want to talk about it,” I said. As far as I was concerned, nothing more needed to be said, though he made me sound like a real slut and I wasn’t too crazy about that.
But he didn’t go away. Instead, he rounded the counter until he stood right next to my chair, facing me, and leaned back against my desk. “Are you trying to get back at me for not sleeping with you?”
My fingers froze over the keyboard. I looked up at him in shock. “Did you just ask me that?”
Parker’s gaze was unrelenting. “It’s a valid question. I turned you down; you know Ryker and I don’t get along. It’s the perfect revenge.”
I gritted my teeth, ignoring how his words hit a little too close to home. But he was also wrong. “I wouldn’t have slept with Ryker if I didn’t feel something for him,” I bit out. “Not everything in my life revolves around you.”
Something flashed across Parker’s face—a wince maybe—and was gone.
“Fair enough,” he said evenly.
“Can we just get back to normal?” I asked. “Last week was…an aberration. You told me you don’t want to train a new assistant, and I don’t want to lose my job, so we’re in agreement, right?”
He reached out and tucked a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “Right.”
Okay, that was new. The barest touch of his fingers against my skin had sent a shiver through me. I wanted to say something—tell him to stop doing that—but I couldn’t make myself. He’d said no to anything more, so if the occasional innocuous touch was all I would get, I’d take it.
I took a deep breath, suddenly having an idea of how to go along with him tonight. “You told me you wanted to be friends,” I said, remembering what he’d said in his apartment Thursday night. “So I have a favor to ask.”
“Name it.”
“I’d like to come with you tonight,” I said, “to the meeting. I’d like to be the one to tell Tania about Niki and Hanna. She deserves to know.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said flatly, pushing himself to his feet and rounding the counter.
I jumped to my feet and followed him. “Please,” I said, catching hold of his sleeve. He stopped, turning to look at me. “You weren’t there. Hanna was just feet from me. I did nothing and they—” My throat closed up and I couldn’t continue. I stared up at Parker, blurred by the tears in my eyes, and prayed he’d understand.
“Shh, don’t cry,” Parker said, wrapping his arms around me. “You shouldn’t have had to see that. Shouldn’t have been anywhere near something like that.”
I tried not to be disappointed when he pulled away, his hands moving to clasp my arms.
“Fine, you can come,” he said, “but try to stay under the radar. If Viktor is trying to target you, I’d rather he went for me instead.”
“I’ll stay out of the way, I swear.” I held my breath and gazed hopefully up at him.
He heaved a sigh of resignation. “I hope I don’t regret this,” he muttered under his breath.
Yeah, me too.
Chapter Sixteen
I texted Ryker while standing in front of the mirror in the ladies’ room and got a reply back almost immediately saying he was on his way to the office with the bugs and I should meet him around the corner. Twenty minutes later, I was pushing a little plastic bag inside my purse while Ryker gave me instructions.
“Remember, they need to be somewhere open, but hidden, which is why underneath a table works so well. They’ll stick to any surface, so no worries there. And above all”—he placed his hands on my waist and drew me toward him until our bodies touched—“don’t do it if you are in any danger of getting caught. These men are dangerous.”
I nodded. “Okay. I won’t.”
He kissed me, then said, “Call me when you get home, okay? I’ll be waiting.”
That made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It had been a long time since a gorgeous, sex-on-two-legs man told me he’d be waiting for my phone call. I could totally get used to that.
I hurried back inside, mindful that Parker had said he wanted to head over around seven and it was pushing that now. My stomach gave a horrendous growl. All I’d consumed today was coffee, which seemed a pretty bad idea, but I just hadn’t had a chance to stop and eat.
Parker was waiting for me and glanced up from where he