by Tia Wylder
She stepped back, suddenly scared. Creeping excitement grew on her and she ran her palms over her clothes, gearing herself up. If she went back in there like this, he would know that something was up with her. She had to play it cool. She wanted him and if she was going to get him, she needed to make sure that everything went perfectly. She had to make sure she didn’t put her foot in her mouth or anything of the sort. Crystal never had a problem with that before but with this foreign feeling bombarding her all of a sudden, she didn’t know what she might do.
Without warning, a thought occurred to her. Crystal quickly whipped out her phone and dialed Jane.
She answered nearly immediately. “What is it?” she asked frantically. “What’s wrong?”
Momentarily distracted, Crystal frowned. “Why would you think anything’s wrong?”
“Because! You’ve never called me before which means that if you are, something must be horribly wrong!”
“Stop being dramatic. I just have a question to ask you.”
“Phew, okay, just give me a second for this to sink in. You have to understand, Crystal. In all the years we’ve known each other, you’ve never called me. Gosh, I think this should go in the Hall of Fame or something. Or, at the very least, I should mark it on my calendar. The Day Crystal Fey Calls Her Closest Friend.”
“Jane.”
“Alright, alright. I’m done now. What’s up?”
Crystal hesitated, not knowing how to proceed now. “Crystal?” Jane probed. “You’re making me think something might actually be wrong now.”
“Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to know if … what is Jen to Mark?”
“You mean, their relationship?”
“Yeah.”
“They’re best friends.”
“That’s it? They don’t have any history or anything? They haven’t done anything with each other.”
“Not that I know of. I don’t think so though. Jen would have told me if they did. I don’t think she’s ever looked at him that way.” Jane paused. “Why do you ask?”
Crystal racked her brain for a suitable lie. “I’m Mark’s bodyguard. It’s my job to know who everyone around him is to him.”
“Couldn’t you just asked him that yourself then?”
“I don’t want him thinking I don’t trust that he knows how to choose his friends.”
“Since when do you care what people think?”
“He’s my boss,” she said quickly. “I’m trying not to make him fire me too quickly.”
“Okay.” Crystal put her face in her hand, noticing Jane’s disbelieving tone. She agitatedly waited for her friend to press her about it. “If that’s what you say,” Jane said instead. “I’m glad I could help you with whatever it is you’re going on about.”
“I already told you—”
“No need to repeat yourself,” she cut in. “I heard you the first time.”
Crystal sighed silently. “I gotta go.”
“Alright, weirdo. Do your thing.”
Crystal hung up, feeling a bit lighter. When Jen visited Mark yesterday, Crystal had watched them closely, noting how close they were. She found herself wondering at the time if there was something going on between them, or if there had been before, but now that Jane told her that they’ve never been like that towards each other, Crystal could breathe a little easier. She didn’t want to get in between anything.
Steeling her nerves, she made her way out of the bathroom. Since it was still pretty early, Mark’s secretary wasn’t there yet and it gave her the time to fix her hair. She made sure everything was fine and in place, nervously taking a breath as she stood behind the door.
“You took your time,” Mark commented as soon as she walked in. He leaned back, abandoned whatever he was doing and giving her all his attention. It had Crystal rooted to the spot by the door.
“Hasn’t anyone ever told you that you shouldn’t comment on how long a woman takes in the bathroom?”
“Someone could have kidnapped me in the time it took you to come back, you know.”
“Yeah, well, the moment you open your mouth, they’re bound to send you right back.”
Mark chuckled at that. “Very untrue. People find me charming and witty.”
“Yourself doesn’t count as people.”
“Haha.” He leaned over the desk, resting his chin on his hands. “You know you find me charming too.”
Crystal nearly touched her cheek to see if she was still blushing. She hoped not. “You’re alright,” she said blandly.
“Nah, I don’t believe you think that.” Mark got to his feet and rounded the desk. He came towards her in smooth, long strides, tucking his hands into his pocket. Crystal hadn’t even noticed how tall he was before and for some reason, he looked much more attractive when she was looking up at him. “You think I’m cool.”
Crystal snorted, rolling her eyes. “You wish I did.”
“I don’t have to.” He came forward, forcing her to step back. Crystal’s heart shot into her throat when her back hit the door. “You think I’m attractive too.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m not doing anything,” he said, even as he put his hand to the side of her head. Crystal stared back at him, wanting nothing more than to kiss the lips that hovered so closely. She had the chance to do so before but Jen had come in and interrupted them. Now, it was just them. No interruptions here.
She almost did it, almost went for it, but then he pulled away. Mark cleared his throat, blinking rapidly as if trying to clear his thoughts. “Nothing fazes you, does it?” he said to her.
High off her need, Crystal bridged the gap he just created. “Why? Does that bother you?”
“Are you trying to make it bother me?”
“I think we should just stop asking each other so many questions and just be upfront.”
