Page 80 of Prickly Romance

An hour later, the document is still blank.

Perhaps it is because I keep glancing up and checking Dejonae’s desk every few seconds.

Why isn’t she here yet?

Will she really not show after the threat about her graduation? How far does she want to test me?

Tension spreads across my brow. I call my receptionist. “What did Miss Williams say when you contacted her?”

“I don’t believe I should repeat those words, sir.”

I lean back in my chair, both amused and angry. I do enjoy a challenge, but I don’t welcome it now. Dejonae’s absence is a distraction and, with such limited time before the first students arrive, I cannot afford to waste a single second.

“Wait a minute, Mr. Sazuki. I just heard the elevator.”

My heartbeat increases in speed. I lean forward.

“She has arrived.”

“Thank you.” I hang up and poise my hands over the keyboard to appear busy.

A minute later, a brush of pink flits past my blinds. Every inch of me turns toward Dejonae as she walks in. Her hair is piled up in a bun. Rather than her usual shirt and jeans, she is wearing a dress and red lipstick.

Stomping around to her desk, Dejonae jerks out the chair and plunks into it. Her eyes shoot to my window. When she sees me watching, her entire body stiffens. She stares back at me, dumbstruck.

I smooth a hand over my tie and rise.

She whirls her chair around and hunches over the computer keyboard as if the monitor can hide her. I feel her panicking with every step I take in her direction.

“You are late,” I say, stopping in front of her desk.

“I’m aware of the time.”

Such insolence.“Did you and your sister spend the night making more calls?”

Dejonae backs away from me like I am a cobra preparing to strike. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I sincerely doubt that you are as clueless as you appear.”

She returns my smirk with a mocking smile of her own. “Mr. Sazuki, you made your threats and now I’m here. What was so urgent that you had to hold my graduation hostage?”

“Have you logged into the foundation’s portal yet?”

Her eyebrows hunker together.

I round the desk. “You should have received the schedule by now. From now on, you will need to be informed of all events. Things change very quickly from day-to-day.”

“Why are you coming around?” Her voice trembles.

Rather than answer, I bend over her computer and set my arms on either side of her. Her smell is a tantalizing mixture of flowers and cinnamon.

I inhale deeply before speaking. “You did not answer my question.”

“What question?”

“Did your sister make any more calls after me?” I wake the computer with a flick of my fingers.

Her eyes lock on mine, burrowing into my soul. She purses her lips. “No.”

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