The Game (21 page)

“Cheyenne?” Ms. Zumeski prompted.

“I did show it to someone else. I’d rather not say who.”

Mr. Schultz jumped on that. “Please tell me it isn’t a competitor.”

I shook my head. “No. Nothing like that. Just my meddling boyfriend.” Surely I could
say that much without digging any deeper.

Mr. Schultz leaned back and laughed, shocking me. “Your boyfriend? Did you mention
you thought Christine would steal it out from under you before you had a chance to
present it?” He continued to chuckle. “He must be a computer whiz. Perhaps I should
hire him too.”

“I might have told him I was concerned about Ms. Parson.” I chewed my lower lip.

“Well, you owe him. He saved your hide today.”

I wasn’t convinced Riley had saved anything. What I knew for a fact was he’d just
started World War III. I had little doubt Christine would have already keyed my car
and dumped tar over my computer on her way out if no one was watching. I wouldn’t
be able to go anywhere or do anything without looking over my shoulder.

“Anyway,” Mr. Schultz was still smiling and shaking his head, “I got a call this morning
requesting a bid from the largest customer we’ve ever had. I’d like you to take a
stab at it. If you can replicate the kind of work you did on the cell phone piece,
we just might win the bid.”

I froze. I knew exactly what company he was about to name, and I was fuming. I’d been
freaked out for the last five minutes, pissed as hell at Riley. Now I was so far past
angry, I’d moved into murderous. I opened my mouth, and with a shakier voice than
before, uttered, “Mr. Schultz, I’m really not qualified for a project of that magnitude.
You should give it to Stacy. She’s been here much longer than me, and she has brilliant
ideas.”

“I haven’t even told you what it is yet.” He frowned, sobering in confusion as the
other two board members gathered their papers and stared at me wide-eyed also.

“Nevertheless…” I turned and fled the room, nearly racing to get out of there. I had
made a total fool of myself, but there was no way in hell I was going to stand there
and grin and promise to present a marketing campaign to Alexander Technologies. Every
inch of my skin crawled with the desire to run from the building, hell Atlanta even,
and gasp for oxygen. I couldn’t breathe.

Chapter Twenty-Two

When I got back to my desk, Stacy took one look at me and jumped to her feet. “What
happened?”

I shook my head and grabbed my purse from the bottom drawer. “Nothing. No big deal.
I just don’t feel well. I’m going to take the rest of the day off.” Before she could
comment, I fled my cubicle and scurried toward the elevator, happy when it arrived
seconds after I pressed the button.

By the time I got to my car, I had been holding my breath and my emotions for so long
I was a mess. And I kept a narrow hold on them to start the car and pull out of the
garage too. In fact, I made it all the way home before I fell completely apart.

The crazy thing was my job had very little to do with my anxiety. I was steaming angry
with Riley. So much so, I didn’t think I could speak to him even to yell at him. I
tossed my purse on my couch and yanked off my jacket as I stepped through my apartment.
When I got to my room, I kicked off my shoes and went to work on the buttons on my
blouse. My fingers shook so badly I had to work hard to get each disk through its
hole.

By the time I was able to jerk my arms free, I was so frustrated, I nearly ripped
the material. Next went my skirt. And then I opened a drawer and grabbed my favorite
jogging clothes. I tugged my spandex pants on, donned a sports bra, and slipped into
a T-shirt. In minutes, I had my running shoes on and I was back out the door, leaving
my phone inside my purse on the couch.

The air outside was chilly. I relished it.

Tears ran down my face, but I brushed them away and ran toward the park by my apartment
building. The park was filled with moms and toddlers. I was glad I didn’t have to
greet many people pleasantly on the path. I was in my own world.

My confused, angry, torn-up world.

I ran harder than usual, covering more ground.

My mind raced. Somehow my entire life had turned upside down in just weeks. I’d been
a regular working woman making my way like every other post-graduate in their mid-twenties.
I had a job I loved, and…

Well, I had a job I loved.

Now? Now I had a Dom. A man who thought he knew what was best for me. A man who had
a history that included a bitch of an ex who had decided to ruin my life and stomp
on the pieces.

And I had no doubt she would succeed. This wasn’t over. The fact that Riley had interfered
and saved my job only meant that crazy woman was right this minute out planning my
complete demise. To think otherwise was ludicrous.

