A/N Thank you so much for all the story alerts and reviews – totally makes me want to keep updating this :D This is short but theres more coming :)

Disclaimer: Not mine, yada yada yada, you get the picture.

Chapter 8

It had been over two weeks and Annie was still ignoring him. He had heard bits and pieces of information about her from his friends in the tech ops department but nothing to help him understand how Annie was truly feeling. He asked Joan if Annie was doing okay but for some reason Joan was stone-walling him, she merely informed him that he needed to talk to Annie directly himself. Apparently she was more protective of Annie than even he had realized.

The reality was he was worried about her. And he missed her. A lot. Not knowing if Annie was doing okay was distracting him from being able to focus on his job. He needed to pull himself together. He cared about Annie but he knew he couldn't ever let himself be any more than friends with her for her own safety. She was ignoring him anyway.

In fact, he was a little angry about that. How dare she kiss him like that then walk away. No girl had gotten under his skin like this since Natasha. He had understood that she was upset that he had abandoned her by taking this promotion. Hell, he even understood that she was working through some stuff in her own life and for whatever reason he was a trigger right now.

She had left his office that night so cryptically. He still had no answers to the questions she had left him with that night and it was driving him to distraction. Hearing that Annie had agreed to go out with Jai last night was the last straw for him. Apparently that kiss had meant nothing to her. She was just using him as her reliable best friend. Or ex-best friend given that she was now avoiding him.

Then again, he couldn't judge her for going out with Jai given that he had been dating the beautiful Swedish ambassador's daughter. For him though, she was just a distraction, someone to pass time with. Annie knew that Jai had always been his main competition and that going on a date with him would hurt. Or at the very least she must know it would bruise his ego.

But maybe he was just trying to make excuses to avoid facing facts. The reality was that he was hurt and bewildered by the emotional yo-yo game she was playing with his heart. And that the only reason she was able to do that was because he was head over heels in love with her.

He slammed his coffee down on his desk slightly harder than he intended and put his head in his hands, groaning in frustration.

He couldn't take this anymore. Anything would be better than this feeling of limbo. The not knowing was killing him. He looked at the time; Annie would be finishing work in a few minutes. He headed straight for the elevator to intercept her on her way out. As he stepped out of the elevator onto her floor he could smell her grapefruit scent.

"Annie." He called out and heard her footsteps pause before she continued walking away from him. She was not getting away with that this time. They were going to have this conversation right now whether or not she wanted. She had pushed him away long enough. He ran to catch up with her, placing his hands on the sides of each of her arms and turning her around gently to face him. Every muscle in his body was taut and tension was rolling off him in waves. His unseeing eyes pinned her to the ground with their intensity. He was fighting every instinct within himself to continue to hold her lightly instead of pinning her to the nearest wall and kissing her the way he had been wanting to for weeks.

His frustration was barely contained below the surface. A guy could only take so much, and he was at the end of his rope. Instead he spoke evenly, calmly, but through gritted teeth. The words came out low and tightly controlled.

"I need an explanation. Right now. Can we talk alone, please." The please came out as more of a growl. It was a demand, not a question.

Annie took a deep breath and agreed,

"Ok."

A/N Time for them to have it out!