Page 33 of The Woman

I decide to take the opportunity to get into character and stare back at him blankly with a practiced half-smile. His head tilts slightly to the side as he watches me, like I’ve seen it do before, and his eyes narrow.

“Come see me in my office,” he says bluntly, in that same commanding tone. “Yes, I’m here.” He listens for another moment, and I watch as his jaw tics. “Just get in here.”

He hangs up and takes a seat, still watching me closely. Perhaps he thinks I’ll run if not closely guarded.

The door opens a second later, drawing Phoenix’s attention, but I stay staring ahead at him, secretly studying him the same way I’ve done since I arrived at his apartment.

“You didn’t tell me you were leaving,” Thomas says, sounding flustered.

“I don’t need to tell you my every move,” Phoenix replies smoothly.

“No, you don’t . . . except your two o’clock appointment arrived, and I opened the door to an empty office. You made me look like an idiot.”

His voice now has the sound of annoyance to it. If I hadn’t been observing Phoenix for the past while, the hard look on his face would have me thinking he was going to snap back at Thomas for talking to him in such a way. But I know he has some sort of affection for the young man that he secretly hides behind gruff answers and sharp looks.

“I had paged first, but when you didn’t answer, I came in to look,” Thomas adds. “Your grandfather barged in here as well shortly after, even though I tried to tell him you weren’t in here, and then stormed out and yelled at me for not knowing where you were.”

“My grandfather was in here?” Phoenix asks, ignoring the rest.

“Yeah, but just for a second.”

I see Phoenix shift, although my face looks blank, as if I don’t notice anything around me.

“Did he come over to my desk?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t see,” Thomas replies, the irritation now replaced with confusion.

Phoenix’s eyes flicker to me for the briefest second before returning to Thomas. “Did anyone else come in here?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I went to lunch a little after that.”

Phoenix nods, a little distracted. Whether it’s from finding out about me or not, I’m unsure. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” he tells him.

I wonder if Thomas is thrown off, unsure how to take an apology from him. Phoenix doesn’t seem like the type of person to apologize often.

I hear the rustling of Thomas’ clothes from nearby, but I don’t turn my head that way.

“Apology accepted. So, you just went home to get your woman?” he asks.

“You can go now,” Phoenix replies, ignoring his question and glancing at me again.

“Wait, don’t you want to know about your two o’clock?” Phoenix waves his hand for him to hurry up and continue. “I re-booked him for Tuesday. He said he would call to confirm that same day.”

Phoenix nods in acknowledgment, and when Thomas finally walks out, his eyes settle on me again.

Rising to his feet, he steps around his desk and then leans back against it, crossing his arms over his chest. You can see the outline of his muscles straining against the fabric as if maybe it’s too small for him as well.

The sound of his voice has my eyes flicking back to his face. “If anybody saw my laptop, they would know.”

Meaning they would know what I am. My anxiety spikes at the realization, and my eyes drop to the desk. They could have seen me playing the piano. They could have seen me running. They could have seen me being pinned down. If there is sound on there, they could have heard us speaking.

But then the implication of his words hits me, and my gaze returns to his face. If he were planning on returning me right now, then it wouldn’t matter if they saw. It wouldn’t matter that Thomas knew.

Is he planning on keeping me after all?

“It’s quite disconcerting watching how easily your appearance can change, and you can fool people, including me,” he then adds, peering down at me.

I suck in a breath, holding his gaze. “When your life is reliant upon it, you do what is necessary.”

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