When he was done, his world was a lot more complicated.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
"Yes, Mrs. Stockton. You get to choose your password. No, I can't keep it handy in case you forget it. It's very important that no one else know it."
Shay listened for a few seconds, closing her eyes so no one would see her eyeballs rolling back in her head.
"No, ma'am. Using ‘password' for your password is a very bad idea. It's the first thing thieves try. Yes, they're clever. Do you remember your first phone number? No, don't tell me. That's not your number now, is it? Great. Use that as your password. You're welcome. Thank you for banking with Halifax Second Bank and Trust."
Shay glanced at the phone bank. For the first time all day, there were no calls waiting. Fridays were the worst. People still tried to do last-minute banking before the weekend, as if online weren't 24 – 7.
She whipped off her headset and reached for a bottle of water she kept close at hand under her desk. As she lifted her bottle for a first swallow, Eric Coates passed through her peripheral view. The bottle paused, suspended at her lips.
Unable to take her eyes off him, she could feel her heart thumping heavily beneath her suit jacket. For the past five days she had been waiting and dreading the possibility of this moment.
He sauntered over to her cubicle, pausing here and there to shake hands with one customer and pat another on the back. She tried not to fidget as nerves made a double-twist pretzel of her insides. He was deliberately prolonging the moment of meeting, making her aware of his complete control of the situation.
No. This was different. They were in a workplace environment. Besides, everyone knew he was engaged.
The official announcement had been in the Monday morning online Bank Weekly distributed to all Halifax Bank employees. There was even a picture of Eric squeezing the waist of a pretty blonde in a silvery cocktail dress. Underneath were the words "Felicitations to the Happy Couple."
He came right around the corner of her glass partition. "Hey, Shay." His voice was pitched in the low intimate register she once thought he reserved for her alone. Now it sounded rehearsed.
Shay raised her voice. "Congratulations on your engagement, Mr. Coates."
The smile pleats at the corners of his eyes deepened. "Just because I'm engaged doesn't mean we can't still have some fun. We just need to be more discreet."
Shay lowered her gaze, trying not to choke on her disgust. How she could ever have been so blind? He was a total douche. "I'm seeing someone."
"The cop? Drop him. I've upgraded your tastes beyond his pay grade."
He leaned in, a casual brace of his hands on her desk as if they were colleagues discussing an issue. "We've got a sweet little deal going here for the next five weeks. My office is right over your head." He glanced up. "I like the idea of that, you beneath me."
Aware of the people moving past them in the lobby, Shay leaned in before she looked up into his face. "Fuck off, Eric."
He leaned in a fraction closer, too. "I'd rather fuck you."
Shay waited until he was out of range before she took a deep breath.
She picked up her water, thirstier than before. She missed her mouth and spilled an icy trickle into her lap. She ignored it. Tilting the bottle again, she swallowed and concentrated on the sharp cold of the water as it traveled all the way down into her stomach. It was like jumping into an autumn lake, only from the inside. After her conversation with Eric, she wanted to shower.
She should get up and leave right now, and never come back. Perry would be furious. Probably fire her. So then she'd move out of Raleigh altogether. There wasn't anything or anyone holding her here.
That thought was as depressing as it was supposed to be inspirational. Anger came in to take up the slack.
Don't let the rat bastard run you off.
When she opened her eyes she saw a flashing light indicating a call. She reached for her headphones. Might as well finish the day. She needed the paycheck.
* * *
Shay glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes before closing. After fielding half a dozen calls from customers freaking out about their Friday paychecks not showing in their bank accounts, Shay picked up the next call with the numbing hope it was someone who'd forgotten their password.
"I'm lookin' for Shay Appleton."
Shay frowned. She was never asked for by name. "Yes? How can I help you?"
"You can keep your fucking mouth shut to the cops!"
"What?"
"Keep your fuckin' mouth shut, cunt!"
He hung up.
The panic attack came on too fast for her to process, let alone prevent. A sensation like swarming ants ran all over her body. A hard shiver rocked her. She couldn't breathe, couldn't get her diaphragm to draw in a breath. Sensations of being too hot and then too cold hit her, one after the other.
Unable to move, Shay allowed her gaze to sweep frantically back and forth across the main floor of the bank, looking for any sign of who might have made the call. The tellers were all busy. The bank officers with cubicles on this floor were with customers.
Eric. Where was he?
He was emerging from an elevator, in conversation with two men in business suits. They crossed quickly to the main doors and left.
Shay shot to her feet, her head getting yanked by the cord of her headphones. She jerked them off, ignoring the flashing lights of two new calls. She grabbed her purse and shoved a palm against her mouth as she skirted her desk and headed out across the main bank lobby. Her heels made loud clacking sounds as she hurried across the marble floor.
She straight-armed the restroom door open. Thankfully no one else was there. She ran to the first sink, bending low over it. She pushed for the water to come on with one hand, splashing her face with the other.
After a moment, she lifted her head and, eyes closed, drew in a long slow breath.
Breathe. Slowly. In. Out. In. Out.
She curled her hands into fists, digging her nails into her palms until they hurt. Control! She needed to get control! The panic attack would subside with control.
It was only a phone call. I'm not in immediate danger.
She opened her eyes to grab paper towels and dry her face.
She had worked IT in many different companies during the past three years. Dealt with the bug-eyed angry, dithering idiots, the socially inept, and even the occasional prankster or pervert. No one had ever called her that word before … except Eric, their final night together.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror. The image staring back looked bloodless, with too big eyes and wet spikes of bangs dripping into her eyes.
Who was the caller? Not Eric. The voice sounded uneducated, husky, burred by too many cigarettes or alcohol, or both.
Had Eric gotten someone else to do his dirty work? Was he expecting her to run to him for protection? Or, was he just trying to mess with her head?
One thing was certain. She'd had enough of Halifax Bank. She was going home. Now. Eric had won this round.
Rage welled up through Shay's anxiety as she reached for the restroom door, shouting, "Bastard!"
Two startled faces met her as she emerged. She ignored them and swept past.
* * *
James almost didn't recognize Shay when she burst through the doors of the bank as if someone were chasing her, and headed in the opposite direction. Dressed in a navy blue suit with a hemline his mother would call matronly, she looked middle-aged. "Shay?"
When she swung around he saw that the bangs were the same, as were the changeable tortoiseshell eyes that widened with his approach.
Bogart ran ahead, barking in delight at the sight of the friend who'd emerged from the bank. James gave him enough leash to reach his goal.
A pretty smile lit up Shay's face as Bogart bounded forward, certain of his welcome.
James rubbed a hand over a back pocket of his jeans as he followed. Damn. He was sweating! He would have considered any other man making this miserable move a loser.
Shay bent down to greet Bogart and got a lick in the face with a very wet tongue in response. "What are you doing here, fella?"
"Don't I deserve a welcome, too?"
Her gaze ranged away from the dog to find James standing over her. Her smile faltered. "Officer Cannon."
"The bad penny," he agreed with a small smile.
As their gazes locked, James tried to remember what he'd been telling himself on the drive over to Raleigh. All he could remember now that he was gazing at her was that every time he thought about her his johnson stirred.
The bank doors opened behind them, spilling out several other employees. Two women paused to gaze openly at Shay and the dog she was petting. The youngest woman smiled at James. "That's a really nice dog you got there."
James nodded, gathering up the slack in his leash. "I share him with Shay these days."