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Huhn?
“Shouldn’t I stick around in case you need backing?” I tossed my chin toward the executive boardroom.
Lane shook his head, thin lips poking into the air. “Not today. My golden girl’s busted her ass, bringing in systems that’ll reduce spending potentially by twenty-one percent next quarter. Your constituents may be ready to grate your ass, but mine will be eating out of my hands by the time I’m done today.” He winked before turning on his heel for the boardroom.
I continued down toward the elevator when my phone vibrated again. I’d forgotten to check it. Thinking of all the shit I had waiting for me in my office, including personal dilemmas, I chanced a glance at my phone. The elevator dinged, and when it opened, a gang of people exited off. I threaded through while deciphering the notification. I stopped dead in the center of the car.
It was a text.
It was him.
Tobias.
My heart pounded hard on the wall of my chest. The saliva in my mouth completely dried. He shared his location. What did that mean? I stared at the phone as though it was foreign.
“Floor?” someone asked behind me.
Wildly, I turned around and found a transportation aide. “Ummmm…” I blinked, trying to control my breathing. “Seventh.” I swallowed nothing. “Thank you.” Then I moved to the back of the car, giving the man with the empty gurney bed his personal space.
My attention returned to my phone. Tobias had never done this. I wasn’t familiar with theFind Myfeature. But there he was, his profile embedded into a map. Adjusting it, I saw he was here in North Carolina. Chapel Hill.
I dropped the phone to my thigh. Chapel Hill was just over forty minutes from the hospital. Tobias couldn’t be in North Carolina.Could he?It felt like a needle prick happened in my skull, and tensioned air had been released. The relief was needed, but was also causing a ruckus in my heart. Then I felt a gripping on my skull, anxiety manifesting.
“Ma’am,” someone called out. Blinking again, I felt the throbbing of my lips, which meant I was rubbing them together. Then the transportation aide came into view. “The seventh floor?” He motioned toward the panel.
Following his vision, I snapped out of my stupor. “Thank—sorry about that.” The clicking of my heels helped keep me grounded as I made my way out of the elevator. On my way to my office, I thought of how convenient it was that my boss told me to take the rest of the day off. It was not uncommon for someone on my level to use that autonomy, but on a day like today, when the big wigs were meeting, going missing could be a bad idea.
And I’d be doing just that: going missing to investigate this shared location.
The husky Hispanic guard at the community gate tilted his cap. “Can I help you, ma’am?”
When I felt the gloss on my mouth, I realized I was rubbing my lips together. “Yes. Visiting.” What else would I say?
He nodded. “Who, ma’am?”
“Ummm…” I peered down at my phone. “Seven, six, six, seven.”
“Your name?”
Noooo!
I scoffed, fidgeting with my hair.
“I have it on the list, ma’am.” He smirked. “I just need to verify it?”
Did I really come all the way out to Chapel Hill to embarrass myself?
No. I came despite the risk of humiliation of a ghost of Tobias being in town. What were the odds?
“Richardson,” I finally answered. “Lennox Richardson.”
He smacked his teeth and inhaled. “I have a Lennox, but not Richardson.”
“Curry?”
He nodded then frowned. “Actually, I have Curry and Elliott. Lennox Curry and Lennox Elliott.”
Butterflies erupted in my belly, and I could no longer feel my feet when I squealed, “That would be me,too—them. Those names would do.”
