Page 36 of One Night Billionaire

“How do you know?” Her panic crept back in again. “What if we should be leaving?” Anna’s hands started to shake making the light dance as the flashlight shook.

Brian took the light from her and set it on the table. “There’s no alarm.”

“What if it’s broken?” she asked.

“It’s not. It’s got a backup that’s unrelated to the generator. I promise.”

She had no logical reason for it but she believed him. Maybe it was just because she wanted to. Either way, she was grateful for the reassurance.

“When the power comes back on, I will walk you out, so you aren’t alone, okay?”

Part of her brain shouted that she was strong and didn’t need him to walk her out. The other part just wanted to feel safe.

“Thanks.”

They sat in silence for a bit. She had no idea how long it was. In total darkness, there was no concept of time, and the flashlight, while helpful, didn’t change that.

“Is anyone in here?” someone called out.

“Stay right here, okay? I will come back.” Brian stood and she watched as he walked out, calling out to the voice.

Suddenly cold, she shivered as she waited for him to return. Her mind wandered to what she would need to do if he didn’t come back. It wasn’t a good place to go when her nerves were already strung out.

Anna forced her leg to stop bouncing and worked her way through a few breathing exercises. By the time Brian returned, she had nearly gotten herself under control.

“Security says the power should be up and running in the next hour. Can you make it that long?” There was mocking in his tone.

“I guess,” she said, still unsure.

“I won’t let anything happen to you; I promise.” Brian went back to his spot on the sofa next to her, tucking her next to him again.

In that, she believed him completely. There was no doubt in her mind that this man would protect her. She let her mind drift back to the thoughts that she shouldn’t leave him. Anything was a better distraction than thinking about what was happening.

“You’re thinking awful hard over there. What’s on your mind?”

She was positive he meant it as a distraction, but there was no way she could tell him what she was thinking.

“It’s a good thing this didn’t happen before we fixed the program.” There, work was a safe topic.

“Right? Thank you for fixing that. Seriously. I owe you,” Brian told her.

Anna laughed. “I was quite literally doing my job. The only thing you owe me is a paycheck.”

Brian snorted. “We both know staying up all night is not part of the job description. And I don’t know many people who would have, especially with their notice already in.”

“My notice has no bearing on the quality of my work,” she defended.

“Calm down. I was just saying that it would be for a lot of people. Clearly, for you, that’s not the case, and I cannot tell you how much it means to me.”

She didn’t know what to say so she let the conversation lull again. He was right about what many people would do. People often put in their notice and kept one foot out the door after that.

“Anna,” Brian started. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about everything that happened between us.”

She winced. He had acted like a crazy man, but she wasn’t without blame in the situation either. While she had reasons for not telling him what she was doing, she could recognize that it wasn’t the best course of action.

In her small defense, she was scared he’d try to talk her out of it. Even more scared that it would work.

“Me, too,” she said, sadly.

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