Taming the Whirlwind

by L. M. Heidle

  “Hey Danny, I’m done with Betty. Is there anything I can help you with?” I was praying he would say no and let me go home early.

  Of course karma must hate me. “I don’t have anyone else coming in, but if you’re game, I’ll show you what therapy we are using for Mr. Parker. You may have to work with him at some point. He had knee surgery a month ago after a sporting accident.”

  “Sure, whatever you need.” Are you freaking kidding me? I have a hard enough time focusing around him and we barely speak. Now, I’m going to have to try and talk to him while touching him. I shook my head, telling myself he was just another client. I kept repeating that over and over in my head. I walked over with Danny to where Mr. Parker was starting his workout.

  “Mr. Parker, this is Elizabeth, our new therapist. I thought I’d show her what therapy you were doing in case she had to work with you, if you don’t mind, of course.”

  “No, at all. Ms. Elizabeth, finally we’re introduced.” He cracked that smile that completely disarmed my senses. Danny gave him a slightly puzzled look.

  “Mr. Parker, it’s a pleasure.” I sucked in a breath when he extended his hand to me because I knew what shaking his hand was going to do to me. When we shook hands, my head went cloudy and I felt a charge run up my arm. When our skin touched, his eyes turned a couple shades darker. It was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. He let go of my hand and his eyes returned to their normal piercing blue.

  Danny didn’t seem to notice our unspoken interaction, thankfully. He started in on what the goals were for Mr. Parker while I tried to regroup. “Right now, we are working on his mobility.” I watched as he went through the different exercises. I tried to avoid eye contact with Mr. Parker at all costs but our eyes met periodically, making me blush every time, in turn him smirking every time. How can a man have this kind of effect on me? Finally, the session was over and Danny left to schedule Mr. Parker’s next appointment. I turned to follow him when Mr. Parker said my name.

  “Elizabeth, how are you liking your first day?”

  “Please, call me Liz. So far, it’s been a great day. How’s your day going, sir?” Oh, why did he have to talk to me? Maybe a tiny bit of me was excited we were talking; I know that’s a lie. I loved talking to him. I just wish I didn’t turn into a blubbering idiot every time I opened my mouth around him.

  “Sir? There’s no need for that. My day has been pretty good as well and it keeps getting better and better.” He smiled and I about fell over. Holy cow! That smile is WOW! I’m glad Danny returned because I was about to make an idiot out of myself again by trying to talk.

  “Mr. Parker, I have you scheduled for this Friday at 4:30pm. Will that work with your schedule, sir?”

  “I’m sure I can arrange it,” he replied. I noticed that he didn’t tell Danny to lose the word ‘sir’. He smiled at me, “Will you be here Friday, Elizabeth?”

  “Yep” was my brilliant reply. I couldn’t have come up with something witty or sexy to say but, oh no, I gave a lame monosyllabic reply.

  “Well then, I look forward to seeing you on Friday. Maybe I will be lucky enough to see you before then.” With that he got up, grabbed his bag, and walked out the door without a backwards glance. What the hell was that?

  Danny interrupted my contemplation, “Are you okay?”

  My head snapped to where he was standing, “Yes, I’m sorry. What else can I do to help?” I just wanted to get out of there and go for a run to clear my head.

  On my way to the elevators, I thought about work. The day had gone amazingly until Mr. Parker came in. I was still trying to wrap my head around that whole interaction. I needed to focus on the positive, that I was not his actual therapist. I would only have to see him from afar and not actually talk to him. When I got to the elevators, I hit the down arrow and it arrived in no time. I took a step into the elevator and froze. There he was and he was the only one in the elevator. Could this day get any worse? What the hell did I do to piss karma off? He smiled his gorgeous, no-holds-barred smile and I inhaled sharply.

  “Well, Ms. Elizabeth, we meet again. We just can’t seem to stay away from each other,” he laughed a deep throated laugh.

  “Hello, Mr. Parker. It seems that way, doesn’t it?” This is torture. All I could think about was running my fingers through his hair while his lips were on mine. What I wouldn’t give to have his arms wrapped around me in a passionate embrace or forget passionate, I just wanted to be in his arms. I wondered how I could fall in the elevator so that he would have to catch me.

