Chapter 16

The time was well past her closing time, or any other time she would've stayed if she had the intention of staying any longer, but Kate was determined to wait as long as possible. Nick had refused to pick up any of her calls, he'd purposely avoided driving past their usual route that morning, and he'd taken extra pains to evade her despite the numerous times they would've bumped into each other during the day.

Glancing at him past the cubicle wall, she could see him shutting down his system. Packing her things, Katherine stood up and made for his table just as he started for the elevator door, creating an inevitable collision of their paths.

Nicholas Smith halted in his steps on reaching her, and Kate looked up to meet his stare, his eyes so impenetrable she wondered what thoughts lay hidden beneath those dark pools.

"I'm not used to-" She was cut short as he made to walk right past her, but Katherine reached out and grabbed his arm, forcing him to a halt. "Nick." She called. Not t