Page 10 of Playing My Rivals

He clears his throat and responds to my good morning comment. “It appears so. You guys go ahead. I’ll catch the next one.”

“Nonsense.” I step forward and hold the door for him. “Ride down with us.”

The tightness in my chest and the twisting of my stomach tell me something’s amiss. He shakes his head and looks away like he’s wrestling with something. A second later, he glances back at us.

“If you insist.” He steps inside and goes to the opposite wall.

He presses the button to the garage. My gaze slides back and forth from him to her. They refuse to look at each other. The air in the elevator is stifling from the tension between them.

My heart pounds faster, but why, I don’t know. All I know is something is off.

“Where are you off to this morning, Jamison?” I ask.

His eyes remain on the panel that displays the floors. They tick down slowly.

“I’m going to visit a friend. How about you?” He pulls out his phone and checks something on it.

I study him closely. “I’m taking Dorothy to breakfast.”

He whips his head my way. “Isn’t that too risky?”

He wouldn’t know about Dorothy’s clause unless she told him about it. But I’m not sure why she would do that.

What does Jamison know?

My eyebrows come together. “Why would you say that?”

“She’ll get fired if anyone from the business knows you two are together. Why would you risk putting her in that position?” His chest puffs out.

So, he does know.

He’s a little too protective of her right now.

I step closer to her, growling low in my chest. “Why don’t you let us worry about that?”

He glances at her, and I follow his gaze over my shoulder. I catch her shaking her head at him.

My mind swims in confusion and my heart pounds in my chest as my world turns upside down. Something is going on between them. I start to turn to her, but he interjects before I can confront her actions.

“You’re right.” Jamison tips his head her way. “I overstepped my boundaries. It’s just that we’re getting to a critical point in the app's development. I’d hate for anything to disrupt it.”

My eyes bore into his. “You did overstep your boundaries, so hear me when I say this. Dorothy and I won’t go anywhere in public where someone will see us. You can trust I don’t want anything to happen with her job. Other than her, no one wants her there more than me, so you can let go of whatever concern you have. Clear?”

His jaw ticks. “Very. I won’t interfere again.”

“Good. Now that we have that covered.” I reach for her hand.

When she doesn’t take it, I study her. She’s staring forward with her face as red as a fire engine. Tears trickle down her cheeks. Her crying punches me in the gut.

What the fuck is this about?

CHAPTER 3

JAMISON

Suspicion hovers between Dori and me, and I’ve only got myself to blame. I’ve been walking on eggshells ever since I almost blew it three weeks ago. Hunter’s more than apprehensive about me and Dori spending time together, and he has every right to be.

Other than a week that he has to be away, he has canceled all of his upcoming travel, saying he needs to oversee the app's progression.

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