"Don't worry, I'll hold down the fort while you rush home," he says, smirking at me as he saunters towards the door. "And maybe stay home tonight instead of turning up at my place again, yeah? Your presence might also keep Leo away."
Grabbing the wireless mouse from my desk, I throw it at him, but he dodges it easily, his laughter fading away as he walks further down the corridor to his own office.
Pulling my phone from my pocket, I dial Leo's number again, my muscles tightening with every echoing ring until I'm met with his voicemail again.
Fuck it.
Grabbing my jacket from the back of my chair, I storm out of my office, passing Jaylen's and Percy's offices until I reach the stairs, bypassing the elevator, knowing it'll take too long.
Charging down the stairs, I try calling Leo again, but there's no change as I'm once again greeted with his voicemail.
Reaching the ground floor of the office building we mostly use for appearances and do all of our legitimate business in, I storm into the private car park, unlocking my car before I'm even close to it.
I'm not sure why I'm so worked up.
I know Jaylen was just saying things to rile me up, but the images he was putting in my head were enough for me to lose my cool.
In the time I've known Leo and worked close to him, I've hardly ever seen him so much as look at any women, not with any interest anyway, so I know it's likely there's nothing to worry about. But then again, I know what a temptress Alicia is.
She's put me under some sort of spell, so I have to assume it'd be easy for her to do the same to anyone else.
She's stunningly beautiful.
Everything about her is practically perfect.
She's alluring and also cunning.
I wouldn't put it past her to use her good looks to her advantage to get what she wants.
With that thought in mind, and the image of Leo getting into the elevator with her and leading her back up to my apartment, I start my car and peel out of the parking space reserved for me. I push my way into London traffic as soon as I reach the exit, ignoring the people honking their horns at me, desperate to get back to the apartment as soon as possible to see what's going on.
As soon as I reach the apartment building, I fly out of the car and straight into the lobby, passing the desk at the front and moving to the private elevator off to the left that only leads up to the two levels I use.
When I see the empty chair beside the doors where I know Leo would've been sitting, my hands curl into fists.
"Mr King, you're back earlier than expected," George, the concierge, says from behind me.
I turn around to see the friendly old man standing behind the desk and I nod, turning back to the elevator.
Just as the doors open, I turn back to George, make my way over to the desk, and lean my elbows on the stone top.
"You know where Leo went?" I ask, watching the man before me for any hint of nervousness, but he just smiles at me politely and nods.
"Yes, sir. He left earlier with the young woman you now live with. I assume they took the pup for a walk."
My brows furrow, and although I release a relieved sigh at the fact they're not upstairs together, I'm confused as to why they've been out for hours when I clearly stated I didn't want her leaving the apartment.
"Thank you, George," I grunt, nodding respectfully before moving back to the elevator.
I want to know where the fuck they are, and why neither Leo or Alicia listened to my instructions, and I'm not leaving until I have my answers.
Chapter Nineteen
Alicia
After a few hours of walking aimlessly around the streets of central London, carrying Jellybean in my arms and using Leo's card to buy some food, and multiple cups of coffee in an attempt to keep myself warm, I finally gave up on my defiant actions and asked Leo to lead us home.
As the elevator soars upwards, my thoughts drift to the warm shower I've been craving and the need to cuddle up on the sofa under a fluffy blanket and watch an episode ofCriminal Minds.
