Page 7 of Protecting Bianca

“Hey, Jager.” She smiled. “Glad to finally meet you.”

“Lizzie?” I asked and when she nodded, we shook hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, too.”

“Thanks for coming.”

“I’m happy to help.”

She looked behind me. “Bianca isn’t here yet. She had a meeting outside of the office this morning.”

Bianca’s name wasn’t a surprise. I knew she would be here, but hearing it still made my chest constrict a little.

“Lizzie! Do you know this man?” Towers shouted from his desk.

Lizzie widened her eyes in mock annoyance, but pasted a smile on her face. “I do, sir. He owns the best security company in the country. They’ve protected governors, pop stars, you name it.”

“All right, Mr. Payne. I’ll give you a shot.”

I hid my grin behind my hand to allow the man the dignity of thinking he had a choice in the matter. I coughed. “Thank you, sir. Glad to be of service. Now, I’ll need a few minutes of your time to go over some new rules and security measures I’ll be implementing over the next few days.”

“I’ll leave you two to your chat,” said Lizzie, and left.

Mr. Towers motioned to the seat in front of his desk, and I politely took it, although I didn’t mind standing.

“Effective immediately, only employees will be allowed inside the building. I will install thumbprint scanners at the door. There will be no visitors until this situation is handled. If your employees have a meeting, they are to take place outside of the office. Any meetings with you will have to go through me first. I will do a background check on the individuals before admitting anyone in.”

Mr. Towers nodded. I was pleased he was taking the threat seriously.

“Second, all packages will be put through a scanner at the entrance. I will hire a man to check the packages before any are delivered to the offices. What happened three days ago will not happen again. I promise you that.”

Towers nodded and folded his hands on his desk. “That all sounds great.”

“Good. Now—”

I heard her voice down the hallway. I don’t know what she said, but she laughed, and I would recognize that sound anywhere.

“Now?” Mr. Towers prodded.

I cleared my throat. I thought back to what I was going to say, but I’d completely lost my train of thought.

“Mr. Payne? Are you alright?”

I blinked. “Yes, sorry. I just had a thought, but we can discuss it later. For now, let’s get started on those fingerprints.”

I pushed off the chair and reached the doorway in two strides. My eyes immediately searched the hallway. It didn’t take long to find her. She leaned against a cubicle wall several feet away, wearing a tight black skirt, a loose white blouse, and three-inch black heels. She pushed her long brown hair away from her face and tucked a loose strand behind her ear. It quickly escaped, and she flipped her hair to the other side.

Bianca laughed again, and I was transfixed. I couldn’t move. I could only stand there and watch her like some sort of creep.

She must have felt my stare because I hadn’t made a sound, but she turned in my direction. That was when our eyes locked.

Those golden-brown eyes stared at me and my heart pounded in my chest. Each beat grew faster with every passing second. Sweat gathered at my nape and my left eye twitched. I dug my fingernails into the palms of my hands, annoyed that I didn’t know what to do next. I had wondered what it would be like to see her again. Now, I knew.

It was torture.

I never planned what I would do next. I didn’t think of the words that could smooth over a decade of absence. How did one greet one’s ex after not having seen them in more than ten years?

She turned back to the colleague she’d been chatting with and said a few words. Then she squared her shoulders, tossed back her hair, and walked toward me.

I was about to find out.

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