Page 73 of The Write Off

I wait for him to continue, to give me a reason, a purpose I would serve in going with him. He doesn’t. “Why exactly do you want me to go?”

“These events are a bore, Rilla,” he says smoothly, standing, taking a step down from that ridiculous riser, and walking around his desk until he’s directly in front of me. “If you come, at least I’ll have something nice to look at.”

“Bryce, I’m not interested in going on a date with you. And you should know that I’m in a relationship.” Not that my answer would have changed if I were single.

“With who? Carmichael?” He’s still smiling, only now it’s more of a sneer. “I thought that I made myself clear before. This is a cutthroat industry, Rilla. When it comes to the man responsible for making and breaking your deals, you’d do well to make sure you’re not skipping the customary…niceties.” His eyes rake over me as he leans forward, hand extended and creeping toward my crossed legs.

I push his hand away forcefully before he touches me and stand, making sure to stay as far away from him as possible as I head for the door. I open the door an inch only to have him press it shut again.

He’s right behind me. Not actually touching me, but crowding my personal space. I can smell the remnants of his lunch on his breath as it curls around the back of my neck. I take a deep breath and turn around, ready to knee him square in the balls if he attempts to touch me again.

“I make an amazing ally, Rilla. But you don’t want to cross me. We don’t want anything to jeopardize your book launch, do we?”

“At the moment, all I care about is leaving this office.” Fuck the book and fuck Bryce.

“What about your boyfriend’s job? Hmm? Do you care about that?”

The fire of hatred in my belly is extinguished by an icy dread. My eyes start to sting, but I refuse to cry in front of him. “You can’t…”

“My name is on the fucking building, Rilla.” His lip curls as he glares down at me. “That means I can do whatever the fuck I want. How do you think Carmichael will feel about you? After you’ve destroyed his career? The spotless reputation he’s worked so hard to build?” I don’t need to look at him to know he’s enjoying this. I can hear it in his voice. “Do you think he’ll still want you? After you’ve taken that away from him?”

My heart aches so much in my chest it almost cripples me. I need to keep moving. Like a wounded animal, my very survival depends on it.

“Let me leave, Bryce.”

He leers over me one last time before stepping back. The friendly facade is back in place. “Of course you can leave. No one’s keeping you here. I can see I’ve given you a lot to think about. Give yourself a day or two to mull it over.” He turns away, walking back to his desk. “In the meantime, I’ll send you the info on the gala.”

I don’t remember the walk to the elevator. I couldn’t tell you about the ride down to the lobby or if I met anyone along the way. I put my focus on placing one foot in front of the other.

Left. Right. Left. Right.

I must have a factory setting with autopilot because I find myself standing in front of my apartment with no memory of how I got here. It’s a miracle I didn’t walk into moving traffic.

It isn’t until I find myself in the safety of the familiar halls of my building that the static in my brain quiets.

I let myself into my apartment. Without bothering to turn on the lights, I kick off my shoes but leave my spring coat on. I feel my way down the dark hall to my bedroom and crawl onto the bed.

I’m shaking. Not very noticeably, but my body is trembling in a subtle way like someone who’s had one too many espressos. I feel nauseated and light headed. Should I eat something? No. I don’t think I could physically keep anything down. When was the last time I ate? I had dinner plans with Logan after the meeting.

Logan.

I pull my phone from my coat pocket. It takes me three tries to type in my passcode correctly and when I finally manage to, the screen blinds me when it lights up. There are several unread messages from Logan.

Logan: Good luck at your meeting.

Logan: I just got through the second battle scene. Absolutely brilliant

Logan: How did you come up with Duncal’s monologue? Deadly

Logan: My girlfriend is an evil mastermind

Logan: I meant evil in the best possible way

Logan: Are you playing Bryce Bingo? Are you winning?

Logan: Kidding. There are no winners in Bryce Bingo.

Logan: I can’t wait to see you

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