Nope. I had nothing to say to Riley. He could go fuck himself. I wasn’t about to speak
to him about this issue or any other. I was done with Riley. He’d gone too far. And
damn him for not even
telling
me he’d sent my presentation to my boss. That had been four days ago. He’d had all
the opportunity in the world to fill me in. I would have looked much less idiotic
if I’d known.

I ran faster. I was gasping for oxygen, but I didn’t care. I just wanted to wear myself
out and then find someplace to wallow in self-pity.

When I finally stopped running, I bent at the waist and heaved air into my lungs.
My muscles ached. I was depleted. It took several minutes before I righted myself
and walked slowly back to my apartment. The burn was delicious. But the pain hadn’t
subsided.

Back at home, I shrugged out of my clothes for the second time, dropped them in the
hamper, and stepped into the shower. I didn’t care that the water was cold because
I hadn’t given it time to heat up first. I only cared that it stung where it hit my
skin, punishing me for my stupidity.

Why had I ever agreed to go out with that controlling man in the first place?
Because he steamrolled you, that’s why
. He hadn’t taken no for an answer. He’d insisted. His persistence had made me cave.
The way he’d looked at me…as if I was the only person in a room…

No way. Surely I imagined all that because he was so damn attractive and smelled so
fantastic.

I’d been fine. Six months without him had nearly wiped him from my memory.

Sure. Right. And I never masturbated to his image at night. Nope. Never. I had been
going along with no recollection of meeting him that night at Amy’s engagement party.
Just keep telling yourself that
.

Stupid.

I squirted shampoo into my hand—enough for six people—and scrubbed my head as though
I had lice. My scalp was going to hurt later. Maybe I could wash Riley out of my system.

I grabbed the bar of soap next and rubbed my body until it turned pink. The water
had gotten too hot. As I worked furiously, tears leaked from my eyes and ran down
my face.

By the time I was finished, I was so exhausted I couldn’t hold myself up any longer.
I leaned against the cold tile wall and slid down until I sat on the floor of the
shower, letting the tears fall.

I sobbed. Loudly. Loud enough that someone would have heard me if the shower hadn’t
muffled my mini-breakdown.

I set my forehead against my knees and cried for so long the water got cold. I didn’t
care.

Finally, I lifted my head when I had no more tears left and leaned it against the
wall behind me. I needed a plan. I needed to think.

I needed to get the hell out of my apartment and go stay somewhere else tonight. For
a few days actually. At least until I could figure out what to do next. I didn’t trust
Riley not to come banging on my door at any time. And I sure didn’t trust Christine
not to come with a gun or worse.

The woman was whacked. It would be easier if she just killed me and put me out of
my misery than stalk me and make my life a living hell for the next ten years.

Damn my interfering boyfriend.

I struggled to my feet on shaky legs, flipped off the water, and stepped out of the
shower. I shook from nerves, cold, and fear.

Even wrapping myself in my giant fluffy towel did not take away the chill.

I wanted to crawl into my bed, pull the covers over my head, and sleep. But that was
too risky. I needed to get gone.

With renewed urgency, I dried quickly, scampered back to my bedroom, and started opening
drawers.

In my favorite comfy jeans and T-shirt, I grabbed a bag and stuffed panties, bras,
shirts, and more jeans inside. I hustled back to the bathroom and grabbed my toothbrush
and a few other toiletries.

Minutes later, hair wet, uncombed, and hanging loose down my back, I shrugged into
my tennis shoes and left the apartment. I held my breath until I was in my car, silently
berating myself for ever coming to the apartment in the first place. It was a risk.

I was driving out of the underground parking lot before I heard my phone ringing in
my purse. Who knew how many calls I’d missed? I didn’t care. I didn’t look either.
I just drove.

On auto-pilot, with no particular intentions, I drove until I realized I was heading
for my parents’ house in the suburbs. I relaxed my shoulders and eased my grip on
the steering wheel. My mom would make me some soup. My dad would smile and nod. I
could sleep in my old room.

Perfect. Just what I needed.

Home.

Chapter Twenty-Three

I slept hard. I slept for twelve hours. I slept without ever checking my phone. I
was supposed to meet Riley Monday night. I not only couldn’t face him, but I also
didn’t want to be tempted. So, I ignored all calls. In fact, I didn’t even bother
to turn the ringer off. Instead I tucked my entire purse in the back corner of my
closet and buried it under the quilts my mother had stacked inside.

Childish.

When I woke, it was six o’clock in the morning. Early, but I’d gone to sleep just
after six the night before. For the second time.

