Tease Me (Private Listing #4)

He points to a picture with a group of women in it. I lift it off the shelf and hold it in front of us.

“Which one?”

When he points, my stomach turns.

Fuck. I wasn’t expecting that.

Seth

When I reach the conference room, it’s empty. I glance at Matt who guards the door.

“Where is she?”

“She needed to use the restroom, sir.” Matt gestures toward the bathrooms.

“Why didn’t one of you go with her?” I can feel the tension headache starting behind my brow. My chest squeezes. We played a stupid game. One we knew we could end up losing. I just hope she gives us a chance to explain.

Matt glances at Alex and they both look at me. “We were told to stay here.”

I release a breath. “You can return to work now.”

I check the bathrooms on this floor, but they’re unoccupied. Blake told her to wait for me, but it took a few minutes in the control booth before I could come get her. I refuse to panic as I ride the executive elevator to our office and check to see if she’s there.

Her desk chair is empty. The bathroom is unoccupied. A thick, choking pressure builds in my chest.

When I open Noah’s door, he lifts his head from his work. “What’s up?”

I glance at his empty couch.

“Have you seen Madison?” I run a hand through my hair.

Blake’s plan wasn’t necessary. I felt it in my bones, but that little voice warned me, What if I can’t trust her? What if this whole thing is moving too fast? What if she fits too well? What if this is a setup?

Even in the video, I could see the hurt on her face when Blake came in. All this time she gave us her trust, bending beautifully to our will, and then we pull this shit. She’s right to be angry and upset.

Now, I’m afraid she’s left us, and it would be all my fault.

“No, but I’ve been working.” He stands. “Everything okay?”

“I just wanted to check in with her.”

I’ll have to come clean to the others about what Blake and I did, but first, I need to find Madison. Honestly, I don’t know how they’ll take it. I’m not sure what I would do if one of them abused her trust in us.

“I’ll text her.” Noah lifts his phone and I nod. I should have done that, but there’s this pressure in my chest that I can’t seem to shake. The fear that I drove her away. That she wouldn’t answer me if I messaged her.

Coop isn’t in his office, so I go to the break room, checking the file room on the way. It’s late in the day, almost time to quit.

“If the spy contacts the pretend client, do we need to let the spy know they’re being recorded?” Coop’s voice greets me as I enter the room.

He and Patrick raise their gazes to me. It’s obvious Madison isn’t in here. That sinking feeling grabs onto my heart and pulls down.

“Do you need something?” Coop leans back in his chair. His light blue eyes focus on me.

This definitely isn’t something I want to share with our lawyer. Especially since he fed into our fears. As always, Patrick looks unworried and a bit bored.

“No.”

Coop lifts an eyebrow, but I give him a subtle head shake. I’ll tell him later because that’s how you build trust. You share your concerns with the people you love. Which is exactly what Madison has always done with us.