"I'm okay," she said, meeting his concerned gaze. "I'm just trying to get ready for the interview."
"Don't let what happened put you off your game. You're a great artist. You'd be an asset to this company or any company. Just remember that."
"I will. Thanks for the pep talk."
"You're welcome." A few moments later, he drove into the parking lot and pulled into an open space.
"I'll take a cab back. I don't know how long this will take," she said, putting her bag over her shoulder as she reached for the door handle.
"It doesn't matter. I'll wait for you. I'll give you a ride back."
"It could be an hour or more, Griffin. I have no idea how many people I'll meet with."
"It's fine. I'll get some coffee. I have some calls to make. I'll catch up on those while I'm waiting."
"It's really generous of you."
"You know how much I hate the word thanks," he said lightly.
"Okay. I won't say it again." She checked her watch, then licked her lips. "I hope I don't blow this."
"You won't."
"You know that kiss you gave me for luck earlier? I think I might need another one."
He leaned over and pressed his mouth against hers in a generous, caring kiss that warmed her up from the inside out and took away the last bit of chill from the disturbing incident at the bar. As they broke apart, their gazes clung together. And for a second, she almost forgot what they were doing, because her world was all about him.
Then Griffin moved back behind the wheel. "You don't need luck, Annie. Just be yourself. They won't be able to resist you."
She gave him a grateful smile, biting back the word thanks. She got out of the car, squared her shoulders, lifted her chin and channeled the superhero version of herself. She could do this. This was her world, and she was a good artist. She just had to show them how much they needed her.
And maybe later…she'd show Griffin how much she needed him.
She smiled at that thought and the smile stayed with her as she entered her first meeting.
Fifteen
Griffin drove to a coffeehouse a few miles away from Annie's interview, his mouth tingling from their kiss and his thoughts in turmoil. Every time he touched her, he wanted to do it again—immediately—and for a long time after that. He was playing with fire, and he knew it. But he couldn't seem to put down the matches.
The matches…
That thought reminded him of the Chicago matchbook Vinnie had pulled out of the drawer. It had been a reminder of his past, and now he was starting to wonder if his past was colliding with his present. Too many odd things were happening.
Were they all random? Or was there a bigger plan in motion?
In the last few days, there had been the attack on Megan and Annie, his company's bank account had been hacked, money transferred, the credit card maxed out. He'd been on the phone with several people yesterday and had even gone into his local branch to find out what the hell had happened, and no one knew. He was now working with the fraud division to get the money back and the card charges reversed. But it was going to take time and effort to correct that.
Annie's tires had been slashed by a vandal who had clearly known how to avoid the security cameras.
And what about the incident with Shari? Vinnie had said a number of times that Shari's behavior had changed, and the recent alleged road rage incident lent credence to that fact. But he didn't think Shari had the computer skills necessary to get into his computer and steal his passwords.
If not Shari, who? Someone else on his staff? He couldn't imagine that. He hated having to second-guess everyone in his life. He'd thought he'd moved beyond that.
He pulled into a parking space in a strip mall and went into the coffeehouse. Once he got his drink, he walked back outside and sat down at a table as his phone began to vibrate. It was Vinnie. "Sorry I ran out on you," he said. "I had to get Annie to her job interview."
"I figured. I spoke to Paul first. He gave me the name of the officer he talked to after Megan's incident and suggested I follow up with him, which I did. He took a report, but in light of our security footage, which I sent over to him, he isn't confident they can find the slasher. He suggested that someone might have something against the bar. Since Megan is gone now, I'm thinking he's right. Maybe we were wrong to assume she was the target."
"I was thinking the same thing, especially considering what happened at the bank. This is personal, Vinnie." He hated to say it, but he couldn't deny it. "I think this is about my past."
"That did cross my mind." Vinnie paused. "How is Annie doing?"
"Better than I expected. She was definitely compartmentalizing on the way over here. It's good she has this interview; it distracted her."
"Have you told her about your life before San Clemente?"
"No."
"Are you going to? Because if the answer is no, you need to find a way to say good-bye, Griffin. She's getting too involved in your life, and with everything that's going on, that's a big risk."
"I'm trying to walk away, but Annie doesn't take hints, and she doesn't go easily."
"And you don't really want her to go. I'm not judging. She's a beautiful woman, and she seems like a sweetheart, but you're going to have to make a choice."
"I know."
"On another note, I put in a call to Howard. He's sending a tow truck over. They should be able to put new tires on the car later this afternoon, possibly tomorrow morning."
"Thanks for taking care of everything."
"I'll see you when you get back."
He ended the call, then took his coffee and got into the car. He drove back to the office park, wanting to be close by when Annie finished her interview.
After he parked, he sipped his coffee and tried to think about next steps, but his mind kept going back to Annie. He'd told her yesterday he wasn't interested in a relationship, that he didn't do commitment, that he didn't want someone to worry about. But here he was worrying about her, and he had the feeling they were already in a relationship.
They'd seen each other almost every day this past week. Talking to her was starting to feel like an important part of his day, and kissing her was becoming even more addictive.