Mark didn’t respond to that but he didn’t have to. They held each other’s gaze, just a slip of space separating them. She wanted to make the first move, but she couldn’t read him. Not well. A part of her thought he might want this as much as she did, that she was seeing lust in his eyes. Another part of her thought that maybe she was overthinking it and was mistaking confusion for lust. Crystal sat at a crossroads, waiting for Mark to do or say something.
He almost did. She saw when he moved, his hand raising just a little bit but before he could really do anything, the door opened.
“It’s early and I have to get to work, so I’m gonna make this quick—”
Crystal didn’t turn to the sound of Jen’s voice. She watched Mark as she stepped back, his body tensing at the sight of his best friend. His eyes were now over her head as if he’d forgotten she was even there. “Jen, what are you doing here so early?”
“Did I interrupt something?” Jen asked.
Finally, Crystal looked over her shoulder at her. She’s never had a problem with Jen. In fact, she’s always admired her go get ‘em attitude. But right now, she couldn’t stand seeing her. “Nothing at all,” she said. She noted that Mark was now looking at her again but she turned her back to him. “I was about to run out and get some coffee. Would you like anything?”
“No.” Jen held up the coffee she had in her hand, perplexed. “I’m fine.”
“Okay.”
Mark caught her arm before she could walk away. “You know you don’t have to get me any coffee. That isn’t what I hired you for.”
She pulled her arm out of his grasp. She’s never felt any more like the ice queen he accused her of being than right in that moment. “Who said I was getting any coffee for you?” He looked shocked at that. Crystal took that as her cue to leave. “Nice to see you again, Jen,” she said as she walked by. “I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing each other more often from now on.”
No one said anything while she made her leave and when Crystal closed the door behind her, she sagged against it. She recognized the feeling instantly, though it wasn’t something she was used to. Jealousy. H
itting her right in the chest. The look on Mark’s face when Jen showed up said it all. Maybe nothing was going on between them, maybe nothing ever did, but it didn’t look like Mark was very okay with that at all.
Chapter 5
Jen didn’t stay long. She only stopped by to chat for a little bit, telling him about this big thing that happened at work that she couldn’t say over the phone. It took her a while to get to the meat of her visit however, because Crystal’s sudden departure had her filled with so many questions. Not to mention the fact that she walked in on them in what she described as a ‘really close and comfy’ position.
Mark didn’t know what to tell her about that. He was always honest with Jen, always willing and eager to tell her every bit of detail about his days. But stating out loud that he had been seconds away from giving into his urge to kiss Crystal was too much for him to say to her for some reason. Mark couldn’t get the words past his lips. He just bullshitted his way out of it, saying it wasn’t what she thought it was. Jen didn’t look like she believed him but she didn’t press it, thankfully. She’d wait for him to tell her eventually.
Now, the office felt painfully bare and Mark knew it was because Crystal wasn’t here. He kept glancing at the door, waiting for her to come waltzing back in with coffee in her hand and a slight scowl on her face. He had already prepared his questions for her, like why she left like that and if she realized how much danger she had put him in by leaving. He could already imagine her facing him with that dead look on her face, saying something nonchalant as if he was overreacting. Mark sat on the edge of his seat, already looking forward to the conversation.
He was watching the door so intently that he jumped when he heard the buzz of the intercom on his office phone. “Mark?” came his secretary.
“Yeah?” he answered, silently cursing himself for being so restless.
“I’m heading down to the lobby so I’ll be away from my desk for a while.”
“Alright.” He didn’t give it a second thought, hanging up. He picked up his pen, tapping it against the desk as his eyes once again sought the door. What was taking her so long?
Agitated now, Mark got to his feet. He couldn’t focus, not like that. She was driving him insane and she wasn’t even in the room. Whenever she was, Mark didn’t know how he managed to get any work done. Something about her always managed to pull his eyes towards her, and Mark didn’t think it was because she was so damn sexy. It was something else, something different yet altogether very familiar.
Mark tensed when he heard the door open and he whirled to the sound. “What took you so long?”
A black-cloaked figure slipped into the room. For a second, a desperate second, Mark thought it was Crystal, but this person was much larger than she was and moving towards him fast. Mark hardly had the time to say anything else before the person was behind his desk, pulling a knife out of his pocket.
“You’re going to want to lay off,” the person said. His voice was rough, clearly deepened to be disguised. Mark felt the knife press against his side, going in so deep, it went through his expensive suit and sought blood.
Fear clogged his throat. He searched the face of the intruder but it was covered by a black mask, the matching hood covering whatever was left. Mark dipped his head to get a better look but the person shoved the knife in a bit further, making him grunt in pain. “If you stop searching,” the intruder continued. “No one gets hurt. Not you, nor this company. Don’t let me have to warn you again.”
With that, he ran off, slamming the door shut behind him. Mark stared after him, frozen to the spot. He could feel his blood running down his side but the pain disappeared. A haze came over his body as shock settled in.
Slowly he reached for his chair, collapsing into it. Trembling fingers sought his wound but Mark couldn’t look at it. In fact, he still couldn’t take his eyes off the door.
And when Crystal walked in what felt like hours later, Mark barely moved.
