Page 50 of Off Her Game

14

The doorman scrutinized Tori in the pink fleece, drenched from the torrential downpour. The hair plastered to her head probably didn’t help convince this guy she was the type of woman a penthouse tenant would want to see. This wasn’t the same doorman she’d met before.

“Just call him. I’ve been up to his place before.” She added for good measure, “Please.”

Her phone dinged.

Symphis text:Good girl. Go get my code.

A small tremor shook her hand as she shoved the phone back into the fleece’s pocket.

“Miss? Miss!”

Tori jumped. Her attention snapped to the doorman. Crap, she’d zoned out.

“You’re good. Go on up,” he said, hand shooing her toward the elevator.

“Sorry,” she muttered before shuffling toward the mirrored doors of the elevator in a daze. Her gaze remained fixed on the camera in the corner, determined to stare down the asshole watching her.

Noah’s door opened within moments of stepping out of the elevator. He glanced at the hall camera before ushering her inside. “What happened?”

“Are you sure, I mean absolutely 100 percent sure you’re not bugged or wired in here?”

“I did a sweep when I got home with the machine Sam’s team gave me last month. Didn’t find anything.”

He wore the same clothes as before, which were so sexy they almost made her forget why she was here. Almost. But reality crashed in.

“You want me to hug you or something?” he asked. It wasn’t said like he felt obligated to do it, but was reluctant. He sounded baffled over the right thing to do.

She flung her arms around him.

He held her. “What happened?”

“He called me. Symphis…on my cell phone.”

“He’s trying to get into your head.”

“He’s in there, messing me up. Scaring me. I hate this.” She clung tighter.

He held her in silence for a few minutes. When he pulled away his blue shirt was now wet. “You’re freezing and soaked. Get out of those clothes.”

She laughed. “You say the most romantic things to get me undressed.”

“You’re shivering. Let me grab you something you can change into. Then you’ll tell me the whole story.” He disappeared down the hallway.

She hadn’t even noticed the cold or wet until he pointed it out.

Before, she hadn’t taken time to appreciate his place, which occupied the entire upper floor. He hadn’t offered a tour last night. A glance at the high ceilings, which, in addition to the large windows with natural light, made it feel palatial, and made her think she needed the grand tour. The hardwoods weren’t the scraped-up, decades-old crap like hers, but a textured pattern that screamedno cost spared. She wandered through the TV room where they’d played the game last night and into the kitchen.

Oh my.

Outside the kitchen through a pretty glass door he had a lap pool in his freaking apartment. Along the far deck was a bevy of exercise equipment.

“Here.” Noah held out a T-shirt and a sweatshirt. “I don’t have any pants that’ll fit you. You can go in there.” He pointed to a bathroom she hadn’t noticed.

The marble bathroom’s accouterments could not have been chosen by Noah. No man thought about embroidered hand towels or throw pillows for the bench. Who had a half bath big enough for a bench in the city?

When she emerged he took her clothes. “I’ll throw them in the dryer.”