Page 48 of Big Bossy Billionaire

Because I was tired of running from it.

From her.

Using the back of my hand, I wiped the steam off the mirror and frowned. Using my other hand, I tied the towel around my waist before reaching for the toothbrush. Given everything that had happened between us, I wasn’t sure either of us could go back to the way things were. After realizing how much I cared about her, I didn’t want to.

Meghan might not like it, but I was going to do what needed to be done to protect her.

She could try to give me peace of mind all she wanted, but I wasn’t going to budge.

Not when it came to her safety.

Going back to New York and leaving her here, with a bunch of incompetent security guards who didn’t know how to do their jobs wasn’t an option. With a slight shake of my head, I brushed my teeth and picked out my clothes, turning the matter over and over in my head and looking for a solution.

Unfortunately, the longer I thought about it, the more I realized that I couldn’t force Meghan to go back. Knowing McIntyre now had her in his sights, he wasn’t going to stop coming, not until he made an example of her, but Meghan didn’t seem to care. Telling his representative off might’ve felt good in the heat of the moment, but I was beginning to realize what a stupid mistake it was.

I couldn’t let them get under my skin again.

First things first, Holt. Get Meghan out. Worry about the rest later.

On the drive to the office, I kept replaying the rest of our night together, and how it felt to have Meghan fall asleep with her head nestled in the crook of my neck. I’d spent half the night stroking her back and listening for the sound of her breathing. It had given me a strange sense of comfort to know she was there and that she felt safe with me by her side.

The feeling was intoxicating, and I didn’t want it to end.

Not if I could help it.

Meghan and I had something special, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to fight it anymore.

Not if it meant having to stay away from her.

Serena was just going to have to learn to make her peace with it like everyone else.

The only problem was that I had no idea if Meghan felt the same.

Granted, whenever we were together, the fire between us was undeniable. Hell, I had even rushed over here under false pretenses just to make sure Meghan was okay, but it didn’t mean we were supposed to have something together.

She was, after all, still my employee.

And if there was one thing I knew about Meghan, it was that she was never going to be okay with the whispers and rumors that would follow her around if the two of us started dating. Not only would it make her seem incompetent at her job, but it would also put her under a lot of scrutiny and call into question everything she did.

Meghan deserved better.

But I didn’t know how to give her that.

You can’t give her what she wants. You need to walk away, Holt. While you still can because the longer this drags on, the harder it will be for both of you.

In the distance, the office loomed, trees and buildings rushing past in either direction. I was pulling up into the parking lot when I saw her crossing the street, in her usual pencil length skirt, and a button-down shirt tucked into it. From a distance, I saw her falter in her heels, and the uneasy swing of her bag as she caught her balance, and it made a small smile hover on the edge of my lips.

I wondered if she was thinking of me too.

At the traffic light, she stopped and glanced around. I leaned forward in my seat and squinted into the sun, wanting to see more of her. Seeing Meghan vulnerable and without her guard up was different, personal, like she was peeling back the layers and allowing me to see her.

It only made me want to get to know her better.

Meghan held her head up when the pedestrian light turned green, and she crossed. I pulled the car up to a stop and leaned over to unbuckle my seatbelt. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of silver, the same silver we had seen the day before pulled up next to the curb outside the branch. Two badly dressed burly men piled out and made a beeline for Meghan who was glancing down at her phone.

I undid my seatbelt, feeling like I was moving in slow motion.

The two men had stepped in front of Meghan, blocking her path. Even from a distance, I could see the horror on her face, and the tense way she held herself. I was out of the car by the time the first man grabbed her. Meghan kicked and screamed fighting against him.

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