Chapter 43

Michael

After Rainey had hung up on me, I knew I’d fucked up. Why did I tell her the truth? It was easier for me to protect her if she was unaware of the syndicate. She’d put me under her spell. Now she didn’t even want to speak to me. I hoped a day away from each other would clear her head enough to have a decent conversation with her tomorrow at work. It wasn’t the first time we had a disagreement with each other. And Rainey needed this job. We would figure it out.

That thought carried me over to the next day. To help the process along, I ordered breakfast for the office. I knew everyone’s usual order from the deli down the street. I picked it up a few minutes before Sandra and Rainey were due in for work.

When I arrived at the office, Sandra was in the process of hanging up her things in the closet behind her desk.

“Good morning, Michael,” she said.

“Good morning, Sandra.” I reached into the bag and pulled out a lox and cream cheese bagel.

She grinned. “It’s a good thing I didn’t eat breakfast yet. Thanks so much.”

“No problem. How was your weekend?” I asked.

While Sandra talked about her kids going to visit Santa Claus at the mall, the bell to the elevator went off. I tried to focus on Sandra’s mouth and the words coming out of it, but they were garbled as my ears perked in the direction of the elevator.

When the doors open, I glanced over, as I would for anyone, and saw Rainey. Her eyes lifted to mine for a brief moment before they moved to Sandra.

“Morning,” she said and passed right by us. I had a feeling she directed the greeting to Sandra and not me.

I didn’t want to appear rude and leave Sandra in the middle of speaking with her, but I wanted to see Rainey and talk to her.

What felt like hours was only two more minutes before Sandra sat down at her desk.

“Thanks again,” she said, unwrapping her food. She glanced over at Rainey, and for some reason, I had the thought she knew how anxious I was to talk to my assistant.

I couldn’t get to Rainey’s desk fast enough. I stopped in my tracks as she came out of my office. I glanced over her shoulder, and there was a sheet of paper on my desk. I hadn’t requested anything from her.

I turned to her and handed her the brown paper bag in my hands.

“I got you breakfast,” I said.

She didn’t even glance up. “I already ate, thank you, though.”

I wrinkled my nose and opened my mouth to tell her how rude she was acting. Before the words came out, I gritted my teeth. She was obviously still upset, but that was also my fault. I’d let it slide this time. There was no need to cause a scene at work with Sandra down the hall.

I turned my body, so I blocked Rainey from Sandra's view. “I wanted to tell you that everything is going to be okay.”

She glanced up at me but said nothing.

I went on, “I spoke with Frederick, and things are handled. You’ll have nothing to worry about.” Last night, I’d given Frederick a better description of the thugs and how they knew where I lived. He promised to contact Demetri as soon as possible and come up with a plan to end this. I intended to communicate with him as soon as the work day was over to make sure he stayed on top of this.

Demetri’s problem had quickly become my own, and my patience wore thin. Particularly as it was ruining my chances of being with Rainey. If only she hadn’t been so curious. But it was one of the many traits I liked about her.

“I appreciate you are telling me,” she said and started typing on her keyboard again. “But I’m still firm on what I said yesterday.”

“What did you say yesterday?” I asked, flashing a smile.

She didn’t appreciate the gesture. Instead, I caught a slight wrinkle of her nose. She was pissed.

“I think we should at least have a conversation. You’re making the decision for the both of us, and that’s not fair.”

She sighed. “What’s not fair is you lying to me after I’d previously asked about Sal and your involvement with anything illegal.” She glanced down the hall to make sure Sandra was still at her desk.

“You’re right,” I said. “I lied for your protection.”

She shook her head slowly. “If you wanted to protect me, then you wouldn’t have gotten me involved in the first place.”

“Rainey—”

“Enough, Michael. I have work to do.”

“This isn’t over,” I said through my teeth. I wasn’t upset with her but my blood pressure rose close to boiling. I had to take time away to clear my head. Over and over again I came up against a brick wall with her. I needed to find the chisel to get through.

I stared at her for a moment before heading into my office. She made it clear she didn't want me hovering. And I wasn’t the type to beg anyone for their attention.

