I stared after him knowing I’d made a terrible mistake. I was trying to tell Ethan that I hadn’t known who he was in the break room. But he was so fired up I couldn’t get a word in.

Dolores rose from her desk and walked in. “Ms. Reed?”

“Yes?” I whispered, distracted and lost.

“May I offer some advice?”

“What is it?”

“Go after him.”

I blinked at her. “Excuse me?”

Dolores wrung her hands over her ample stomach because she normally didn’t overstep her bounds. But she decided to break that rule, and sighed. “I saw two men storm out of here today, and only one of them put that look on your face. That man was Ethan Cocker, wasn’t it? I saw his name on the payroll. But between you and me, if he’d had green eyes I would’ve spotted him in a lineup without a second glance,” she chuckled.

“You know him?”

“I know his family. They go way back in this town. His grandfather and I went to high school together. I was a freshman when he was a senior.” She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “Oh, what a handsome man he was. All the girls wanted him.” She smiled at me, pausing. “Of course I watched on the sidelines as he became Congressman. How I rooted for him! And he even came here once to have lunch with your grandfather, when this office belonged to him.”

“Michael Cocker was here?” I was shocked.

“Oh yes. In this very office,” Dolores smiled on the memory. “I could barely type a thing that day. Put files in the wrong drawers. I was a mess. His wife is a lucky woman.” She pointedly stared at me.

I started walking and my footsteps became progressively faster until I was running after Ethan down a hallway. Wyntech employees returning from lunch saw me and moved out of the way, whispering to each other questions of what was wrong.

Ethan’s office was empty, the relaxing fountain trickling with nobody to enjoy it. I sprinted for the elevator and shouted, “Everything’s fine. I just have to catch…never mind! We’re all good. The hacker has been found!”

My employees cheered and I winced, thinking well, it’s almost true and I’m only human.

The elevator was on the ground floor and we were on the tenth. The second car was broken, the third was freight and it was stopped on the 3rd floor so long that I knew someone was holding it there.

I took the stairs but my heels were impossibly high. I’d worn them for Ethan. That whole outfit I’d worn for the look he’d give me once he saw me in it, and then I had to go and act like a cold bitch.

Why didn’t I just trust what we had?

I knew he didn’t like Stacy.

I was being jealous and petty and look where it got me.

I rushed back up the stairs and ran to my office, kicking off my heels and grabbing them off the ground so I could run barefoot and make better time. Dolores saw me coming and called after me, “Didn’t catch him?”

“No, but I will!” I shouted as I lunged for my phone and purse, dialing his number as I ran to pass her again.

“A hurricane is coming, Ms. Reed!”

I screeched in my tracks. “What? It’s a clear day!”

Dolores shrugged, “You know how unpredictable Georgia storms can be.”

The call went to voicemail. I tried him again and hurried away, saying over my shoulder, “I’ll be working remotely today.”

She gave me a wink and said, “Yeah you will!”

I weakly explained to the same employees I just passed, “Forgot these. Heh Heh.”

They nodded, but clearly thought I was being wilder than we were supposed to be at Wyntech.

Ethan wasn’t answering his phone. I hung up and didn’t leave a message, not with everyone in earshot.

At the elevator I pushed the button and turned around, shouting to the floor that housed my highest level executives, “Everyone! Hey, everyone!”

Those in the hall stopped walking.

Office doors opened and people appeared.

Curious eyes waited patiently.

“Tomorrow I want to see you all in the conference room. We’re going to discuss six-hour workdays. Sweden is doing it. They discovered you get more done when you’re less tired, and have a better home life. We’re going to do that here.”

The suits — male and female — were shocked. One started clapping and a couple others joined in, but not all of them.

The elevator opened behind me and I jumped inside and called out, “I’m not kidding and I’m not drunk. I run this company, and I’ve been running it like my grandfather did, God rest his workaholic soul. Not anymore! There are going to be some changes!”

The doors closed and, catching my breath, I panted. With my purse and phone in one hand, heels in the other, I leaned against the wall and grinned, watching those numbers light the way down.

In the lobby Neil saw me and called over with protective severity, “That man who was bothering you last week left in a huff. I take it you fired him!”

“No, Neil, that man is the best thing that ever happened to me. And he quit!”

I broke into a run, leaving the confused security guard staring after me.

When I got to my car and jumped in, I felt free and I tossed my heels in the backseat without even looking. I couldn’t get this smile off my face. I knew I was going to get Ethan Cocker back, and I couldn’t wait.

Someone threw a sack over my head and hissed in my ear. “You hit me with those shoes, Charlie.”

I screamed and felt my head swim as darkness overtook me.