Page 48 of A Reclusive Heart

“Oh,” Jamie muttered, trying to ignore the clicks as she searched through her bag for her employee pass only to come up empty-handed. “I-I think I lost it.”

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but I can’t let you in the building without an employee pass.”

“Did you get fired?” one of the paparazzi demanded as Jamie struggled to figure out a way to get inside and away from thecameras, but all their questions and the constant clicking of their cameras made it difficult to think at the moment.

“How did it feel to find out that your mother wasn’t really your mother?”

“I hear your family couldn’t wait to get rid of you,” another one said, hitting a little too close to home.

“Please, I work for Rerum Publishing. If you call Rick Edwards or Nick Quinn, they can vouch for me,” Jamie pleaded quietly as the crowd began to close in tightly around her.

“I’m sorry, ma’am,” the guard said, gesturing for her to step away from the front door. “But I have strict orders not to let anyone in without a pass or on the list,” he said, holding up a clipboard.

She opened her mouth to ask him to check for her name but realized that she wouldn’t be on the guest list. If she wanted to get in the building, she was going to have to call Nick. She opened her purse even as the large man herded her away from the building and the paparazzi descended on her. After a quick search, she realized that her phone wasn’t in her bag.

“When did they fire you?”

“Probably after they realized your books sucked.”

“Need help? Guess you can’t call your family,” someone shouted.

Jamie hugged her bag against her chest and tried to walk away, but they wouldn’t let her. Anytime she tried to move away, they shifted to block her. When she tried to fake left and go right, she was knocked down and before she could get back up, she found a dozen people standing over her, yelling questions that she’d rather not think about as they documented her humiliation.

She tried to stand up, but no one would budge an inch, forcing her to curl up into herself and bury her face against her knees as they continued shouting their questions and knockinginto her as they shoved each other out of the way to get the perfect shot. As she was stepped on, kicked, and screamed at, she couldn’t help but wish that she had some chocolate and Nick’s arms around her as the first embarrassing tear streamed down her cheek. Thankfully, she had her face buried against her knees so the cameras missed it, but that didn’t stop them from trying.

“I’d loveto make you dinner tonight, Nick,” Mandy, Sandy, or was her name Chrissy? said as she leaned in a little too close for his comfort, forcing him to sit back in his chair and shift away from her as he shot the empty chair by Rick’s side another glance.

Where the hell was she?

She should have been here by now. In fact, she should have been here an hour ago, but Jamie was a no-show. He’d called her apartment, thinking that she went back because she forgot something, but she didn’t pick up. She wasn’t answering her cell phone either and now he was really starting to worry about her.

“Nick?” the woman said when he didn’t answer her right away.

“I have to catch an early flight in the morning,” Nick said absently as he turned to shoot another glance at the boardroom’s closed double doors.

“That’s okay. I don’t mind giving you a ride,” she said in a husky whisper that left absolutely no doubt in his mind about what she really meant.

“Not interested,” Nick said, not even bothering to soften the blow as he sent another questioning look at Rick, who wore a grim expression as he shook his head. Great, his little reclusehadn’t called Rick to let him know why she was running late, either.

“What do you mean you’re not interested?” the woman demanded, but Nick wasn’t paying attention to her as he stood up and headed for the door. He didn’t need to look back to know that Rick was right behind him.

“The morning meeting is canceled. Please return to your duties,” Rick said as Nick pulled his phone out and tried to call Jamie again.

“Are you sure that she was coming in today?” Rick asked as they stepped in front of the elevator.

“Positive,” Nick said, hitting the call button repeatedly.

“Any idea what could be keeping her?” Rick asked.

“No clue,” Nick said, regretting leaving her on her own. He should have insisted that she drive with him, but he didn’t want to give the office gossips anything to talk about.

“Fuck this,” Nick snapped when the elevator didn’t move fast enough. He made his way to the stairwell, glaring at anyone who got in his way. Three minutes later, they were downstairs in the busy foyer, searching for her.

“Do you see her?” Rick asked.

“No,” Nick said, barely biting back the urge to put his fist through a wall. Where the hell was she?

“Let’s check outside,” Rick said, already heading in the direction of the glass doors. As they moved to step outside, the guards Rick posted at the door stepped aside, revealing a large group of paparazzi going nuts not twenty feet from the building.

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