He could lie to himself and say she was helping him out or he was helping her out, but that didn't explain why he couldn't stop thinking about her, why her face haunted his dreams, why every time he thought about pushing her away, he chose to bring her closer.
His phone flashed with a text from Annie that she was done. He texted her back that he was out front and tried to ignore the fact that he felt excited just to see her again.
How the hell was he going to say good-bye to her and mean it?
* * *
Annie breezed through the door of the office building, feeling excited. The past hour had been a whirlwind of questions and answers, and the producers she'd met with had seemed to enjoy her pitch. Hopefully, that meant a second interview was coming.
At some point, she was going to have to tell Griffin about her story idea, since she had based so much of it on him and his crew, but she was going to wait until it looked like it might actually go somewhere. She had enough experience to know that nothing was a done deal until contracts were signed.
She opened the car door with a smile and slid into the passenger seat. "I hope that wasn't too long."
"It was fine. You're smiling. Is that good?"
"I think so. We had a really easy conversation. We all seemed to click. They liked my sketches. But they didn't commit to anything; they just said they'd be in touch. I do have a positive feeling about it, but I don't want to get ahead of myself."
"It sounds like you did great."
"I hope so. I liked the people I met with. They seem to have the right mix of creative and business skills that I'm looking for, but we'll see. It's a super competitive business and I'd be coming from a stronger position if I wasn't unemployed. But it is what it is. I can't change that. I just h
ave to go forward." She finally stopped to take a breath and saw the look of amusement on Griffin's face. "I really didn't talk this much in the interview."
"I'm starting to like your stream-of-consciousness conversation. It's a challenge to keep up with, but it's never boring."
"I'm going to take that as a compliment. You're lucky you can work for yourself. You don't have to go through these nerve-racking interviews, or if you do, you're on the hiring side of the desk."
"Being the boss has its pros and cons. But it's better than answering to someone else. By the way, I spoke to Vinnie. Your car is being towed to a local mechanic. He's going to put on new tires, and hopefully you'll have it back by the end of the day."
"That's great, and it was nice of Vinnie to take care of it." She paused, feeling like Griffin had more to say. "Is there something else?"
A shadow darkened his gaze. "Yes. There is something we need to talk about it."
"I'm not going to like it."
"It's for your own safety, Annie. You need to put some distance between yourself and the bar. We should stop seeing each other."
"Griffin," she breathed in disappointment. "Don't say that."
"I have to."
"You don't have to," she argued.
His lips tightened and a gleam of anger entered his eyes, but she had the feeling he was more upset with himself than with her. "We're getting too close, Annie. Too much is happening. I need you to be safe and to be somewhere else."
"No," she said with a shake of her head. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."
"Annie—"
"Your bar is filled with people every day and every night, lots and lots of people, who are perfectly safe being there. And if I want to be there, too, you're not going to stop me. Plus, you have my Christmas ornaments. And I want to help you decorate the tree and get ready for the fundraiser next week. Don't shut me out just because of a few random events."
"It's not just that," he muttered.
"I know. I make you nervous. You make me nervous, too, but isn't that a good thing? Doesn't that make it feel like whatever is happening between us could be kind of great?"
"You are so damn hard to argue with," he said with a frown. "Do you really need me to say I'm not interested in you? Do I have to be that blunt?"
"You can't say that, because it's not true," she returned. "I can feel the sparks between us, and so can you. When we kiss, it's like a fire starts, and it's not a slow simmer—it's an explosion. Do you know how rare it is to feel like that?"
"I do." Conflict tightened his jaw. "But you have no idea who I am."
"That's not true. I may not know every detail of your past, but I know you're a good friend, a great boss. You care about people. You're always trying to help someone. And you risked your life to save mine when I was a complete stranger."
"Yes, apparently, no good deed goes unpunished," he muttered.
She smiled, happier that his determination to get rid of her seemed to be weakening in the face of her fight. "Let's see what happens, Griffin. We don't have to force anything. Just don't push me away. I don't know that many people in town, and I like the Depot. I like you. I like us."
He shook his head in bewilderment. "I don't know why you want to be there after all the trouble you've run into."
"Well, I'm not a big fan of either of your parking lots now, but the inside of the bar is good. And if you're going to kick me out because it isn't safe, you should kick everyone out."
"Believe me, that has crossed my mind."
Now she was the one to frown. "I understand that there's something going on I don't understand, and it doesn't look like you understand it, either. But there's strength in numbers, right? You don't have to do this alone or just with Vinnie. I can help."
He gazed back at her with what now looked like admiration. "You are very persuasive, Annie."
"Callaways don't quit."
"I can see that. I hope you won't be sorry."
"I'd rather try and fail than not try at all."
"Okay," he said with what appeared to be an almost fatalistic shrug.
"That's it?" she challenged.
"I've run out of arguments—for now." He started the car and pulled out of the lot.
