Breathe Read online

  “I agree,” Tucker said. “We’ll need extra staff to sweep the area before the gala, have extra men near the parking garage and outside where they’re doing valet.”

  “Good.” I nodded. “All of this is really good. We’ll need blueprints or a layout of the entire facility. I should probably get over there and talk with the head of security—”

  “That’ll be Curtis Powell. Mr. Moore hired him toward the beginning, and he knows what he’s doing. He’ll have some good ideas where to go from here and what’s working or what isn’t. Are you going to head over there now? I could go with you.”

  “No, that’s fine. I might have a few other stops on the way.” Besides, I didn’t need anyone else with me when I asked questions that had nothing to do with overall security and were more personal.

  Tucker stood. “Okay, let me know.”

  “Do you know if all the security cameras are up and running?”

  Tucker angled back, his brow furrowing. “I think so. You could ask Powell when you go over there, he’d know for sure—and have footage. He could tell you where all the cameras are, too, if you think we need to add more or change something.”

  I smiled at him, hoping he wasn’t suspicious. “Thanks, Tucker.”

  Gathering my phone and my new tablet, I peeked out into the hallway before admiring the tulips I’d set on the table by the window. I shouldn’t have kept them, but they were too pretty to throw away. They brightened my office. Mark had only ever gotten me roses. More sophisticated. More expensive. Blood red roses that made me cringe every time they’d arrived at home or work.

  Apology flowers.

  Shaking off the memory, I left the office and waved at Tucker before pressing the elevator button. When it dinged and opened, I stepped in and jabbed the button for the main level. Before it could close all the way, Finn stepped in.

  “Hi,” he said with a smooth smile.

  “Hi.”

  “Where are you headed?”

  I narrowed my eyes at him. “To do some research.”

  “On what?”

  Shit. I didn’t want to lie to him. But telling him the truth meant questions I didn’t want to answer.

  “Charlotte,” he said calmly, leaning his shoulder against the wall of the elevator. “Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to come up with a story?”

  I sighed. “Just checking in with security.”

  “Good.” He smiled again. “I need to speak with them as well. I’ll join you.”

  CHAPTER SIX

  Finn strolled like he didn’t have a care in the world. He made me believe he didn’t have an ulterior motive behind joining me on my way to security. But Finn was good at that. He had a storm of ideas, worries, thoughts—everything—brewing in his mind and you’d never have a clue.

  In the Commons, there were workers planting flowers alongside the path. I smiled at Finn. “Your idea?”

  He nodded. “I thought it might draw more traffic through here and instead of on the trams.”

  “Smart. Exercise, a chance to meet new people and get to know the place better. Business for the kiosks I see you’re planning on opening.”

  He smiled. “Coffee and croissants. Breakfast staples and afternoon pick-me-ups.”

  “Smart,” I said again.

  “Thank you.”

  I looked away from the easiness of his smile. “Should we walk, then?”

  “Let’s walk.”

  He slowed his long stride to keep pace with me. And if we hadn’t been colleagues, and hadn’t had the history we did, it might have felt like we were on a date. Walking around a park or out shopping like we used to. Finn would take my hand and squint his eyes against the light of the sun and smile at me without a care in the world. I missed his hands. Strong. Steady. A little rough, even though he seemed like he spent all his time behind a desk. And always deft at every task. Especially ones that involved touching me where I most wanted him to.

  “Déjà vu, right?” Finn asked.

  I couldn’t help but laugh. “I have nothing to say about that.”

  He touched my back as he stepped to the side to allow a group of people past. I shivered at the warmth of his fingers on my lower back. Such an intimate spot, really. I forgot how intimate after spending the last year by myself. No boyfriend, no one of interest. It would have been too fast. Too scary. Even now, it was scary.

  But God, I missed his touch.

  “I think about it a lot, you know,” Finn said as we resumed walking side by side.

  “Think about what?”

  The moment I asked, I regretted it. I spotted the flash of amusement in his eyes, and something more. A twinkle. A spark, maybe. Definitely memories. Probably the same ones I’d remembered over the years. Not just holding his hand, but being enfolded in his arms. Of his lips on my cheek, my neck, my shoulder, and trailing lower.

  “Those days we spent together all those years ago.” He flicked me a glance. “The days, and the nights.”

  I frowned.

  He laughed. “This is where you say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “‘Mr. Moore.’ You say, ‘Mr. Moore, that’s unprofessional. We work together.’”

  “We do,” I insisted, though it hadn’t phased him before so I had no idea why it would now. At least he’d been listening, even if he’d decided to set aside what I’d been saying.

  “We talked about that once as well, if I recall.” He grinned at me. “We make a good team.”

  I didn’t respond. I didn’t know what to say to that. Yes, we made a good team. Yes, we’d been great in the past. Yes, we had both moved on. Starting over again meant going backward instead of forward. It meant visiting my past, and that wasn’t something I wanted to do. I’d worked so hard the last several months trying to erase my past, trying to start over, and trying to be my own person, I was afraid to take steps anywhere but forward.