I’d arrived at my parents’ house at lunch time. And my mother had taken one look at
my face and wrapped me in her arms. “Sweetie. Come in. Sit down. I’ll make you some
soup.”

I smiled now at how kind she’d been as I snuggled deeper into my childhood bed and
curled onto my side.

“A man?” she asked.

I couldn’t deny a man was involved, so I nodded and let my tears fall again. It was
a wonder I had any left.

“Sweetie… I’m so sorry. You want to talk about it?”

“No.” I did not. I most assuredly did not want to tell my mother that my new boyfriend
was into BDSM and I’d consented to let him order me around, which apparently extended
to interfering with my job. And I sure as hell didn’t want to explain the crazy woman
who was even that moment plotting to take me down.

So I declined the offer to discuss, rejected the soup, and excused myself to go to
my room—just as I had on several occasions in high school.

I had napped briefly and then paced my room for hours.

My mom knocked softly at five, and I came out and joined her for a silent early dinner
of homemade soup and hot bread. It tasted fantastic, and I was starving by then.

When my dad got home, he greeted me with a kiss to the forehead and didn’t say a word.
I was sure my mother had given him the head’s up at some point during the day.

I went back to my room after my early dinner and quickly fell asleep.

Twelve hours later I should have felt refreshed.

I didn’t.

In fact, I had no more ideas, plans, or options than the day before.

I slipped from the bed in my oversized T-shirt and reluctantly opened my closet to
grab my purse from its buried hideaway.

The battery was almost dead. I would need to charge it soon. Before checking any messages,
I dialed my office manager and left her a message that I was still under the weather
and would be out again today.

And then I settled back under my covers to read my texts and listen to the litany
of messages left by first Riley and then both Amy and Meagan. He’d undoubtedly called
Cade when he couldn’t find me.

Fifteen texts. Six voice messages. Impressive.

And he truly did sound worried.

Good.

I hated that I’d upset Amy and Meagan, but it couldn’t have been helped. Neither of
them were on my mind while I was fretting the day before, and Amy would have told
Riley where I was in a heartbeat if she thought it would help.

I grabbed my cord from my purse, plugged my phone in, and then dozed for a while.
When the ringing started not more than a half hour later, I jerked awake.

Riley.

I stared at it for a moment and then opened the line but didn’t say a word.

“Cheyenne?”

I still hesitated.

“Baby. Where are you?” He sounded frantic and tired. Good. “Please, just tell me where
you are. I know you must be pissed, but—”

“
Pissed?
” I nearly shouted the word before I could stop myself. I lowered my voice before
continuing. “Do you have no scruples?”

“Baby—”

“No,” I interrupted. “Don’t baby me. And you can stop calling. I’m fine. Leave me
alone to work out what to do. You’ve turned my life inside out. I need to think.”

“Cheyenne…”

“This isn’t your call.”

“I just want to talk. Can we meet somewhere and talk?”

“No. You should have thought of that before you broke your promise to me and made
me look like a complete idiot. I was totally blindsided. That was my job, Riley. My
job
. Do you have no respect for boundaries?”

“It still is your job. Mr. Schultz is very impressed with your work. I spoke to him
yesterday, and he—”

“You
what
?” I sat up, letting the blankets fall to my waist. “Riley, stop it. Stop meddling.
Do
not
speak to my bosses. Do
not
speak to me. You do
not
own me. I’m my own person. This is over. Leave me alone. Move on. Let me pick up
the pieces and figure out where I can move to, get a new job, a new apartment, a new
life for fuck’s sake. Leave. Me. Alone.” I hung up.

He spoke to my boss?

Jesus.

The phone rang immediately.

I switched it to silent and flopped back onto the bed.

What a mess.

Was Riley so stupid he thought it was no big deal that he’d gotten in my business
and essentially bought my spot at Talent Marketing Group? How was I supposed to earn
the respect of my peers and my bosses if my boyfriend was some rich guy who strode
in and gave my boss a project for me that was way above the level of marketing he
was accustomed to?

Fuck.

And that didn’t even begin to take into consideration the fucking crazy bitch he had
been engaged to. If the woman would stoop so low as to steal my ideas and present
them as her own, I knew she would do anything in the world to sabotage my life.

I was ruined. I couldn’t go back to that job or that city. I needed to find someplace
to hide before Christine hunted me down and killed me. If she had done all this to
get Riley back, she could have him.

