Page 30 of Worth Every Penny

Nothing.

I wipe my hands on my shorts and try again.

Nothing.

I shoulder the door. Kick it with my foot. Then try the lock again.

Nothing. No matter what I do, there’s no give in the mechanism whatsoever.

Fuck. I’ll have to call someone. Maybe Jack is downstairs having drinks.

Oh, balls. I’ve left my phone on the side of the sink.

I try the lock again, but it doesn’t budge. My body heats with panic that I’ll be stuck here all night. Elly will kill me for missing our night out.

My heart drops to my stomach. If I can’t get out of here, it won’t be one night. It’s Friday and the office will be empty until Monday morning. No one will be around to rescue me until next week.

Could I die of starvation before then? I don’t think so, but I could definitely die of boredom, if panic doesn’t get me first.

Then I remember the cleaners outside.

If I shout loud enough, maybe they’ll hear me.

I take a deep breath and batter the door with my fists. “Hello?” I yell. “Is anyone there?”

Nothing but the silence of the empty bathroom greets me.

11

NICO

Ihaven’t set foot on the sixth floor for the best part of a month, and yet almost every second of every day, in the background of my mind like the distant drone of traffic, I’ve been aware that if I wanted to find Kate, that’s where she’d be.

I’ve resisted the siren call of her presence with admirable fortitude. But now, as I lean back in my chair on Friday evening and gaze out my office window, I succumb to the truth: I can’t get her out of my head. I’m wasting too much of my time wondering what’s underneath her prim and proper office attire, or what her skin feels like beneath those silk shirts, or how firm her thighs are and what they’d feel like around my neck.

Fucking pointless too, because I’m never going to find out.

I push aside the contract I’ve been trying to read and draft a quick email to my PA to set up welcome drinks for the Lansen team. I can’t avoid Kate forever, and it’s verging on unacceptable that we haven’t formally welcomed them. I’m busy, sure, but it’s no excuse.

A wave of irritation blasts through me as I hit send. Avoiding floors in my own building because there’s one woman downthere who turns me on but shouldn’t is beyond ridiculous. I can control my fucking sex drive.

I’ll go down to the sixth floor and talk to her right now and invite her in person to the welcome drinks.

Five minutes later, I walk out of the lift onto the sixth floor, and the silence hits me. No chatter, except for the hum of electricity whirring through a hundred computers.Shit. Everyone’s gone. I didn’t realise how late it was.

A shout distracts me. Or was it a scream? I hold my breath and listen.

It comes again. Muffled, but definitely a shout, coming from the bathroom. My mind immediately goes to Kate, a burst of pressure in my chest urging me to run. I dodge through the desks and slam my way into the bathroom.

It’s empty, aside from a handbag I recognise as Kate’s lying on the side of the sink. Makeup is strewn around, and a crumpled black dress lies on the floor next to a pair of silver shoes. What in God’s name is she wearing if her clothes are out here?

“Hello?”

The voice is definitely Kate’s. Tension seeps from my muscles. She’s all right. At least, she sounds it.

“Is somebody there?” she demands.

A pounding starts. Fists on the door of the end cubicle. Then the banging stops. “This is just fucking typical.”