SASSY IN STILETTOS ARe version (19 page)

Caleb cursed and dragged on sweats. He wanted to
get down there when the police did.

Keeping an eye on the monitors, he prayed that the
moron hung around long enough to get pinched. But no luck. The dark figure
checked the clock then ran out of Micha’s office. Damn.

He had to take a closer look at the employees. They’d
all passed initial screenings, but only employees had access cards into the
office and building.

Caleb pulled up the late evening footage from the
whole building. One by one he watched as each of the businesses closed up shop.
There were two investment companies that had employees stay later, but even
they cleared out by eight. That left the software company and the design
company. But by ten they closed up shop too. Shit.
Who the
fuck are you asshole?

What the hell was he going to tell Micha? She was
counting on him, and he had absolutely fuck to show for it. He was doing a piss
poor job of protecting her. Someone had videoed images of them fucking their
brains out, for the love of Christ. The apartment next to his was still vacant.
None of the neighbors had seen anyone going in or out of it. And, of course,
building management only had cameras in the lobby. If that didn’t say get
better security, he didn’t know what did. But he’d made her a promise. He’d
said he’d find the asshole responsible, and he would. Like hell he’d let someone
take the normally vibrant Micha and let the lights dim in her eyes. He wouldn’t
have her living in fear.

“What the hell is going on?”

Micha looked up from her temporary work station to
find Jaya lurking in her doorway. “Let me guess, Caleb called you?”

Jaya frowned. “Don’t be ridiculous. He called
Alec, who told me to get Ricca and come down here.”

Micha raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms. “So
where is Little Miss Half Pint?”

“After talking to her, I figured a direct approach
was in order. You don’t need sugar coating; you need someone to kick it to you
straight.”

“You’re going to muscle
me
into doing what you want?”

Jaya stood firm, her hands in her ivory slacks. She
pursed her lips and raised an eyebrow, a determined glint in her eye. Micha
prepared for battle.

“I shouldn’t have to, My. You should be perfectly
reasonable about this. You need to move in with me and Alec until this is all
over.”

“You and Alec?”

“Yes, either at the house or at the hotel. There’s
twenty-four hour security, and you can work from there, and you don’t need to
be putting yourself in danger.”

“At the hotel?” Micha could hardly believe her
ears. Jaya was out of her God dammed mind if she thought Micha was actually
going to do as told.

But her friend pressed on. “Micha, it’s not safe. Your
car, your house, your office, the flowers, the rat. Jesus, the video of you in
your apartment. This person isn’t fucking around.”

Micha froze. “What did he tell you about the
video?” He’d told Jaya about that psychopath capturing their sheet scorching
session?

“Just that this lunatic had got some video of you
in your condo. This is real shit, My!”

Micha needed to impress on Caleb that
she
was his client.
But you’re not. Adele
Westhorpe is his client.
Fuck. Regardless, he shouldn’t have told Jaya. She’d
only spin herself out making plans for Micha’s life, trying to “organize her”
into compliance.

“You done yet?”

Jaya sniffed. “No, I am not done. And don’t you
dare give me the ‘I’m going to beat your ass until you get out of my office’
look. This is about love and family, and you’re mine. So the sooner you stop
fighting this, the sooner I go away and leave you to pack your shit and come
with me.”

Micha chuckled. “Man, have you always been this
bossy?”

Jaya blew a stray strand of hair out of her eyes.
“This isn’t bossy. This is being assertive and taking control of someone who’s
too dumb to know any better.”

Micha raised an eyebrow. “Now, I’m dumb? Keep
digging yourself a grave you can’t dig yourself out of. You should probably call
your man and say your goodbyes, because when I’m done with you, they’re going
to be finding pieces of you all over the Mojave.”

“You don’t scare me, Bennett. Now get your shit
and let’s go.”

Micha roared with laughter, and Jaya glowered at
her. Jaya’s extra-stern face only made Micha laugh louder. “Good thing you didn’t
send Ricca, because I would have chewed up little miss, and she would have left
here crying.”

Jaya planted her hands on Micha’s temporary desk.
“Why the fuck are you being so stubborn?”