“Mark?” She paused by the door, a cup of coffee in her hand. Slowly, Mark dragged his eyes up to meet her.
Two seconds passed before she got into action. She hurried over, setting the cup down, and sank to his side. Mark watched her eyes go wide with what looked like worry. Had he been able to speak, he would have commented on that.
Slowly, she looked down at his side and the worry cleared. The woman who knelt before him now was all business. “We’re going to get you out of here,” she stated, rising. “Can you stand on your own?”
When he didn’t answer right away, she tried putting his arm around her shoulders. Mark pulled away. “I can do it myself,” he rasped, his throat suddenly dry. Crystal stepped back to allow him to struggle to his feet, the pain finally wafting back in, but she stood close enough to catch him if anything.
“Is there another exit to this place?” she asked. “I can’t imagine your employees would be happy to see their boss bleeding all over the floor.”
Mark only nodded. He was fast growing lightheaded from the pain, but he held himself straight. “An elevator outside.”
Crystal nodded. Despite what he said earlier, she took his arm and draped it around her shoulders, helping him towards the door. Mark was happy to see that his secretary wasn’t back as yet. He didn’t want to have to deal with that explanation right now. He pointed to the elevator doors on the other end of the open hall, which was far enough in the corner that anyone coming up the main elevator wouldn’t have seen it. Crystal tenderly helped him towards it.
She didn’t say anything on their way down, didn’t ask any questions. Mark was grateful for it. Fear was still rocking his body and it was a struggle to keep from shivering from the force of it.
Finally, they made it to his car. Mark leaned himself up against the side, gingerly feeling around for his keys when Crystal stopped him. “I grabbed it on our way out.” She unlocked the door and helped him into the passenger seat. Mark sat there in silence as she hurried over to the driver’s side.
“Aren’t you going to ask?” he said finally.
“No,” she stated. “Not yet. For now, we get you out of here.”
Mark fell silent after that, not about to argue. The pain was steadily increasing as the shock wore off but he held his tongue, gritting his teeth to keep from grunting in agony. Crystal, as if sensing his slipping composure, slammed down on the gas, speeding out onto the road. Mark’s heart plummeted as his body was jerked backward but, again, he didn’t argue. She knew what she was doing.
“Where are we going?” he asked after a while of watching her weave in and out between cars.
“Your place.”
Mark frowned, sweat dotting his forehead. “Why aren’t we going to a hospital?”
“Too dangerous. Limited visiting hours. I won’t be able to protect you well enough.”
Made sense. He fell back into his silence, gripping the door handle tightly the rest of the way.
Crystal helped him into the lobby, warding off an alarmed security guard with just a raise of her hand. The moment the elevator doors dinged open, Mark couldn’t hold out any longer. He clutched his side even harder, his legs giving away. Crystal kept a good hold on him, however, but she grunted as she struggled to carry him to the nearest seat.
“Stay here,” she said.
“Don’t plan on going anywhere,” Mark rasped as she dashed out of the room. He hardly saw her leave, the masked face of his attacker flashing in his mind again. Mark’s hand began to tremble and he clenched it into a fist, summoning a bravado that was fast becoming worn out.
Crystal returned quickly enough though with bandages and a cup of water. She sank to her knees next to him. “This is going to hurt.”
“Any more than it already is?”
Her response was simply to push his shirt up, revealing the wound, and pouring the water on the wound. Mark hissed loudly, realizing a bit too late that it wasn’t just water but salt water.
“It isn’t as deep as I thought,” she mused aloud. �
��Just a slice, actually. Doesn’t need any stitching, thankfully.”
Mark wanted to ask her how she knew all that, but he watched her instead. Her brown eyes were focused on his side, fingers feeling around the tender area. She bit her bottom lip a little bit as she continued to clean the wound, releasing it a second later. Mark didn’t think she realized that she did that.
“How did this happen?” she asked, still cleaning.
Mark continued to stare at her. The longer he stared, the less frightening the entire ordeal now seemed to him. “He came in not too long before you did. I was the only one there. My secretary went down to the lobby and Jen was gone. He told me to stop trying to find the spy.”
“Chances are he knew you would be alone,” Crystal said. “He probably created a diversion to get your secretary to leave her desk.”
“Makes sense,” Mark agreed, his eyes never leaving her face. Crystal glanced up at him once, so she noticed that he was staring, but she returned her attention to her work soon after.
“Is that all he said?” she asked.
“He didn’t stay long after that. He just cut me in my side and skedaddled.”
She looked back up at him. “You sound awfully calm about this. Shock wore off?”
“I think so.” Mark didn’t bother to ask how she knew he had been in shock. “Thanks to you.”
She returned her attention to the wound, wrapping gauze over the area. “What did I do?”
It was what she didn’t do that had calmed him. She reacted quickly, knowing exactly what to do without hesitation. It was her level-headedness that brought him back to reality. If there was any doubt in Mark’s mind whether or not his impulsive hire was a good choice, it was gone now.
Mark decided to ignore the question. “Stay with me. Tonight.”