Page 3 of Big Bad Bully
I slip back into the stairwell and jog down to the tenth floor again. The drive is copied. I quickly disconnect it and tuck it back in the front pocket of my overalls then head back to the staircase.
I’m two flights down when a door opens.
Fuck. It’s the security guard. “Hey,” he says sharply. Then he recognizes me. “Oh, it’s you.” His brow furrows. “What are you doing in the stairwell?”
Sweat makes my palms clammy. I resist the urge to touch the pocket of my overalls to make sure the drive is out of sight. “Oh, I’m just leaving now. I’m done for the night!” I chirp.
“But why are you in here? This is the fire escape.”
“No, I know. I actually have a bit of claustrophobia, so I prefer taking the stairs to the elevator. Especially at night when there’d be no one around to hear me scream.”
He blinks at me.
Fuck. Am I a horrible liar?
“I would hear you scream.”
Was that a threat? Does he want to hear me scream? Is this guy a serial killer? I spin out of control as my heart chokes my throat.
He relaxes into a grin, and my knees nearly buckle with relief.
“But I get it. I just like to take the stairs to stay in shape.”
“Right! That too.” I sound out of breath. A little crazy. “Well, I’d better get going! It’s late.” I rush past him, taking the stairs at a jog.
For a few moments, I feel him watch me, but I don’t look up. I just keep on running all the way down eight flights of stairs until I get to the ground floor.
I throw the door open to the lobby and suck in a deep breath.
The security guard at the front desk gives me a startled look. “Where’d you come from? Is something on fire?”
I force a laugh. “No fire. I just ran down the stairs for, um, exercise. I’ll see you tomorrow!” I call out as I sail past him.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was close.
I suck in a deep breath of cold spring air as I truck to the subway.
I’m halfway down the block when I start to giggle. And then my giggle turns into a full-bore laugh. I’m laughing hysterically when I get on my train to Brooklyn.
I did it–my first corporate espionage job is complete.
Hopefully, the information I got was worth the risk.
Chapter Two
Billy
I stare at an Instagram page on my phone. A siren in the shape of a human smirks back at me in front of a giant mural. I’ve seen the mural firsthand. It’s decent. The artist is not decent. She’s a menace to society.
For the thousandth time, I study her silky brown skin. The high cheekbones and full, pillowy lips. Black hair that falls in wild gold and scarlet-tinged braids down her back. Her hair is more colorful than the last time I saw her at Brick and Madi’s engagement party.
The time she fed me more of her insolence and flipped me off.
The desire to take her to task for that sass makes my dick hard, also for the thousandth time. I’d love to bend her over the counter of the Bohemian cafe where she works and listen to what sounds she makes when I’m smacking her ass.
The fact that I have an errant desire to touch a human is insane. What makes it even more disgusting is the fact that I haven’t touched a female–wolf or human–since said engagement party.
“Mr. White?” Annabeth, my executive assistant, interrupts through the intercom. She’s a redheaded she-wolf and extremely efficient, which is why I employ her.
