by Jackson Kane
She glanced up at the discrete camera that watched us, then pulled her mouth to the corner of her face. The look told me she felt bad, but there really was nothing she could do. “What do you have there? Is that a dress?”
I sighed. It was a long shot. I draped the dress over Deb's side of the counter and let her unzip the front of the plastic protective cover.
“Oh my gawd. Is that...” Deb slid her fingers along the hem, looking for a tab. “It is!” Her eyes went wide and her tone hushed. “Sweetie, this is a fifty-thousand dollar dress! Did Garrett give this to you? Is that why you're here?”
fifty-thousand?! My family had always done well, but I never dreamed I'd have a dress—or even a car—that was worth that much. That was insane!
“Yes,” I said. “Now you see why I have to go talk to him.”
“Who am I to stand in the way of love?” Deb winked, zipping the cover back up. She handed me the dress back. “Now you run along, and please don't try to bother Mr. Walker...who’s at the gym right now...on floor twenty four.”
“Oh no, it's not like that—” I began to protest while dragging the dress over to me. Then something small and rigid in the bottom of the bag slapped against my leg. My eyes lit up.
She slipped me a key card.
Before I could thank her she shooed me away with a big grin, then greeted another customer.
Deb, I friggin love you! I took the hint, while pretending to be disappointed at being denied like so many other women, and went to the elevators. Once inside I fished the key card out of the plastic bag and used it to get to the gym level.
I looked into the mirrored elevator walls psyching myself up for the meeting with Garrett. OK, be mad! I pointed at the mirror and shouted, “You think you can buy me like a whore?”
OK, too much. Bring it back a little.
“I don't want your bribes. I want—No, I deserve a fair deal.”
Better. Confident, not crazy.
The elevator doors opened to a glassed-in foyer area with towels and an empty employee desk. Beyond the door and glass walls of the foyer were rows of free weights and exercise equipment. It was all right there and it went on forever. I thought the gym was going to be on floor twenty-four, but it turned out the entire floor was the gym.
Eerily, the floor seemed completely empty. It was the biggest hotel in our town, surely at least someone would've wanted to pop down for a quick jog. I walked past the foyer doors and picked up the subtle scents of chemical cleaners mixed with the bleach from the pool.
The weirdest thing by far was the music. Circle of Life wrapped up, then the song from Aladdin started playing, the “I will show you the world” one. Who the hell worked out to Disney music?
During the lull between the two songs, I heard a distant voice and made my way to it. As I rounded the enclosed pool, hot tub, and steam room areas, I realized the voice was that of a young, giggling girl and she was counting. There was also another sound that was out of place for a gym.
“Ten.” Bounce. “Eleven.” Bounce. “Twelve.” Bounce.
When I poked my head around the last corner I found that the noise came from a rubber ball, one you'd use as a kid to play dodge ball. The girl couldn't have been more than six or seven. The ball would land a few feet in front of her, bounce, she would catch it, then count and throw it back to—
Oh my...
Garrett Walker had his knees bent and was hanging upside down on a pull-up bar. He was shirtless with his arms stretched out toward his daughter. He caught the ball, then did a sit up. His abs tightened, his chest flexed and crushed together, and the muscles that ran up his sides bulged and heaved as he raised himself upright for another repetition. Once he tapped the ball on a bar high above his knees, he lowered himself back down and tossed the ball to his daughter.
He looked so much different than in my dream...
I remembered that he was in great shape from the interview I saw of him a long time ago, but seeing a professional football player in person was... Wow. All he wore, aside from thin Converse shoes, was a pair loose fitting fitness shorts that, due to him hanging upside down, rode up to where his legs came together. Although his cock was completely covered by the fabric, everything else was a feast for the eyes.
He was over two hundred pounds of sweet-dripping sexiness. I had to check a few times to make sure my tongue hadn't rolled out of my mouth.
I figured he had a few tattoos, but I'd never have guessed it was that many. He had two scythes across his chest, above an explosion of color and imagery that stretched down both arms and across his back.
