Denied

‘I have a request.’

That doesn’t improve my wariness. ‘What?’

He smiles, obviously at my clear worry as he reaches into his pocket. ‘I’d like you to have this.’ He places something on the desk but holds his hand over it so I can’t see what’s beneath.

My eyes flick up and down, my cautiousness magnifying. ‘What is it?’

His smile slips a little, and I detect nerves. It only escalates mine. ‘A key to my apartment.’ He lifts his palm, revealing a Yale key.

My muscles relax, my mind refusing to centre any attention on where my silly thoughts were heading. ‘A key,’ I breathe on a laugh.

‘You can stay at my place whenever you wish. Come and go as you please. Will you accept?’ He looks hopeful as he slides it across the desk towards me.

I roll my eyes and then jump on a gasp as the door flies open and Cassie staggers in. ‘Shit!’ I curse under my breath, my heart speeding with fright. Miller’s on his feet in an instant and crossing the room.

‘Cassie,’ he sighs tiredly, his broad shoulders slumping as he comes to a halt.

‘Well, hello!’ she laughs, holding the door for support. She’s drunk, and not just the tipsy, merry kind. I’m not looking forward to this, but however pissed she might be, she still looks sickeningly perfect. Her wobbly gaze is as rooted to Miller as it could be, given her drunken state. She hasn’t even noticed I’m here. I’m invisible.

‘What are you doing here?’

‘My date was cancelled.’ She waves an indifferent hand through the air before slamming the door shut so hard that shock waves ripple up the walls of Miller’s office.

My eyes creep between the two of them, back and forth, liking the fact that she’s been in here only a second and Miller’s patience already seems exhausted. I hope he manhandles her from the room again. What I don’t like, though, are Cassie’s inquisitive eyes that are rooted on Miller. And I know why.

‘Look at the state of you!’ She’s truly shocked, and I join her in the shock department when she stumbles over to Miller and starts laying her manicured hands all over his wet body. It takes a whole lifetime’s worth of restraint not to throw myself across Miller’s office and wrestle her to the ground. I want to scream at her to remove her hands from him. ‘Oh, Miller, baby, you’re all wet.’

Baby?

In an attempt to distract myself, I start twisting my ring around my finger, over and over until I’m sure I’ve rubbed a blister into my skin. She’s stroking him, cooing and fussing, like he might die because he’s got a little wet.

Get your f**king hands off him!

‘Miller, what happened? Who did this to you?’

‘I did it to myself, Cassie,’ he says touchily, taking her palms from his chest and releasing them. He steps away, and I relax a little at the distance he’s put between them. Not for long, though, because the relentless trollop closes it back up. I’m stiff as a board, conjuring up a pile of verbal abuse to lob across the room, and I’m quite alarmed by it. I force some calming thoughts, but they’re fast transforming into blood-boiling fury.

‘What do you mean?’ she questions uncertainly, eyes and hands beginning to roam again.

‘We were having a picnic in the park,’ I pipe up, no longer prepared to sit back and watch Miller tackle the pressing presence of Cassie alone. ‘We had a lovely time,’ I add, just for good measure.

Her hands freeze in place on Miller’s torso, both of them gawking at me, Miller tired, Cassie shocked. ‘Olivia,’ she purrs. ‘What a surprise.’

I would think she’s being sarcastic, but even if her low purr isn’t shocked, her face is. Then she turns her incredulous look onto Miller, who exhales his building frustration.

‘What do you want, Cassie?’ He removes her greedy palms from his chest again and starts unbuttoning his waistcoat. ‘I don’t plan on being here long.’

‘Well’ – she saunters over to the drinks cabinet and pours herself a large straight vodka – ‘I was hoping you’d take me out for drinks.’

My hackles rise, and I shoot a look to Miller, who’s now shrugging off his waistcoat. His wet shirt is transparent and clinging everywhere. I cough on a choke. He looks dreamlike, and Cassie has noticed, too. All sorts of conflicting things are happening, my sass telling me to rip a strip off Cassie, my lust telling me to tackle Miller to the floor and eat him alive. Nothing about this situation is comfortable. Then Miller removes his wet shirt, exposing vast planes of taut, smooth, cut leanness, and my mouth drops open, not because of what I’m presented with, but because he’s openly offered the stunning sight to Cassie’s greedy eyes.

Her body sways as she studies Miller’s wet, flexing muscles, her vodka paused at her lips. ‘I think you’ve had enough to drink,’ Miller grumbles, making his way to the bathroom. I watch his back disappear through the doorway, knowing Cassie has followed his path, too. My skin starts to prickle, feeling animosity hitting me. Now she’s looking at me, and even though I know I’ll probably be reduced to cinders from her filthy look, I can’t help chancing a glance.

‘What have you done to him?’ she spits across the room, waving her glass of vodka at the bathroom doorway.

I need to remain calm. I’m struggling to keep my rage at bay, dying to lash out at her. She’s interfering, probably better than anyone. Yet Miller’s not displaying the same psychotic flip-outs with Cassie, just like he isn’t with Tony. Is he going to tell me that Cassie is worried, too? Yeah, she’s worried all right. She’s worried I’m going to take Miller away from her, and she’d be right to worry. I bet this woman has cattiness down to a fine art. I’ll never match her on that, it just isn’t my style, so I keep my focus on her and sit back in Miller’s chair. ‘I’ve made him see light through his darkness.’

