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“Please let everyone else know I’ll be there shortly. Thank you.”
“Yes, sir.” Mary hung up, and I pulled the phone away from my ear. I curled my hands into fists and went back into the bedroom. Rachel’s quiet breathing filled the room as she flipped onto her back, blonde hair splayed behind her. Silver moonlight poured in through the slits in the curtain, giving her a soft, ethereal glow.
She was the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen.
I didn’t want to leave her, but I had to.
With a slight shake of my head, I hurried into the bathroom and changed. While I waited for the car, I sent out a series of messages to the board of directors. Then I snuck back into the room, throwing my clothes back into my bag.
Rachel made a low noise in the back of her throat and curled onto her side.
I hesitated.
Once the bag was by the door, I rummaged through the drawer of the nightstand and found a piece of paper. I used the flashlight on my phone to find a pencil and smiled triumphantly. Hastily, I scrawled out my name and number and propped the note up on my nightstand, facing Rachel.
I glanced down at my phone and saw the message written across the screen. Reluctantly, I tiptoed back to where Rachel slept and brushed her hair out of her eyes. Her lips lifted into a half smile, and she sighed in her sleep. My heart gave an odd little lurch when I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead. I lingered, inhaling the sweet scent of her skin.
Then I took two steps back and hurried out of the room, bag in tow.
In the carpeted hallway, I let the door click shut behind me and hurried in the direction of the elevator. While I waited for it to come, I dialed my CEO and waited. His voice came in and out of focus when I stepped onto the elevator and tapped my feet impatiently. Moments later, the doors pinged open, leading out into the empty lobby. I picked up my bag and strode forward, making a beeline for the glass doors.
A uniformed man with a bald head and bright green eyes waited for me against a black car. He pushed himself off the car when he saw me and stepped forward. Wordlessly, he took the bag out of my hand and held the back door open for me. As soon as I was settled, I heard the trunk slam shut, and the driver hurried back to the front.
Shortly after, he peeled away from the curb, tires screeching against the asphalt.
I pressed the button to make sure the partition went up and leaned back against the leather seats. Outside, the world was still dark, and only a few cars drove past us in either direction. After the CEO gave me an update on the situation, I hung up and folded my hands in my lap.
When we rolled up into the city, I saw the thick plume of smoke from a distance. The driver pressed down on the gas, and the car raced through the empty streets of LA, taking side streets and shortcuts until we came to a stop in front of the company, a sprawling set of metal buildings located downtown. I hurried out of the car before it came to a complete stop and spotted the CEO and CFO on the other side of the street, studying the flames intently.
“Does anyone know what happened?”
“We have a team combing through the video footage and the reports, but it’ll take a while,” Raymond told me without looking at me. He shared a quick look with Robert, my CFO, before he looked over at me. “We don’t know the extent of the damage.”
“Once they have the fire under control, we’ll see. The chief told me that the damage is contained to the lower levels, where the files are stored.”
Robert straightened his back. “It’s a good thing we’re insured.”
I nodded and folded my arms over my chest. “Yes, it is.”
The black cloud still hung over the building while the fireman worked, racing back and forth to put out the flames. Orange and red flames jumped and danced, licking along the exterior with a strange intensity. A few cars came to a screeching halt to watch. By the time the fire was under control, the first patches of greylight had lit up the horizon. Slowly, the sun came out, drenching the world in hues of red and orange.
We were allowed back into the building a short while later.
Since the fire was contained to the lower level, while the rest of the building remained untouched, the board of directors and the heads of departments all gathered in the conference room to pour over the damage. Little by little, the city of LA came to life, with cars honking and dogs barking in the distance.
I kept glancing at my phone and waiting for her to call.
By the time the evening sun set, I was pouring over the paperwork after my third cup of coffee when something caught my eye. I sat up straighter and beckoned over Raymond and Robert, who came to a stand behind the desk and peered at the screen.
“Did you see that? It looks like the fire started because of the servers overheating.”
Raymond blew out a breath. “We’ll need to work on a new cooling system.”
I stood up and spun around to face them. “We do, but we’ll do that tomorrow. Everyone’s been here all day, and I’m sure we’re all tired. I need someone to coordinate with the construction crew to come in and fix the damage starting tomorrow.”
Mary materialized out of nowhere, looking put together in her knee-length skirt and button-down shirt. She held a tablet in her hands and nodded. “Yes, sir. I’ll get in touch with them myself.”
“I also need you to send out an email to the insurance company and ask them to get in touch with me. They’ll need to survey the area before we can do anything else.”
