Chapter 25

"I shouldn't be here," Tapiwa muttered under her breath.

"Excuse me. Did you say something?" The woman behind the reception desk asked, looking up at Tapiwa expectantly.

Tapiwa gasped and took a step back. Damn it. Realizing her mistake, she immediately straightened and tried to compose herself. Her heart was racing and sweat trickled down her temple and spine despite the cool air being pumped through the large space.

Calm down, she reminded herself and hoped her body listened. Standing in the executive reception of Paterson Real Estate Development Company, she couldn't afford to look crazy. That was the fastest way to get thrown out of the building. She didn't want that.

Tapiwa drew a quiet breath and then cleared her throat. Mustering the courage that had brought her this far, she stepped back in front of the long reception desk and tried not to feel too self-conscious.

But it was hard not to feel like a fly that had just landed in a bowl of soup. From the moment Tapiwa had stepped through the glass doors, she had known she was out of place. Even in her most presentable gray skirt and baby-blue blouse, she was sure she stood out in the worst way possible.

The place screamed money. From the spotless white floors and walls to the letters PREDC mounted on a beautifully carved dark wood wall behind the receptionist. Very little color existed in the wide open space. The reception desk was the same dark wood as the wall behind it. A single glass vase sat on top of the desk filled with long-stemmed white flowers Tapiwa had no idea of their name.

In short, everything was beautiful in a freakishly clean way. It made her want to tuck her hands in her pockets and not touch anything in case she accidentally dirtied it. Even the woman behind the desk seemed fully intent on keeping with the theme of the decor.

She was a dark-skinned middle-aged woman who was impeccably dressed in a white blouse and black pants. Her hair was pulled back in what Tapiwa thought must have been a very painful ponytail from how tight it looked. But more than her physical appearance, it was the woman's demeanor that made Tapiwa think she was just as clinical as the furnishings.

Hence it took Tapiwa three tries before she managed to voice herself. "Uhm I was hoping to see Mr. Jadon Paterson."

A well-manicured brow arched before the woman dropped her gaze to the monitor in front of her. "Do you have an appointment with Mr. Paterson?" she asked as her fingers tapped on the keyboard at an impressive speed.

Tapiwa had no doubt the woman knew she didn't and could already see how this was going to play out. Thankfully, she had come prepared. "No, but I have his number. I could call him and tell him I am here. But I didn't want to risk disturbing him if he is in an important meeting."

For a second, Tapiwa almost genuinely grinned at the shocked look in the receptionist's eyes. She kept her cool, blank expression instead. She hadn't asked for an extra hour for her lunch break and made her way across town just to be bitchy to a woman doing her job. She just wanted to see Jadon and the sooner she did that, the better.

It turned out her words did the trick. Getting her name, the receptionist called upstairs and spoke to Mr. Paterson's secretary who in turn confirmed with her boss. In no time, Tapiwa was directed to the elevator and instructed to get off on the tenth floor.

The ride up felt like the walk to her doom. Tapiwa rubbed her arms vigorously, trying to get rid of the feeling of ants walking all over her body. Nervous didn't begin to describe how she felt. But after the incident at the pool, she knew she had to see Jadon.

Tapiwa hadn't told Nicole what happened when her friend had returned with drinks a few minutes after the man disappeared. It was hard to do that since she hadn't told Nicole about Jadon's blackmailer.

That, of course, had been her opportunity to tell her friend everything but she hadn't. At the time, Tapiwa had thought she was just in too much shock and didn't want to scare her friend. She hadn't even wanted to get back into the water. Hell, she wasn't sure she would ever swim in that pool again after what happened.

But after she'd gotten home, Tapiwa realized she hadn't told Nicole because she didn't want anyone else to know about her and Jadon. If she told Nicole about the blackmailer and the man who almost drowned her then her friend would insist they went to the police. That was a surefire way for the whole story to get out and reach her parents. She couldn't let that happen. So, only one other person needed to know what had happened. Jadon. And she couldn't do it over the phone.

Tapiwa wasn't sure what she had expected when she got to the tenth floor. Probably more white walls and a robotic secretary behind a large desk. She found those, but they barely registered because she also found Jadon standing right outside the elevator, waiting for her.

Without saying a word, Jadon stepped forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of the elevator when she looked as though she had been frozen in place. Then, with a severe frown creasing his brows, he marched her across another large open space with a secretary's desk and several hallways leading off to several offices. Jadon didn't release her until they went through a large door and they were in what she assumed was his office.

As soon as the door was closed, Jadon dropped her arm as though she had burned him. Still acting like a man determined to get away from her, he stepped around her and walked over to his large desk. However, instead of going around it and sitting down in his chair as she expected, Jadon turned, folded his arms, and leaned against the desk.

For several seconds, neither Jadon nor Tapiwa said a word. They just stared at each other. Tapiwa was vaguely aware of the opulence of the office and the heavy scent of Jadon's cologne in the cool air. It occurred to her that the man must have spent a lot of time in his office.

Part of her wanted to explore and perhaps learn something about him. But she couldn't rip her eyes away from him. Damn, but the man was good-looking even when he scowled, she mused.