It was beautiful; I could study both the art and the canvas for days.
“Eighteen!” The girl excitedly exclaimed. “Only three more!”
“Great job, baby!” Garrett smiled at her so sweetly that it immediately dissolved all my anger against him. When he wiped the sweat from his eyes, they sparkled, it was easy to see how proud he was of his little girl. “You're going to be the best little athlete ever, you know that?”
“Daaaad.” His daughter lit up with embarrassment. Oh good, it's not just me he can do that too.
“Eighteen,” She repeated, then threw him back the ball. He caught the ball easily in one of his large, strong hands.
“Are you trying to trick me?” He asked her, playfully stern. She laughed. “What number comes after eighteen? Twenty five?”
“No,” she smiled knowingly. Her breath whistled through a missing front tooth. “That's too high!”
“Five?” Garrett held out his other hand, opening his fingers one after the other until all five were stretched out.
I leaned against the wall, loving every second of this. The Grim Reaper of Wall Street playing catch, granted a more extreme version, with his daughter while Disney songs played over the gym speakers.
How friggin' cute was that?
Maybe he wasn't the man everyone thought he was. Maybe there was more to him...
I felt like I could've watched this all day, and maybe I would have, if he hadn't glanced in my direction. His smile faded as he raised an eyebrow at me, questioningly. The look put me back on my heels.
It abruptly occurred to me that I was intruding on a private moment with him and his daughter. He probably still gets stalkers all the time.
But I wasn't stalking him. I came here to yell at him!
“Hi!” The little girl followed her father's gaze and waved at me. “My name's Jackie. Do you want to play with us?”
Garrett glanced back at her then gave me a concerned look, which looked especially intimidating while hanging upside down. In one smooth motion he flexed his taut, cord-like thighs and flipped down onto his feet. With moves like that, it was impossible to picture him as anything but a top tier professional athlete.
“No, sweetie,” He told Jackie, gently handing her the ball back. He then walked toward me, grabbing a towel off a nearby shelf and drying his face along the way. His face was set and his steps were deliberate. Every foot closer made my heart race faster. He was not pleased that I was here. “Our new friend is just leaving.”
“I wasn't stalking you!” I blurted out and stepped back reflexively as he reached me.
“How'd you even get in here?” He asked towering over me. Garrett's tan, bulging body glistened as he addressed me. The heat rolling off of him hit me first. His body smoldered like a blast furnace; it seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the room, making it hard to breathe.
Then his aroma encapsulated me. Even his scent had layers. It was the musk you only get through exercise or sex, plus the tang of steel that he'd been pushing, pulling and hanging from. Beyond that was the faint pleasant whiff of cologne that hadn't fully been washed off.
It was the manliest smell I'd ever been exposed to. If he'd been around burning wood at all earlier, I'd have swooned and collapsed on the spot.
“I'm an important figure in the community,” I lied. “I have friends in high places around here.”
Why was I lyin
g? Because “I snuck in because the desk clerk thought we were in love,” sounded too crazy even for me. I looked around and tried to defuse some of the tension. “Where is everyone? You'd figure a gym this big would be a little busier.”
“I like my privacy. I rented out half the hotel so I'd have exclusive access to the gym.”
“Well, not exclusive, if you want to get technical. Your daughter's here too—”
“Why are you here right now, Ms. Sullivan?” Garrett crossed his monstrous arms, which made the scythes that ran up his forearms heave and twist. The motion puffed his chest out and nearly doubled his already large silhouette.
Jesus, no wonder he earned the Grim Reaper nickname on the field. He had the innate ability to be terrifying while playing a sport, or making a million dollar deal.
“Why am I here?” I repeated the question in awe of the god that stood before me. I felt like I was made of glass and might shatter at any moment.
Then I remembered the stakes and did my best to squash the weakness in my knees and the tingling in my lower belly. I looked up at him fiercely. “You're kidding, right?”
He narrowed his eyes, a glint of surprise and confusion in them. He probably thought I'd buckle like so many other people had.