She recoils and exhales quietly. I’ve stunned her, shocked her into silence. It feels good, but I hear footsteps nearing, so I leave Cassie and her disbelief and carry my calm eyes across the room until I find him. He’s rubbing a towel over his head, looking at me with sparkly blues. ‘Come here,’ he says quietly, his head cocked. I’m out of the chair and across the room to join him without delay. I know that glimmer. Cassie is about to witness a little Miller-style worshipping. This will beat any kind of tongue-lashing that I could invoke. A warm palm has claimed my neck within a heartbeat and warm lips have claimed my mouth a heartbeat after that. His kiss is brief but holds all of the usual qualities and spikes all of the usual reactions, and I definitely don’t mistake the shocked inhale of breath from behind me. Yes, he lets me kiss him, and in a sad fit of ownership, I place my hands on his na**d chest, just so she can see me feeling him, too. ‘Here.’ He drapes the towel across my shoulders and uses the corners to wipe my wet forehead. ‘Go and dry off in the bathroom.’

I hesitate, not keen on leaving the room with a drunk and now-silent Cassie on the prowl. ‘I’m fine,’ I try feebly, making him smile. After dropping a chaste kiss on my cheek, he strides over to the concealed wardrobe and pulls the doors open, scans the rows of posh shirts, and then yanks one down by the sleeve. Cassie gasps in horror, Miller throws her a dirty look . . . and I go dizzy with happiness.

‘Put this on.’ He hands me the shirt and turns me in his arms before giving me a gentle nudge in the back. ‘Give me your dress and I’ll have someone hold it under the hand dryers for a while.’

‘I can do that,’ I protest, thinking it’ll be a perfect chore to pass the time while Miller gets his work done.

‘You’ll do no such thing,’ he scoffs, pushing me onward. I turn once I’m in the bathroom, finding Miller pulling the door shut and Cassie still staring, struck dumb at Miller’s back. ‘Five minutes.’ He nods sternly and disappears from view when the wood comes between us. I frown at the door as the fireworks within settle down, making way for a little bewilderment. I’ve just allowed him to ship me out of his office with no complaint or protest. Now the fact that he’s just manhandled one of his precious shirts and given it to me to wear doesn’t feel like progress at all. It feels like distraction. I laugh out loud. I’m stupid, and on that conclusion I open the door and present myself back into the room. Both heads turn, both faces looking heated. They are far too close, probably to keep their conversation from my earshot.

‘Oh, for God’s sake,’ Cassie hisses, taking a huge swig of her vodka. ‘Can’t you just get rid of it?’

I cough my disgust as Miller swings around violently and snatches the glass from her hand. ‘Learn when to shut the f**k up!’ He slams the glass down, sending Cassie on a startled stagger. Now I can see his fury, and that is the only thing that keeps my mouth from spilling a torrent of expletives. There’s no need for me to put this woman in her place because Miller is about to do it for me. He pushes his face near hers. ‘The only thing I’ll be ridding from my life is you.’ His voice is scathing. ‘Don’t f**king push me, Cassie.’

She grabs the cabinet for support and takes a moment to compose herself, her eyes shooting to mine briefly. ‘You’ll be crucified.’ Her words are factual. I can tell by the stiffening of Miller’s na**d shoulders.

‘Some things are worth the risk,’ he whispers, uncertainty rife in his tone.

‘Nothing is worth that risk,’ Cassie whispers. There’s an element of fear in her, and that fear spreads across the room and settles within me. Deeply.

‘You’re wrong.’ Miller takes a long pull of calming air and steps away from her, turning impassive eyes onto me. ‘She’s worth it. I want out.’

Cassie gasps, and if I could rip my welling eyes from Miller, then I know I’d see an astounded expression all over her perfect face. ‘You . . . Miller . . . You can’t,’ she stammers all over her words, swiping up her drink and taking a shaky gulp.

‘I can.’

‘But—’

‘Get out, Cassie.’

‘Miller!’ She’s beginning to panic.

His jaw tightens, his eyes remaining on my frozen form in the doorway as he pulls his phone from his trouser pocket, hits one button, and holds it to his ear. ‘Tony, come and get Cassie.’

What happens next leaves me wide-eyed and open-mouthed.

‘No!’ She launches herself at him, knocking him into the cabinet, sending glasses and bottles crashing to the office floor. I flinch, but my legs refuse to carry me across the office to intervene. All I can do is watch in shock as Miller tries to restrain her flailing hands as she screams at him, scratches and begs. ‘You can’t! Please!’

The signs of Miller’s frightening rage are all in the room with us, his puffing chest, wild eyes and sweating form. I hate to think what damage he could do to a woman. I despise Cassie, I hate everything about her, but even I am worried for her.

Miller’s about to take leave of his senses.

I drop his shirt and run across the room, disregarding the danger I may be putting myself in. I just need to make him see me, hear me, feel me. Anything to divert him from the direction I know he’s headed.

‘Miller!’ I shout, reluctantly accepting this will never work. I yelled at him repeatedly outside Nan’s to no avail. ‘Fuck!’ I curse, standing close, watching the frantic wrestling of arms. Cassie is crying now, her perfect hair looking rough and messy.

‘Don’t you dare leave me,’ she wails. ‘I won’t let you leave me!’

My eyes widen in alarm. There’s more than business between these two. She’s flipped her lid, and while I’m fearful for her, I’m quite concerned for Miller, too. Those nails are like claws and thrashing all over him while he tries to seize her and she continues to scream persistently. She’s deranged and Miller’s heading that way, too.