Page 35 of The Taskmaster
Perfect, if serial killers with no idea about social cues and a need to be in full control was her thing. Perhaps it was. Not that she had a choice.
“Maybe he is,” Abigail replied, and I smiled wickedly to myself. “Maybe Mr. Right does appear from under your desk one day, looking like every dirty dream you’ve ever had.”
The dirty dream part made my ears prick up. I’d seen the effects of her bad dreams in real time. Something told me I’d enjoy the dirty dreams just as much. But how dirty were we talking?
“Amen to that.” Jess laughed. “But something tells me, with a guy like that, you’ll be the one getting down on your knees.”
“With a guy like that, I’d do it. Did you see how good looking he was? And those tattoos? Lord, help me. But no. I can’t go out with him. Not now. It’s not the right time.”
“Now is exactly the right time,” Jess argued. I was starting to like Jess more. “Abi, you need to live your life. You can’t let other stuff get in the way of that.”
I loitered outside her office, listening to them talk, tapping on my laptop to make it look like I was working to anyone who might pass by.
“Maybe. But no. Not now. Right now, I can’t date.”
At that moment, Abigail appeared in the doorway, looking startled that I was still there. Then she righted herself, stood tall like the fucking queen I knew she was and said, “I didn’t know you were still here.”
“Yep, still here.” I raised my brows and turned back to my screen, like I didn’t care that she was staring at me, and every inch of my body felt like it belonged to someone else. I was hot and bothered, my mind was racing, but I wanted to appear nonchalant. Why could I gut a man, torture and kill, and yet, a woman was making me nervous?
“About later,” she said awkwardly, biting her lip before adding, “I’ve got a lot on at the moment, so I need to take a rain check.”
I shrugged like it was nothing. “That’s fine. It was just a thought.”
A thought that I could spend time with you while you’re awake, as opposed to breaking into your apartment and watching you sleep, which I would be doing later. You could count on it.
“Maybe in a week or so we could catch up,” she added, and I had to stop myself from giving the answer that’d sprung into my head,I won’t wait a week. I’ll do what I fucking want.
“Sounds great,” I said, shutting my laptop and turning to face her. “It was nice to meet you, Abigail. I’ll see you around.”
Slowly, I turned away and walked down the corridor, and hearing her sigh behind me made my skin prickle and gave me a sliver of hope, as well as a hint of redemption. She didn’t want to say no to me, and I would be seeing her again.
But it’d be a hell of a lot sooner than she realised.
There was no doubt about that.
Chapter Twenty-Four
ABIGAIL
What was the matter with me?
The hottest guy I’d ever seen in my life had appeared from nowhere in my office and agreed to go on a date with me.
And I said no.
I turned him down.
Actually, I knew what the matter with me was, I was so focused on stalkers, work, and doing what needed to be done, I didn’t have time to add dating to the mix.
Hot, tattooed Gods would be a distraction I didn’t need, right?
I stood in my apartment, groaning at my own stupidity. I needed something to numb the day, so I walked into my kitchen and opened the door to the fridge. Inside was half a bottle of wine that Mum had given me to bring home after a family dinner. It probably tasted like vinegar after being sat in my fridge for a few weeks, but I didn’t care.
I took a glass from the cupboard and twisted the top off the bottle. Then I poured a generous glass, took a sip, wincing at the bitter taste, before I carried it into the living room and sat down.But I couldn’t rest. I didn’t know what I was doing with my life. My world seemed to be crashing down around me, and the call I’d received earlier at work had set me on edge. I had to make a plan.
I picked up my phone, opening Google maps to tap in the address I’d memorised from the email he’d sent me. Then, I checked out the aerial view and street view, to see if there was anything I needed to take note of. The app wasn’t much use. I’d have to do some recon of my own, but I didn’t mind. I wanted to get this right.
I took another huge sip of wine as I started to search the name he’d given me, but there was no social media listed that matched up. Typical. I hated when that happened. I drained my wine glass and put it on my coffee table, searching variations of the name, nicknames, and such, but I got nothing. The more I scrolled, the hazier my eyes became, and I started to feel a little woozy. I tried to blink away the feeling, but it didn’t help. I felt heavy, sleepy even.