“You abandon me while out at a meeting, then try to weasel out of our deal!” When I didn't turn to ash under the Garrett walker's death stare I stood up a little straighter and continued. “I had to all but blackmail you to get you back here.
“And what is this?” I smashed the bag into his incredibly well-defined, sculpted— I shook the thoughts out of my mind. It was a regular chest, I reminded myself. A big, dumb, handsome, regular chest, that’s all. “An apology? A payment? I don't want anything from you except what we agreed on.”
I did want the dress.
“I want my meeting and I want you to take me seriously.” I mustered up as much authority as I could.
“And your revenge for not taking you seriously is harassing me when I'm with my daughter?”
“I wasn't ogling you!” I paused. Shit, he said harassing, not ogling! “I'm here to make sure you didn't bail on me again. I'm tired of waiting on you and we're not going to that restaurant because I hate French food.”
I had no idea if I hated French food, but I wasn't going to tell him that.
Garrett cocked an eyebrow at my display, unfolded his arms and placed them on his hips. I couldn't tell if that was a good or a bad sign. God, this guy was hard to read.
“This is your town.” Garrett shrugged, unconcerned. “You're the one that wants my help so why don't you pick the next place.”
“I will.” I gave him as much attitude as I could muster, which wasn't much unfortunately. “We're doing lunch instead so...” I waved a hand at his gorgeous torso.
“Lunch? Garrett asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.
“Is that a problem, or are you going to run away on me again?” This time I crossed my arms, despite still feeling as fragile as a porcelain doll on a roller coaster.
“If this honors the verbal contract, then fine,” Garrett flatly stated, then he turned to his daughter and was warm as fresh baked pie. “Let’s get you upstairs with Bridgett, sweetheart. I have to go to a meeting with our new nosy friend here.”
“Aw, Dad.” Jackie whined, stomping over to us. “You said we could play today! You said you didn't have work till after dinner.”
“Sorry, Jackie, but sometimes plans change.” Garrett glanced back at me.
Seeing the disappointment in Jackie's face made me immediately feel awful. She was having so much fun with her dad, then I came and ruined it.
“Hi Jackie. My name's Judy.” I bent forward and shook Jackie's hand. “You want to see a magic trick?”
She nodded, her face brightening a little. When I let go of her hand I put my thumb between my knuckles and pretended it was hers. “Whoops, I stole your thumb!”
It was the world's dumbest magic trick, but it put a smile on her face. It also managed to rob some of the sternness from Garrett's expression as well.
“No, you didn't,” Jackie laughed. She checked her hand just to be sure.
“You want to come with us to lunch, Ms. Jackie?” I asked her.
“I don't think that's a good idea.” Garrett was quick to interject.
“Why not?” I looked up at him “I happen to know a very classy place that welcomes children.”
He gave me a skeptical glance, then crouched down next to his daughter. “It's up to you. You want to come with us?”
Jackie nodded.
Chapter 10
Garrett
“This is your idea of classy?” I asked, taking off my long wool jacket and draping it over my arm. Jackie squirmed as I pulled off her puffy coat. I placed her hat, gloves and scarf in her coat's pocket, then handed the heap of clothing to the boy in his late teens who ran the coat check room.
Crazy World Adventure Park was a renovated big box store plot turned gaming complex. The theme of the company was child-friendly oversize monsters run amock. There were plastic mold statues everywhere. One was of a T-Rex anxiously trying to hold a putter near the glow-in-the-dark mini golf course. An Octopus played three separate video games simultaneously in the arcade and a unicorn escaped from the merry-go-round so that children could take pictures on it.
“Look, see? There's a dress code and everything. Formal attire only.” Judy pointed over to the twelve-foot-tall pink gorilla sculpture by the entrance of Crazy World. It was dressed and posed to look like the famous picture of Marilyn Monroe pushing her white dress down while standing on the steel grate, only to have the wind push it back up.
