Page 30 of The Master

“That’s a good idea. Who knows how long you may be stuck with me.”

I liked the sound of that.

“I have to stop in to talk to Jailene in a few minutes, so we’ll probably get to my place about the same time. If you’re there first, he can take you up. Make yourself at home. I’ll have a copy of the penthouse key for you tomorrow.”

He was going to give me a key to his penthouse. I reminded myself not to make too much of it. He wanted to keep me safe, and it made sense that it’d be easier to do that if I could come and go as needed.

“I’ll see you when we get home.”

The way he said it sent a warmth flooding through me, something that was beyond simple desire. And I couldn’t deny how right it felt. How much I wanted this to be the new normal.

Well, minus Nate’s two exes and one former employee.

Twenty-One

Nate

My pulse was racinglike I was a teenage boy on his first date, not a thirty-five-year-old man who’d been with more women than I wanted to count and had slept with this particular woman more than once. She’d been here before. There was no reason for me to be this keyed up.

Well, maybe. Iwasplanning a new experience for us, if Ashlee was up for it. I wouldn’t assume that she’d want to cope the same way I did, and as much as I wanted this with her, I refused to push her into it.

I’d rushed through my meeting with Jailene, and I had a feeling she knew exactly why that was. She didn’t warn me off, though. Maybe she thought I was smart enough to stay inside with Ashlee. Maybe she was hoping she was wrong, though what I knew of her suggested that most likely wasn’t the case. Maybe she assumed that nothing she could say would change my mind.

That one seemed to be the most likely scenario.

I unbuttoned the top two buttons of my dress shirt and then rolled up my sleeves. I’d already abandoned my tie, belt, and shoes. I wanted to be comfortable while we ate and if we stayed in. If she took me up on my offer for after-dinner entertainment, I’d be changing out of the rest of my work clothes then.

I’d gotten a text from Owen a minute ago, letting me know that he was pulling into the parking garage, which meant that he’d be bringing Ashlee up to my floor shortly. I checked the food warming, its smell already saturating the apartment, and as I closed the oven, the elevator dinged to announce the doors opening.

“Mr. Lexington?”

I turned as Owen said my name. His eyes met mine, and he nodded. Without saying anything else, he stepped back to let Ashlee inside. The elevator doors closed behind her, and we were alone. I took a step toward her and then frowned. She had a strange look on her face, almost dazed.

“Ashlee,le soleil, what’s wrong?” Two long strides took me to her side, and I put my arm around her, leading her to the couch. Sitting next to her, I fought my impatience and waited for her to be ready to speak.

After several long seconds, she opened her purse, pulled out a folded sheet of paper, and handed it to me.

“This was in my apartment when I got home.”

“What the hell? Owen said he–”

“Someone slipped it under the door,” she interrupted. “No one got into my apartment.”

“Still, he and I are going to have a word.”

“He doesn’t know,” she said. “I didn’t tell him.”

“Why not?” I tried not to sound annoyed. This wasn’t her fault. None of this was.

“Because it didn’t change anything, and it’s entirely possible that it happened while Owen was driving me to work. He can’t be in two places at once.”

I closed my eyes and took two slow breaths in and out before opening my eyes. “You’re right. I’m sorry. It just pisses me off that someone was able to do that when I’m supposed to be keeping you safe.”

A troubled expression settled on her face. “Read it.”

I opened the paper, suddenly aware that Ashlee wouldn’t have been upset if it was just a reporter wanting a story. This had to be something else. Had some reporter gotten a compromising picture of her and was trying to blackmail her? I thought we’d been careful, but we’d had a couple semi-public trysts. Whoever this asshole was, I’d have criminal charges broughtandsue their asses off.

Then I saw the inside of the letter and all the air went out of me.

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