He Watches Me: The Seen Trilogy: Part One by Cynthia Sax Read Free Book Online Page A

office next week.” Blaine covers my fingers with his. Warmth and strength courses up my arm. My chest tightens and my heart beats faster. “I will see you soon.” His green eyes sparkle.
    He will see me soon, all of me. I force myself to release his hand.
    Blaine gives me a curt nod, pivots on his heels, the motion fluid and graceful, and he stalks out of the door without a backward glance. I gaze after him, wishing I could leave too, dreading my coworkers’ questions.
    Michael Cooke bursts through the door with his trademark smile on his perfect face. He’s wearing a tan and cherry floral shirt, his usual khakis, and Birkenstocks. Other senior employees carry briefcases and messenger bags. Michael simply shows up, his arms empty.
    “Hey kiddo.” He grins at me, his handsome face lighting up, and I forget to breathe. Gazing at Michael is like staring directly into the center of the sun. He dazzles me with his good looks. “Were you waiting for me?”
    “Meet and greet,” I manage to say. Does he want me to wait for him?
    “Meet and greet? Thought you didn’t have your headset yet.” Michael continues to walk, his strides long and fast. “Wait a minute.” He stops short, staggering backward dramatically. His mother is an actress and Michael has inherited some of her talent. “I saw the elusive Gabriel Blaine slink into that big gas guzzling limousine of his. Don’t tell me he was your perspective donor?”
    I give him a Blainelike nod, my face heating.
    “Wow.” The big man whistles. “Still waters do run deep.” He looks at me more closely, his perusal pausing for a few seconds too long at my padded chest. “You’re a dark horse, kiddo.” Normally, clichés make me wince, but this is Michael Cooke and he’s talking to me so I don’t say anything. “I didn’t know you ran in those circles.”
    What circles? The midnight skinny dipping club? “I don’t know Mr. Blaine well,” I lie. I might not know about Blaine’s mysterious social circles but I do know him.
    I jog beside Michael as he moves through the hallway. My heavily padded breasts bounce, the experience strange, and not in a good way.
    “You be careful around him.” Michael’s big hand rests on my shoulder, and my body sings with joy, craving touch. “He’s a ruthless man. He takes what he wants.”
    Blaine wants me. Excitement flutters in my stomach. And Michael is touching me. I wiggle my toes, the action concealed by my shoes.
    “He’s been in prison.”
    “Prison?” I sputter. This one word douses all of my joy.
    “You didn’t know?” Michael gazes down at me.
    I’m too shocked to be dazzled by his handsome face. Blaine has been to prison. He’s a criminal like my father. I shake my head, unable to talk.
    “Of course you didn’t know. He’s Gabriel Blaine.” Michael laughs, unaware that my world has been knocked off axis. “Not many people know. He had his record expunged and the media is too scared to write about it, but that doesn’t change who he is. Once a criminal, always a criminal.”
    Once a criminal’s daughter, always a criminal’s daughter. People never forget. Whatever Blaine has done will follow him and anyone who associates with him forever.
    If I continue to see Blaine, his past will follow me. I’ll be the daughter of a thief and dating an ex-con, guilty by association. I don’t know if I can handle this. I don’t know if I have a choice.
    I’m in a mental fog as I step into the pit. My coworkers cheer and clap, jolting me out of my musings. Michael grins his brilliant grin, pounds my shoulder one more time and swaggers into his office. I smile feebly and somehow answer the flurry of questions without sharing any information. As quickly as possible I escape the spotlight and make my way back to my seat.
    A brand new headset is placed next to my phone. I unwrap the cord and look for a hole to plug it into.
    “Gabriel Blaine, huh?” Goth girl raises a pierced eyebrow. “That man is a god in