“I need to...”He looks around wildly, spots his jacket, grabs it, and heads for the door.“I’ll be back.”
“Everything okay?”Flora calls out with genuine concern.
“Fine,” Caleb says tersely.“Just need to handle something with HR.”
The second he’s out of sight, Joshua wheels his chair over to my desk, his eyes bright with curiosity.“Okay, spill,” he demands.“What did you do?”
“I have no idea what you mean,” I say, but I can’t quite keep the smugness out of my voice.
“Eve.”Joshua leans closer, lowering his voice.“I got that email from Caleb this morning.The one with the promotional materials?”
“Mm-hmm?”
“There was also a forty-slide PowerPoint presentation about the mating habits of sea cucumbers.”
I snort, then quickly cover it with a cough.“That’s...weird.”
“With detailed anatomical diagrams,” Joshua continues, grinning now.“And a really passionate introduction about how sea cucumber reproduction represents the untapped potential of maritime innovation.”
I press my lips together to keep my laughter in.“That’s—He must be passionate about sea cucumbers.Did you, ah, read the whole thing?”
“Every single slide,” Joshua confirms.“It was weirdly compelling.I learned so much about invertebrate reproductive cycles.But I’m guessing that wasn’t exactly what the content division was expecting for the Serastra campaign?”
“Probably not,” I agree.“Somebody should tell Caleb to keep his hobbies to himself.”
Before Joshua can say anything, Steven looks up from his computer with a concerned expression.“Has anyone else been getting weird emails from Caleb today?”he asks.“Because I got one that was supposedly about vendor coordination, but it also had a recipe for fish tacos.Very detailed.With wine pairings.”
“Oh, and one about the craftsmen timeline,” Flora chimes in.“He added a thirteen-page analysis of why pirates were actually misunderstood entrepreneurs.”
“The pirates one was my favorite,” Joshua admits.“Really makes you think.”
My nails dig into my pants as I try to keep it together.As the others discuss the creative emails being sent along with the attachments, I pat myself on the back.I don’t know much about computers, but I know emails and how they can be manipulated.
Caleb can eat shit for all I care.This is what he gets for stealing my parking spot.
Twenty minutes later, the office door opens, and Caleb walks back in.His expression is dark, and his eyes scan the office until they land on me.I feel a little shiver run down my spine.
He walks straight to my desk, ignoring the curious stares from everyone else in the office.“Eve,” he says quietly, and there’s something in his voice that makes my stomach flip.“I need to speak with you.”
“I’m kind of busy?—”
“Now.”It’s not a request.Before I can decline, he reaches down and wraps his hand around my upper arm, his grip firm but not painful.The heat of his palm burns through the sleeve of my shirt, and I scowl.
“Hey, what are you—” I start to protest, but he’s already pulling me to my feet.
“Excuse us,” he says to the rest of the office, his voice perfectly polite even as he’s practically dragging me toward the door.“We need to discuss some campaign details.”
“Caleb, let go of me,” I hiss, trying to pull away without making a scene.But his grip tightens slightly, and the way his thumb presses against my pulse point makes my heart rate spike for reasons that have nothing to do with anger.He doesn’t respond, just guides me out of the office and down the hallway.I have no choice but to follow unless I want to cause a complete spectacle.
“Where are we going?”I demand as he steers me past the elevators and toward the emergency stairwell.
“Somewhere private,” he says grimly, pushing open the heavy door to the stairs.The stairwell is empty and echoing, all concrete and fluorescent lighting.The door closes behind us with a heavy thunk, cutting off the sounds of the office beyond.Suddenly, we’re very, very alone.
Caleb doesn’t hesitate.He backs me up against the concrete wall, his hands braced on either side of my head, effectively trapping me.The position puts him close—so close I can smell his cologne mixed with something that’s purely him.
“Are you enjoying yourself?”he asks, his voice hard.
My heart is hammering against my ribs, but I tilt my chin up defiantly.“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