  “What are you thinking about?” I instantly turned red at just the thought of him knowing I was fantasizing about him.

  “I…umm, nothing really.” He had an arrogant and knowing smile on his face. That look was so irritating. Did he know what I was thinking? Oh crap…I didn’t say that out loud, did I? Oh God, I hope not. “I was just thinking about my plans for the weekend.”

  “Anything exciting planned? Since I have no plans, maybe you can give me some ideas.” Like my plans would even come close to a billionaire’s idea of fun. I highly doubted he would be interested in a night of pizza and movies. His style was probably more caviar and some wine with an unimaginable price tag.

  “I highly doubt our ideas of fun are even remotely similar.” With that, I rushed out of the elevator and didn’t look back. I was practically running across the lobby to get out the door. The cool air felt amazing against my hot skin. I went straight to the gym around the corner from my apartment.

  I changed as fast as I could and found a treadmill. I was going to run until I forgot all about him. I put in my headphones and turned my music up loud and on repeat. I had to stop running when my playlist repeated for the fourth time because my legs felt like rubber. Much to my disappointment, my plan hadn’t worked. Would this torture ever end? I looked at my watch and realized I’d been running for over an hour. I groaned because the next day was going to suck. This was entirely his fault. Why do guys have to be such a pain in the butt? I grabbed my clothes and walked the short distance home.

  I gave Meg a wave on my way to my room and the bathtub. It felt so good to soak. After what felt like five minutes, Meg knocked on the door and said, “Dinner’s here.” Meg was a slightly worse cook than me and that was not an easy title to attain. “All right, I’ll be out in a minute.” I climbed reluctantly out of the tub, got dressed in my shorts and camisole, then put my hair up in a towel before making my way to the kitchen.

  Meg was already sitting on the couch eating. “What did ya order?”

  “It’s Wednesday so it’s Italian,” she replied. We had a menu for every day of the week. Pathetic, I know, but we were doing our neighbors and the fire department a favor. With our luck, we would catch something on fire and the whole building would have to be evacuated.

  “Sounds good, I’m famished.” I grabbed my usual chicken Parmesan and made my way to the living room. We’d just finished eating when Meg turned the TV off and turned to face me. Oh shoot, here we go. She couldn’t let any gossip go; she lived for it. “So, do you have anything you would like to tell me?”

  I looked at her with a completely dumbfounded look. “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, Liz, don’t play stupid with me! You know damn well what I’m talking about. You can’t just leave me with ‘I saw him but didn’t talk to him’. There is no detail in that!”

  “That’s not all that I told you. I told you it was a crowded elevator and that I didn’t fall on my butt.” She glared at me and let out an exasperated sigh. I’d seen that look before. I sighed, knowing it was better just to get this over with. I started into the story about how I had seen him in the elevator. Then I told her about him coming into my work and about our weird exchange. I filled her in about his tattoos because, well, they were freaking hot. I told her about being alone in the elevator with him but I left out the details of me coming up with ways to end up in his arms. Lastly, I mentioned what I had said before I ran out of the elevator. “Tha
t’s it, I promise. That’s all the details of my embarrassing moments with him. I wish I could stay away from him, but it seems like the world hates me because now I have to see him at work three days a week.”

  “Wow,” was all she said. Her being speechless was a rarity. I knew she was just digesting the information and would soon start talking so fast I wouldn’t be able to understand her.

  “What’s wrong with you? I mean, he was trying so why didn’t you? He was, oh my gosh, at work, elevator. I think ‘oh wow I don’t’. How could? Are you? You have. Wow. Crazy, yes you!”

  I waved my hand in front of her face, “Meg, take a breath. Come back to me.”

  She turned towards me, blinked, and took a deep breath. She shook her head and smiled. “Are you crazy? He was flirting with you!”

  “No, he wasn’t. Why would he? He could have anybody he wanted so why would he want to waste his time on me? We are from two different planets. Besides, he’s known for being a ladies’ man. All he probably wants is to sleep with me. I will not be another notch.” Meg interrupted my thoughts when she started yelling at me.

