New York shone bright and determined all around us. Buildings jutted up to blot out the sky, lights from office windows tiny beacons I’d loved since I was a little girl.
Everything about the city fascinated me. Dad used to call me his urban explorer because I’d demand to visit every building within my reach.
He helped me get into many that I would have never had access to alone.
The silence in the car was nothing compared to the hollowness of Elevate when I used my keycard to open a side door and slip into the corridor leading to my office. Ice filled my veins and turned my body wooden.
Every step rang out against the marble floor and sent a shiver up my spine.
They hadn’t told me where to meet them, but I knew. I pressed a shaking finger to the elevator button and tucked my hands into my pockets.
The air conditioning in the elevator blew across my cheeks when the doors opened. I tried to breathe, but every time I inhaled, my lungs seized.
No one stopped me when I reached the top and the doors opened. No security guards or receptionists. No other employees.
I wiped my clammy hands on my thighs and did my best to roll my shoulders back and lift my chin on my way to Dante’s office door.
The single shaft of light beneath the door drew me to his office. Darkness coated the open space where Bethany’s desk sat. Even the hall lights that usually kept the gloom at bay were off.
I stopped at Dante’s door and raised my fist. My timid knock caused my teeth to clench, and I forced myself to knock harder.
“Enter.” Alexander sounded calm through the thick door.
Was he calm or did his complete control give him the ability to sound calm despite what must be a raging fury at my inability to adhere to the rules?
I twisted the knob and pushed the door open. Between one breath and the next, I went from being completely alone to facing down my three bosses.
Alexander stood next to the window, his hands in his pockets in his usual stance and his face as expressionless as a sheet of paper.
Julian sat on the corner of Dante’s desk. For a split second I wondered how he had the guts to sprawl so lazily before I remembered that Julian was the only one who might see the humor in the situation.
Dante stood behind his desk, his arms folded.
Angry tension gripped me by the throat, but I walked into the lion’s den, not daring to stop until I stood close enough to catch the glimmer of heat in Julian’s eyes.
“I’m sorry for sending you that message. It wasn’t meant for you.” I locked my hands together behind my back to hide the shaking.
The urge to explain—to ramble into the silence—grew with every heartbeat. I pressed my tongue against the back of my teeth to keep from blurting out the entire story.
Julian stood in a slow, languid movement. He cocked his head to the side and examined me from head to toe. “You did not intend to tease us with that picture? Do you not want our attention?”
“Yes. I mean. No.” I bit down on my tongue and concentrated.
Julian made it difficult when he took another step, bringing him close enough that a whiff of whiskey and leather teased my nose.
God he even smelled like sin. “I understand if you need to fire me. I broke company policy by sending that message. It was an accident, but I should have been more careful.”
Dante’s eyes narrowed in that way of his that put tension in my spine.
A slow blink obscured his thoughts, but when he moved away from the window and into the glow of a nearby lamp, I gasped.
A hungry kind of heat filled his eyes. His face might not reveal anything, but his eyes…damn.
The blue in them turned liquid, as volatile as the ocean and just as deep.
Alexander smoothed a hand down his tie, drawing my attention to his chest and stomach. He unbuttoned his suit jacket and settled his hands on his hips. “You’re right. You broke the rules.”
Shit.