  We passed the structure in the middle of the Commons. It made sense to have security moved in there immediately. I’d just have to take charge when we talked with Curtis. Sure, Finn was here, but I was the one who was supposed to be taking over. Working toward overseeing the entire facility and how it ran.

  “I think we should talk about this,” Finn said.

  My stomach flickered with nerves. But then I realized he was talking about us, not what had happened this morning. Or about security.

  “We’re already talking.”

  Finn turned on the path, waiting for me to stop as well. When I did, he reached out and gripped my upper arms gently. “I’m serious, Charlotte.”

  “You’re getting distracted.”

  “Hell yeah, I am. I see you walking around the office all day in those tight skirts—”

  “My skirts aren’t tight.”

  “They’re distracting. Like you said. Because they fit you so damn perfectly. And your hair’s twisted up like that. I can barely stop myself from taking it down so I can run my fingers through it.”

  I glanced at the path both ways, certain someone had overhead us. “Finn, you need to stop.”

  “I can’t stop. I need this to be settled.”

  “And if I say no? No, I don’t want to talk. There’s nothing to settle because it’s already over?”

  He flinched and dropped his chin, staring at his shoes for a long moment. “If you tell me that, if you can say it without a doubt, without a hint of uncertainty, I’ll let it go.”

  “You will?”

  He breathed in and out, and it seemed to calm both of us. “If that’s what you want. But will you hear me out first? Can we talk about this somewhere else when we’re not supposed to be working?”

  I waited a long beat, afraid the choice I made would dictate everything that happened from here on out. I could be done with this. Forever, if Finn was true to his word. And I believed he would be.

  “Okay,” I said, giving in. It had always been hard to say no to Finn. “We can talk.”

  He released me and started t
o say something else, but I shook my head. “No more right now. We need to work.”

  “Tonight, then,” he said. “How about a wine tasting?”

  I blinked. “What?”

  I’d expected dinner, maybe, or for him to come to my apartment. Something more intimate, where we could really talk and figure this out. But this was probably better. Something to distract us if it got too serious. Something to distract him if he wanted to do more than just talk.

  “Wine tasting. You asked about a liquor store. I thought it might be fun to do a tasting so you could pick a few bottles for your pantry.”

  “Good idea.” I smiled at him and cut him off again. “No more. Let’s work.”

  He sighed, but turned on the path again and started walking. We made it to Community Three, Main, in a few minutes, entering on the lower level where several stores and spaces were still being prepared. A clinic and pharmacy, a market with a section off to the side containing hard liquor as well as several rows of wine and mixed drinks.

  “They order from all over the world,” Finn said. “A small selection, I know, but a decent one. They also work with a few of the restaurants that are opening in Entertainment as well as the one in Housing.”

  We stayed on the main floor so I didn’t have a chance to stop in and say hi to Paige at the daycare. I’d see about getting a few bottles of wine for her, too.

  Security headquarters sat at the very corner of the space, far away from most of the stores that were already open and not centrally located enough to make good time to each community of Oasis if there was a problem.

  Finn opened the door for me and I walked into what looked like an unorganized politician’s campaign. There were people at various desks, some with computers and some without. A phone rang and the smell of stale coffee filled the air.

  One of the men at a desk recognized Finn and stood. “Mr. Moore,” he said. He wore a security uniform and a gun at his belt. “Are you here to see Curtis?”

  Finn glanced at me. He was going to let me take the lead on this.

  I nodded. “Mr. Powell, yes.”

  “This is Charlotte Evans,” Finn said. “She works with us up on twenty-two and will be handling security, among other things, from now on.”

  A rush of gratitude filled me, but I kept my face straight, even when Finn repeated the introduction to Curtis Powell, a man who looked ex-military and wore a suit instead of a uniform. He guided us to a desk in the corner and offered coffee.

  “No thanks,” I said. “What we’re really here for is to get your headquarters moved to the Commons, and make sure everything is up and running by the fundraiser.”

  “The fundraiser gala?” Curtis asked, lifting his eyebrows at me. “I agree that’s the best location for our permanent office, but the gala is only three weeks away. I’m going to need more manpower.”

  “Absolutely,” Finn agreed. “Whatever you need.”

  I leaned forward in my seat. “With additional staff to patrol parking on the night of the gala, including the parking garages and extra on the exits.”

  Finn glanced at me but didn’t say anything.

  Curtis only nodded. “Not a problem.”

  I hoped Finn would get a call or excuse himself for a meeting or something else so I could talk to Curtis about the cameras, but it never happened.

  And once we finished talking, Finn stood immediately and said, “Powell, if you have a minute, I’d like to check the feed for one of the cameras in Housing.”

  I gritted my teeth. He knew exactly why I’d come down here. I sent him a glare. He could have at least given me a heads up.

  “Of course,” Curtis said.

  He walked with us to another desk, where a man in a casual suit sat. We went through another round of introductions, and the new guy, John, explained how he had access to all the cameras in Oasis from his computer.

  “I can also control the finer details in each community and the Commons. Temperature, elevators, lights, and so on,” John said.

