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I dipped my chin low and held my breath as I moved past the front desk, praying the attractive young demon sitting there wouldn’t notice me as she worked on her computer.
“Skye?”
Shit. This was a bad idea. Why didn’t I think this through? Do you really want Carter’s last memory of you to be watching you dragged out of his building, kicking and screaming?
My heels squeaked loudly against the marble floors as I turned to face Bonnie. Though Carter’s building had an impossible number of floors, I had spent so much time here over the years, I knew mostly everyone by name; including the receptionist.
“Hi Bonnie. How are you? It’s so good to see you.” I forced the biggest smile on my face that hopefully read, I promise I’m not here to kill Carter.
“Hey…” she said slowly, letting her voice trail off as her eyes slowly roved down my body. I was actually starting to feel sexy in this outfit, but now all I felt was the deep burn of embarrassment. I could only imagine what Bonnie must be thinking:There’s Carter’s ex-girlfriend, who never wore anything above her knees and elbows. Now she’s here dressed like a hooker and not even the expensive kind. Time to call security…
“You look hot, girl,” she said, after her assessment was complete. “Who knew you were hiding such a bangin’ bod under all those grandma sweaters?”
“Thank you,” I said earnestly. That was a true compliment coming from Bonnie; she was absolutely stunning. I don’t know why she worked as a receptionist when she could make so much more money modeling. I used to hate the idea of her working so closely with Carter, but that idea was so laughable now. It was Carter I should have been worried about.
“Um, is Carter in his office? I happened to be in the area, and I have something of his I needed to drop off—” I started inching forward towards the direction of the elevators, hoping she would have a harder time saying no if my body was already in motion.
Bonnie didn’t answer. I felt the whoosh of air as the front doors opened and closed, and someone came to stand directly behind me. Bonnie openly gaped at the seven-foot-tall, probably fuming monstrosity behind me.
Fuck. We are definitely getting kicked out now,I thought as Ansel’s big, green hand gripped my shoulder.
Bonnie closed her mouth and beamed at Ansel, giving him what I could only describe as flirty eyes. She can flirt with Ansel as much as she wants, as long as she doesn’t kick us out.
I didn’t turn to face Ansel. I could only imagine how upset he was, and deservedly so, but I could only deal with one crisis at a time.
“Bonnie, please, I really mean no trouble. I really did happen to be in the area, and I just wanted to talk to Carter. It’ll be really quick, I promise.”
She finally tore her eyes away from Ansel to look at me. She popped her gum, giving me a skeptical look.
After a tense moment, she shrugged a shoulder. “Don’t worry, girl. You’re okay to go up. I’m going on break anyways, so whatever happens in the next fifteen minutes is not my problem.” She removed her headset, careful not to get it caught on her two stubby horns poking out of each side of her head. She set the headset on top of her keyboard, then gave me a small frown. “I saw his post, by the way. What a fucking asshole. I’ve always thought he was a dickhead, but this is low, even for him.”
Bonnie rounded her desk and walked past us, heading towards the break room. She stopped next us before passing, turning to point at Ansel. “Whatever happens in there, please don’t get blood on my carpets. We just had them cleaned.”
Ansel held up his hands in defense. “I’m only here for moral support, so I can’t guarantee anything. But ammonia and hot water works great for blood stains. I use it all the time.”
Bonnie chuckled, shaking her head as she walked away. If only she knew he wasn’t kidding.
Once she was out of earshot, I turned to face Ansel, lifting my chin up to meet his gaze. He towered over me but didn’t look too angry. “So, you’re not upset with me? I’m sorry if this looks crazy, but I need to do this, Ansel.”
He held my gaze for a brief second. “The only thing I’m upset about is you crossed two lanes of busy traffic. Next time, give me a heads up, please.” The hand still resting on my shoulder slowly slid down my back until it was resting above my ass. “But if this is something you need to do, then we better go.”
Ansel was the grounding presence I didn’t realize I needed. We rode in silence as we took the elevator all the way to the twentieth floor. As I trembled in my heels, my heart pounding so hard against my ribcage I thought I was going to have a heart attack, Ansel’s hand on my backside brought me the comfort I needed. If it weren’t for him, I would have punched the emergency exit button and escaped to the nearest stairwell.
What was I supposed to say to Carter? He was the smooth talker in the relationship, not me. He was the worst person to have an argument with. Even when he was in the wrong, I always left our disagreements feeling like it was my fault, not his. That’s why he was so successful in business, he could talk his way in and out of anything.
My heart leapt into my throat as the elevator dinged and the doors parted open for us. Thank the Goddess that the hallway was empty. No doubt my presence would raise alarm if one of Carter’s coworkers saw me; my luck did not extend any farther than Bonnie.
Ansel and I walked side-by-side down the carpeted hallway leading towards Carter’s door like two inmates walking to death row as Ansel’s comforting hand never left my body.
I stopped a couple of feet away from Carter’s door, tilting my face towards Ansel. “Do you mind waiting there while I talk to him? This should only take a few minutes,” I said, motioning to the couch pushed up against the wall.
“Of course,” he said, leaning down to plant a kiss on my forehead. “Just yell if you need me.” Ansel moved to the couch and sat down, making himself immediately comfortable. He reached for the nearest magazine and began flipping through it, like a patient settling into the doctor’s waiting room, knowing he had plenty of time to catch up on celebrity gossip before his name was called.
I squared my shoulders. I took a deep breath, feeling a tiny bit braver knowing Ansel was here supporting me, and would be waiting for me just outside the door.
I wrapped my hand around the doorknob and turned, pulling it open towards me.
The nostalgia of Carter’s office almost knocked me on my ass. It was the familiar smell of leather mixed with the pine air freshener Carter always used that brought back the swell of memories. They all came rushing back at the same time, all jumbled together—all the times I popped by his office to bring him lunch from the local Thai place down the street; late nights at the office, reading a book on his couch while he caught up with work; and all the times we had sex on that great mahogany desk. Too big for this room, I always thought, like Carter was trying to compensate for something.
