My cheeks wereon fire the entire hurried walk back to the office. The guy on the bench in the gray hoodie and jeans was plastered in my mind. He had been perched on a bench in the park with one arm draped over the side and an ankle resting on a knee. My pulse was still fluttering, and not from the brisk pace that I was moving.
He seemed on the taller side from the length of his legs. Dark brown hair that was long on top and mussed like he just raked his hand through it fluttered in the breeze. His clean-shaven jaw looked like it was chiseled from stone, and his skin was as smooth as marble. I didn’t think I’d ever called a man beautiful, but he was straight out of a Calvin Klein ad.
I’d stood there like an idiot staring at him, having the strongest urge to run my fingers through his hair and nuzzle close to see what he smelled like. He was younger, not a crease or wrinkle anywhere in sight, maybe only a year or so out of college.
The worst part about the whole thing was that he glanced up right as I stole a glance at him as I walked by. His browneyes met mine like we were straight out of a rom-com. Holding my gaze, his mouth turned up slightly, and I hadn’t been able to look elsewhere.
When I stepped off the elevator and back through the glass door to the office, I wondered what the hell was wrong with me. Men didn’t have this effect on me, yet I was daydreaming about Zander constantly and now I was fantasizing about a random guy in the park. I was a successful business woman in her thirties, not a college girl seeing a dude for the first time and instantly having a crush. Maybe my body was just hypersensitive to arousal lately. Whatever the case was, it was starting to get on my nerves.
That afternoon the phone rang off the hook until I couldn’t take it anymore.
“Goddammit!” I put my head in my hands at my desk trying to ignore it. With a sigh, I picked up the receiver. “Raven Lovelace.”
“Hi, Ms. Lovelace, this is Tim with SecureSafe. I was calling about the security system installation you requested.”
Relieved that it wasn’t another client with a problem, I sighed. “Oh, hi. Yes, I did request two installations.”
Shuffling came from the other end of the line. “I see here you needed a business install and a residence install. Are you available for us to send a technician Friday for the business and next Wednesday for the residence?”
After confirming the times with the security company, I laid the phone back in the cradle. It was almost five so I took a break to grab extra clothes from the car. Maybe my comfy sweats would help me get a bit more done before I left. It was the craziest Monday I’d had in awhile and it took a toll on me. Not to mention I was distracted.
Making my way to the elevators, I waved goodbye to Joanne packing her things for the day and pressed the buttonfor the level with the door that led to the garage. The counter ticked, and unease crept back into my mind, still spooked the day before when I’d spent the rest of the afternoon peeking out my apartment blinds and scanning the street for any sign of suspicious activity. I came up with nothing except a raccoon that had successfully breached a trash can across the street. With all of the breaks, I hadn’t gotten much done. Which was one of the reasons my day today had been so busy.
Grabbing the clothes, I hurried back into the building. As I waited for the elevator back upstairs, my thoughts shifted to the guy I’d seen in the park that afternoon, and now I couldn’t get him out of my head. When I stepped onto the elevator, I let myself daydream. I’d had a rough day and a little fawning wouldn’t hurt.
Later that night I trudged out of work after it had already gotten dark. I usually tried to leave no later than sunset, but I was lucky I was leaving as early as I was. I had time for a long bath before bed, but that was about it.
In the garage, the familiar chill ran down my spine. I was used to it by that point, getting the same feeling almost every time I left work. It was usually missing in the mornings when I arrived, even though it was always still dark out. After my awful day, I would’ve probably let someone take me if they tried. I didn’t have the energy to fight back.
Getting into my car, I checked my phone for the first time since the trip to the park this afternoon, and was again met with nothing. I had texted Zander a few times since Saturday but he was leaving me on read. The fucker. I was too old for these stupid games. I threw my phone in my bag and reversed out of my spot.
Rounding the corner to the ground level, I slammed on my breaks. A figure clad in all black was standing in the shadowyturn. My heart galloped in my chest and without looking down, I jabbed the auto lock on the doors.
The hooded shape had the build of a man and he slowly walked toward my car, my headlights illuminating his military style pants. My breaths came in gasps as fear took hold, a fear I hadn’t felt in over a decade until a few weeks ago. My phone dinged and I remembered that I had the means to call the police. I scooped up the phone and punched 911.
When I looked back to the figure, he was gone. Of fucking course he was. I looked three hundred and sixty degrees around my car and saw no one around. Had my mind been playing tricks on me because I was so tired?
Wasting no time, I gunned it, tires squealing out of the garage. The barriers were automatic for daily patrons so fortunately I didn’t have to stop for a booth. Out on the street, I looked at my phone and tapped the text message I had gotten during the ordeal. What great fucking timing, Zander. Then a thought slid into my mind.
What if Zander, well, Ryan was the one who was watching me? I knew he lived in my city, and he knew my office was in this building. Was he following me?
I shook my head. That couldn’t be it, could it? If the guy in the garage was real, he hadn’t been texting while he was in front of my car. The text from Zander came through while I was staring at him. Either way, I should stop texting Zander and go about my life. Especially since I knew he was my client. But I couldn’t help the pull to text him back. Even if he was trying to scare me, I found myself needing to talk to him. I needed it in my soul, and at that moment, the fear only heightened my desire.
“Hey, baby girl.”
Why did that pet name send tingles through my body evenwhen I was annoyed with him? I typed out my response quickly at a red light, trying to not let my aggravation show.
“What’s up? Been a few days. Already onto the next adoring admirer?”
Shit.That was the opposite of nonchalant. I was being pathetic. The guy hadn’t texted in two days and I was acting like I’d never talked to a man before. I sped through the streets to my apartment and opened his response after parking the car.
“Oh, you aren’t getting rid of me that easily, baby. I was feeling the project I was working on and got it recorded in record time. Nah, I’ll be chasing you for the foreseeable future.”
Yep, I was an idiot.He was working. That thing I should be doing more of instead of daydreaming about voice actors and guys on park benches. Despite my hint of embarrassment, I caught myself smiling down at the phone.
Chase me.
Now, the adrenaline was really flowing.
