The One Nighter (10 page)

When she hesitated, he continued. “I know how hard you’ve worked, Melanie. I don’t want to see you give that up because of what’s happening between us.”

Staring down at their intertwined fingers, she had to admit that he had a point. No matter how uncomfortable things got at the office, she didn’t want to walk away.

“Okay, I’ll think about it,” she conceded.

He let out a breath of relief. “Thank God, because I don’t know what I’d do without you,” he confessed.

The look in his eyes let her know that he meant the words in more ways than one. Her heart swelled with em
o
tion as she felt the warmth of his hand caressing hers.

Cocking his head to the side, he released her hand. “Now, get dressed, because I still need to run by my place before we go to the office.”

Later, when she stood under the warm rays of the shower, she thought of how drastically her life had changed in the past few weeks. Connor Mason was a force of nature. He had swept into her life and changed everything. Despite the fact that she was worried about seeing everyone at the office, she had to concede that it was worth it. He was worth it.

Still, she couldn’t help but wonder if the storm had a
l
ready begun to brew.

Had Jill already told everyone what she saw?

Or was she waiting for the confrontation that would inevitably come before she released the floodgates?

Chapter 13

Melanie hesitantly walked through the office toward her desk. A quick glance around proved that no one was looking at her, especially Jill, who sat at her desk working fervently.

Her eyes narrowed.

It wasn’t like Jill to be working so hard this early in the morning. After all, it wasn’t even eight o’ clock.

She sat down at her desk, leaning over to boot up her computer. All morning, she waited for the ugly confront
a
tion that she was sure would soon come. When it didn’t happen, she began to ponder why.

Had all her worrying been for nothing?

She slipped into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee.
Jus
as she started to fill her mug, Jill came in. After a cursory glance at her, the other woman pursed her lips.

Before she could say anything, Melanie began.

“Jill, we should talk.”

One eyebrow arched. “Oh, I think I already know more than I want to know,” Jill observed.

She let out a heavy sigh. “It’s not what you think.”

Jill’s lips curled in a sardonic grin as she tilted her head to the side. “Now how did I know you were going to say that?” she quipped.

Her mouth formed a grim line. “Do you remember my trip to Austin last year?” she asked.

Jill rolled her eyes as she let out a heavy sigh. “What does that have to do with anything?”

“Well, you guessed that I met someone there,” she b
e
gan.

Jill nodded. “The mystery man,” she remembered.

Her eyebrows rose.

Jill’s eyes narrowed. “What are you trying to say, Mel?”

She drew in a deep breath before plunging forward. “Connor was the mystery man.”

Jill’s gaze drifted around the room as she tried to make sense of it. “So, you’ve been seeing each other the whole time?”

Melanie shook her head.
“No, just that one night.
I never thought I would see him again.”

Jill’s eyes widened. “Wow! I’ve heard of bad karma, but this takes the cake! Are you telling me that the man you spent a hot night with suddenly showed up here? And is now your boss?”

“That’s one way to put it,” she conceded.

A look at Jill’s face left little doubt that her friend was enjoying the comedic value of the situation. Unable to stop herself, she began to laugh. Their shoulders shook as they gave themselves up to the moment.

Jill finally held up a hand. “I’m sorry. It’s not funny.”

Melanie’s giggles finally subsided as she looked at her friend. “I wanted you to know. I never would’ve…if it wasn’t for the fact that I already knew him. That’s why I was going to leave,” she admitted.

“And now?
Are you still leaving?”

She drew her lower lip beneath her teeth. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly.

For a moment, they were both silent. Then, Jill spoke.

“Well, I wouldn’t be a friend if I didn’t put my two cents in,” she started to say. “Mel, I’ve known you for a long time. In all the years I’ve known you, I’ve never known you to let yourself get carried away with anything, least of all a man.”

“So?” she replied a little defensively.

Jill smiled as she shook her head. “So, maybe it’s time you did. Maybe you should give this thing between the two of you a chance?” she suggested.

When she hesitated, Jill put a hand on her shoulder. “Isn’t he worth it?” she reasoned.

She thought of this morning, when she’d found him in the kitchen trying to make breakfast in bed.

Yes, he was worth it.

No matter what happened.

* * * *

Connor hung up, his forefinger and thumb coming up to massage his temples. He still couldn’t believe it. He had tried to comfort Melanie, but deep down, he was really worried. The incident in the parking lot had been no acc
i
dent. Someone had deliberately tried to hit her. As if that wasn’t enough, someone had broken out the floodlights. Which meant that whoever was doing this was much closer than they thought. Luckily, the contractor would be there today to fix the lights. Still, he didn’t like the idea of her b
e
ing there alone.

If he hadn’t been there last night…

Well, he didn’t even want to think about what would have happened.

And that wasn’t the only thing that had him befuddled. His feelings for Melanie were more powerful than he ever could have expected.

He couldn’t lose her.

He wouldn’t.

He would find whoever was doing this and put a stop to it.

In theory, it sounded perfect.

There was only one problem.

