Chapter 22

CHAPTER22

She was definitely going to make him pay for this, Cayley decided even as she prayed that he got to the point so that she could get off this chair and make her way to the nearest bathroom, and God, did she really need to use the bathroom.

Seven. Long. Hours.

She really wished that she hadn’t had that extra cup of coffee this morning, Cayley thought as she shifted in her seat again, struggling to get her mind off the bottle of water on the floor and-

“Go out with me.”

-wondered when she’d started hallucinating.

“I’m sorry. What’s this now?” Cayley found herself asking as she shifted her focus back to the man stepping inside the closet with her.

“Go out with me,” Bryce said as he focused his attention on carefully cutting the tape wrapped around her right ankle.

“I really don’t think that’s a good idea,” Cayley said even as she prayed that he moved faster.

“Why is that?” Bryce drawled as he took his time pulling the tape off her ankle and-

Oh, God…

-gently ran his fingers beneath her pant leg, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind as she struggled to focus.

“Didn’t you accuse me of stalking you two weeks ago?” Cayley pointed out as he dropped his hand away and focused his attention on her other leg.

“Probably,” Bryce murmured absently as he focused on cutting the tape off her ankle.

After he carefully removed the tape, his eyes met hers as she sat there, frantically shaking her head, praying that he wasn’t about to do what she thought he was about to do and-

“Please stop doing that,” Cayley whispered weakly when she felt his fingertips glide across the back of her leg.

“Are you going to say yes?” Bryce asked as he focused his attention on the duct tape that went across her thighs, making her frown.

“I really just don’t think it’s a good idea…” Cayley said, only to have her words trail off as she watched Bryce stop what he was doing to close his knife and slide it back in his pocket as he stepped out of the closet and-

“Fine! I’ll go out with you!” Cayley snapped when he reached for the door.

Bryce paused, appearing as though he was thinking it over only to release a heavy sigh with a sad shake of his head as he said, “I’m afraid it’s too late for that.”

“I-I will kill you in your sleep,” Cayley somehow managed to get out as her rage escalated to a whole new level. She was thirsty, hungry, and she really had to pee, and she really wasn’t in the mood to play this game with him. She just wanted to go home and devour a pint of ice cream by herself as she decided the best way to get back at the little bastard who did this to her.

“Probably,” Bryce said, not really sounding all that concerned about his impending doom.

“Just let me go, Bryce, and I’ll go out with you,” Cayley said, wiggling in her chair to get his attention back where it needed to be.

“I would love to, I really would, but I’m not sure that’s an option anymore, not after you hurt my feelings,” the bastard that was clearly toying with her said with a sad shake of his head and a helpless shrug.

She really hated him, Cayley decided as she released a shaky breath and did what she knew was expected of her even as she promised herself that the second, the very second, that she was free that she was going to-

“All this arguing has made me thirsty,” Bryce murmured as she found herself sitting there, unable to hold back a whimper as she watched him reach for the bottle and-

“I would love to go out with you, Bryce!” Cayley found herself shouting as she squeezed her eyes shut, praying that he would stop before it was too late.

There was a slight pause, and then, “Are you sure?”

“Yes!”

“I mean, I don’t want you to do something that you don’t want to,” Bryce said, and she swore then and there that she was going to beat him with this chair when she was finally free.

“It’s the dream,” Cayley insisted, struggling to keep it together only to sigh when she felt his hands reach for the tape again. Relieved that this was almost over, she forced herself to sit there and keep her mouth shut, but she knew that the second, the very second, that she was free that she was going to make him pay.

Then…

She’d go find the bastard that blasted Christmas music all day so that no one would hear her. Oh, would she make Sean pay, Cayley thought as she felt the tape removed from her arms seconds before Bryce was reaching for her. She opened her eyes, not bothering to hide her glare as he picked her up and placed her on the floor. When her legs buckled, he released a curse, picked her back up and steadied her as she-

Was quickly reminded that she had to use the bathroom. With a murderous glare in his direction, the only warning that he was going to get, Cayley stumbled away from him, only to stop, release a curse, and promptly turned around, awkwardly reached down and snatched the water bottle off the floor as she shot the large bastard who looked really smug at the moment one last glare. That was followed by quickly making her way down the freshly polished staircase and through the newly renovated foyer as quickly as her trembling legs would carry her and into the bathroom, praying every inch of the way that she made it in time.

Five minutes later, she was done, the bottle of water was empty, and she was ready to get that revenge that she’d been dreaming about all day. Tossing the empty bottle in the trashcan, Cayley opened the door, more than ready to do this, only to find herself standing in the foyer, unable to help but wonder where her desk was.

Really hoping that Sean didn’t do something asinine like put her desk on the roof because she’d refused to give him answers that she didn’t have, Cayley reluctantly headed back to the stairs only to wonder why her office light was on. For a moment, she stood there, telling herself that she knew better, but…

Damn it.

Really hoping that this wasn’t a trap, Cayley reluctantly headed to her office, making sure to look over her shoulder as she went, knowing exactly what the James boys were capable of and-

“Oh, my God…”

“Do you like it?” Bryce asked as Cayley stood there, taking in the large office that, up until a week ago, didn’t have any walls, and found herself taking in the freshly painted gray walls with white trim, the black doors, and built-in shelves to the freshly polished wood floors before shifting her attention to her desk and taking it all in again.

“I love it,” Cayley said as she walked into the room and ran her fingertips along the shelves, noting that all of her books and binders had been neatly organized along with several of the photos that she had of her father, the one of her mother holding her when she was a baby, and of her and Sean the day that they graduated high school before glancing back at Bryce to find him watching her.

“How did this happen?” Cayley asked, still trying to wrap her mind around what she was seeing since her office was supposed to be one of the last rooms to get worked on.

“I came in early and left late,” Bryce said, his expression unreadable as he watched her as she tried to make sense of what he was saying.

“You did this?” she asked, swallowing hard when he nodded.

“Why?” Cayley asked as she took in the beautiful office that must have taken a lot of work even as she ran his words through her head again. That’s why he’d been working so hard this past week because he was making sure that her office was finished so that she didn’t have to work in the foyer while they were working. It was one of the nicest things that anyone had ever done for her and-

“Because I missed you.”