And then I talked to Creed. That conversation was the start of this drastic mood swing that had left me feeling like I was walking beneath a cloud that would burst at any second.
When I reached the sixth floor, I was doing my best to force my lips to curve into a smile. My co-workers shouldn’t have to endure my mood. It wasn’t their fault a dominating, manipulative ass had me in his crosshairs.
“Mornin’.”
The sexy drawl had me looking up. Garrison was sitting at the conference table the same as he had been yesterday. His eyes were backlit by the smile on his face as he held up a large to-go cup.
“Thought you might like this.”
Before I even thought about it, I was detouring toward him. Garrison stood, and we met halfway so he could pass over the cup.
His fingers lightly brushed mine when I took it. “Thank you.”
“Hawk told me it’s your favorite.”
Some of my frustration bled away, leaving me with a genuine smile. “You’re very sweet. You know that?”
He leaned down, his mouth near my ear, his gruff voice soft. “Don’t let anyone else hear you say that. I’ve got a reputation to uphold.”
I looked up into his face when he pulled back. “Your secret’s safe with me.”
He winked, and it was a good thing I was wearing flats. I probably would’ve teetered right over in heels.
The day dragged, which seemed apropos of my mood.
It didn’t help that every time I looked at the two dozen roses sitting on my desk, I was reminded that Hawk hadn’t responded to my text yesterday. I dwelled on all the reasons why he wouldn’t, but the only answer I ever came up with was: Creed. I knew Hawk was traveling with Creed, but I thought for sure he would text me. Was Creed controlling his interactions with me as well? Or maybe Hawk had learned of my little striptease or perhaps my dinner with Garrison and wanted nothing to do with me anymore.
And because I was mentally drained, the only thing I wanted to do was to go home—or rather, my parents’ house—curl up with a good book and get lost in a fictional world for a little while. Instead, I’d endured back-to-back meetings with two more to go before the day was over. One of those was a one-on-one with Garrison. I wasn’t sure what it was about, but he was having them with every member of the team, so I wasn’t too worried. Maybe I should’ve been since he was in Wayne’s office at the moment, and I was the last on his calendar.
The only good thing about the meetings was that they interrupted my thoughts. They didn’t allow me to spend too much time wondering if I would ever hear from Creed again since he hadn’t texted or called since I hung up on him last night. The fact that he didn’t seem bothered by the idea of me on a date with someone else filled me with crushing disappointment.
A knock pulled me out of my thoughts.
Wayne was standing in my doorway watching me, his forehead creased, his lips in a thin line.
“I need to talk to you,” he said, his tone harsher than usual.
“Okay.” I sat up straight and gave him my full attention.
He stepped into my office and closed the door behind him. “I just had my meeting with Garrison.” He turned back to face me, his expression harder than I’d ever seen it, his eyes narrowed to slits. “I don’t know what you told him, but you need to tell him it was all bullshit.”
“What are you talking about?”
He stepped forward, then swung his arm out, pointing at the door. “That asshole dared to tell me my actions are inappropriate where you’re concerned.”
Not only me, I thought, but kept it to myself.
“I didn’t tell him anything,” I stated firmly.
He snorted. “I’ve heard all about how you’re kissing ass, fucking the VPs for advancement. It wasn’t enough to get favoritism on the project? Now you’ve got to slander the rest of us?”
My face heated as my anger ignited. “I didn’t slander anyone!”
“But you did get favoritism, didn’t you? That dress you wore…” His upper lip curled in a snarl. “Which one of them picked it out for you? Or did they all dress you that morning?”
Outraged, I shot to my feet. “Get the fuck out of my office.”
“For the record, I don’t give a shit what you wear. You want to look like a whore, that’s on you.” He snarled like he found my clothing offensive. “I just want to know when you brought it up. When you were flashing him your tits?”
Every ounce of blood drained from my face. My mouth fell open as I tried to drag air into my lungs. I couldn’t. The room was closing in on me.
“Hit the nail on the head, didn’t I?” His smile was oily and vicious. “Next time you’re doing a striptease to advance your career, leave my name out of it.”
“Get. Out!” I shouted.
“Gladly.” His voice lowered. “But if you don’t fix this, I promise, you won’t like the consequences.”
I stared at him, hating that he’d rendered me speechless.
Wayne swung the door wide so that it banged against the glass wall.
I stared after him, my blood surging in my veins. I heard the rush of it in my ears, felt the tingle of it in my fingertips. My chest burned with every labored breath, and my head felt hollow.
I was still standing here when Garrison appeared in the doorway. He rapped his knuckles on the frame.
“Hey,” he greeted casually, stepping inside. “We’ve got a three o’clock. Thought we’d talk while we go down for coffee. You ready?”
I stared at him. I knew I should’ve shoved the last five minutes into that mental box and stored it for later, but I couldn’t. Fear had a tight grip on my throat because Wayne’s words kept running on an endless loop through my head.
I just want to know when you brought it up. When you were flashing him your tits?
How could he possibly know what happened in my office? The door had been closed, and the glass was darkened. There was no way he could’ve seen anything. Not unless…
I spun toward the bookshelf, looking over the few items on it. I walked over, shifted the books aside, knocking them down so I could search behind them. I tossed two plastic holders meant for storing papers or magazines to the floor. I hadn’t used any of this stuff because I’d been trying to do everything electronically. Ever since Wayne stole my notes, I’d been trying not to write things down so he couldn’t steal them.