Who was it?

Who would want to hurt her?

Running down a list of potential suspects was proving to be a daunting task. After all, Melanie had already told him that she didn’t have any enemies or ex-boyfriends who might have a grudge.

That meant that whoever was doing this was someone
he
knew.

Unfortunately, he had a pretty good idea of just who that might be. It wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, though. Thinking that Miranda might be capable of what happened in the parking lot made his jaw clench painfully.

Still, he couldn’t take any chances.

Last night, he had made some hard decisions. He planned to see Miranda today. If she was guilty, he would know it. He would see it. Pulling out his cell phone, he quickly selected her name from the list of contacts before putting the phone to his ear. It immediately went to voic
e
mail. For a moment, he considered leaving a message, but hung up instead.

If Miranda was the one doing these things, he sure as hell wasn’t going to give her any warning that he knew.

Grabbing his jacket off the back of the chair, he hit the intercom button.

“Callie, I’m going out for a little while. If anyone calls, just take a message,” he instructed.

One way or another, he was going to get to the bottom of things today.

He just hoped it wasn’t as bad as he thought.

* * * *

By the end of the day, Melanie was exhausted. She hadn’t seen Connor since lunchtime. Turning off her mon
i
tor, she pulled her purse out of the drawer. Before she could stand up, Jill appeared.

“Hey, want to go to Teddy’s for happy hour?”

Melanie wrinkled her nose. “Can I get a rain check?” she countered.

Jill nodded. “Sure. Why, do you have big plans t
o
night?” she asked with a covert wink.

Melanie smiled as she shook her head. “No, it’s just that some weird things have been happening lately,” she replied.

Jill’s eyebrows drew together. “What kind of weird things?”

Melanie shrugged as she stood up. “It’s not a big deal,” she answered dismissively.

“It sure sounds like a big deal.”

“It’s nothing I can’t handle.”

Jill tilted her head to the side.
“You sure?”

She nodded. “I’m sure.”

Jill’s eyebrows rose as she let out a sigh. “Okay then, maybe next week?”

Melanie grinned. “Next week sounds great.”

“Well, have a good night, then,” she called out over her shoulder as she walked toward the exit.

“You, too.”

Walking up to the reception area, she waited as Callie turned off her computer.

“Callie, have you seen Mr. Mason?” she inquired.

Callie swiveled in her chair to face her. “He left earlier. Didn’t say where he was going. Just told me to hold his calls,” she explained. She offered Melanie a wry grin. “Ma
y
be he has a secret girlfriend?”

Melanie tried to smile at the other woman’s joke, but she didn’t have it in her. Too much had happened lately. The thought of Connor having a hidden girlfriend made her stomach sour. She couldn’t help but think of Miranda.

Were things really over between them?

Or was that just what he wanted her to believe?

“Thanks,” she said as she walked back to her desk.

The thought of Connor lying to her, using her, made her feel sick. She wanted to believe that what she felt with him was real.

But was it?

Or was it just what she wanted to believe?

A quick glance at the clock told her that it was way past five o’ clock. He’d told her not to go home without him. But if he was so worried, why didn’t he tell her where he was going?

Well, she wasn’t going to sit around and wait for him like some pathetic puppy dog.

If Connor Mason wanted to know where she was, he was just going to have to find her.

Chapter 14

Connor drummed his fingertips on the steering wheel. He had been waiting outside for over an hour, and that didn’t count the hour he had driven by six times.

Where the hell was she?

A quick glance at the clock informed him that it was almost six o’clock. He had tried to call the office several times, but the phones had already been switched to the answering service. Calling her cell phone hadn’t turned out any better.

By now, he had figured out that she was avoiding him.

He reached over to turn the key in the ignition. O
b
viously, Miranda wasn’t coming home any time soon. And he was way too worried about Melanie to wait any longer.

Heading for the office, he tried her cell phone again. It immediately went to voicemail.

Damn the woman!

Couldn’t she at least pick up the phone to let him know that she was okay?

He hoped she hadn’t been stupid enough to leave wit
h
out him. On the third call to her cell phone, he had admi
t
ted to himself that he should have told her where he was going.

Okay, so he had acted like an inconsiderate ass.

He could admit that.

But surely she wouldn’t risk her own safety to prove a point.

Would she?

His foot pressed down on the accelerator as a sick fee
l
ing crept into the pit of his stomach. He punched in the number again.

Giving up was not an option.

Not until he talked to her.

* * * *

Melanie hit the button to send Connor’s call to voic
e
mail before throwing it into her purse. She eased her car i
n
to the parking lot, choosing a spot at the end. Heading t
o
ward the entrance to her condo, she heard the ring tone b
e
gin to play again.

She let out a heavy sigh as she lifted the phone to see Connor’s number illuminated. After the way he left today, she had every intention of giving him a piece of her mind. But the least she could do was
make
him
dsweat
a little bit.

Reaching up, she hit the end button. Following the path, she fished for her keys as she reached the door. As she slid the key into the lock, she heard the sound again.