As Crystal exits my office, Madison shuffles in. “Hey, everyone’s heading out. Are you going to be much longer?”
I glance down at the time on my phone and shake my head. “I should be done by six. I just have a few things to wrap up before I leave.”
She leans against the door jam and crosses her arms over her chest. “Okay, I’m going to wait for you. I don’t want to leave you here alone. With the snow starting to fall, almost everyone is gone, trying to beat the storm.”
Spinning around in my chair, I look out the window and wonder when it started snowing. I have a clear view of the city from my office. How did I not notice the weather? “Wow, I hadn’t noticed. It’s been so long since I’ve seen a snowfall.”
The sound of Madison’s footsteps behind me seem unusually loud as she steps further into my office. “It’s safe to say you’ve got a lot on your mind right now.”
That may be the understatement of the century. Before I can address her comment, there’s a knock on the door and I spin back around to see Sebastian filling my doorway.
My heart flutters as I take him in. He’s looking absolutely breathtaking in his navy suit, crisp white dress shirt, and red tie.
God, I miss him.
His eyes linger on me much in the same way as mine do on him, and it warms some of the cold that has invaded me in his absence.
It’s crazy how just a few days ago, I couldn’t think past how being with him would affect me and my career, and now that I can’t be near him to save my career, all I want to do is go back to that day in his office and say I don’t care, let this person say whatever it is they want. As long as I have him and a job at Midtown, nothing else matters. But it’s too late.
This plan has already been set into motion, and there’s nothing I can do to stop it without making Sebastian look even worse in the eyes of the press.
Madison’s eyes bounce between the two of us. She knows our interactions have been nonexistent thanks to Veronica’s orders. This is probably the closest we’ve been since her parents’ house.
“I’m glad you’re both still here,” he says as he enters, breaking the spell between us. “I thought everyone else had left already with the incoming storm.”
“What’s going on?” Madison questions.
“Veronica just called,” he explains, and a small seed of hope starts blooming in my chest. “Her guy is on his way up to sweep bugs and cameras. She said it should only take about twenty minutes.”
“Wonderful.” Madison claps her hands. “Everyone has left, so there’s no prying eyes here.”
Sebastian nods. “He’s going to check my office and phone first since I have to meet Jax and Arianna in a bit.”
At the mention of Arianna’s name, I look away, but I can still feel his eyes on me.
“Okay,” Madison replies. “Devin was just finishing anyway, and I was going to wait for her. You can head out after he’s done with you.”
I look up just in time to catch his gaze before he turns and leaves my office. I wish I knew what to make of that look. The skeptic in me worries it’s still anger from my comment in his office.
I know it hurt him.
I didn’t mean to, nor do I think so little of everything between us that I consider us a fling, but the words were out of my mouth in a freaked-out moment, and I can’t take them back. I just wish we could talk about it. We haven’t had a chance to discuss our feelings at all. We’re not allowed to discuss anything personal in the office or on the phone until we figure out if there are any recording devices. It also doesn’t help that all his free time is spent building the lie to the public about his relationship with Arianna.
God, I hate this.