Judy shrugged off her winter gear and flashed a big grin to Jackie who started giggling right away. The joke went over Jackie's head, but it didn't matter. It was amazing how quickly those two took to one another.
That worried me.
“Look, Dad! That's silly.” Jackie yelled gleefully as I picked her up.
“Let's get you some food, so you have energy to play.” I smiled warmly at my daughter and carried her over toward the restaurant. Turning to Judy I asked, “I'm guessing this place doesn't have a Michelin star?”
“No but we can grab a pack of the gold star stickers from the gift shop and put them on your plate if that'd make you feel better.” Judy joked, obviously feeling more comfortable in a casual setting. Was this what she was like normally?
I remembered her being lighthearted and giddy at the masquerade, when we were just two dancers. Despite all the drama happening in both our lives at that time, it was just her and me, and music. It's amazing how such a small brief moment could stick in your head so strongly.
“Molly!” Judy's smile deepened as she waved to someone behind me.
Molly was a tanned, olive-skinned woman with dark auburn eyes and a knowing smirk. She sat at one of the many picnic style tables with a feast of food in front of her. Molly waved back while trying to get a little boy—who looked to be around Jackie's age— to eat. The boy fidgeted and pouted as he made a general mess of half a hotdog and mustard on his paper plate.
“No. You have to eat something first. Just one thing that's all I'm asking.” Molly said to her son, then looked up at us exasperated. “I hope you don't mind, I ordered us a few things.”
“A few things, Moll? Did you leave anything for the rest of the families here?” Judy hugged Molly.
What families? Like the coffee shop yesterday, this place was nearly empty as well. Granted it was a weekday, but it was still eerily empty. The Monster Mash played over the speakers. The music did little to lighten the sense that this adventure park, like Caldwell Hope as a whole, was a rusting clock and its gears were slowly grinding to a halt.
Judy then introduced us to Molly and her son, William. We sat and joined them for food. The children finished eating quickly but had to wait for us, so they created a game where William called out whether it was daytime or nighttime. When it was nighttime, Jackie danced next to the
table. When he shouted out daytime, she laid next to me on the bench and pretended to sleep. Back and forth it went.
“Thanks for joining us, Moll. It's been ages since I've seen you and Lucas! How've you been? Are you still working at the school? Oh! Lucas is on tour, right?” Judy asked a torrent of questions in rapid succession.
Over the small talk, I noticed when Judy got excited her mouth kicked into overdrive. She had this youthful energy about her that I really liked. Molly just chuckled as if having forgotten how much Judy talked.
“We're good. Lucas just got back from Berlin, Germany yesterday; they finally let him play there again. He's meeting with his publicist right now.” Molly swallowed her last bite of the still half full mac and cheese container, then dropped the fork and pushed the plate away defeated. “Will starts kindergarten soon. I'll probably work a few hours at the elementary school during the day. I do miss them.”
“So, Mr. Walker. Have you made up your mind yet?” Molly asked, “About our little town.”
Molly King was the wife of billionaire Lucas King, of whom I wasn't the biggest fan. Still, Lucas’s father William put Caldwell Hope on the map in a lot of ways. It was apparent that the King family still loved this town. But if they did, then why not back the stadium themselves.
Why not save the town they loved?
I finished my last chicken tender and licked the honey mustard off my finger. The food wasn't particularly good, but it did have a nostalgic feel that I appreciated. It reminded me of my grandfather taking me to the carnival when I was young.
“Not yet.” I smiled charmingly. “Ms. Sullivan here is still showing me around.” When Molly turned to wipe some food debris off her son's face I looked at Judy; my eyes searching her, studying her. “She's full of surprises.”
Judy blushed under my gaze. She stood up and addressed the kids. “Let's go play some games!”
They cheered in response. After we cleaned up, we made our way to the arcade. Jackie and William became fast friends, challenging each other to game after game. After an hour of playing chaperon, Molly shooed us off to have some fun. She promised to watch the kids and, resolving not to wander too far away myself, I reluctantly agreed.