“Because, this is my life. And I’m a fighter. And
there is no way I’m going to run from anything.”

“You realize how stupid that sounds?”

“I prefer to think of it as brave. And that’s the
second time you called me stupid.”

“Well it’s stupid when you risk your life, My. You
drove that car after someone had vandalized it; you went into your place after
someone broke in. Then you fought Caleb tooth and nail.”

“I get it, you’re worried about me. But you, and Ricca,
and Alec need to realize that I can handle this. I’m not going to scurry and
hide under a rock like most people. So I shouldn’t have driven the car. And
maybe I shouldn’t have walked into my place, but I’m not about to give up
control of who I am for anyone.”

“No one’s asking you to give up control. We’re only
asking you to be safe. Ricca and I would die if anything happened to you. What
part about that don’t you understand?”

Micha blinked away tears. When had she become the
weepy one? That was Ricca’s job. “I understand, and I love you too, but I’m not
moving in with you guys. Come on. You guys are about to be married. I’m not
going to be underfoot, and I really don’t want to see the evidence of the two
of you being in love. It’ll burn my eyes out of their sockets.”

“My—”

Micha put a hand up to stay her friend. If she let
her, Jaya would go on all day, trying different tactics, cajoling, bargaining,
offering her fiancé up for sexual favors. And as pretty as Alec was, Micha wasn’t
going to budge, so they’d both be wasting their time.

“You trust Caleb, right? You think he’s capable of
protecting me?”

“Yes, that’s why he’s here, because left up to
you, you’d still be following your same routine. I’m so glad Adele insisted on
hiring him.”

God, Jaya was stubborn as a bull dog; she never
let go of a plan. “Fine, all right. Well, I won’t be leaving his side except to
go to bed, and even then he has guys on me 24/7. If at any point I don’t feel
safe with him, I’ll take you up on the hotel offer, okay?”

Jaya’s shoulders lifted as she inhaled deeply. She
chewed her bottom lip as if weighing the options. Micha could tell she realized
she’d painted herself into a corner.

Finally, Jaya said, “I can live with that. But no
delay in telling us. If you’re not with him, then you’re with us.”

Micha hated to point out that when it came to
protection, while Alec was perfectly capable and had hotel security at his
disposal, Caleb had the upper hand. “I can live with that. Now come give me a
hug and get the hell out of here. I actually have work to do.”

Jaya cocked her head. “That’s so weird—I thought
you entertainment types followed TMZ and Bossip and called it a day.”

“Funny. I had no idea you were such a comedian.”

Micha gave into the hug as Jaya squeezed hard.  Micha
might not have any actual family, but Jaya and Ricca made excellent
substitutes.

***

Several hours after her friend had left, Micha’s
escort showed up to take her home. Her heart skipped into a trot then lurched
into gallop mode when she saw it as Caleb. She’d seen him that morning briefly,
but he’d had one of his guys drive her into work.

The automatic shallow breathing and the hot flush
that spread over her skin as his gaze met hers were reactions she couldn’t
control. Especially after last night. Hell, it wasn’t the first time she’d had
phone sex. Hell, it probably wouldn’t be the last time. But, somehow, with
Caleb everything was more visceral and potent. She’d passed out right afterward
and hadn’t budged until her alarm went off this morning.

There was something about this man. He did things
to her. Made her relax.

“You ready to go?”

“Yeah, almost.” She hit send on a final email and
saved her interview document to her Dropbox account. “Now I’m ready.”

As he led her out of the building, he was in total
work mode. He didn’t say much, kept his eyes peeled and steered her in the
direction he wanted her to go.

When they finally reached his car and she was
safely ensconced, his shoulders lowered, and he visibly relaxed. “So what do
you feel like for dinner tonight? Thai? Mexican?”

“You don’t have to work tonight?”

“Nope. I’ve have my guys covering the other
assignments.”

“God, they must be sick of me. They’ve been
watching me around the clock. That can’t be fun for them.”

“Oh, they’re not sick of you, and they get paid
time and a half for all the overtime. Plus, they all think you’re pretty hot.”

Laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside. “Oh,
do they now?”

He shrugged. “Yeah, I heard that somewhere.”

