Page 22 of Year-End Bonus
Epilogue - Paul
"How can someone disappear into thin air? Explain it to me!" I shove a stack of papers from my desk to the floor, storming around my office as I listen to my head of security blather on about how the snow has made finding Skylar too difficult.
I'm still in my underwear, holding the note Skylar left on the table as I pace back and forth. Mark and Hunter fill the doorway of my office. Hunter glares at me, and Mark is trying to get me to calm down.
"We’ll find her, Paul." Mark walks into my office, his hands raised like he's approaching a rabid animal. He's not far off. Herscent is still on my fingers, and I'm practically foaming at the mouth since I woke up and found her gone.
"She was planning to leave anyway, Mark." I stare at him. "Why didn't she tell us?"
Mark sighs. "We didn’t know what her plan was. We kind of sprung a lot on her last night."
Hunter crosses his arms and glares at me. "Speaking of last night—what happened after we fell asleep? How did she end up with you? What did you do?"
I huff in irritation. "I'll call you back," I bark into the phone, hanging up without waiting for a response. I level Hunter with a glare that typically sends people running, but he simply squares up to me and glares right back. "Are you suggesting she left because of me?"
Hunter throws his arms out in exasperation. "You certainly didn’t make her feel welcome last night."
Mark gets between the two of us as I charge toward him. Hunter has about three inches on me, but I've got more muscle, and I'm not afraid to use it.
"Guys, this isn't helping us find her." Mark shoves us both back.
"What happened last night?" Hunter demands again, his furious eyes challenging me.
"She came out to look for her purse, and I was there. What difference does it make?"
Hunter refuses to back down, suspicion rolling off of him like an angry wave.
I give him a hard glare. "We fucked, okay? Is that what you want to hear?"
Hunter pulls back in surprise, and Mark turns to look at me.
"You fucked her?" Mark glances at Hunter. "I... thought you didn't want anything to do with this."
A hard, bitter laugh escapes. "Of course I do. For four fucking years. I just didn't want it to get..." I trail off.
"Out of your control," Mark finishes for me. "You wanted to control it, but we made it happen, and that pissed you off, so you almost blew it. Allegedly," he amends, holding up his hands in surrender when I whirl on him.
I sit on the couch in my office and hang my head as Hunter storms off.
Mark sighs and sits in the chair across from me.
"What do you want? A play-by-play, or just the general gist of it?"
"I'll take a play-by-play later when she's back here with us and we can join in the moment,” Mark replies. “For now, you can give me the gist."
"We... had sex. I'm in love with her, Mark, and—" I stop, not wanting to tell him anything more. "Look, it was between the two of us, so I don't want to share it. She wasn't mad at all."
"Okay, well, when you guys were done, where did she go?"
"We fell asleep on the couch."
Mark raises his eyebrows in surprise. "You cuddled?"
"Yeah, I cuddled." Another surge of rage flares up deep in my bones as I remember her soft curves plastered against me. The strawberry scent of her shampoo lulled me to sleep.
"And when I woke up, she was gone. Poof." I snap my fingers. "Leaving nothing but a note and heartbreak." I throw the paper on the floor and shake my head. "This is why I didn't want to do it, Mark."
He pulls a face and starts to protest, but I cut him off.
