Page 57 of Dissonance
“TAC…” she says slowly.
“Aye. What about it?”
“You work for them?”
“Indirectly. I work for Elite Security. They’re contracted out to TAC Management.”
Her laugh is short, dry even, as she glances away. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“What?” I step toward her, only for her to flinch back. “Thea?”
“That’s my father’s company. Thomas Anthony Calloway Management,” she says, thrusting her hands into her hair. “The one I work for. The one I’ve been trying to prove myself in for the last—” She cuts off, shaking her head.
“I didn’t know.” I watch as she starts to pace, the relaxed, easy-going woman I had in bed the last few days now a tightly coiled bundle of stress.
“I know,” she snaps, like that’s not even the point. “That’s not— There were people from the company at that gala. Dozens of them. Anyone could have seen us talking, seen us leave.” She turns, hands still in her hair, working through this aloud rather than at me. “And if they saw us leave together, if anyone from TAC put it together, do you know what that does? Do you know how fast rumors spread?”
My jaw tightens. “It was just the weekend.”
Her hands drop, arms wrapping around herself.
“I walk into rooms every day where people already assume I don’t belong. That I haven’t earned my place because I’m the boss’s daughter.” Her eyes find mine, exhaustion and anger pulsing beneath the surface, years of having to fight for every inch of ground carved into the set of her shoulders. “And now imagine what it’ll look like if this gets out. That I spent the weekend with a man contracted by my father’s firm.”
“It won’t get out.”
“You don’t know that,” she fires back. “You have all these connections, and it only takes one person to say I sleep with security to get access to clients.”
Her gaze drops for a moment, the tension bleeding out of her before she pulls it back. “I don’t get to be reckless. Not if I want to build something that’s mine one day.”
And this weekend, that was her being reckless. With me.
“So that’s it?” I keep my voice level. “After today, nothing else.”
Her eyes come back to mine, and she stares at me for a beat before nodding. “That was the deal.”
One weekend. No expectations. No complications.
Funny how it doesn’t feel that simple now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Thea
Present Day
My brother’s name appearing on my screen before I’ve even made it out the door makes me groan. Thermos tucked under one arm, I swipe to answer, wedging the phone between my ear and shoulder as I lock up.
“Well, if it isn’t my baby sis,” he chirps, far too awake for this hour.
Then again, being annoyingly functional before the sun’s properly up is practically a Calloway family trait. Years of working alongside our father will do that.
“What do you want, Ed?”
“Wow. Good morning to you too. Can’t a brother just call to see what’s new with his sister?”
What’s new with me? Oh, nothing much, just accidentally created a human.
I cringe, heading for the elevator bank. Truthfully, the bad mood isn’t his fault. I woke up like this after spending far too long last night lying in bed, staring at my ceiling, replaying dinner with Lockie in my head. The way he looked at me from across the table, the walk to my door, that kiss on my cheek like a goddamn gentleman.
