Page 25 of Tempted

He looks at my face, and I’m not sure what he’s reading, but then he resigns himself. “Well, have a good one, lass.”

“You, too.”

I walk away and don’t look back. The asshole. Twenty bucks says that he bagged her. I stick my nose in the air and walk inside. Moira looks at me expectantly, as she sits at the breakfast bar, finishing her food. “I figured you’d show up. You just missed Malcolm. But, from that sour expression, I’m guessing that you caught him.”

“I did.” I mutter. Declan isn’t in the room, although I can hear him bustling about in another room. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay. Have some breakfast and some coffee then.” She offers. “You slept well.”

“So did you, I can tell.”

“I did.”

Declan suddenly appears. He’s all ready for work from what I can tell. “Morning, lass.”

“Morning.”

He leans in and kisses Moira on the mouth chastely. “You ready to go?”

“Aye. Two minutes.”

I blurt before I can stop it, feeling anger suddenly. “So, I guess I’m old news, huh. Nobody’s keeping watch on me anymore. If Callum decides to slit my throat, it won’t matter to your da, and it’ll matter even less to Malcolm.”

He smiles, but his eyes are dark. “I take it you don’t notice the blue sedan that’s been following you then.”

My face is blank. I wasn’t expecting that response.

He pats my shoulder as Moira rises from her chair. “That was Malcolm’s insistence, by the way. Since you’re too stubborn to have him keep watch on you, that is.” He points out, all too pleased with himself.

Moira gives me a tight smile as she tosses a warm bagel into a bag for me, and hands it to me. “Try to have a good day, Steph.” She says, and I follow them out, stunned.

As I drive to work, I’m numb. But I can also hear my phone beeping each time I receive an email. My team is sending me messages with updates. Evidently, while I slept, my little project was busy. The entire day is spent working on this project gone awry, knowing that Colton is expecting an update at the end of the day. I’m so busy, I don’t even think about looking around for that car Declan mentioned. The day is crazy busy, and there’s word of a storm coming. It’s hurricane season, and as much as I try to ignore it most of the time, I can hear the din of talk from staff.

My people are dear to me, and I’d never let them think that their safety wasn’t paramount. “Look, do what you need to do to feel safe, guys.” I tell them in a meeting. “This building can withstand any storm, but if you have family that needs tending to, do so. Work remotely if you need to. But you’ll know where you can find me.” I assure them. “Just keep in touch.”

Faces relax. I see a couple of smiles that I take as reassurance. But, ultimately, I get back to work. This deal with Colton is very important, much more so than any storm or any man that might sully my way. Plus, it gives me a little comfort knowing that at least part of Malcolm still cares, since, according to Declan, he was behind the security. Unless...is that guilt? My mama always told me that I overthink, and she’s right. It also angers me when I overthink, and I find myself clutching my pen tighter the more that I think about it, and I push it out of the way, regaining my bearings. Focus, Steph! I tell myself. And I do.

A call with Colton later in the day confirms that our project is succeeding. We agree to meet tomorrow, weather pending, since he’s on a ranch and has his horses and his land to prepare for the storm. He’s pleased with our progress, and I promise him that I’ll have some prototypes ready for him by the end of day today. And as I stand in my testing room, watching my computer spit out a sample of the replica prototype I’m preparing for ColtonFord, I smile. Everything else is secondary. This is why I’m here. This is my destiny. And it occurs to me that this is how my mind works. I drive myself crazy worrying about things, but then it all comes out in the end.

...I just wish that my personal life was the same way.

And then I do something truly stupid.

Instead of keeping focus. Instead of celebrating the fact that my creativity has paid off once again. Instead of forgetting about all the ancillary bullshit that’s happening around me.

...I head over to Malcolm’s house...

Chapter 9

Malcolm

“Oh, excuse me. That's my phone.” Clare says apologetically.

I wave her off. “That’s fine. Go ahead and answer it.” We’re almost finished eating our lunch. The waitress thinks that we're on a date. She keeps referring to us as, ‘you two’, and neither of us have bothered to correct her.

“It’s just my da checking up on me.” She explains.

“That’s fair” I frown. “Does he know where you are and who you're with?”

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