temper spiked, but she kept her tone cool, ignoring his crude observation. ‘Is that how you get your kicks, lurking in dark hallways, scaring the shit out of women?’
Although it was dark, she saw him curl his lip and was satisfied that her jibe had hit its target.
‘Trust me, you have no idea how I get my kicks.’
There was something in his tone she didn’t like. Jeremy Fox was slimy, rude and had a nasty streak, but she had never found him intimidating before.
Not wanting him to see that he was creeping her out, she stuck out her chin and gave him her best haughty look. ‘No, you’re right, I don’t. And I have better things to do than hang around here and discuss your pervy inclinations.’
As she made to walk past him, he moved, so he was standing between her and the door, and a cool sliver of fear iced its way down Olivia’s back. This was Jeremy. She had worked with him for a year. She knew him, and yes he was a bit of a dick, but he wouldn’t actually hurt her. He was just fooling around and trying to spook her a little. And it was only working because of everything that had happened over the past week. Which made him an even bigger shit for not cutting her any slack.
Still, as she rationalised, a niggling little voice kept chipping away, reminding her that she didn’t actually know him that well. Yes, they worked together, but what did she know of his life outside of work? She knew that he had moved to Norfolk at the start of the year, that he lived alone, that he was good at selling houses, and that he was a sleaze. Beyond that though, she knew nothing about him at all.
‘What was it like?’
‘What?’
‘What was it like?’ Jeremy repeated, stepping back so his body was now fully blocking the door. He was taller than her, maybe by half a foot. ‘When you walked into the house and found him, that man, what was it like?’
Was he being serious?
‘What the hell do you think it was like? He died in front of me.’
‘Did you watch his skin melt off? Could you smell him burning?’
‘You’re disgusting.’ Anger overriding the fear, Olivia shoved into him, barrelling him out of the way. As her hand closed on the door knob, fingers dug into her arm, pulling her back.
‘I think you were lured there on purpose.’ Jeremy’s voice was almost a whisper against her ear. ‘I wonder why.’
‘Let go of me!’
Olivia wrenched her arm free, pushed open the door to the front office. Jeremy didn’t follow. He stood in the doorway watching her as she grabbed her coat from the rack and slipped into it, an amused look on his face. She kept a wary eye on him as she picked up her bag, crossed to the front door, part afraid he had locked it. On the other side of the glass it was raining. Commuters were rushing by, some with umbrellas, others hunkered down in coats. They were so close.
She tried the handle, relieved when it opened. Out in the street, she let out the breath she hadn’t realised she was holding, fastening the buttons of her coat with shaking fingers. The rain was coming down hard and fast now, slicking down her hair and dripping off the end of her nose. As she reached in her bag for her umbrella, Olivia glanced into the dark window of the office. She could just make out Jeremy’s silhouette in the doorway, knew he was watching her. Quickly she turned away, blending into the rush-hour crowd, eager to get back to her car.
The encounter had unnerved her. Was Jeremy playing one of his mindfuck games or had his intentions been more sinister? Regardless, he had stepped over a line and made her feel unsafe in her workplace. She had to tell Roger.
But what would her boss do?
Ultimately it was her word against Jeremy’s. There had been no witnesses and, aside from asking a couple of wholly inappropriate questions, the rest was circumstantial. Yes, Jeremy had turned the lights out. Olivia could say it was to scare her, but Jeremy would point out he was simply locking up. And okay, she had felt threatened when he blocked the door, but other than grabbing hold of her arm, he hadn’t actually done anything to her or prevented her from leaving.
Jeremy sold houses by the shedload and was an