Wiping my hands down my dress, I push away my trembling nerves, squaring my shoulders and lifting my chin.
Fake it till you make it, indeed.
I breathe in through my nose before blowing out a breath as I move to pull the door open, only for it to be pushed open from the inside.
A man I vaguely remember seeing last time I was here with Addy holds the door open and nods in greeting.
I offer him a tight smile as I move in through the door.
Maybe this is normal; last time I’d been chasing a five-year-old, so I hadn’t been paying super close attention.
I look up, half expecting Emily to smile and wave, but the desk is empty, strange. I make a mental note to ask one of the guysabout that later as I make my way through the still-crowded area toward the back wall, where the elevators wait.
Why is it always so crowded? I check my watch to see that it’s just about lunchtime. I guess that makes sense.
I pause, chewing on my lip as I debate whether I should have brought Nathan something to eat. I’ve never really asked, or even stopped to think, about what they eat at the office or whether they even take breaks at all.
Nathan is precisely the kind of man that I can see working through his lunch hour.
No, bad! I’m here because he’s in trouble, not to coddle him.
Though if he hasn’t eaten, I can always order something and have Vince grab it after.
I make it to the elevators without a problem. I half expect someone to stop me, be it a worker or even security, but again, maybe they remember me from when I came with Addy?
Pushing the elevator button for their office, I have to fight the urge to fidget.
Maybe the guards aren’t meant to stop people?
They may just watch?
I nearly jump out of my skin when the elevator dings and the doors open. Before I can chicken out or overthink it, I scurry inside, leaving me no choice but to see it through or face going back out and everyone seeing.
The elevator doesn’t take long, but I use the thirty seconds to take a few deep breaths and get my shit together again.
Their new secretary looks up at me; her eyes bore into me the second the doors rolled open, but there’s no ice the way there was with Anna. No, if anything, she looks curious for a moment before she turns her attention back to whatever it is she was doing before the door opened.
Strange.
The walk to his office takes a minute, down a narrow hall, even in my minimal heels. I take this time to remind myself why I’m here, and by the time I reach his office, I’m all riled up again.
Next time, I’m just going to video call him to yell at him. This is a lot of work.
Too late now.
I stand debating for a moment. Do I knock or not? After what feels like an eternity, I decide to do both. I knock, rapping my knuckles against the hardwood twice before I push the door open without giving him a chance to answer or turn me away.
The doors swing open more easily than should be possible for how big and solid they are, but that’s the least of my concerns as I find Nathan sitting at his desk, his hands steepled in front of his face as his eyes turn from his monitor to where I stand at the door.
He’s upset. I see it written all over his face, for all of two seconds, that is.
My breath catches as if someone cut off my ability to breathe, being on the receiving end of his ire, even if only for a moment.
“Katherine.” His lips turn up ever so slightly, and he quickly pushes to stand before he seems to remember himself. “One moment, gentlemen, I have a guest.”
He clicks something on his keyboard before he moves around his desk toward me, and I feel the shock settle on my face as I realize I’ve just interrupted him during some kind of meeting.
I slap a hand to my mouth and look up at him as he stops before me.
