The Billionaire's Assistant

Chapter 73

She crossed the distance between the rink's entrance and the front door faster than she thought herself able and burst out of the double doors into the comparatively warm air, her plan unformed. She looked to the left and right, hearing the sound of Jove's feet pounding after her and the concern lilt of his voice as he called her name.

Entirely unfamiliar with the area, Kat took off to the right, running through the lot and tearing across the street as if being hunted. She looked back to see Jove had yet to burst through the main doors as she had, and frantically all but threw herself into a slim nearby alley, hoping the building and stacks of cardboard concealed her enough to make her escape.

She continued quickly, panting from the sudden burst of impressive athleticism, and made her way down the rest of the alley onto a street she'd never seen lined with what appeared to be more warehouses and storage facilities. Feeling an anxiety she couldn't nail down or evade, Kat picked up speed again, hurtling down the street although she was sure Jove hadn't seen the direction she went.

She felt ridiculous, running with childlike abandon in her business formal clothes, but it was the only thing she could do to clear her head and keep it empty, to ensure that thoughts of her future sadness, her life without Jove, stayed at the back of her mind where they belonged.

Kat ran for several blocks until she slowly began to recognize the landmarks around her, sweating heavily through her formal attire by the time she was on a street she'd call herself familiar with.

She'd run away from Jove, literally run away, and the situation would almost be laughable if it weren't so devastating, so heart wrenching. Kat now knew where she was, but she had no idea where she wanted to go, and instead wandered aimlessly, wanting above all to forget the last few hours, to erase it so that it no longer replayed over and over. Her ecstasy and agony in one, the best and worst moment of her life, the pinnacle of feeling, good and bad.

She was starving, exhausted, and sticky with sweat after her impromptu multi-mile sprint, but for some reason she couldn't bring herself to head towards the den. She couldn't stand to look in their faces, felt as if they likely wouldn't be able to stand to look in hers. She felt like her emotions were written all over her, her whole story with Jove, her journey from the beginning. She felt like even showing her face would be exposing herself. It was too early to return anyways, she'd draw suspicion.

Kat wrenched her eyes shut, forcing herself not to think about the badge she didn't have.

I need to eat, she decided, taking the next left that would put her on the way to Spatchy's. I need to eat and get a little clarity.

Despite the situation, despite the wrenching sadness and fear and nerves and humiliation Kat felt, a dry chuckle slipped from her lips. She'd literally run away from Jove, run and hidden and then run some more, like she was evading the law. It was very nearly funny, and while Kat couldn't quite appreciate the humor of the situation in her current straits, she could at least acknowledge it.

I must've looked ridiculous falling onto that ice, she thought, wincing. But at least he knows I'm not hurt cause of the way I took off, she mused as the sign for the restaurants came into view. I don't think I've ever run that fast in my life.