Second Love & Magic

Chapter 34

"Shit! Someone's here." Gabriel immediately logged out of the computer. Footsteps moved rapidly down the hall towards the office. He grabbed Olivia by the wrist and led her across the office to a large mahogany wardrobe. "Come on."

"Why do you have clothes in your office?" she asked, eyeing the row of suits before he shoved them aside.

"In case I needed to change for a meeting or to go to the gym or something." He squeezed into the tight space and held his hand out to her. "You coming, darling?"

"Ugh," she grunted as she slid in beside him closing the door behind her. "I'm surprised you don't have a private bath with a steam shower."

"I would have if I didn't think that I wouldn't have been able to get rid of Ash." His voice dropped to a whisper as they heard the security beep outside the office door. He prayed that the computer had shut down all the way. He looked down at her in the thin ray of light creeping under the door. "Turned out to be a bigger problem than I thought."

They both held their breath as the office door opened. They could hear the desk chair move and the computer boot up. So far so good. Then they heard a giggle. A drunken giggle.

"Ash-er." It was Jade. "Why did we have to come here tonight? Why can't you do this tomorrow?"

"I told you, babe," his brother responded over the clicks of the keyboard, "this has to be done tonight. It is already eight am in China."

"Aren't they the enemy?" Her voice wandered around the room.

"There are no enemies in business, babe."

"Whatever. I just want to get back to having a good time."

"Just a few more minutes and then I'm all yours."

Gabriel looked down at Olivia, and she rolled her eyes. He smiled back. They were pressed close together and not only could he feel her breasts against his chest, he could see right down her corset to her black bra. He wished that Asher had turned on the overhead lights in the office so that light could shine into the wardrobe. His hand naturally circled around her, but she deftly elbowed him, and he had to stifle a grunt.

"They're all done." Asher's voice interrupted them. "We can go, babe."

"Actually, I was thinking," Jade's words were almost slurred, "why go when we can do everything right here?"

A look of panic lit up Olivia's face in the dark.

"What did you have in mind?"

The computer shut down.

"I'll show you."

Rustling came from beyond the wardrobe door. Gabriel tried not to laugh as Olivia's grip tightened on his arm.

"Oh, my God!" Jade shouted. "Gabe's here!"

That wiped the smile off his face.

"This is one of his cufflinks!"

"This was his office." Asher sounded annoyed. "There is bound to be some of his shit still around. Are we going to let it ruin our night?"

"No, babe, we're not." Her voice dropped. "Fuck him. He is a tool."

Gabriel's expression changed to mock dismay.

"You're the man."

Olivia made a gagging face.

"I am now, babe." The rustling continued.

Before Olivia could get any more distressed, Gabriel reached behind him and undid a latch. The back of the wardrobe swung open into the dark conference room adjacent to the office. He stepped out and helped a surprised Olivia to freedom. He quietly shut the door behind them before silently leading her out to the hall. They moved in unison to the stairs until something caught Gabriel's eye. There was his name with Vice President under it emblazoned on Asher's old office door. Glaring at it, he let Olivia pull him away and out of the building.

"What the fuck was that?" she huffed the moment they were in the deserted back alley. "That wasn't funny, Gabe."

"Sure it was." He grabbed her hand and pulled her close against her will. "It may have been the only time I ever get to feel your body pressed against mine."

"Oh, shut up!" She spun away from him and started walking in front of him. "They could have found us. Jade's drunk ass could've opened that wardrobe at any moment."

"But she didn't." He didn't try to catch up but decided to enjoy the view from behind. "Are you a little jealous that Ash moved on so quickly after hitting on you?"

"Kiss my ass, Gabe!" She spun around and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Gladly," he said reaching for her.

"Quit playing! What has gotten into you?"

"I've decided that life is too short. We might as well enjoy it while we can."

"So you're turning into Ash?"

"I still have a soul, darling." He laughed. "Why can't we have some fun?"

"Because we don't have time." That wasn't an absolute no. "We have to figure out what Ash is up to."

"I already know what my brother is up to," he said. "He is trying to reach my contacts in China. Probably to sell them defense contracts."

"You have contacts in China?"

"Yeah."

"Gabe, you're making money off the people that are attacking us?" Olivia asked, stepping back from him. "You're profiting from American deaths."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." He held up his hand. "These are contacts that GIG had from before the war started. Even before the attacks."

"That doesn't make it okay!" Her voice rose and her cheeks flushed. "I can't believe this."

"Olivia, I can explain." He reached inside his cloak, but she was backing away from him. "Doing business with the other side is normal. How do you think we will repair ties with China when the war is over?"

"That is your justification?" She glared at him. "You make me sick."

"Olivia," he tried again.

"No, get away from me." She held up her hand behind her as she walked away, and he let her go.