“It wouldn’t hurt you to wear something other than black, gray, and navy, you know.” I lay in bed, wrapped up in the comforter and watching Christian get dressed.
Suit. Tie. Watch. Cufflinks.
I never thought watching a guy put on cufflinks would be sexy, but he made everything look sexy.
“Other colors hurt my eyes.”
“I wear other colors all the time.”
“That’s different. I love everything you wear.”
My stomach flipped, and I flopped back on my pillow with a sigh. “It’s not fair that you can end every argument by saying things like that.”
Christian’s laugh lingered in the room long after he left.
The memory pulled a smile out of me, but it faded when my current reality sank in again.
The binders. The secrets. The need to get the hell out of here before he came home.
I couldn’t face him right now, not when my emotions were so raw and all over the place.
I needed time to think and space to process away from him.
I forced my eyes away from his section of the closet and threw the essentials into a duffel bag. A few changes of clothes, toiletries, and Mr. Unicorn, who I grabbed on my way out.
At the last minute, I scribbled a quick note to Christian and left it on his office desk. That and the files should be self-explanatory.
I wasn’t ready to talk to him, but I worried what he might do if he came home and found me gone without a trace.
I hugged Mr. Unicorn tight to my chest as I took the elevator down to the lobby. I didn’t care that I was an adult walking through public with a stuffed animal. He was the only male who’d never let me down.
I knew Brock was keeping an eye on me and that he’d alert Christian to where I’d gone, but I’d deal with that later.
For now, there was only one place I could go that was almost as safe as Christian’s used to be.
“Ava?” I called her on my way out of the building. My voice wobbled, but I refused to cry. Not now, not here. “Can I come over? Something…something happened.”
CHRISTIAN
The stalker went underground againduring our trip to Italy, as expected. That was what I wanted; I needed him out of the way while I sorted out the mess in my company.
Alex hadn’t reported anything suspicious while I’d been gone, but instinct told me the stalker was planning something bigger than a few measly notes and wanted to fly under the radar until he could bring it to fruition.
His note to me had likely been a slip-up. An ego-induced mistake that’d compelled him to prove he wasn’t scared of me and that he wasn’t going away.
However, I needed to flush out the traitor first before I could deal with him effectively.
Harper Security’s annual poker tournament was coming up in a few weeks. It was the one time of year when almost every employee could gather in one place for a night of fun and relaxation. The only people who couldn’t make it were those on long-term jobs, but my suspects would be there. I’d made sure of it.
I loosened my tie as I took the elevator up to my apartment. Work was a goddamn shitshow these days, and my nights with Stella were the only things keeping me sane.
I love you.
My heart thrummed at the memory.
It’d been a week since Stella turned my world upside down, and I was still reeling from the impact.
I’d kept telling myself I didn’t believe in love, that what I felt for her wasn’t love, but she’d shattered that illusion with one simple phrase.
The minute she’d said those words and looked at me with those beautiful green eyes, I’d known the truth.
I was in love with her.
It’d happened slowly. Bit by bit, piece by piece, like a puzzle becoming whole, until I couldn’t deny or ignore it any longer.
I believe in everything when it comes to you.
That’d been the closest I could bring myself to admitting the truth out loud. One of my fundamental life beliefs had fractured, and I hadn’t had time to process.
When I eventually said the words, I wanted them to be real. Heartfelt.
The elevator doors slid open.
I stepped into the hall and entered my penthouse, but I paused two steps in. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled in warning.