My jaw clenched. “Do you want me get work done today or not?”
“He brought her back home at four a.m. and left…”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“… but he picked her up again at half eight.”
The door closed behind him. I banged my hands on the desk. Three, two, one. The paperwork flew halfway across the room.
I went around full circle, and I was once again losing it.
Losing it over a girl.
Fuck this shit!
***
Needless to say, I stayed in my office until late afternoon but did fuck all. Sometime around four o’clock, long after Nick headed home—part timer right there—James entered my office with a bothered expression.
“I’m sorry to disturb you.”
Please do.
I was hitting a brand new low if I needed James to get a five-minute break from thinking about Nadia.
“I just spoke to the security,” he continued. “It looks like we had a break-in last night.”
“A break-in?” I clipped, raking my hand through my hair. “How come I only find out about this now?! Is anything missing?”
James’s shoulders sagged. He took a step back. “Well, not a break-in per se. It was an inside job if you will. Nothing was stolen. It’s just that one of the band members, Chase, entered the building with boss’s sister at two o’clock in the morning. They spent almost two hours in studio number three, singing and drinking tequila.”
A tingling sensation, and not the good kind, started in my chest, then spread in all directions. They were here?Alone? In the middle of the fucking night? Drinking, singing and…
“I want to see the footage,” I seethed, steam coming out of my ears.
Self-destructive, much?
Spying on them wasn’t a good idea. I had a hard time thinking straight knowing they spent the night together. Seeing what they did wasn’t going to make things easier. What if he touched her? What if he kissed her? I sure as fuck wouldn’t be able to stomach that.
James approached the desk and placed a small USB stick on the keyboard of my laptop. He retreated without a word, stiff as a board, one foot after the other in a rushed step. He must have sensed my composure wearing thin. He worked here since the start and was well accustomed with my temper tantrums.
I plugged the stick into the USB port. A litany of swear words left my mouth when I realised the cameras inside the building didn’t record sound. Although come to think of it, maybe it was for the best.
They entered the building at thirteen past two am. Chase rushed Nadia through the corridors, holding her hand, their fingers interlocked.
A tingling sensation started in my spine; my palms balled into fists. Nadia’s hands were mine to hold.
Deep breaths, Thomas. Deep breaths. In and out. Better?
Fucking peachy.
I had never seen Nadia tipsy, but she definitely was last night, rushing behind Chase and stumbling over her feet more than once. My hands grew damp when Chase backed Nadia against the wall in the recording studio. It looked like they bickered about who was going to sing first, but the way he crowded her space was all too intimate. His hands rested flat on the wall on both sides of her head. He leaned forward; no more than an inch parted their faces.
No more than an inch parted theirlips.
My pulse was everywhere. A whooshing sound started in my ears. I gripped the screen of my laptop, ready to throw it across the room if he dared to kiss her. I knew he wanted to. It was clear in his stance. Possessiveness spilled under my skin like a contusion.
Nadia pushed him away, rolled her eyes and entered the recording booth with a smile. She rested her bum on the tall stool in front of the microphone, adjusting the height to suit her five feet and not many inches. When she opened her mouth, the lack of sound was no longer a good thing. I wanted to hear her sing. I didn’t even know shecouldsing.