In fact, maybe it was in my best interest to find her and tell her just that. Let
her know she’d won. I was leaving the city and the man. Maybe, just maybe, if I threw
in the towel and gave her everything she wanted, she wouldn’t stalk and haunt me for
the rest of my life.

I could tell Mr. Schultz the entire project was hers in the first place and I’d stolen
it because I wasn’t good enough to do the same level of work. I could get her job
back that way. Then I could quit—or leave when I got fired—and move away. I would
also agree to never speak to Riley again.

She won.

I didn’t even give a fuck if she won. As long as I didn’t have to look over my shoulder.
She could have him—the controlling bastard.

I jumped from the bed and crossed the hall to get to the bathroom. With renewed energy,
I showered and got dressed. It was time to pull my shit together. I had a plan.

Granted, it was a shabby, weak one that might backfire on me, but at least it was
a plan.

When I got back to my bedroom, I called Amy. I knew she would be more worried than
Riley. And she was one of my best friends.

Meagan would sleep at least. Amy would have stayed up tossing and turning all night.
Though I was surprised neither of them thought to call my parents’ home.

“Cheyenne,” Amy nearly yelled as soon as she answered. “Where are you?”

“Come on. Where do you think I am? And don’t say it out loud. I’m sure Cade is wrapped
around you.”

She hesitated. “Okay. You’re right. I should have thought of that. Duh. I just figured
you were out late thinking. It didn’t occur to me you might have packed a bag.”

“Well I did. And I’m going to go home and pack a bigger one now.”

“Why? Honey, I’m sure you can figure this all out.”

“Are you insane? You should know better than anyone what Christine Parson is capable
of. Don’t even try to pretend that woman couldn’t stomp my lights out and buckle with
laughter while she watched me die a slow death.”

Amy sucked in a sharp breath.

“See?”

“Yeah. You’re right. But why not let Riley handle it? Cade could head down there and
help out. Hell, Parker hates that bitch too. He’d jump in also.”

“Nope. Riley made this mess. I don’t want to see what his cleanups look like.”

“He didn’t mean to. He was just trying to help.”

“Like hell. If this is the way you live under Cade’s thumb, I don’t want anything
to do with it. We had a deal. He wasn’t supposed to interfere. I was working it out
myself.”

“How? How were you handling it?”

I chewed my bottom lip. “I was thinking.”

“You didn’t have a plan. You were about to get fired, weren’t you?”

“Who would know? My damn knight in shining armor floated in and changed history.”

“Riley just wants what’s best for you.”

“Riley had his own agenda, and it didn’t include him thinking through the repercussions.”

“Maybe his reaction was knee-jerk. But, honey, he’s head over heels for you.”

“And you would know this how?” I hated asking that question the second it left my
lips. I didn’t want to hear the answer.

“He told me. I mean, he told Cade. But I could hear him shouting through the phone.”

“I’m sure he’s just pissed he didn’t have complete control of my every action. It
unnerved him that I wasn’t at his feet bowing down in submission. I’m sure he hated
not knowing where I was.”

“Cheyenne, that’s not true. Riley isn’t like that.”

“No? Then explain why he stepped into my business when I specifically asked him not
to.”

“He didn’t think your idea was a good one?” she hedged. “Honey, he knows how Christine
operates. You just met her.”

“Really? If he’s so sharp about all things Christine, why the hell did he spend ten
years with that conniving bitch and why on Earth does he think she won’t hunt me down
with her claws out now that he got her fired?”

“Well… I’m not sure about her claws on this one, but I do know she can fake nice like
you cannot believe. And she managed to fake like she was someone else completely during
their entire relationship. It wasn’t until the woman pulled out her fangs and nearly
bled me to death at their engagement party that he was able to see her true colors.
She didn’t show them.”

“Then he’s a bigger fool than I thought.”

“Cheyenne…”

“No. Amy. I’m right on this. I know I am. Please don’t tell Riley, or Cade for that
matter, where I am. I won’t stay here long anyway. And I don’t want anyone I love
in the cross fire of ugly.” I hoped she realized what I meant by that. The last thing
I wanted was a knockdown drag out with either Riley or Christine in my parents’ front
yard.

“Okay,” she drawled. “But please stay in touch and keep me up to date. I don’t like
this.”

“Thank you, Amy. I’m a smart girl. You know me. I’ll survive.”

“Yeah. Bye.”

I ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed. I had things to do. Sitting around
my parents’ home feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to make the world spin more
upright on its axis.