Page 51 of Corrupting Ivy

Swallowing the tightening in my throat, I nodded.

“That’s what I thought.”

My stomach bottomed out in a storm of nausea. “What do you mean?”

“Stalking requires stealth and being invisible—”

“It’s kinda sounding like you know what you’re talking about here.”

“I do. This man… he wants you to know he sees you. It’s a game, not an infatuation.”

Randall’s face went blank, making it impossible to read his thoughts or emotions.

“But I don’t… ugh. I don’t know.” I took my seat to wait for the forty-five minutes to pass by on the dryer. There were only a few hours left of freedom until I had to show back up at the bar. Then I got the day off. That moment couldn’t come soon enough. My life had become exhausting, and not just from physical work—mentally and emotionally as well.

“I’ll be right back.”

Randall stepped outside beside his truck, his hand on his hip, his phone to his ear. How is it that standing with a certain posture can make you appear even more intimidating? I just sat and watched him, studying the way he held himself. He wasn’t like most people who get animated while on the phone. He didn’t speak with his hands or walk around. Randall turned, catching me gawking like a forlorn lover, and I smiled. He looked away from me, lips thin and frowning.

For someone who just got laid, he sure seemed grumpy.

I looked away from him and watched the quiet TV infomercial.

What did he mean by it was a game? It didn’t feel like a game to me, but victims seldom get to see the finish line. I refused to believe he’s right. This was just an infatuation… that had spun into a game of cat and mouse… dammit.

A heavy knot settled in the pit of my stomach. I wrapped my arms around my waist and put my head between my knees, inhaling and exhaling with deep and controlled breaths until the door dinged and Randall took his seat next to me.

“Everything okay?”

“It will be.”

I pulled myself to a seated position. Randall sat with his body turned from me, a tablet in one hand while he tapped away with the other. “What are you doing?”

He peered over the top of the tablet. “Work.”

At least, he looked at me when he spoke. Billy couldn’t bother to give me the time of day. Unless we were in public, then we were the perfect couple. He needed to keep up the appearance for his brother’s sake.

Randall turned back to his tablet while I listened to the repetitive turning and humming from the dryer.

I could compare my life to the spin cycle and be spot on. I keep going round and round, going nowhere and making the same mistakes, hoping for a different outcome. But I wasn’t so sure Randall was a mistake just yet. Sure, he was difficult to understand, and he had some serious underlying demons, but so far… he’d taken care of me. Hell, he tookmyside over his mother’s, protecting me from her. Billy would’ve never done that.

Curiosity wiggled its way inside. “What do you do for work?”

He exhaled, put the tablet down, and turned off the screen. But not before I glimpsed what looked like a picture of blue paper with lines and numbers.

“I own a business specializing in network security.”

I raised my brows. “And that is… what?”

“It’s computer stuff.”

I tipped my head back. “Oh,” I said, still not understanding, but not feeling the need to get into it. He wasn’t the sharing type, so what was the point?

Randall turned his attention back to his tablet, pinching and zooming out with his fingers. The strange silence ate at my insides until I became uneasy and squirmed in my chair.

“Can I see your phone?”

His head shot up, his brows drawn together. “Why?”

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