to London at a moment’s notice, simply because Gray had asked it of him.
They were good friends, but that kind of loyalty spoke of a dedication that made her heart hurt. Jealousy? Or resentment? Because, despite being twenty six years old, Max couldn’t have said with any certainty that she had a friend who’d do the same for her. Not even close. Oh, she had dozens of buddies, people she liked to hang out with, go to parties with, attend club openings with, but this was different. This was a willingness to upend your life because someone asked it of you. And she’d never known what that was like.
It was summer and the sun stayed high in the sky well into the evening. Sometime after eight, Max stifled a yawn and pushed shut the lid on her laptop.
“I’m finished.”
Noah looked up at her, his eyes a little bleary, a tangle of paperwork spread out around him. “Give me five minutes.”
She compressed her lips, biting back a desire to point out having him shadow her was one thing, but dictating her schedule quite another. But he was Gray’s friend, and he’d upended his life just for her, just for Gray. She couldn’t be rude to him, no matter how scared and pissed she was.