“Right.” Then her stomach grumbled, bringing her
attention back to dinner. She’d grabbed an apple after lunch, but it hadn’t
done the trick. All the stress was making her hungrier than normal. “Thai
sounds really good.”

Before she could suggest her favorite place, he
suggested the same thing. “Amarin?”

“Perfect.”

“I’ll call it in. Then we’ll go to mine. I’ll have
one of my guys pick it up for us.”

So dinner together. Did this mean another night
together? Excitement coursed through her veins. Everything about Caleb set her
libido to hum, then into full scale booty dance. There was no point in denying
that bit. It had been like that since she met him. She’d seen him at Synthesis
bar the same night that Jaya and Alec had met. He’d been giving Alec a hand,
running the place and checking security.

Everything about him fascinated her. His eyes, his
height, his body which she’d been personal with on the dance floor more than
once. Even the dusting of hair on the back of his hands fascinated her. Too bad
he’d always insisted on taking her out to dinner. And wanting to date her. Why
ruin a perfectly good man with him being one of those guys who was into dating
and meeting his soul mate or some shit?

“Penny for your thoughts?” His voice was like
smooth velvet.

She smiled.” Thinking about the first time I met
you is all.”

Caleb chuckled in response. “You mean when you
were working me on the dance floor like sex was a foregone conclusion?”

She shrugged. “I thought it was.”

“Ahh, then I had to go ruin it by asking you to
dinner.”

Micha winced. “You’re still upset I said no?”

Caleb shook his head. “Nope. I like a challenge.”

Micha barked out a laugh. “Perhaps you want to aim
for less of a challenge next time. I know I’m a pain in the ass.”

“Maybe I like pains in the ass. Who wants a woman
who’s going to say yes on the first round? Where’s the fun in that?”

“Quick question for you?”

He glanced over at her from the driver’s seat. “Yeah.”

“What was going to happen if I let you catch me?”

His look turned smoldering. And her insides
melted.

 “You remember the other night?”

Shit
. How could she
forget? “Y-yes.”

“A lot more of that in a lot more interesting
ways.”

Heat suffused Micha’s skin again, and her heart
raced. He’d had stamina for that? Wow. Her kind of guy.

“Then why the dinner stipulation?”

“Why are you so vehemently against it?”

She narrowed her gaze at hm. “I told you why. Romantic
entanglements aren’t my thing. And you know why.”

“Cause some douchebag hurt you years ago? That
hardly sounds like the Micha I know.”

She chuffed. “You barely know me, ace.” They might
be friends, but save her view from her living room, she’d never actually even
seen his place. He always came to hers, or when they were with everyone, they
met out and about. Come to think of it, she’d only ever really seen Alec come
over. And any women Caleb had allowed in.

He shook his head as he worked his jaw. He pulled
into the parking garage of the building. Pulling into his space, he turned to
stare at her. “You think I barely know you?”

“Well it’s true. We’re more friends of friends
really.”

“I know you would rather be moving than sitting
still. I know you can put away more food than a small Irish army. I know you
hate to run, but you do it anyway because you know it’s good for you and
because you made a promise to some kid you interviewed that you’d run the race
for cancer and make him proud. I know you have a violent streak.”

Micha rolled her eyes. “Oh, come on, everyone
knows that. All surface stuff.”

He held her gaze. “I know you take your
friendships seriously, and you’d rather cut off your left breast than let down
your friends. I know you’ve taken a job you don’t want, because you know it’s
good for you like medicine. I know you suck on your tongue when you sleep. I
know you have a hard outer shell that’s secretly vulnerable.”

His points hit close to home, and she couldn’t
meet his gaze, but she wasn’t going to concede yet. “You don’t know everything,
Caleb.”

“I know what you look like when you come, and it
feels like Christmas morning. I know how your body hums when I touch you and
how soft you are everywhere. And I know you sing in the shower. I know you,
Micha Bennett. And it scares the hell out of you.”

Micha blinked up at him.

Only a scant several inches separated them. She
wanted his lips on hers. For a moment she wanted the blissful oblivion he could
offer. But he didn’t budge, just looked at her with his dark green eyes daring
her to deny the truth.