“You’re freaking me out,” I breathe in distress as my chest begins rising and falling rapidly from the look in his eyes.
“Why?” His brows pull together like he doesn’t understand how I could possibly be freaked out, but everything in me is telling me to get up and run as fast as I can. I don’t even know how to begin to explain to someone like him that they are being overbearing, when it seems to be ingrained in his DNA.
“You just are.” I let my hands fall to my lap with the watch still in place.
“I’d never hurt you,” he says as his eyes soften, and it looks like he wants to say more, but before he can, the door to the room opens and people begin to filter in. They look between him and me with curiosity as they take their seats around the table.
I pull the sleeve of my silk blouse over the watch and catch Kathy’s eye as she takes her seat. Unease fills me when I see the distrust in her gaze, but I just smile, playing stupid.
“Do I need to stay for this?” I ask her quietly, and Braxton grabs my thigh under the table. When she shakes her head, I quickly get up and leave without a backward glance. I take the elevator down to the fourth floor, and as soon as I reach my desk, I touch my finger to the screen of the watch, and it lights up with an image of a digital clock. I press the buttons on the side, and the screen changes to a digital calendar. I press it again, and I see my office e-mail account, and when I press it one more time, my text messages show up.
I let my hand fall to my lap, then try to focus on studying the information I need to know for a new device from IMG that will be airing tomorrow. A device that will allow you to do everything from make appointments, purchase event tickets, order groceries or take out, to maintain your home security. All things most people do today with different apps or devices, but with this, you can do it all in one place. IMG isn’t the first to come out with a home portal, but like a lot of their branded devices it’s built to work with all other IMG products, and I’m guessing the watch on my wrist will be soon added to their list.
I get to work, hoping that the talking points I come up with will appeal to not only younger people but older people as well, showcasing just how easy the device is to set up and use. When the phone on my desk buzzes, I pick it up, putting it to my ear. “Dakota Newton.”
“Dakota, can you please come into my office and bring me a coffee on the way?” Kathy asks, and my chest instantly fills with anxiety.
“Absolutely, I’ll be right there,” I say, trying to sound cheerful even though I might pass out. I stop at the kitchen and use the machine to make a cup of coffee then take it with me to Kathy’s office on the other side of the floor.
I tap on her open door when I reach it, and enter when she calls, “Come in.”
“Did you need something?” I ask, setting the cup on the edge of the desk when she doesn’t speak.
She leans back in her chair, locking her fingers together over her stomach. “I’m curious about something.”
Oh, God, here it is.
“Curious?” I parrot.
“Did you know Braxton before I introduced you?”
“Know him?” I shake my head. “No, I didn’t know him.” I shift on my feet and barely stop myself from wringing my hands together. “I mean, I ran into him in the elevator this morning, but I didn’t really talk to him.” I hope the half-lie will explain my nervousness and what happened upstairs.
“He spoke to me about moving you upstairs to work side by side with Chris Stines, who runs the marketing department for IMG.”
My stomach bottoms out. “What? But I don’t know anything about marketing,” I tell her, something she already knows.
“I explained that to him, but he’s under the impression you would be a better fit working with that team.”
“Tell him I don’t feel comfortable with the responsibility working in that department would entail,” I plea, and her eyes soften for the first time since we were in the conference room. I don’t know what Braxton’s reasoning is for wanting to move me, but I doubt it’s anything that would make me happy. And since I have gotten through most of my life by trusting my instincts and every one of them is screaming at me to avoid him, I’m going to do that.
“I’ll see what I can do,” she mutters, picking up the coffee I set down and taking a sip. “Why don’t you go get lunch while I make a few calls? When you get back, I’ll go over what you have so far for the show tomorrow.”
My muscles relax. “Sure, would you like anything from the deli?”
“I think you’ve noticed I survive on coffee most days.”
“In that case, I’ll bring you a sandwich,” I say, gaining a smile before I turn for the door.
Going to my desk, I grab my purse, slip off my heels, and put on my flats then head for the elevator. Once I reach the lobby floor and head out of the building, I unconsciously look down at my wrist and frown when I notice in the corner a tiny red light is blinking slowly. Walking quickly to the deli at the end of the block, I head right for the bathroom, where I take the watch off and drop it in the trash next to the sink. After washing my hands, I leave the bathroom feeling lighter.
I walk two more blocks to another deli and go to the counter, where I order a turkey and Swiss on rye and take a seat in the back of the restaurant. I pull out my phone and pull up my messages, ignoring the ones from Braxton and responding to Jamie’s text about dinner.
“Did you lose something?” a familiar deep voice asks as the seat in front of me scrapes against the floor, and I look up then watch Braxton fold his large frame into the small chair. Then he drops the watch on the table between us.
“No,” I mumble, looking back down at my phone when it vibrates with an incoming text from Jamie saying he’ll bring dinner to my place around six.
I start to text him back, but Braxton’s fingers move to my jawline pressing up until my eyes meet his. “I want you to wear the watch.”
“I don’t want to wear your tracking device,” I tell him with a shrug as my heartbeat picks up. “That’s what it is, right?” I mean, I’m not sure, but that’s the only thing I can think it might be.
“I don’t need to track you, Dakota. You live in my building.” He leans across the table closer to me, and my heart that was already thumping hard begins to pound. “You work for my company. I know almost everything about you. You can’t avoid me.”
“What do you want from me?”
“A chance,” he says easily as his thumb runs along the edge of my bottom lip. My eyes slide to half-mast and I lean into his touch. “You can’t deny our connection.”
Swallowing, I pull away from him and sit back in my chair, unsure how he has the power to make me forget everything with a simple touch. I look away from him and wrap my arms around my middle. He’s right; I can’t deny our connection. It’s like a living, breathing thing that’s taken on a life of its own. “A chance to what… lie to me some more?” I shake my head. “No, thank you.”
“I wanted to tell you the truth.”
“You should have told me the truth. You could have told me the truth.” I uncross my arms and point at him. “You chose to lie to me.”