Chapter 19

CHAPTER19

“Iwould once again like to thank you for this opportunity,” Pam said with a hopeful smile while Bailey sat there, trying to figure out how this happened.

One minute, she was ensuring that Quinn understood that she would not be intimidated, and the next…

“I’d also like to take this opportunity to apologize for your head,” Pam said with a nod as she shifted in her seat while she continued to hug the notebook and pen that she’d showed up with ten minutes ago against her chest as she sat there waiting for Bailey to say something.

“Did Quinn happen to tell you what your new duties were?” Bailey asked, deciding that was the best place to start since she had no idea what a personal assistant did.

She’d never had one before, never really needed one and…

She really wasn’t sure that this was a good idea.

Clearing her throat, Pam said, “I’m not supposed to get coffee,” with a firm nod, making Bailey frown.

“But-”

“I’m not supposed to get you coffee, soda, energy drinks, or anything with caffeine listed as an ingredient,” Pam said, making Bailey narrow her eyes as she considered the woman sitting across from her as she quickly tried to find a loophole in the orders that Quinn apparently drilled into her new assistant’s head.

“What if-” Bailey began only to grumble when Pam cut her off with, “I’m immediately to inform Quinn.”

“I see,” Bailey murmured as she found herself watching the man who had gone too far as he made his way around the floor, checking cameras, locks, and whatever else he did while she sat there, realizing that he’d won this round.

Or had he…

She opened her mouth only to close it with a grumble when Pam added, “I’m also supposed to tell him when you leave the building.”

“What if I go upstairs?” Bailey asked, deciding to find out just how tight he had her leash.

“He’ll know,” Pam said with another nod.

“And if I go downstairs?”

“He’ll know that, too,” Pam said, making Bailey frown as she shifted her attention to the trio standing in her doorway, enjoying what appeared to be extra-large iced coffees that she would give anything to get her hands on.

“He really seems to be obsessed with you,” Jill pointed out.

“He really does,” Jamie said, nodding in agreement while Kelly stood there, shaking her head sadly before adding, “I’ve always suspected that.”

“Did you get me an iced coffee?” Bailey asked, sounding really hopeful even to her own ears.

“We did,” Jill said, nodding. “We really did, but that man,” and this is where she paused to take another sip and point a damning finger in Quinn’s direction, “confiscated it.”

“Of course, he did,” Bailey murmured, rubbing her temples as she felt another headache coming on, only to stop when Pam said, “I’m also supposed to tell him if your head starts hurting again.”

“It’s fine,” Bailey lied, only to narrow her eyes on her new assistant when she said, “He said you’d say that,” as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and typed something.

Frowning, Bailey’s gaze flickered from the woman who really seemed to take her job seriously to the man who was really starting to stress her out to find him stopping whatever he was doing to pull his phone out and-

“He looks really pissed,” Jamie said conversationally.

“This probably isn’t going to end well for you,” Kelly pointed out, not really sounding all that concerned while Bailey sat there struggling not to panic, but it was kind of difficult with the large man that was making her life difficult coming her way.

Damn it!

Swallowing hard, Bailey held her hand out to Pam. “Give me your phone.”

“But I’m not supposed to-”

“Don’t worry. He’ll never know,” Bailey said as she quickly climbed onto her desk, reached over and snatched the phone out of Pam’s hand and quickly sent Quinn a text message telling him that it was just a false alarm as she watched him, worrying her bottom lip between her teeth as she waited for him to read it.

“I can’t believe he gave up that easily,” Jill said, shaking her head in disgust as they watched Quinn slide his phone back into his pocket as he returned to whatever it was that he was doing.

“It’s shameful, really,” Jamie murmured while Bailey climbed off her desk and handed Pam her phone back.

“You deserve better,” Kelly said, shaking her head in disgust as Jill murmured in agreement, all three of them sending hopeful looks Quinn’s way as Bailey decided that she’d had enough for one day.

* * *

“Don’t,”Nathan said, pinching the bridge of his nose while Quinn stood there, wondering what the hell she was doing.

“She’s been in there for two hours,” Quinn pointed out, hating the way that she made him feel.

Fucking helpless.

He’d never felt like this before and he fucking hated it. She was just a job, another paycheck that he needed to protect, but no matter how many times he told himself that…

She was just a job.

“What is she doing in there?” Quinn asked, clenching his jaw as he stood there, waiting for the supply closet door to finally open so that he could see with his own goddamn eyes that she was fine.

“Honestly?” Nathan said, sighing heavily as he dropped his hand away. “I have no fucking clue. The only thing that I know is that she wants to be left alone.”

“I figured that one out on my own,” Quinn drawled.

“She used to hide in the pantry. At first, we didn’t know what to make of it. Mom would tell us to just leave her be, but Dad would lose his fucking mind until one day, he couldn’t take it anymore and decided to go into the pantry and find out what was wrong. Whatever she said to him had him quietly stepping out of the pantry, closing the door behind him and telling us that she was fine. We probably would have believed him if he hadn’t installed a lock on the pantry door the next day so that she could lock herself inside,” Nathan explained with a shrug.

Well, that explained why there was a lock on the other side of that door, Quinn thought, only to frown when the woman that he still couldn’t place said, “She used to sleep in the closet.”

At Quinn’s questioning look, the incredibly beautiful redhead released a long-suffering sigh as she said, “I can’t believe that you don’t remember me.”

“Should I?” Quinn asked, his gaze returning to that locked door as he considered breaking it down, needing to make sure that she was okay and-

God, he was fucking pathetic.

Any other job and he would shrug it off, thankful for the small reprieve, but with Bailey…

She was driving him crazy.

“You used to glare at me whenever I came within twenty feet of Bailey,” came the softly murmured words that had him going still.

Sure that he’d misheard her, Quinn glanced back at the woman that looked so fucking familiar and-

“Kelly,” he said, taking in the red hair that looked darker now, the bright blue eyes that used to watch Bailey’s every move, the perfect lips that used to torment Bailey and-

“I would really appreciate it if you didn’t kill me,” the woman who used to make Bailey’s life a living hell said, nodding solemnly.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Quinn demanded, knowing that there was no way in hell that Bailey would willingly hire the woman clearing her throat awkwardly, her panicked gaze never leaving his as she reached over and grabbed Nathan by the arm and yanked him in front of her with a weakly mumbled, “Really hoping that you don’t kill me.”

Deciding that he’d had enough for one day, Quinn headed for the door, deciding that it was time to get some answers.