Page 34 of Wildest Desire

“Does everything look right, nothing out of place?” he asks. I can just barely hear him over the music.

“I’m checking, but the alarm would’ve picked up anything. Have a good night out,” I tell him. He goes to say something but I don’t let him. “I'll call you in the morning.” Ending the call, I head to the kitchen to get a bottle of the water from the fridge.

Taking a sip of water, I lean on the counter and look at the magnets on the refrigerator, looking back on old memories. My eyes widen as one picture stands out. My heart skips a beat. I take a step closer to the fridge to see if it’s there, or if it’s me being paranoid.

Grabbing my phone, I dial Ms. Jackie’s number as I run up the stairs into my bedroom. Getting into the closet, I wait for her to answer the phone. I crawl into the corner, pushing away my shoe boxes. “Ms. Jackie, he’s here… He’s found me,” I whisper.

“Ethan, call the police. Lexi, listen to me, I’m on my way,” Ms. Jackie tells me.

“Teresa?” I hear him calling from the bedroom. “Did you think I wouldn’t find you?”

The doors to the closet open. I see his shadow, so I push myself further into the corner. I scream when I feel his hand on my ankle.

“Nooo! Ms. Jackie! Please, please, please!” I scream as he pulls me out, my nails digging into the carpet. “Please,” I beg.

Chapter 16

Ethan

Three hours earlier.

The second Lexi walked out of my apartment, I was on the phone with Jackie. I have no idea what's going on with Lexi, but I know there's one person that does.

She agreed to have dinner with me, and said she has been busy all day and hasn’t gotten to Lexi’s email yet, but will read it before we meet up. I told her that no matter what Lexi said, she wasn’t going to be anyone else’s call girl.

My meeting with London went well. For the first time, something is going right with it. I let them know Travis would now be heading up the project and to contact him if they needed anything. I told Travis if he messed this up, he would lose his bonus at the end of the year. He wasn’t happy about it, but I don’t care. I want this closed by the end of the month.

Walking into the restaurant, I go straight to where Jackie is already waiting for me. As I pass the waiter, I order a whiskey, then make my way to the table and pull out a chair.

“Did you read the email?” I ask Jackie as the waiter places my whiskey on the table.

“Hello, Ethan,” Jackie says in typical Jackie style. She has been around me my whole life and tries to not so subtly tell me to relax a little. Life doesn’t have to be about rushing all the time.

“Hello, Jackie.” I take a swig of whiskey and start the conversation properly. “How was your day?” I know what she is doing. She’s trying to calm me down before we start talking about Lexi.

“Busy. I had to drop a client for getting a little too handsy with the girls. It's the reason I have all these rules in place to begin with. So, how about you tell me what's happening between you and Lexi,” Jackie asks.

“Nothing is happening. I want something to happen, but Lexi… She's a little less willing to let there be more. I get the feeling it'll take some time to convince her that she wants the same thing I do. I know she wants more with me, but something is stopping her. I’m not sitting here saying I want her to be my girlfriend or anything. I won’t go there again, but I want her for maybe a little more than just company.”

“Something sex or something relationship?” she asks.

I haven’t become the businessman I am today without learning how to read people. My answer to this question will determine whether or not she tells me what was in the email Lexi sent her. “Something more.”

“Normally, I wouldn’t ask, but have you had sex?”

“Yes, but what does that matter right now? Did you read the email or not?” I ask again.

“I did. I understand why Lexi feels this way, and for now, I’m going to give her the space she’s asked for, and I think she—”

“Who's the he?” I ask. I know she was talking to Jackie about him, so she knows who it is.

She breaks eye contact with me and I know she knows what’s happening. But, I also know she's extremely loyal to her girls and that's the biggest reason I respect her.

“Space? A day? A week? Longer?” Lexi’s lucky I haven’t gone to her house to ask what the hell is going on in her head. Jackie stays quiet. “Until she's ready?” I add.

“She's coming into work tomorrow, and I'll talk to her. I’ll ask her what’s happening, and what she wants to do,” Jackie tells me. I think even she doesn’t know exactly what's going on with Lexi, and tomorrow is her finding out.

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