“Why would she think that?”
Shit. She wasn’t going to let it go.
Choosing my words carefully, I said, “She firmly believes I feel something for her that I don’t. I’ve told her time and again there’s nothing between us, but she refuses to accept it.”
Silently begging Stephanie to leave it be, I changed the topic back to what happened on Wednesday. “Building security knows she’s no longer working here, but she still has friends who do. I’m not sure how she got in, but I’ll work with security until we know so we can ensure it never happens again. You’ll be safe here, Stephanie. You didn’t deserve for that to happen to you, and I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it never happens again.”
“Thanks.” She stood up and smoothed out her skirt. “I’ve already alerted building security of the incident. They said she matches the description of someone they’ve received complaints about before.”
My brows pulled together. “She’s done shit like this before?”
“I don’t know.” She shrugged, walking over to her desk. “It sounds like maybe she has, but they didn’t give me any more details. Only that they’ve received complaints and would look into it.”
How the fuck had I not known about this? My hands fisted at my sides as I stood up as well. I shoved them in my pockets so Stephanie wouldn’t see how pissed I was about this. She needed to see her boss calm and in control of this potentially dangerous situation.
At least that was what I told myself. The truth was I also wanted her to see a man who could keep her safe from any threat she faced. Yet another errant thought I pushed to the back of my mind.
Yup, you never should’ve gotten off to thoughts of her. A voice chided snidely. I shook my head to get rid of it. I needed to focus on getting the situation with Jannie under control.
“I’ll get in touch with them immediately,” I assured Steph, who was going through the motions of turning on her computer and settling in for work—which was what I should’ve been doing too. “I’ll send them photos of Jannie so they know exactly who to look for. She won’t come near these offices again.”
Bars I went to? She could get close to those. The same thing went for my apartment. But at least Stephanie would be safe at work if building security flagged Jannie. That thought lingered in my mind, niggling at me until it clicked.
“In the meantime, I’ll walk with you to your car at the end of every day so you don’t have to go down to the parking garage alone. We can leave at the same time so I can make sure you get out safe.”
“That’s not necessary,” she muttered. It didn’t escape my notice that a light flush spread on her cheeks. “I’ll be fine so long as I know she won’t come barging in here again.”
“She won’t,” I promised, but I wasn’t leaving until she agreed to let me walk her to her car. Security would keep her safe in the building, but around the outer edges of the parking garage and until she was off the property, that would be my job. Also, I was curious about her reaction to my offer. “I really must insist I walk with you though. Security is only contracted to the actual building and some floors in the garage. The further areas and the parts we drive through to get to ours don’t belong to us, they’re rented from… never mind. The point is security will keep you safe while you’re in here, but I’ll walk you to your car.”
“That might be a bit of a problem.” Embarrassment and amusement created an adorable mix of emotion on her face.
“Yeah? Why’s that?” I asked, feeling the corners of my lips twitch up.
“Because I don’t have a car. I commute back and forth to work on the subway.” She grimaced. “I haven’t had a car for weeks. I don’t really need one around the city, but if you want to walk me to it every day, we’d better start walking. It’s parked in a shop somewhere in Queens.”
My gaze dropped to her high heels. Red ones today. “You take the subway wearing those?”
She laughed, shaking her head before she jerked it toward her bag. “Not in a million years. I don’t have a death wish, and I’d prefer to keep my feet until I’m at least thirty. I carry pumps with me, just like practically every other girl in this city.”
“Of course.” I smiled, though keeping different shoes on your person as you commuted every day sounded like a lot of unnecessary effort to me. “In any event, until we get this thing with Jannie under control, commuting back and forth just won’t do.”
I watched as the gears in her brain turned, and her eyes narrowed to slits. Feisty Stephanie was coming out to play. I could hardly wait.