Read Online What He Promises by Hannah Ford - Free Book Online Page B

or file an injunction or
a restraining order or whatever it was people did in situations like these.
    When I got to his floor, the receptionist
buzzed me right in.
    But this time, when I reached Noah’s office, I
could soft voices wafting through the closed door.
    He must have been having a meeting.   I hesitated, not sure what I should
do.   It was silly of me to show up
here unannounced, just assuming that he would be free.   Noah was a busy man.
    I was about to leave, to maybe wait in the
lobby or call him and let him know I was there, when I heard a laugh.
      A woman’s laugh.
    “It’s fine,” a female voice said.   “You can get to the paperwork whenever
you get a chance.”
    It was a familiar voice, but it took me a
second to place it.
    Clementine.  
    Clementine was in Noah’s office.
    I raised my fist to the door and knocked.
    “I’m in a meeting,” Noah barked.
    “It’s me,” I said, hating the way my voice
sounded, weak and needy.
    “Charlotte?” Noah asked when he opened the
door.   “What are you doing here?”
    “I came to… I came to tell you something.”
    He opened the door all the way and I stepped
inside.   Clementine was sitting in
the chair in front of Noah’s desk, her legs crossed in front of her, her
posture relaxed and confident, like she owned the place.   She was wearing a sleeveless white dress
that hit just above her knee, with a narrow black belt that emphasized her tiny
waist.
    “Hello, Charlotte,” she said when she saw
me.   “Noah and I were just going
over the particulars for the new office space.   It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”
    “Yes,” I said.   “Beautiful.”
    She gathered up her papers, then slid out of the office.   She tapped
Noah on the chest with the sheaf of papers as she walked by.   “Fax the signatures when you have them.”
    “Will do.”
    Once the door closed behind her, I turned to
Noah.
    “What was she doing here?” I asked.   I was trying to keep my voice light, but
I could hear the jealousy laced underneath it.   Stop it, Charlotte, I told
myself.   There is nothing to get
upset about.  
    “She was getting me the final paperwork for the
new space.”
    “What does she have to do with it?”
    “I didn’t mention that I’m leasing it from
her?”   He said it so nonchalantly,
without a care in the world.  
    “I thought you bought it.   For us.”
    “I did buy it.   I am buying it.   But buying a property takes time,
Charlotte.   So I’m leasing it for
the first month, after which time it will be mine.”
    “Ours,” I said softly.
    “What?”
    “It will be ours,” I said.  
    “Yes.”   He looked at me.   “Clementine
is not a threat to you, Charlotte.”
    “Who said I was threatened by her?”
    “Your behavior is indicative of someone who
feels threatened.”
    “I’m not threatened,” I said.   “I just wish you had told me, that’s
all.”
    “It wasn’t important.”
    “It wasn’t important to you,” I countered.
    His phone rang then, and he crossed the room
and answered it, even though we were in the middle of a discussion.   “Cutler,” he barked into the phone.   “Who?   Yes, put him through.”
    His eyes flicked up to me, his jaw tightening,
almost if whoever was on the other end of the phone had something to do with
me.   But who could be calling Noah
about me?
    “Yes,” he said as he listened. “ Yes…..yes … I understand.   I assume it will be taken care of
immediately?    Thank you.”
    He hung up the phone.
    He stayed silent for a moment, then leaned over
his desk and gripped the edge, his knuckles turning white.   A cold sliver of icy fear slid up my
spine, a premonition that I wasn’t going to like whatever he was about to say.
    “Where are they?” he demanded.
    “What?”
    “The letters,” he said.   “Where are they?”
    “What letters?”
    “Dammit, Charlotte,” he said, slamming his fist
down on the desk, his eyes blazing with fury.   “What the