Page 98 of Obsession

Relief flooded my overheated system. “Violet. Let me in.”

“You are no longer an employee of?—”

“Dammit, Vi! I need to see him.” I twirled around in the vestibule. Surely there had to be a…

Oh fuck.

A camera had to be in the vestibule.

Flashes of our hours in here created a light show behind my eyelids. No number of festive lights could push that memory out of my mind.

Vi’s chilly reception to me the last few times we’d interacted now made a lot more sense.

I didn’t have time to be embarrassed. Not now. Later, when I was ripping into Blake, but right now, I needed to get past his warden.

“You can see me.”

The speaker crackled for a moment before she finally spoke. “Yes.”

The simple words damned me and sliced away some of my bravado. “I need to see him, Violet. Please.”

I didn’t know where to look, how to convey just how much I needed her to understand that this wasn’t me being a crazy woman and ex-employee. It was so much more than that.

I ripped the clip out of my hair that kept what was left of my chignon up. “It’s personal. Not about being fired.”

“I’d say that’s very personal.”

“I don’t care about the job, goddammit.” Well, that was a lie. As soon as I said it, I knew it. For the first time, I knew it completely. As much as I loved my art, needed my glass and metals, I’d loved working there.

I loved being part of something.

Again, tied to Blake.

Why did it have to be him?

I let my head drop back. How much was I supposed to take before I broke into a thousand pieces?

The door buzzed.

My head snapped forward. “Thank you!” I swung open the door and slowly walked into the lobby.

Violet stood behind the desk. For once, she didn’t have on her crisp black jacket. She was wearing a blood-red shirt tucked into black slacks. A belt with a slim flashlight and discreet Taser hung at her hip. Her hair was down. It was actually a lot longer than I thought.

She was always so buttoned up and reserved.

So much like Blake in certain respects.

“Don’t make me regret this, Blondie.”

“I won’t hurt him.” I tightened my fists so much that an audible pop echoed in the huge room. “Much.”

Vi’s lip twitched. “I’m fairly sure he could take you if he really wanted to.” She held up her hands. “Okay, death stare at twenty paces.” She tucked her thumb into her belt. “Look, my only job is to protect his business. He’s on his own with personal matters. But…”

I curled my fingers around the strap of my purse.

“Just don’t make me clean up blood, all right?”

“No deal.”

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