Mr. Big Shot (Mr. Big 1)

Goddamn…

What I really wanted was to text Alexa and get her to meet me at the pub for a drink with John so we could celebrate. I wanted to go out and dance with her and then I wanted to take her home and fuck her brains out all night long. I wanted to wake her up with my mouth on her pussy, and watch her writhe in delight the way I had that first night we were together.

I wanted to imagine her putting her plans on hold and planning the trip with me and the places we would visit. I could see her standing on the cat, holding onto a mast and enjoying the wind through her hair, wearing only a tiny bikini…

Crap.

LUKE: Just finished the presentation to the investor group that wants to buy Chatter. I think it went well. John and I are going out for a drink at Mulligan's. We'll be there at five thirty. I know we said we’d end things, but I would really love to see you, have you celebrate with us.

Then I slid my cell into my jacket pocket and left the office.

Chapter 21

Alexa

* * *

I spent the day lazing around the apartment, feeling listless. I had thought I might spend time at the beach house with Luke and looked forward to pretending to be his girlfriend for a while, getting in as much sun and surf as I could before classes started later in the month.

Truthfully, I was also looking forward to spending time in Luke's bed. I was starting to get too attached to Luke. He felt too much like someone I could be with for the longer term, but he was leaving and I was staying behind.

I finally grew so restless that I had to leave the apartment, distract myself from my funk. Candy was at the library doing some research. I didn't want to be alone, so I decided to get out of the house and take a long bike ride along the Hudson.

Riding along the bike path skirting the Hudson, from our apartment close to Columbia down to Hell's Kitchen and back, would do the trick. I stopped and sat on a bench for a while, watching the joggers and pedestrians while the seagulls wheeled overhead. It was a beautiful day in Manhattan – late summer, the air was cooler than it had been in July and the sky was crystal clear.

I should have been happy. I'd passed my comps, I had two weeks off before my fall classes started and I was on track for getting my PhD in a few years.

Despite it all, I wished I'd never opened that email.

* * *

When I arrived back about an hour later, I walked up the stairs to our apartment after returning my bike to the locker in the building's basement. When I got to the top floor, the door was open and I frowned because it wasn't like Candy to leave it open. Maybe she was taking the garbage out and didn't want to take her keys. As I got closer, I saw that the lock had been broken, the wood torn, the frame partly broken off. I tiptoed inside and put down my backpack, only to find a hole punched into the plaster wall in the entrance.

It was then I got a surge of adrenaline and stopped in my tracks.

"Candy?"

I took a step closer and glanced around the apartment. Everything seemed in place, and the apartment was empty from what I could see.

"Candy? Are you here?"

I went down the hallway and saw that the main bathroom door was closed.

"Candy? Are you in there?" I put my hand on the knob and tried to open it, but it was locked.

Her voice came from inside. "Is that you?"

It was Candy, her voice sounding terrified.

"Yes," I replied. "What happened? Why is there a hole in the wall?"

The door opened and she came out, peering around the door like she was afraid.

"He was here," she said and went to the front entrance, glancing out. "The police should be here any moment."

"What? What happened?"

She took hold of me. "Blaine."