Empire of Lies

“So, if he asked, you’d say no?”

“I’d say hell yes in a heartbeat.” She laughed and changed the subject, giving Gillian an entire play by play of the last time we fucked. Every kiss, every move, every goddamn position.

Holding back a laugh, I pushed the fire exit door open and stepped into the hallway. Then I walked down two flights.

I leaned against a wall and felt an uncomfortable, warm feeling in my chest. I wasn’t sure what the hell it was, and although it definitely had something to do with Meredith, I needed it to go away.

It’s not going away unless she does…

Several minutes later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. Meredith.

“Yes?” I answered.

“Hey, there.” The sound of ru

“I’m contemplating some things.”

“You sound really upset. Is something wrong?”

“Yes.” I paused. “I’m struggling to finish something that I’m normally very good at doing.”

“Maybe you should take a break from it for a while.”

“I’m nearing an extended deadline,” I said. “I was supposed to have this done quite a while ago.”

“Oh…Well, is there any way that I can help you?”

I said nothing.

“Michael?” she asked. “Michael, are you still there?”

“I’m here. There’s nothing you can do to help with this.”

“I beg to differ... I’m sure there’s something.” She sounded like sex, and my cock hardened at the slight change in her tone. “If you’re willing to take a break at some point today, would you want to come over? We can talk about it.”

I shook my head. I needed to say no to this, to end this call—never talk to her again, and do my damn job. I needed to stay in my lane of loss and loneliness, where no one else was ever welcome to drive along with me and matter.

“I’ll be there in five minutes,” I said.

“Five minutes? Were you ever pla

“I definitely was,” I said. “I’ll see you soon.”

I ended the call and started taking the remaining flights downstairs. I knew now, more than ever, that killing her wasn’t going to happen. I was going to have to come up with one hell of an alternative.

It would be a different type of job, and it would take precision and skill, some of my best and complicated work to date.

I’d need more time—six to eight weeks at least, and I’d have to let her get close. But not too close. I’d need to be a lot more personal, but I couldn’t let her know any of my secrets or the truth about how fucked up of a person I really was.

I just needed to get her to trust me enough to fall a bit harder. To say “yes” when it was time, and I could take things from there…