INTRUSIVE

CHAPTER 5

If Rylan noticed she was a nervous wreck the next day, he didn't say anything. In fact, he actively avoided her after poking his head in first thing in the morning. Ember was thankful.

She'd had one meeting today, but the client had left a message on her machine telling her he would have to reschedule. The relief she had felt was immeasurable.

Outside, rain fell against the windows and thunder boomed, matching her mood perfectly. She'd always been a fan of storms, but even this one couldn't pull her out of the funk she was in. She had turned her chair around to watch the storm, feet braced against the window. Lightning flashed across her face.

After Rylan had peaked in earlier in the morning, she'd went to the door and locked it. Then she'd drawn her blinds down. She didn't want to be disturbed.

And it wasn't because she was wracking her brain with a way to get out of this mess. She had just given up. The $10,000 she'd given Michael wasn't life or death for her, but it was a large chunk of her escape fund. If she kept giving him money like that, she'd never be able to afford to flee.

Plus, she was digging herself into a deeper hole. It was nearly noon. He hadn't emailed her yet. Every time her laptop beeped with a new email, she felt herself jump and cringe. But it was never Michael.

Is that enough? Will he finally back off? She didn't think so. If she'd been willing to give over that kind of money immediately, he had to know she had more stashed. He would be back, and she figured he would be back sooner, rather than later.

She only saw a couple of different ways out of this, now, and none of them were good. She could beat him to the punch – turn them both in and hope her career survived the hit. Or, let him bleed her dry. She could flee, but she had a sinking feeling that he would find her.

Or she could do something much more... drastic. But she didn't want to think about that, now. She'd given up.

So, she sat, lost in her thoughts.

She screamed when she heard the door open behind her. She spun her chair around, thrown off from leaning backwards in it, just a bit too fast – and fell onto the carpeted floor.

She got up, looking at Rylan. He looked bewildered as he watched her climb back into her chair. She could feel her face blazing crimson. For a few brief seconds, at least, her mind was off of Michael. Instead, it was focused on how much of an idiot she had just made of herself.

"Don't you knock?" she asked, trying to gain control of the situation.

"Just checking to see if you were still here," Rylan stated. Ember glanced at the clock: it was 6 in the evening. Where had the time gone?

"You still could have knocked."

Rylan shrugged. "Something on your mind?"

She shook her head, a little more firmly than she meant to.

"Just had a bad day," she said, trying to cover her tracks. Obviously, there was something wrong, but she couldn't tell him the truth. Hopefully, he believed it.

"Let's do dinner," he said. It wasn't a request, exactly. Rylan's confidence was grating: it was like he just expected her to agree to it. But it does sound great.

"I can't," she lied. Why does he want me to go to dinner with him, anyway? But she couldn't: she hated to think what would happen if Michael emailed her and she didn't respond right away. Or if he saw her out with another man.

He raised an eyebrow to her, so she continued, "Already have plans tonight."

He smiled a warm smile. "I insist."