“Mr. Ryker!”
“Get back to work, Miss Krist, or I’ll have your job, too!” I bellowed.
I jammed my hand into the button for the elevator while everyone quickly slinked back into their offices. I loved that I intimidated them. It meant that less people bothered me with bullshit they could figure out on their own. It eliminated laziness within the confines of the building, and it meant that only the most important things dropped in front of me.
It also meant that I could clear an entire floor with my presence, if necessary.
I slid into the elevator the second it opened and rode it up one level. The momentary isolation caused my shoulders to relax before I drew in a deep, heavy breath. Becca had gone home early, and that made me worry. And while I wasn’t one to worry over most people, I knew she was teetering a fine line between staying strong and being broken.
The latter of which I was gunning for in the near future.
That was why it was so important for Miss Krist to keep her mouth shut. That was why it was so important for Becca and I to keep our heads down at work. As much as I wanted to bend her over my desk every morning for breakfast, if I were to be unseated from my position it would make access to her incredibly hard.
And I wanted to break her before my life went onto a chopping block.
“Lexie?” I asked as I stepped off the elevator.
“Yes, Mr. Ryker?”
I blazed a trail toward my office. “Get Miss Loren on the phone. I want to know why she left the office early without my permission today.”
“I’ll check with H.R. first to make sure she didn’t take sick leave, and then I’ll give her a call.”
I nodded. “Let me know when you’re done.”
“Of course, sir.”
I made my way back into my office, but I didn’t bother closing the door. Instead, I walked over to the window and stood there with my hands in my pockets. I gazed out toward the ocean and tried to find the beauty I once saw within the view from the top of my building.
But try as I might, all I thought about was what Becca had been up to out there in that big ol’ world.
“Sir?” Lexie asked.
I peered over my shoulder. “Did you locate her?”
“She didn’t put in for sick leave, but she did leave early. She actually never came back from lunch.”
“Did you try calling her phone?”
“Yes, sir, and she didn’t pick up.”
I turned to face her. “Did she shoot you to voicemail? Or did it ring?”
“It rang, sir. Four times, actually.”
I nodded slowly. “Ping her laptop.”
“Are you sure that’s smart, sir?”
I quirked an eyebrow. “As you know, Miss Loren has a torrid history with a disgruntled employee from this building. I want to make sure she’s safe, that’s all.”
It clicked behind her eyes. “My God, yes sir. Right away. I’ll phone down to security.”
I stood and waited for her, watching as she scrambled to get to her phone. I tried to calm my nerves, but thoughts of Becca being hurt somewhere kept bombarding my mind. I saw her cornered in the parking garage like she had been that day, and it spiraled from there. I saw her in a ditch, or in a hospital because she’d been in a car accident.
However, the second Lexie rushed back into my office, my tune quickly changed.
“Her laptop is pinging at her home, Mr. Ryker, but her new work phone--.”
