Corrupted Chaos (Tarnished Empire)(9)
Except now.
“You do realize you shouldn’t even know his name, right?” I pointed out because Cade had a bad habit of prying into my life.
“I know everything about you,” he whispered, and my whole body shivered in a way it never had with Gerald, in a way it only did when Cade talked to me. “Including that you went above and beyond with this costume.”
“Well, you can’t knock me for trying when you don’t try for shit.” I snapped my mouth shut. I was still mad. I shouldn’t let my emotions control me or make me lash out at my superior. And he was that, even if he was never around.
To my surprise, he pulled a mask from his jacket pocket as he tsked. “So quick to assume I don’t do shit, huh?” He emphasized my foul language and then stuck it back in the pocket, obviously not ready to put it on.
“A Scream mask?” I lifted a brow, not apologizing. “You enjoy Skeet like the rest of us?”
“It’s an easy costume if you don’t want to participate but have to.”
“Of course you don’t want to participate,” I mumbled, throwing my hands up and turning to walk toward the elevators.
Cade was in charge because he was the best, but his lack of enthusiasm for being a part of the team was quite frankly disrespectful, especially when I’d wanted a team lead position since the moment I joined Stonewood Enterprises’ data security group. I’d made it my mission to live and breathe my job. It was what kept me focused, kept my mind from straying to other things, and probably what kept me healthy most days—both physically and mentally.
If I didn’t get sleep because I was working on cracking a code or helping another team member with an algorithm, all the better. Half the time, I did it because Cade never answered when a team member called or texted him.
I think most of the team had deleted his number.
“Why would I want to participate when I can do more productive things?” He sounded off behind me, like he couldn’t just let the matter be.
Would it be bad if I told him to stop following me and take the stairs up to the top of the building? It was 110 floors. And I knew the scenery would be appealing enough. The building had been designed specifically for the Stonewoods with its shape and silhouette giving the illusion of a wave rising to the sky. On the interior, a cascading waterfall surrounded the elevator, bringing the exterior architectural theme inside. With plush leather lounge chairs in the lobby, marble floors, and crystal chandeliers, it didn’t feel like we were ever walking into work. It’d probably take him the whole night to climb to the top floor, then I wouldn’t have to see him.
“Oh. I don’t know. Maybe because you have a team here that’s been working for you all year that you haven’t seen and they’re all very excited about the costume party,” I said.
“Are you?” he asked, and I saw one corner of his full lips lift. There was no way he could know I wasn’t actually excited. I put in enough effort to appear so. He waved his key fob in front of the elevator doors.
“Even though Halloween is weeks away and a children’s holiday, I dressed up, didn’t I?” I placed my hands on my hips.
As the elevator doors slid open, he walked in and replied, “You did dress for the party. Ass hanging out and all.”
Cade Armanelli.
He was truly a villain, heartless and cruel.
His words, although just a repeat of my ex’s, felt like a sucker punch to the gut coming from him. I told myself it was because of the embarrassment, because my boss had heard it. Still, I gaped and shook my head at him, my blonde pigtails waving back and forth. “Yeah, that’ll do it. I’ll wait for the next elevator or take the stairs.”
His hand shot out and gripped my elbow to yank me in before the doors closed behind us. I stumbled forward on my white heeled boots, almost falling into him. He caught me just an inch from his body.
This close, I had to really crane my neck to look up at him, his height something he’d always had over me. Those eyes of his could have been the same color as honey if he was sweet. Instead, they burned dark into me just like whiskey would have burned going down my throat.
As if he could read my mind, he dragged a finger across my collarbone, up my neck, and then to my chin. “You’re too sensitive, Harley Quinn.”
“I’m not,” I whispered, held captive by how softly he touched me, by how much it affected me. I’d always been drawn to Cade. Even though I hated him, I could never ignore the gravitational pull he had over me.
“You let a man you didn’t even care about almost bring you to tears down there. You let him see the fire in you when he didn’t deserve it.” His finger traced along my jawline as if he were contemplating something.
“The fire?” I squinted at him, trying my best to understand him but knowing my body was taking over. And maybe the same was happening to him, because this man was supposed to be the one who kept his distance, who didn’t indulge in idle conversation, and who didn’t have time for small events like this one. “Are you okay?”
His jaw ticked. “I’m annoyed that I had to come out tonight for this, and I’m even more frustrated by seeing a member of my team acting foolish. Why waste your anger on him?”
“Your team? You’re barely here. You have teams all around the United States. Focus on them. And honestly, should I be madder at him or you for repeating his words?”