Me: Knock it off right now, or I’ll walk out of here and never come back.
I hit Send and look up. He looks down at his phone and I glance over to see Captain has already stopped. Paige has him by the arm and is talking to him as he looks down at her. She glances at me, and I know she’s stopping him from coming over here. I sigh in relief as she gets him to move back toward where they were standing before.
“Good morning, everyone. Some of you may know me already, but I’m Samuel Black, CEO of Osbourne Corporation.”
I lean back in my chair, relieved that Oz isn’t making a scene, but I don’t look at him. I keep my eyes on Mr. Black as he goes on about future plans for the company and the direction they want to take.
After what seems like years, I finally crack and glance over at Oz. It was all I could do to hold off from looking at him for five minutes, and I hate how pathetic that makes me feel.
When I look to him, I see he’s still staring at me. It makes me squirm in my seat, and I want to shout at my body for its reaction to him. To those deep sapphires staring at me so intimately. Grabbing my phone, I text him.
Me: Stop staring. People will notice.
Oz: I don’t care if people notice.
Me: I do.
Oz: Have dinner with me and I’ll stop staring.
I glare at him before putting my phone back down. This is a little different Oz than I’m used to. Some of his softness has bled away, a hard dominance coming through. I’d seen it before but never coming for me like this. Before I felt like when he did something there was a question if I was okay with it. That seems to be gone. He’s always been intense but now it seems like he’s cracked a little or maybe the real him is coming out and this part of him is on a mission to steamroll me.
Is this some kind of weird blackmail or something? He’s holding me hostage by making me feel like I don’t have control over anything. I’m not used to this, even if my freedom before was only an illusion. I’d never known anyone to take the time to get to know me like this. But it’s been happening all along without my knowledge. I assumed it’s been me watching out for me as long as I could remember.
Until Paige came into my life, and then I thought we were watching out for each other. While I know she has a father, he was never around, nor did she seem to want him around. So when we became close, I thought it was because of our shared past. Not because she was paid to be there.
I breathe a sigh of relief when the meeting finally ends. Basically, this was a company announcement to talk about our quarterly goals for the end of the year and keep our shareholders informed of future plans. I didn’t absorb much of what was being said, what with feeling his eyes on me the whole time.
I glance over and Oz stands up, looking like he’s going to come toward me, and I’m out of my chair, working my way through the crowd of people.
Before I get more than a few steps, Skyler grabs my arm.
“Lunch?”
“Not here,” I say, and even I can hear the desperation to get out of here in my voice.
She nods and I follow her out past the crowd and through the glass lobby. Once we get outside and fresh air greets my lungs, I can breathe. We walk down the street to a little bakery. I get a banana nut muffin and coffee. We sit down, and I pick at the muffin, not wanting it even though I should be hungry. I didn’t eat much this weekend, but my body doesn’t care. An anxious ball still sits in my stomach, squeezing sporadically.
My plans are not working out like I wanted them to. Go to work, do your job and quit after a little while seems easier said than done now.
Skyler plays on her phone while she eats her sandwich, smiling away at whoever she’s talking to. I look down at mine and see another text from Oz, but I power it off, tossing it into my purse. When we’re done, I throw my coffee cup and the rest of my muffin in the trash. I look up afterward and see Captain leaning against the far wall of the coffee shop, looking my way. He’s wearing a perfectly tailored black suit, and all I can think about is how he almost looks like an FBI agent or something. He’s way too big not to stand out, and if he’s trying to blend in, it’s not working.
I study him for a second before turning and following Skyler out of the coffee shop and back to our office. I wonder if he’s following me or getting coffee. A lot of people that work in the building come here because it’s the closest. So I try to pretend his being there isn’t about me.
When I get back to my desk, I drop my purse in a drawer before heading to the ladies’ room. I don’t make it two feet into the bathroom and Oz is on me, shutting the door behind him.
“Don’t.” I try to move around him, but he blocks me from leaving. Caging me in.