I was confused as to why Jagger would tell Edmund thatI’ddumpedhim. Was it so he didn’t look like the asshole and have Edmund get angry that he’d hurt me? Or was he doing it to protect me somehow? So many questions ran through my head that it took me a minute to realize Edmund had just asked me one of his own and was currently waiting for an answer.
I nodded. “Of course. I’ll listen to any business advice you want to share.”
My stepfather spent the next ten minutes telling me what a great opportunity the executive training program was. He fired off starting salaries at other Fortune 500 companies and compared the average executive compensation at Apex to the industry as a whole. I vaguely heard him speak about breaking glass ceilings, while doing my best to nod at appropriate times—all while my mind was totally somewhere else.
When he seemed to be winding down, he smiled. “I just want what’s best for you. Your mind is extraordinary, Sutton, and I think this place will keep you challenged. And last but not least, I’ll add one personal appeal: It would make your mother happy to have you nearby.”
“I know it would.” I smiled. “Thank you, Edmund.”
He stood and came around the desk, engulfing me in a hug. “I’m proud of you, kid.”
I tasted salt in my throat hearing the tenderness in his voice. “That means a lot to me.”
I’d brought my bag so I could leave after meeting with Edmund, but I realized I’d left my cell phone in my desk drawer. So after saying goodnight to my stepfather, I stopped back down at my cubicle. My mind wasn’t in any condition to brave the busy New York streets, not with so many things swirling around in it. And I didn’t have a reason to rush home, so I sat down to gather my thoughts for a bit.
Why would Jagger lie about our breakup? I couldn’t imagine he’d do it to save his own face. Angry at him or not, I knew that wasn’t his style. Which meant he had to have lied to protect me. The more I thought about it, the more I stewed. I didn’t need his protection—not from my parents, and definitely not with the bodyguards he still hadn’t called off. In fact, maybe it was time I delivered that message in person. I stood, not giving myself time to rethink my plan, and set off for the executive floor once more, this time filled with righteous anger.
Hoping to avoid Edmund, I took a left at the split. Jagger’s door was open now, but he was no longer inside. My stepfather’s deep voice carried from down the hall.
“Yes, dear. I’m leaving right now.”
I was pretty sure he was on the phone with my mother. I didn’t want to have to explain why I was back up on the executive floor, so I slipped just inside Jagger’s office and eavesdropped.
“I’ll stop and pick it up and be home in twenty minutes.”
A door closed and I stood still, listening as footsteps became fainter and fainter. I heard the reception door click open and closed, and then suddenly it was eerily quiet. I looked around, my heart racing when I noticed Jagger’s closed bathroom door. Was he in there? I knew he sometimes showered when he was stressed, and he’d certainly sounded stressed yelling at Marcus earlier. I should’ve bolted and not risked being found out when he opened the door, yet instead I tiptoed to the bathroom door and listened.
Silence.
Except for the loud swishing of blood through my ears as I thought about getting caught in here.What the hell am I doing?Shaking my head, I realized how stupid I was and hurried for the door. But on my way, a flash of color caught my eye. A red folder on the round conference table. It looked like what Jagger had been holding during his heated exchange with Marcus.
I stopped and listened for the sound of anyone coming.
Silence again. Only this time it was the kind that made every tick of the clock, every creak of the floorboard, feel suspicious. I had no right to be in this office and certainly no right to look inside that folder. I glanced to the door, only a few feet away, willing my feet to move. But my eyes drifted back to the red again. Wondering what was inside felt like an itch I couldn’t scratch. I moved slowly towardit, as ifslinkingwould stop an imaginary alarm from going off. A few papers peeked out from the folder. They slipped back inside as I lifted it and opened, until the hallway creaked, and I snapped the folder shut. In my haste, one page fell to the floor. My heart thumped in my chest as I listened for more sounds, but there was nothing except the loud silence again.
Jesus Christ.What the hell was I doing? Who cared what Marcus and Jagger were having a heated discussion about? I bent with the intention of stuffing the paper back in the folder and getting the hell out of here. But that plan changed the second I got a look at the photo of a man printed on the page. It was a face I’d never forget, not even after eight years.
CHAPTER 37
Sutton
1632
1634
1636
My heart thudded in my chest as I scanned the numbers on the apartment buildings. Cars drove by, horns honked, people carried about their day, but it all felt disconnected. Like I was underwater.
1638
1642
1644
I’d had to go out through the service elevator to avoid Jagger’s security following me, but now I wished I’d brought them along. What was I going to do when I got there? I had no plan. Beat him up with my two fists? I lost an arm wrestle to Miles’s eleven-year-old cousin a few months back, and I hadn’t even brought a weapon to protect myself. Yet nothing could’ve stoppedme from coming.
1646
