“I don’t need anyone special. I’m fine on my own.” As long as I have you in my life. Even if only as a friend. I leave the last part unsaid.
Tate notices the movie playing on the TV and we snuggle together to finish watching it. Him with a renewed hope for love, and me with the devastation of a love that will never be.
Chapter Five
It angers me that Stuart arranged for Tate’s date to be with him. I can’t dispose of Stuart as easily as I did the others, not without Tate noticing. The other men had been virtual strangers, men whose disappearance from his life made no impact. But Stuart, the man is one of his favorite coworkers. Tate will definitely notice if one day he never shows up for work. I’m going to have to be inventive and convince Tate to leave Stuart himself, somehow.
At least my day isn’t the only one that has been ruined by Stuart’s manipulations. Corvin looks miserable as he listens to Tate talk about how wonderful Stuart is. Stuart this, and Stuart that. Blah, blah, blah.
I can’t believe he hasn’t ever seen the way Corvin looks at him. The poor man’s got it bad and it’s plain as day on his face, and if Tate ever bothered to pay attention, he’d see it. The longing and sadness at Tate finding someone who isn’t him is clear, but Tate is oblivious as he recounts his date.
I almost feel sorry for Corvin. He’s the only man I’ve allowed to stay so close to Tate, and that’s only because he protects him. His love for Tate means he will keep him safe and is the reason I haven’t shown myself as Tate’s stalker and disposed of him. He takes care of Tate when I can’t.
Not to worry, Corvin. I’ll find a way to remove Stuart from Tate’s life. It might take a little more time than my usual methods, but I’ll get rid of the romantic nuisance.
Chapter Six
Tate
Things with Stuart are going well. Corvin has been a little distant recently, but I’m sure he’ll let me know what’s wrong when he’s ready. My life is pretty much how I’d always dreamt it would be, except for one thing. My stalker is back.
I don’t mention anything to Corvin because I know he’ll want me to go to the police. There’s nothing they can do. He’s not harassing me or threatening me. He’s just been leaving me small gifts and romantic little notes. At first I thought it was Stuart. When I thanked him for the bouquet of roses that had been left on my desk at work, he’d frowned and told me they weren’t from him. I haven’t mentioned any of the other gifts since.
I sigh and close the door to my office. I can feel a headache brewing and I don’t want to deal with numbers and spreadsheets and invoices, but being an accountant means I need to work with those and more. I take the bottle of aspirin from my desk drawer as I sit in my rolling chair and swallow them with a sip of water. Then I just sit for a moment with my eyes closed, willing the pain to recede enough that I can work.
My gaze falls to the slip of paper on my desk as soon as I open them.
He isn’t worthy of you. He can’t give you what you deserve. You need a love built to last. He’s just following some script based on what he thinks you want. No one is that perfect. He may have you falling for his act, but he doesn’t know you like I do. You’ll see through his ruse soon enough.
I crumple it and toss it into the garbage bin at the side of my desk. Does Stuart seem impossibly perfect? Yes. But my stalker knows just what to say to make me doubt everything. It really is like he knows me better than anyone else. He thinks I’m easy prey for whatever game he’s playing. But I’m as much the predator as I am his prey; he just doesn’t know it… yet.
He’s messing with my head, and I need to do something to make him stop. I’m determined to end this before he can escalate to disrupting my life with more than minor inconveniences. I write out a note asking him to meet me and leave it on my desk. He’s bound to find it when he comes to drop off his next ‘gift.’
I close out of my files and shut down my computer. The thrumming pain in my head isn’t going to let up and I won’t be able to get any work done anyway, so I slip out early. I send Stuart a text to let him know and then another to reassure him that I’m fine.
I don’t remember much of the journey home, or the walk up to the apartment, but somehow I make it inside. Falling onto my bed, I squeeze my eyes tight to try and help alleviate some of the pain. I’m not sure how long I lie there, but at some point I must doze off. The next thing I know is I’m awakened by Corvin calling my name from down the hall. The pain in my head has lessened, but his shouts are like vises clamping down on my brain.
“What?” I manage to call back, and I open my eyes to see him standing in my doorway.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I got a headache at work that wouldn’t go away, so I cut out early.”
“Another