I left my office door open, something I never did. If Rainey was going to run, I wanted to witness it. The piece of paper on top of my desk faced down. I narrowed my eyes and touched it with my finger, sliding it over to the edge. I was about to lift it when I stopped and moved it back to where she left it.

Even from the back, Rainey’s signature was at the bottom of the paper. She tended to have a heavy pressure when she wrote. This wasn’t related to a client. It was personal.

I knew what it was, but I didn’t want to read it. She thought she could quit on me. But if I didn’t read the words, then it wasn’t official.

Rainey remained busy the rest of the day. She didn't even take a lunch break. I sat at my desk the whole time, not willing to let her out of my sight.

And when she came into my office at the end of the day, I noticed her eyes going to the piece of paper, in the same place where she’d left it this morning.

She frowned. “Did you read that?”

My eyebrows shot up in mock surprise. “Oh. No, I haven’t.”

She stood there for a moment. “Read it. It’s important.”

“I’ll get to it after we have a serious discussion.”

“Then you’re going to wait a long time,” she said and turned on her heel, closing the door behind her. I could have sworn I heard a “goodbye” under her breath.

I sat there for a minute staring at my door. The elevator dinged in the distance. I took a deep breath, letting go of the tension I'd had in my shoulders.

Did she think she could quit on me even if I didn't accept her letter?

What if she did and I never saw her again? I was involved with dangerous people, but the best place she could be was by my side. The thugs didn't know about our relationship. What if Demetri wasn't cooperative and they came after her and did worse than question her?

I shoved out of my chair and strode to the door. Ripping it open, I locked eyes with Rainey as the elevator doors closed.

“Rainey, stop!” I said, but it was too late.

I jogged down the hall, ignoring the surprised look from Sandra. I pressed the elevator button several times. By the time it got to the lobby and back up to my floor, she'd be gone.

I went to the stairwell and pushed through the door. I descended the stairs quicker than I thought possible in a suit. A deep and instinctual need for Rainey fueled my feet to move down the steps.

When I reached the lobby, I scanned the room for her. Without seeing her, I ran to the front revolving doors and outside.

I spotted her getting into a taxi.

“Rainey!” I bellowed as I ran over to her. The frigid air cooled my heated cheeks. When I reached the cab I held the door open.

She peered up at me. “Michael?” She wiped at her cheeks, and I could tell she was crying.

That was her goodbye to me. It was rude and pitiful, and I wasn't going to let her go without a fight.

“Please get out of the car,” I gripped the top of the door, the cool metal searing my hand. I couldn’t let her leave that easily.

“Do you know this man?” The driver asked.

“Yes,” she said to ease his mind. The last thing either of us needed was a call to the authorities.

“I don't know why you won't listen to me,” I said. “It's infuriating, and you should know that. You need to come upstairs and talk to me.”

She shook her head and leaned closer to the driver. “You can go now.”

The driver leaned over the seat to peer at me. I gritted my teeth, knowing that she wasn't going to listen to anything right now, and closed the door.

The driver skidded away from the curb. I suspected he didn’t want much to do with me. I knew I had an impulsive streak. Until recently, I’d been able to be professional with any other female I worked with. Rainey had been the exception to all of it. She made me happy and frustrated at the same time. I wanted to give her the world, but she wouldn’t allow it. She wanted to earn her way, and I appreciated that, but when I wanted to spoil her, she put up a fight. Our lives together had been a struggle from the beginning.

I loved how she challenged me and made it worth it to wake up each day. I loved her compassion for others and putting their needs before her own. And I loved that even in my company, a man with billions of dollars that she still wanted to carry her weight financially. She was the entire package.

Most of all, I loved her. Everything about her. And I knew she felt the same. I needed to give her the chance to say it. Those tears in her eyes weren’t fake. They were her answer to my questions. And there she was, fighting me again.

I had to do something to make this right for the both of us. Resignation or not, I wanted her in my life. I had to assure her that she would be safe.

I turned back to my building to gather my things before making that big leap for her. After today, I knew we would be okay. We had to be.