* * *
Annie might have convinced Griffin to allow her to help with the tree and hang out at the bar, but that apparently hadn't included him spending time with her. When they'd returned to the Depot, Griffin had disappeared into his office, telling her to do what she wanted with the tree and he'd see her after he caught up on some work. That had been four hours ago.
After lunch, she'd spent the day working on the tree. After she finished stringing the lights and hanging the ornaments, she scattered some decorations around the rest of the bar. Various members of Griffin's staff, including Vinnie, stopped by at different points to tell her how much they liked everything. Hopefully, Griffin would, too—if he ever emerged from his office.
Just before five, Vinnie came into the room with an unhappy look in his eyes. "I have some bad news, Annie. Your car won't be ready until tomorrow. They had a problem with one of the new tires and had to order another one, but they can't get it until morning. Sorry about that."
"That's all right. I don’t have anywhere to be tonight, and I can always take a cab home."
Vinnie looked past her, his eyes suddenly widening as he took in the tree. "Wow, the tree looks great. It's done. Amazing job, Annie."
"I thought it came out well. Hopefully, Griffin likes it. He didn't really tell me what he wanted."
"I think he trusts you."
"Do you? I can't really tell. He's not the most talkative guy."
"No, he's not, but he seems to talk more when you're around. He smiles more, too."
She flushed at the gleam in Vinnie's eyes. "I kind of like him."
"I kind of figured," he said with a laugh.
"Figured what?" Griffin interrupted, as he joined them.
"That Annie might be hungry after all her hard work," Vinnie answered. "What do you think of the tree?"
Griffin's look of amazement said more than any words, and a little thrill ran down her spine.
"It's not too much, is it?" she asked.
"It's perfect. It's colorful and friendly—it's you."
She sucked in a breath as his eyes met hers. "But I want it to be you, Griffin. This is your bar."
"This is exactly what the bar needs."
She wished he would tell her that she was exactly what he needed.
Vinnie cleared his throat. "I'm going to make you two some dinner. Sound good?"
"Uh…" she hesitated, knowing she'd already pushed Griffin pretty far with their conversation in the car earlier in the day.
"It sounds good to me," Griffin said, surprising her with his words.
"Then I better get back in the kitchen," Vinnie said. "I'll have your food ready around six thirty. We have music later. You should stay and hear the band, Annie."
"It's been a while since I've heard any live music." She looked at Griffin. "Is that okay with you?"
"It's fine." He glanced at his watch. "I am meeting with a security guy in a few minutes, so I'll look for you in a bit."
"Would you mind if I put my bag in your office or your apartment? I have my computer in there, and while I tucked it behind the tree while I was working, once the band gets here, there's going to be a lot of action around the stage."
"You can put it in my apartment." Griffin pulled out a key and handed it to her.
"Thanks." After Griffin returned to his office, she headed upstairs to his apartment, feeling a little weird about letting herself into his place, but he'd given her the key, so he obviously didn't care. He probably wasn't worried about her learning anything about him from his very sparse furnishings.
She put her bag on the kitchen table, then walked over to the window. Griffin's apartment overlooked the old railroad tracks, reminding her of the history of the Depot and also Griffin's story abou
t his mom and their shared love for trains. There was a lot of sadness in his voice and in his eyes when he spoke about his past, but for that moment, there had been a hint of happiness.
Knowing more about his family helped her understand why he was so isolated. He'd grown up without a mom, and it seemed like his dad had disappeared after his mom's death, even if it was just emotionally. Maybe that's why he couldn't bring himself to trust people, to rely on anyone but himself. Although, he did have a strong friendship with Vinnie. She wondered if Vinnie knew more about Griffin's past than she did. Probably. She'd caught them exchanging looks on a few occasions, looks only they understood.
Turning away from the window, she wandered around Griffin's apartment for a minute and then couldn't help but take a sneaky peek into his bedroom.
Two things surprised her—the guitar in one corner and the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves filled with books. She moved farther into the room, running her finger over the paperback titles. They were mostly mysteries, thrillers, with some science fiction mixed in.
Griffin was a reader. She didn't know why she was surprised. When he wasn't being a bar owner, he seemed to have a more introverted side to his personality, but it was still interesting to peel back another layer of Griffin Hale.
Moving over to the guitar, she saw a music book on the table next to the armchair where the guitar rested. It looked like the book had been opened more than a few times. She could picture Griffin sitting in the chair, playing the guitar. She wondered if he sang. She had a feeling his deep, husky, sexy voice could create a perfect love song.
Her body tightened at that image. She had it bad for the man.
Was she crazy to be fighting so hard for a man who could probably end up hurting her?
That answer was probably, too.
But she wasn't ready to walk away. And if she got hurt, then she got hurt. But maybe, just maybe, something wonderful could happen.
Sixteen
Griffin was getting used to seeing Annie's face across the table, feeling the warmth of her enticing smile, watching her emotions spill out whether she was talking or laughing or trying to be serious. She was the most open person he'd ever met. And he was just the opposite. She put everything out into the world, and he put nothing.
Cant Let Go GO PL Page 15