Page 12 of Dominion

He walked to Ashley’s office. The instinct had been about her last time. She didn’t look up at first, which was odd for her.

“Good morning, Mr. Stone,” she said when she did. Her face was pale and she had circles under her eyes as if she hadn’t slept.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” she said too quickly. “Just a bit of a headache. But it’s not a migraine. I’m fine.”

He smelled the acrid scent of fear. What was she afraid of?

Unable to think of what to say to get her to open up, he turned and walked away. This was one of those moments where he could have used charm lessons from his brother.

Their father had been rude and gruff like him, but Leon had possessed the gift. He could talk anyone into anything. Everyone liked him, and he’d made such a great leader. Ben, on the other hand, was a Class A Asswipe. And he led like their father had. Which is why he didn’t want the responsibility of his brother’s pack.

He left her alone for most of the day. By afternoon, though, he could sense her agitation through the walls. But it was none of his business. If she had something on her mind of a personal nature, he had no right to force it out of her. Still, it raised the protective instincts in him. He wanted to fix it, whatever it was.

He couldn’t get anything done with Ashley fretting in the office next to him. It was one of the reasons he hated having anyone else working on the same floor as him. He hoped this didn’t become a regular thing. By four in the afternoon, he picked up his laptop, ready to head out early for the day.

Ashley came barreling out of her office. “Are you leaving?” Her voice was three pitches higher than usual.

He stopped and turned slowly. “Yes, why?”

“Um, I, uh, wanted to go over some stuff with you. Can you stay for just a few more minutes?”

The smell of fear tingled in his nostrils. He scented desperation. What in the hell was up with her?

He turned back to his office and held out his arm with a bow, as if ushering her in.

She gave him a wan smile. “Thanks. I, uh, will be right there. I just have to grab my notes.”

She returned with a stack of things, which she placed on her lap, rather than the top of the desk.

“Okay, you’ve been acting weird all day. What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said, rubbing the back of her neck. “It’s just a headache, I swear.”

Her eyes didn’t meet his, but seemed to be looking at his briefcase. “Okay,” she said, drawing a breath. “I just wanted to get your opinion on some ad ideas I have for the campaign.”

He narrowed his eyes. “It couldn’t wait till tomorrow?”

“I’m sorry,” she exclaimed, standing up out of her chair and setting the stack of things on his desk. “You’re in a hurry? Let me just show you this one thing—” She pushed a notebook under his nose, and at the same time she lunged across his desk and knocked a cup of cold coffee all over him.

Anger surged. Without a doubt, she had done it on purpose. Why would she try to trick him? His blood turned cold. He leaped back, dripping as she ran around to his side of the desk. “Oh, my God, I’m so sorry. I will clean this up if you want to go to the restroom and get yourself dried off.”

He smelled her sweat and fear even under the stench of coffee covering him. Reason won out over the instinct to pick her up by the throat and demand what was going on. He’d learn more watching her follow through on her game, whatever it may be. He walked out without a word.

He didn’t go to the restroom, though. Karen was already up out of her desk, handing him a towel from the bar area where she served coffee or water to guests.

He kept his back to his office, watching from the corner of his eye as Ashley darted around and opened his briefcase. He couldn’t see what she was doing, but he gave her enough time to finish it before he turned back. She was frantically wiping down surfaces when he came back in.

“I’m so sorry,” she said. “I know you have to go. I shouldn’t have kept you here.”

“No, you shouldn’t have,” he said.

She didn’t even notice the rebuke, a sign of her complete distraction. She gathered up her things and rushed back to her office. He saw his laptop poking out from under a piece of paper in the stack of things she carried.

He grit his teeth. What the hell had the little minx just done? And why? He shut the door to his office and closed the blinds. Setting the briefcase on his desk, he brought his nose down to it and sniffed. All he smelled was the damn coffee. He carefully opened the top of his briefcase and looked in. His laptop lay where he left it. At least it looked like his laptop. But was it a little shinier?

He sniffed. He detected a faint tar or pitch smell. Was it a bomb? Several seconds ticked by as he stared at it, assimilating that thought.

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