Peyton unlocked her apartment door and went to step inside, but Joseph put an arm in front of her. "Hold up. Wait here." He strode into her tiny living room, set his large black duffel bag on the floor, and glanced around, then moved into the adjoining kitchen. Seemingly satisfied no one was lurking, he disappeared down the hall. "Clear. Come in. Lock the door."Biting back a sigh, she did as he asked and dropped her purse on the small entry table. Heading to the kitchen, she checked her cell for calls. A solid set of arms wrapped around her from behind and a hand clasped over her mouth. The phone fell from her numb fingers. Heart pounding, she wiggled to get free, but he had her trapped. Panic clutched her throat. "Breathe, Peyton. Get out of the situation."Right. Closing her eyes, she channeled what Joseph had taught her. With a feral cry, she jabbed her elbow into his ribs, stomped on his in-heel, and thrust her foot toward his ankle. Using the full weight of her body, she
A half hour later, Xavier still hadn't arrived. Disappointment began to weigh heavy on her shoulders. She glanced at the door again which Joseph, of course, noticed."He'll be here, Peyton."She wasn't so sure. Xavier hated crowds and he'd already given her a gift. Knowing him, he was holed up in his mansion watching CNN. She had no idea why it bugged her. Yeah, they were friendly and did things outside of work sometimes, but it wasn't as if he was more than her boss. Lord knew, she made him socialize enough because of Gaines Industries. The rest of their group returned and ordered a round of drinks. She was too caught up in their discussion of the hottest bartender to notice Xavier stood beside her until she'd hopped off her stool and nearly plowed into him. He was casual in jeans and a fitted black t-shirt that emphasized his lean, muscular build. A dark five o'clock shadow covered his wide jaw, giving him a seductive edge, and a strand of chestnut hair fell over his forehead,
With Joseph assisting a very inebriated Kate off the elevator, Xavier hoisted a tipsy Peyton closer to his side and followed. She staggered and he nearly went down, but caught them both in time.Outside the gals' respective apartments, Joseph glanced between the two doors as if torn. "Let me get her inside and I'll be right back.""Take your time. I'll be with her." Xavier nudged his chin at Peyton.Kate giggled and buried her face in Joseph's chest. "You're not staying?"He glanced at the top of her auburn head. "Not while you're three sheets, Red. Another time, definitely."Both women laughed and swayed. Peyton pointed at Joseph. "He's got a thing for redheads. He told me so."Xavier ran his tongue over his teeth and glanced at his bodyguard. "At least they're happy drunks.""Rodger that." Somehow, Xavier managed to dig Peyton's keys from her purse and unlock the door, while Joseph did the same with Kate's. Peyton halted over the threshold. "How did these get here?" Her he
Footsteps sounded behind him, and he turned. Joseph studied the photo over Xavier's shoulder. "You don't smile like that very often."He grunted and replaced the picture. "That's why I hired her. She finds the human factor the world can't see."Moving to the sofa, Joseph sat and stretched his legs. "She asked me today if, after working so closely with you, I ever found myself attracted to you."Xavier laughed and took a seat on the other end of the couch. "And you told her no. I'm not exactly anyone's type." Take rich and good-looking out of the equation, he wouldn't have a leg to stand on. None of his relationships worked out for that reason. It had taken him a year to let Joseph scratch under the surface to see the real him as a friend. Women were more complicated."No, I said you weren't my type." Joseph's brows arched. "I'm more interested in why she asked. Perhaps she's been battling some attraction herself?"Dipping his chin, he narrowed his eyes. "Derail that thought tra
Peyton typed notes on her device as the magazine rep chattered through her phone earpiece. She'd put in several calls to GQ early in her time at the company, but they'd blown her off. Apparently, a couple years and building Xavier's image had done wonders. Not only were they interested, but the promotion they were proposing could kick-start a whole new rash of donations for his charity.She bit her lip. "When were you looking to do an interview?"Daniel made a whining sound like he was thinking too hard. He had a loud voice, and though she'd never met him face-to-face, he had aw-shucks written all over him. "The sooner the better. I was looking to have this done for next month's issue. Initially, we were seeking January, but with the big veterans benefit weekend coming up in October, I shifted things around. How's next week?""Let me check." She paged through Xavier's appointment itinerary. "Tuesday looks good. How much time do you want and are you in need of photos?""We'd do our
Her earpiece beeped twice, meaning an outside call not routed through reception. "Damn, I'm popular today." She tapped the headset. "Peyton Smoke.""Hi, Miss Smoke. It's Carson from downstairs. I've got something on that email you queried about. Should I come up to you?"She snapped her fingers to get Xavier's attention and stop him from leaving. "No, Mr. Gaines and I will meet you in your office. We'll be down in a few minutes." Disconnecting, she looked at him. "That was IT. They have info about the email." She chewed her lip. "He called me direct instead of through the front desk. The staff never do that."Mouth firm, he pulled his cell from his breast pocket and summoned Joseph to meet them downstairs. "Let's go."Her stomach was a tangled jumble of nerves in the elevator. She'd thought the email was just another line in nonsense, but her gut said something else now. Awareness crept up her neck, making her hair stand on end.Xavier set a reassuring hand low on her back to guid
Hands on his hips, Xavier rode the elevator to his floor with two officers, two security guards, Joseph, and Peyton in tow. What a clusterfuck. It was bad enough to learn she'd gotten a threatening email from within his company, but to learn that threat had come from his own secretary of four years was pure, unadulterated shit. No signs. No signals. Nothing to indicate the woman was a lunatic.He thought of all the times Peyton and Fern had been alone in the office, all the opportunities she'd had to hurt Peyton. Nauseous, he closed his eyes for a beat.Concern clenched his gut. The police would, no doubt, not be able to hold Fern on much. She had no criminal record and the email could be passed off as a joke. Which meant, if she really wanted to, Fern could have the freedom to go after Peyton. The fact she hadn't done anything so far but send an email was of little solace.The elevator stopped and the doors swished open. At seeing the entourage, Fern rose to her feet from behind her
She growled, which might've been more effective if she hadn't paled right afterward. "Off-the-clock babysitting isn't job-related. You can't pull the boss card.""I can and just did." Twice in a week, in fact. Exactly as many times as he'd used it over her two-year employment."Why is it necessary to" "Because you scared me to death!" Hell. He closed his eyes and drew a much-needed lungful of air. An email threatening to kill her.Stapler. Thrown. At. Her. Head. Blood."The incident happened in my building, doled out by one of my staff." He shook his head and looked at her. He'd obviously dropped another bomb by yelling at her because her pretty red mouth hung agape and those gorgeous blue eyes were huge. "I hired her. I hired you. This is my fault. I should've seen the signs and protected you better." He scrubbed a hand down his face. "I think you know you're more to me than just an employee, Peyton. You and Joseph"Unable to continue, he dropped his arms in defeat. "I was scared f