Page 23 of Ruthless Ambition
Well, some of us.
Reflecting on my morning coup, I grinned.Mostof the time, we had integrity.
My day passed quickly, and it really was remarkable how much more at ease I was without him three offices down from me. Sally said goodnight to me later that evening, reminding me not to stay too late, and I waved her away.
Engrossed in a contract renewal, I was slowly aware that I wasn’t alone. Looking up, I jumped when I saw Onyx leaning against my office door. I hadn’t heard my door opening or known how long he had been there. He was wearing dark pants, a black shirt with a blue tie, and his hair was swept off his forehead. He looked good, which pissed me off that I noticed, and I kept my face blank as his dark eyes watched me impassively.
“Creepy.” Leaning back in my chair, I waited, my earlier feeling of levity gone.
“Busy?” he asked me casually as he straightened and crossed his arms.
“Yes.”
He said nothing else as he continued to hold my stare.
“Do you want something?” I asked him as I winced internally at the bite in my tone.
Onyx’s lips pressed together as he seemed to think about it, and then his knowing smirk was back in place. “Nah.”
Turning, he left my doorway, and when I heard the elevator ping, I knew he was gone.
Slumping in my seat, I let out a low laugh. Looks like he knew what I’d done, and he was not happy at all.
Good.
I hope he hated how it felt as much as I did when he did it to me. Biting my lip, I worked another half hour and then packed up my stuff for the night and headed to the underground parking.
As I approached my car, my steps slowed, and I looked around hesitantly. The parking area was well lit, and I knew there were cameras everywhere, but still, I felt a chill as I saw the debris scattered around my car. We were just entering spring, so there was no reason the parking area would have dead leaves in it. It was also underground and well-maintained.
At the driver’s door, I looked down at the brown and fragile leaves. Again, I looked around, and then as I put my stuff in the car, I stooped to inspect the fallen leaves.
Not leaves, I realized as I crouched down.
Petals.
There were dead flower petals scattered around my car, not enough to look placed there, but enough to make me notice because I’d been sent dead flowers.
Hurriedly, I got into my car and locked the doors as I once again checked the parking lot for any . . . I caught sight of atorn trash bag sitting in the corner with the others, waiting to be collected.
I snorted out loud as I shook my head at my own foolishness. This was a secure underground parking garage, and I’d watched too many true crime dramas. It was some dead petals from a torn trash bag. There was absolutely nothing to worry about.
