Breathe You In (Sweet Torment 1)

He stepped toward me, and I thought for sure he was going to slap me. My breath was shaky, but I raised my chin and faced him. He wanted me to cower, and I’d be damned if I’d ever give this man a single ounce of power over me again.

“Get. Out.” I said.

He stared at me for a moment, and I knew he was debating how to end this. Whatever he was thinking, it involved bringing me pain, that much was painted clearly on his face. Never taking his eyes off me, he backed out the door.

“This isn’t over,” he grated.

“It is for me.” I slammed the door in his face.

Chapter Twenty

It was four days until the election, and Roman was looking like the frontrunner. I also hadn’t laid eyes on him since the night he’d stayed, but he’d made an effort to keep in touch with a few calls and texts. I knew he was bogged down with all kinds of things, so when he called me while I was on my way to work, I was happy to hear his voice.

“I’m sorry I’ve been so tied up, sweetheart.”

“It’s okay, I understand,” I said, walking up the steps to my office.

I wanted to talk to him about that night. About what I had said. It wasn’t lost on me that he hadn’t said he loved me back, and I was focusing most of my mental energy on not letting that uncertainty mess with my newfound self-esteem. The self-esteem Roman had helped me find.

Soon, once we were under the same roof, the issue would be addressed. I hoped.

“I’m going to be in several meetings today, but can you come by tomorrow? We can go to lunch and celebrate.”

“Celebrate?” I asked. “What is it we’re celebrating?”

“Are you at work?” he asked.

“Yeah, just got here.”

“Then I’ll let you go. See you tomorrow.” The line went dead before I had a chance to ask any more questions. I walked in, confused and wondering what he’d been talking about…

The entire office was buzzing. People were talking and laughing loudly and somewhere, I heard what sounded like a champagne bottle pop.

I wound through the crowd toward my cubicle.

“What’s going on?” I asked Cindy, one of the interns, who sat two rows down.

“New Beginnings got the funding!” she said.

“What?” A huge smile broke over my face and I rushed to my desk, dropped my purse, and turned to find Marcy.

“Indiana!” Silas called. He was in the middle of a crowd of people in the meeting room, drinking from a Dixie cup. “Can you believe it? We got the money for the new center.”

I smiled and nodded. “It’s great.”

“Yeah,” he nodded and took a sip of his drink. “It is. I can’t wait to get going on it.”

I frowned. “You’re helping with the new center?”

“I’m heading it up. Got the Level Two position!” His nice smile turned into a wicked grin. One that spewed victory and gloating.

Suddenly, the loud voices and chaos were overwhelming. I couldn’t have heard him right. How had that kind of selection been made without an application process?

I couldn’t think of what to say. Luckily, Marcy came up behind me.

“Can I talk to you for a moment, Amy?”

I nodded and followed her to her office. She shut the door, muffling the outside noise. She sat behind her desk and rubbed her forehead. “I’m so sorry, Amy.”