Roxanne's Redemption (9 page)

On their way from the
c
inema, Nick had
seen
a
car
like her
s
;
however
he wasn’t sure if it was her
since
the
person was dressed in all black.
In addition
the
driver’s
head was covered
,
but Sebastian would
ha
ve given his right arm
just to prove it was
her
.
W
hen Nick t
o
l
d
him
,
he
’d
looked
but
the person
had just
started
looking
in another direction
.

He’
d
know if it was her
tomorrow, but for
now
Roxanne’s
safety
was
the most important thing on his mind.
What
if
Ashley
ha
d
a homici
dal streak she
’d
kept
hidden?

Chapter
Nine

R
oxanne’s
eyes flew open when the alarm
went off
;
she groaned and cursed under her breath.
The
alarm had
interrupted
the nice
—
well nice was
too
tame for it
—
dream she was having
about
Sebastian. You’d think that she’d
have
gotten use
d
to the alarm
going off
so early every morning, but
—damn it—
that was a priceless and possibly once in a lifetime dream
. T
wo more stroke
s
and she would
ha
ve orgasm
ed
. She sighed, climbed out of the bed
and
stretched
.

As soon as she was finish
ed
with her morning routine, Roxanne left for work earlier than usual, so she could pick up a cup of coffee on the way there.
A few minutes later, Roxanne held her breath as the elevator doors closed. As much as she liked the company in the morning while riding the elevator, this morning was one of those days when she just wasn’t in the mood and she didn't care if it was the good one. She exhaled in relief when the elevator doors opened on her floor.

Stepping through the doors, she hurried to her office praying that she didn't run into Ashley
.
S
he
stop
ped
only
to
respond to
morning
greetings
from
her colleagues. As soon as she reached her office,
she
clos
ed
the door quickly
when she entered
.
After putting her handbag
in the desk drawer, she sipped her coffee while waiting for the computer to come on.

* * * *

As
Sebastian stepped into the elevator
,
he wished the doors would open and Roxanne would step through. Instead it was Ashley
.
A
huge part of him wanted to step
back
out into the lobby
and wait until
the elevator
return
ed
empty
.
H
e didn't and now her bitterness toward Roxanne was grating on his nerves.

“Did you hear what I just said, Sebastian?”

He sighed and decided against telling her to shut the fuck up. “No.”

She muttered something, but he didn't care enough to ask what was wrong.

“I said
,
what are you doing tonight?”

“Roxanne and I are making plans for later
.
”

The moment those words
left his mouth he regretted
them
.
He
didn't know how serious Ashley was and he didn't want Roxanne in any danger, but
at the same time
he needed to know how far
Ashley would go
. Sebastian turned to look at
her;
the smile
he saw on her face would
ha
ve
made him sigh
with
relief
,
if her eyes
hadn’t
look
ed
craz
ed
for a minute before return
ing
to normal.

“What do you see in her?”
she
asked
.
B
itterness tinged every word.

He chose not
to answer because it
seemed
anything he said
w
ould
just
make things worse
and that he didn't want
.
He
was about to sha
k
e
his head
, but
the elevator doors opened
at
her floor. She stepped through the doors and his blood ran cold when he heard her mutter something about paying for stealing him away.

Nick was right. He really had to tell the police
.
A part of him
believed
Ashley
was capable of hurting so
meone,
but
the other
part believed
he was being paranoid
. The opening of the elevator doors brought him out of his thoughts and back to the present.

“It’s
worse
than I first thought,
”
Sebastian
said as he entered his office.

Nick
raised a brow
in question
.

Sebastian sighed
then
began
tell
ing
him about his conversation
with Ashley in the
elevator;
he also told him what he
over
heard her say
ing
as she exited the elevator.

“Damn!”

That’s what he first thought too.

“Did you tell Roxanne about last night?” Nick asked.

Sebastian grimaced. “
No I didn't tell her.
I d
o
n't want her getting scared.”

Sebastian
could tell that Nick didn't agree, but
Nick
nodded anyway
.
For
that
Sebastian
was
relieved,
he really didn't
want to make Roxanne scared or worried
,
but he would have
to
tell her
if things got
any
worse
.

* * * *

Hours later Roxanne pulled into her driveway then exited the car. Once she was in her bedroom, she kicked off her shoes before entering the bathroom. After filling the tub with hot water, she poured a good amount of apple
-
scented bubble bath in before climbing into it. As she laid her head on the edge of the tub, she closed her eyes as she recalled her
day
.

Around one o’clock someone had knock
ed
on her office door before entering. Briefly she’d wondered if it was Ashley, but when she saw Sebastian
,
Roxanne had sighed with relief.

What
is
it about him that makes me want to jump him every chance I get?

She squirmed in the chair under his heated gaze.

“Want to have lunch with me?”

“Sure, let me get my handbag then we can leave.”

He nodded
.
She
pulled out
one of the desk drawers
,
took out
her bag then followed him out the office. “Where are we going?” she asked.

“
A diner not far from here
,” he said.

She nodded
as they left
the building.

A few
minutes later they pulled up in the parking
lot of
a diner
.
Sebastian opened his door and stepped out. Roxanne
got out and
they walk
ed
side by side to the diner. It took them about five minutes to get an empty table and another five minutes for a waitress to
take their order.

“What are we doing tonight?” Roxanne asked as
they waited
.

He shook his head
.
“We can't do anything tonight
.
I've got paperwork I need to catch up on.”

“
Okay. That
reminds me, I'm not available
on
Fridays including tomorrow.”

He nodded
.
“What are you doing tonight?”

“I’m going to curl up with a book until bedtime.”

He smiled
.
About
ten minutes later the waitress came back with t
heir order. They ate in silence.
Sebastian paid for their meal after they finish
ed
,
he
left a tip for the waitress then they walked back to his car. Twenty minutes later they pulled up into
Ferguson Graphics
parking
lot
.
B
efore she got out of the car she thanked him fo
r lunch. He nodded
,
smiling
.

He
surprised her when he took her hand in his as they walked back toward the building. The cold water on her skin brought her back to the present
,
dragg
ing
a yelp from her.

So much for a very long hot bath,
she thought before stepping out.

Chapter
Ten

Roxanne stepped out of the tub, let
ting
the water drain out before pulling on a robe and grabbing a bottle of lotion on her way to her bedroom. After getting dressed, she placed everything back in
its
appropriate place before going downstairs to the kitchen.

As soon as
she got to the kitchen
she began
gather
ing
everything she need
ed
to make dinner
.
Dinner
took
longer than expected
;
but
she was al
l
right with that
because while that occupied her time and thoughts, she didn't have Sebastian on her mind like she did
so often
lately
.
Finally
,
after waiting for what seem
ed
like forever
,
Roxanne took the chicken from the oven
and
made a plate.

When
she finished eating
,
she washed the dishes
,
and then
put the leftover
s
in the fridge. She went back to her bedroom, got a book from her new
stash and went back downstairs.
She
was almost by the sofa when the phone rang.

“Hello,” she
answered
.

“Hey.”

She smiled.
“Hey, Lexi, how’
s everything going?”