“It will give you the day to settle your affairs here.”
I swallowed hard, that word now echoing in my mind like a death toll.
Tomorrow.
He stepped closer, his hand tightening briefly around mine before releasing it, leaning down just enough that his breath brushed my ear.
“Don’t be late,”he murmured.
“I do not like to be kept waiting for things I want.”
Then he straightened and walked away as if nothing extraordinary had occurred. I remained where I was, heart hammering, hand still tingling as the door opened and he stepped out into the corridor.
Through the glass, I watched him greet Banner, watching as the two of them exchanged pleasantries.
I watched Oblivion extend his hand, and my boss take it without hesitation. The handshake was firm and final.
But as I stood there alone in the boardroom, the weight of it settled fully into my chest.
A deal had been made.
Making me question now, was the deal for my employment?
Or…
My sinful little soul?
19
GOODBYE SIMPLE LIFE
Ididn’t remember deciding to leave the boardroom.
One second, I was standing there asking myself what had just happened. And then the next I was moving on pure instinct, feet carrying me down the corridor before my brain could catch up. How long had I remained even after he had left? My life’s new tormentor and stalker. Was it not enough for him to dominate my thoughts? Now he had added his presence to my dangerous obsession.
Damn him!
The door clicked shut behind me with a soft, final sound, and that was all it took. I made it into the bathroom before the breath I’d been holding finally tore loose. My hands shook as I braced them against the sink, my reflection staring back at me like she was just as stunned by recent events as I was. My pulse hammered in my ears, too loud and too fast, as I dragged in one breath, then another, trying and failing to steady it.
Okay. Okay. Breathe. Just breathe.
I bent forward, gripping the porcelain harder than necessary as my chest tightened, that horrible light-headed feeling creeping in. The one that wanted to consume me as everythingI’d held together out there threatened to unravel in here. The meeting. The handshake. The deal. The way Oblivion had looked at me like he already knew the ending to a story I hadn’t even started reading yet.
I was dangerously close to hyperventilating when a familiar voice cut through the spiral.
“Well. This looks healthy.”
I jerked upright with a strangled sound, spinning toward the stalls just in time to see Bo appear, perched casually atop the divider like he hadn’t just scared years off my life.
“Oh, fuck!” I slapped a hand over my mouth, heart ricocheting painfully in my chest.
“Where the hell were you?”
He winced, one clawed hand lifting placatingly.
“In my defense, I wasn’t about to hang around and let Hell’s favorite judge clock me hovering over your shoulder.”
“You disappeared,” I hissed, pacing the small space like a trapped animal, but he just shrugged his little shoulders.