  “You’re nuts!! How many times do I have to tell you how gorgeous you are??? You would think all the guys who asked you out in school would have been like a neon sign, but apparently you’re an idiot of epic proportions!” Wow, that was a little uncalled for. “He may be a ladies’ man, but who says one-nighters can’t be fun especially with a man like that? I bet he’s amazing in bed.” She threw her arms up in defeat when I shook my head no.

  “First, thanks for the idiot comment,” I replied sarcastically, “and I’m not saying I’m hideous or anything, but he’s definitely not like any of the guys we went to school with. You have to admit that one. Plus, you know that one-nighters aren’t my thing.”

  “Well yeah, of course he isn’t. He’s way above their league but so are you. I think you might be the only woman in this city who wouldn’t want a chance at one night with him. Hell, even my eighty year old grandma would probably try.” I could see this argument was going to go on and on. Fortunately for me, there was a knock at the door. We looked at each other because we hadn’t buzzed anyone in. I shrugged, thinking it was one of the neighbors and headed to the door. I peeked through the peephole to see the manager, Meg’s uncle. “It’s your uncle.”

  “Wonder what he wants,” she murmured as I started opening the door. I had the door half open when I froze for a second and then slammed it shut.

  “What in the heck are you doing? Let him in.” I turned towards her. “What’s wrong? You’re as white as a ghost.”

  Now it was my turn to start talking incoherently. “No, he? What? How?” Meg shook me to try and bring me back to the present.

  She looked through the peephole and saw what I was freaking out about. “No, he doesn’t like you at all. Pull yourself together and for heaven’s sake, get your hair out of that towel!” I scrambled to get the towel off my head and ran my fingers through my hair as fast as I could as Meg opened the door.

  “Sorry about that. I wasn’t dressed for company. Can I help you with something?” She opened the door all the way and stepped back to let her uncle and ‘him’ in.

  “Sorry, Bob. You took me by surprise,” I tried to cover.

  “Ladies, let me introduce you to Mr. Parker. He owns the building. He’s just doing apartment checks to see about renovating them,” Bob explained. Mr. Parker smiled at us and turned to look at me and winked. No, he didn’t just wink at me; maybe he had something in his eye. Yeah, that had to be it. Bob continued, “Mr. Parker, this is my niece Megan and her roommate Elizabeth.”

  “Nice to meet you, Megan, and so nice to see you again, Ms. Elizabeth. Is this a good time for me to take a quick look around the apartment, ladies?” He spoke only looking at me as his eyes ran up and down me. Ahh crap…I was in my PJs! Well, at least, they weren’t my holey ones.

  Meg was the one who answered because all I could do was stare. “Mr. Parker, what a pleasure. Of course, this is as good time as any, just as long as you can ignore the boxes.”

  Without looking away from me, he replied, “Thank you, Megan.”

  Bob walked further into the apartment and started talking to Mr. Parker. All I could do was stare. After Bob, Mr. Parker, and his assistant walked past us, Meg punched me in the arm. “What the hell was that? Are you mute or something?” she whispered.

  “What? No! Oh God! See? This is why I need to stay away from him because he turns me into a complete moron.” Once again, I found myself shaking my head, trying to regain my wits as she walked towards them. What was this man doing in my apartment? How did I not know he owned the building? I heard them talking as they went through every room and then I realized they were heading into mine. Oh shoot! I stood there praying there was nothing embarrassing lying around my room. With the way my day was going, there would be dirty panties lying around. What’s the opposite of a neat freak? A slob? Yep, that would pretty much be me. It felt like an eternity before they walked back down the hall. I’m not sure how I did it, but I’d made it to the kitchen to put dishes in the dishwasher.

  Meg, Bob, and the assistant walked past the kitchen entrance but Mr. Parker walked into the kitchen. The electric feeling between us made me drop a plate, which of course shattered in the sink.

  “Are you okay? I didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “Yeah…sorry, I’m okay.” Just when I thought I couldn’t make more of a fool of myself in front him, I proved myself wrong. What the hell is going on with me? This isn’t how I normally am. I must be getting an unwanted visitor soon. That would totally explain everything. It has nothing to do with him being the sexiest man I’ve ever seen. It is just stupid hormones. I wondered how many times I would have to tell myself that little lie before I started to believe it.

