Page 44 of Rooster

Her eyes dart all over her screen as she reads an article about nerdy guys and how their hand skills on keyboards and game controllers translate very well in the bedroom. This article leads to a search of GIFs, and she spends more time than probably necessary watching a famous actor on stage as his thumb swirls over the edge of the microphone he's holding. I have to admit that watching her watch him and the way her mouth hangs open a little does something to me.

There's no shortage of attraction where Morgan is concerned. Normally, I wouldn't question it as much as I have been, but she's not in my path because fate put her there. Meeting Morgan wasn't kismet.

She's in my life because of Henry, and as much as that isn't her fault, I can't ignore the facts.

Research proves to me that she hasn't had continued contact with Henry. I don't suspect that she's playing this game with him as an active participant to get to me, but there is a reason why she's here. It’s driving me insane that I can't figure out what his endgame is.

I pull my eyes from the video feed of Morgan, who has shifted gears and is looking for movie titles where the nerdy guy falls for the girl, to start another search on Henry. I've had multiple systems running day and night and have had no luck, but I know better than to stop. If I quit, history tells me that's when he'll pop back up. As easy as that would be to do, he always brings havoc with him. I'm doing my best to avoid further victimization to the people he seems to enjoy stepping on to get what he wants.

With several more codes running in the background, I shift my eyes back to Morgan, watching as she reads and eats, every bite drawing my eyes to her mouth in a way that makes me feel damn near feral.

There's no way for me to bring this up later when I see her to try and get a feel for where her head is at. Plus, isn't it more fun to discover those sorts of things in their own time?

That thought makes me close out the screen share of her computer, but I'm more reluctant to turn off the video feed of her sitting there.

I want to groan every time she presses the plastic tines of her fork to her lower lip as she reads more on her computer.

I watch her for the rest of her lunch break. The hour goes by incredibly quickly, and before I'm ready, she's standing from her desk and carrying her empty takeout containers to a larger trashcan in the breakroom.

I don't know if I'm losing my mind, but I swear she walks right past the camera angle I showed her the other day and winks before heading to the ladies’ room.

If I ever had any doubt that this woman was going to be trouble, I no longer do.

And it's going to be so much fun finding out exactly what her intentions are and how she'll fit into my life.

Chapter 17

Morgan

As promised, Bandera is right where he said he was going to be by the time the longest day of work in my life is over.

"Do you think this is excessive?" I ask when I climb into the passenger seat of the SUV.

"What's that?" he asks, waiting for me to click my seatbelt in place before putting the vehicle in gear.

"Sitting out here all day just waiting for something to happen," I clarify. "I bet you wish something crazy would occur just to avoid the boredom."

He looks over at me before pulling out of the parking spot. "I'd rather be bored the rest of my life than chance someone getting hurt. I'm not the type of man who wants someone to sacrifice something for me just for entertainment."

"I appreciate you being here. I just... I don't know. Feel like there might be more important stuff you could be doing."

"You're just as important as the next person, Morgan. Don't ever doubt that."

I huff a humorless laugh. "Well, I didn't have self-worth issues until you just said that."

His smile is small, and I don't know if I've ever seen one on his face.

"How was your day?" he asks, and I find myself grateful at his attempt to change the subject.

"Boring. It's always boring," I say with a sigh, my eyes following the line of buildings as he drives along.

We don't spend much time talking on the way back to the villa, but the silence isn't awkward.

When he leans out of the vehicle to press out a code to gain access to the property, I suddenly feel nervous and a little giddy at the prospect of seeing Robert.

And a little embarrassed. I know he said he was going to be watching me at the office to make sure I was safe, and he even showed me the camera angle he had in the office. But I've seen enough hacker shows on television to know that if he's worth his IT weight, he could probably hack my computer and see my search history.

I played around with it a little during lunch, but I also had to use an incognito window. I don't know if that prevented him from knowing what I was looking at.

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