Page 4 of Inescapable Gravity

He was on his feet before the receptionist finished her question.

Her eyes were wider than they'd been when she stepped into the lobby. "Mister Blackwood will see you now."

He eased his casual expression into a hint of a smile as he crossed to her side, taking hold of the door as she opened it.

He saw the confusion on her face as she stood beside him, unsure of what she should do.

"Please," she looked around, at what he didn't know, "step through here."

Marius held the door in his easy grip. "I'll follow you."

His tone was even and didn't offer room for any other options.

"Sure." He heard her swallow. It was a soft sound, almost hidden under the quiet hum of the top of the line air conditioner, but he heard it and saw the pulse in her neck beat faster. "I'll take you to the office."

She stepped through the doorway with a little hop in her step and a moment later, there was a decent gap between them.

He didn't intend to make her nervous. It wasn't in his nature to menace a woman. Marius, like the others he trained with, didn't like having someone at their back whom they didn't trust with their lives.

An open back didn't bode well for survival.

They walked down a long empty hallway and he paid attention to the distance that they'd traveled. Likely the office she was taking him to took up the majority of the space on the floor.

It would be interesting to see what a man like Blackwood put in his private space.

When they stopped outside of the door at the end of the hallway, the receptionist turned her shoulders so he wasn't quite at her back.

Smart woman.

She lifted her closest hand to the door and tapped her knuckles against the solid wood.

There wasn't a peephole in the door nor could he see a camera in the hall, and he'd looked.

Still, a moment after she pulled her hand away from the door, the lock disengaged.

The receptionist's shoulders eased. "Mister Blackwood will see you now."

Marius stepped to the side and gave her space to walk past him.

She was more than ten feet away when he spoke to her again.

"Thank you, Veronica."

The receptionist turned around, her lips parted in shock. "Th-thank you, sir."

A moment later, she was gone from his sight and he put his hand on the door handle and tipped it down.

The room inside was an extension of the waiting area, but a step up. The furniture had the air of contemporary design, but it looked substantial. Made like it had come from a handcrafted studio.

The tint on the windows was also a slightly different shade. Marius bet that there was a remote somewhere that could do a few interesting things with light control and maybe even prevent anyone or anything outside to see in.

There were two people in the room.

The man behind the desk and the security officer behind him.

The security guard looked like he'd seen a few too many Expendables films.

All broad shoulders and purposeful scowls.

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