  “Our paths just keep crossing, not that I’m complaining.” He winked at me and this time I was pretty sure he did. I guess he could have a medical condition. That would suck to have a twitching eye. Brain shut up already!

  I somehow found my senses and replied, “Yeah, it does seem like that, doesn’t it? Looks like you know where I work and where I live now. I didn’t realize you owned this building.”

  “It was a recent acquisition. That’s why I’m here. I’m looking to update it. We came here to get an idea of what needed to be upgraded and Mr. Feathery has been very accommodating. When my assistant called this afternoon to set a time up, he mentioned we could see an apartment this evening. I had no idea I would get the pleasure of seeing you again.”

  His assistant popped his head in the doorway, “Sir, are you ready?” Mr. Parker held one finger up, never taking his eyes off me.

  “Ms. Elizabeth, it has been a pleasure seeing you again. I look forward to seeing you Friday.” He surprised me by pulling me closer so he could kiss my hand. That kiss sent shivers up my spine and I wanted to launch myself at him. Somehow, I managed to control myself. He let go of my hand and ran his knuckles down my cheek. “Until Friday.” The look in his eyes confused me, filling me with turmoil. I didn’t say anything as he turned away but as soon as he left, I lifted my hand to my cheek and I could still feel the warmth.

  “What the heck is going on?!” Meg practically screamed at me after the door shut. “My uncle just told me this sale happened on Tuesday, the day after you met him. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you. You should have seen him studying your room. He has to ‘stop’ by our building to see about improvements when the apartments were just updated a little over a year ago. I don’t think so. What were you guys talking about in the kitchen? My uncle was talking to him and then he was just gone.” I don’t think she took a breath throughout her little rant.

  “I’m not 100% sure what just happened. He said our paths kept crossing but that he wasn’t complaining. Then, he said some stuff about the apartments needing updates. When he was getting ready to leave, he pulled me closer and kissed my hand.” Megan smiled. “He ran his knuckles down my cheek. It was weird
because when he said he would see me Friday, he looked torn. It was like he wasn’t sure if he should want to see me again.”

  “Holy cow, Liz, he definitely likes you! He was giving you the ‘screw me’ eyes the whole time he was here. The way he was watching you made me horny. I’m pretty sure that charge you keep talking about is sexual tension.”

  “No! That’s not what that is. It couldn’t be. Look at him. You didn’t see the look he gave me before he left. It’s hard to describe.”

  “Regardless of the look you think you saw, I know what I saw. Men as rich as him don’t act like he did. He only has to snap his fingers to get what he wants.” I just shook my head. I had no idea what to think right now. I couldn’t wrap my head around the idea that he might like me; it just wasn’t possible.

  I walked into my room and his scent hit me like a Mack truck. I wish he would’ve pulled me into his arms and kissed me instead of just kissing my hand. I tried to imagine him in my room for another reason besides updates. I fantasized about my body pressed against his as he kissed me until I was breathless. He would pick me up to carry me to the bed and then take his shirt off. Whoa, I needed to stop letting myself think like that. Nothing was ever going to happen between us. If I kept thinking it would, I would only end up hurt. I was pissed at myself for even considering it. I would not become the type of girl that would fall all over his feet just to be humiliated the next morning. I crawled into bed and fell asleep.

  Chapter Five

  Thursday, August 29

  I woke Thursday after dreams of sheet clawing, back scratching sex with none other than Mr. Kade Parker. I’d never had a dream like that before and I wanted to go back to sleep for round two. I knew there was no way I was going to fall back to sleep after those dreams, and it was way too early to get ready for work. Since I was up early, I decided to take a nice long hot bath. I got out of bed and winced. Just like I thought, I was sore from the treadmill yesterday. I tried hard to relax, but he had me tied up in knots. Hmm … that’s an interesting idea, tied in knots with him. Crap! I was so tired of having my every other thought be about him. The more I thought about him, the more I was starting to hate him. After my bath, I put on my white fuzzy robe and made my way into the kitchen to start the coffee. While it was brewing, I went ahead and got ready for work.