Claire remains still. She might not be breathing. I raise from my seat and walk closer to her side. The short glass wall is the only thing separating us and I could jump over it easily.

But I stop and take her all in. Her tank top is covering her beautiful breasts, but I can see her hard nipples pushing through.

Fuck, I miss touching her.

This is a dream, I conclude. That’s exactly what she looks like every night while I’m sleeping. A pair of shorts, showing her long, tanned legs and her sexy feet adorned by rings and bracelets.

In my dreams, she usually disappears when I get closer. Or she lets me make love to her and vanishes before I beg her to stay.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, staring at her as if I’m seeing a ghost.

She’s a beautiful mirage of the person I’ve missed for the past couple of years.

“Apparently, I moved in with you,” she says dryly.

So far, she hasn’t disappeared. I let out a breath and ask. “Are you back?”

“Of course, you should know, boyfriend,” she says. “Funny, this time you didn’t even ask me if I would play the part of, live-in girlfriend. What would that pay? The last time it was a fake trip to Tuscany. A fake villa in France would suffice.”

I would laugh if she wasn’t glaring at me or her voice wasn’t so harsh.

“No, seriously, why are you here?”

“I live here,” she says. “Apartment 23A, not… whatever your apartment’s number.”

Wait, that’s not possible. Earlier there was someone else moving in, not Claire. I would’ve recognized her.

“What happened to the other woman? The short redheaded one.”

She laughs and shakes her head. “I forgot that under six feet everyone else is short to you. Danielle is taller than me.”

“You’re five foot nothing—I could easily carry you in my pocket,” I say with a grin, remembering how much I joked about her size and how she hated it. “So, this Danielle is your—”

She smirks. “Wouldn’t you like to know? Maybe she’s my secret weapon to destroy you and your company.”

Then, I remember some of the key things this Danielle said. We relocated. My boss should be here soon. There was a dog involved, who is friendly. Her boss is too, but she’s also a busy woman.

Why and from where did they relocate?

Fuck, I wish that woman had said something else—or I had paid more attention.

“So, I take it you're in town to stab more backs.” I decide to play her word game, why not?

Though what I’d like to do is kiss that smart mouth until I make her whimper and beg me to fuck her.