  I glanced at Finn. The lights. They’d gone off when I was in the locker room, but the attendant at the gym had also said they’d had some issues with the lighting earlier.

  “Who else would have access to those finer details?” I asked.

  John swiveled in his chair and brushed a lock of hair from his forehead. He looked about two years younger than me and pale like he hadn’t been out in the sun recently or often. His eyes were kind as they met mine. “There are a few computers in each community with designated privileges. Security at the front desk in Business, for example, can access elevator cameras as well as cameras all over the building in case of an issue. They can control the lighting if necessary—back-ups in case of a storm—or the temperature on each of the floors. Though only two people know the code to do those things, and those are the supervisors on each shift.

  “Which camera did you need?” he asked, swiveling to face the computer again.

  “The locker rooms at the gym in Housing,” Finn said.

  John frowned. “Of course we don’t have cameras inside the locker rooms, but there’s one outside the door to each exit—the one that leads to the elevators—and then one that pans the entryway from the gym.”

  “Both of those,” Finn said, jaw tight. “At around 7:15 this morning.”

  I clenched the tablet to my chest, part out of fear and part out of embarrassment. John’s gaze flicked to mine again, but I only smiled.

  “What are we looking for?” Curtis asked, eyes on the monitor.

  “Anyone suspicious entering or leaving the women’s locker room.”

  John typed in a few commands and set the time for ten minutes prior to when I’d entered the locker room. He played it in fast motion. Only a few people went in and they all looked like members of the gym, dressed in workout clothes. On the other screen, Finn came into view as I entered the locker room. Five minutes later, I came out.

  I blew out a breath. Nothing.

  But on the other screen, heading back into the gym, appeared a figure. One wearing a dark hoodie, tall and fast.

  “There,” Curtis said.

  John froze the screen on the person, but we couldn’t see a face.

  “Looks like a man,” Curtis said, pointing. “See? The build in the shoulders and his height?”

  Finn curled his hand around my arm, and I appreciated the steadiness. He only nodded at Curtis and said, “I’ll be in touch. Thanks, John.”

  John nodded and swiveled back to the screen, looking unconcerned. He probably had strange requests all the time.

  Finn kept his hand on my elbow until we were out of the office. He stopped outside the door and turned me to face him.

  I shook my head. “Not now.”

  “Char—”

  “Please, Finn.”

  He rubbed a hand across his jaw and then set his hands on his hips. “Okay. Later then. I’ll make sure Curtis and his team get settled into headquarters in the Commons and we get the extra men for the fundraiser.”

  “Good.” I nodded and started walking.

  Work. Work was good. It gave me focus. It distracted me from the man in the dark hoodie and the whispering I was sure I’d heard echoing around me in the locker room. Charlotte…

  I spent far too much time getting ready considering who I was spending the evening with. I shouldn’t have worn my favorite navy dress that skimmed my knees and flowed like a river over my hips. That dipped low in the bodice and made me feel sexy. I definitely shouldn’t have worn perfume—or at least not the kind that reminded me of dark corners and secrets. And most of all, I shouldn’t have worn my hair up with soft curls tickling my neck because it reminded me of what Finn had said earlier.

  But I did all those things because once I got started, I got carried away. It had been forever since I’d dressed myself up for anything more than work. But above all that, I got lost in the routine of it. The step by step process that stopped my thoughts from heading toward things I’d rather not think abou
t. Like the man with the hoodie in the locker room. Like the phone calls. Like Mark.

  As I finished with my makeup and heard a knock at the door, I hesitated. No. No, I wasn’t going to overthink this. I worked here now and I represented Oasis, just like Finn, which meant appearances were important. It made sense for me to look my best. When I opened the door and saw Paige instead, I blew out a breath of nervous laughter.

  Paige’s eyes rounded. “Oh my God, you have a date.”

  “A wine tasting.”

  She grinned. “I’m jealous and kind of turned on. You dress like this for a wine tasting, I wonder what you’d look like on a date.”

  I laughed, my shoulders relaxing. “I promise I’ll take you to the next one. Wine tasting, that is. Not date. This one is sort of…business.”

  Her smile turned sly. She leaned against the door frame, with her arms crossed over her chest. “With Finn?”

  “Yes.”

  “Anyone else?”

  I didn’t answer, and she took in my dress appreciatively. “I’m putting it all together now. Nice dress, date with a cute man, wine—”

  “It’s not a date. It’s business,” I repeated.

  “Oh, it’s a date. In my fantasy, it’s a date.”

  I laughed. “Okay.”

  “Here.” She held out two squares of paper. “Paint swatches. The ones you liked—just in case you decide you want to do your living room or bedroom. I’ll even help if you ply me with wine and tell me stories about your business wine tastings.”

  “Sounds good. I might just brighten things up with throw pillows and curtains or something.”

  Paige nodded. “Is painting a little too permanent for you?”

  Having a job here in Oasis and forging a friendship with Paige might be a little too permanent for me. But that was only because I’d spent the last year trying to avoid doing anything like that. It made sense to dodge friendships and relationships. They’d end up hurt, or I’d end up hurt.

  But now…I finally had to stop avoiding life and start living it again.