by L. M. Heidle
“Yep.” Derrick had already hailed us a cab. Meg gave him a quick peck and we climbed into the car. As soon as the car door closed she turned on me. “So what did you say back?”
I laughed. I knew she wouldn’t wait long to get the details. “I just told him that we had amazing sex, but nothing else. I stormed out of the office when he insinuated I was dressed for a one-night stand. I honestly thought for a second that Eddie and Kade were going to fight.”
She shook her head. “He wants more with you.”
“He said this wasn’t over. I’m not sure if he meant the conversation or us. He has to be the most confusing guy I’ve ever met. I don’t want to talk about him anymore. It looked like you and Derrick hit it off.”
“He is amazing. Thank you so much for setting up a double date. He’s hot and funny. Oh, did I mention he was hot? I can’t wait to see him again.” I was happy for her but I was also jealous. She was interested in a normal guy who liked her and wasn’t afraid to admit it. Why couldn’t I find someone who didn’t have issues? Why did I have to fall for a guy who didn’t want a relationship?
“That’s great. If it works out, don’t forget you owe me for life.” We both started laughing. We talked about the rest of the night; she mainly talked about Derrick. It was good to see her happy. Her last relationship hadn’t ended well.
The cab pulled up outside our apartment building and the same guy dressed in green came out to open the door for us. As I was getting out of the car, I turned to look at him, “Excuse me, but when did we get a doorman?”
He smiled at me. “It’s all part of the increased security the new owner wanted. Cameras will be installed on Monday.” Cameras? We walked into the elevator and Meg looked at me.
“You know why the new owner wants to increase security around here, don’t you?” I looked at her, puzzled. “Oh, surely you have put it together. Kade wants to increase security because you live here. Why else would he care? The apartments are full so it’s not to get more renters. He probably bought the apartments because you live here, too.”
I just looked at her. She walked out of the elevator as it opened to our floor. She was crazy. It was late or early whichever way you wanted to look at it so we said goodnight and went to bed. As I got ready for bed, I turned over the idea that he did all of this for me. He could sleep with any woman he wanted. That couldn’t be it; he was just looking over his investments. Meg was crazy. This had nothing to do with me. I climbed into bed and was out.
Chapter Seven
Saturday, August 31
The next morning I woke with a pounding headache. I made my way to my bathroom in search of Tylenol. While in there, the doorbell rang but I heard Meg in the kitchen so I figured she’d get it. I heard Meg arguing with someone as I made my way down the hallway. I set one foot inside our living room and froze. Kade was once again standing in my living room. What was he doing here? I shot a look at Meg and she just shrugged her shoulders. He looked cool, calm, and amazing in jeans and a t-shirt. Seriously, could this man look bad in anything?
Oh crap! I was still in my PJs with hair and makeup still a mess from last night. I had been too tired to do anything with it last night. I’m sure I looked down right hideous, but at least my PJs were cute. I was glad I had chosen a pink camisole and black sleeping shorts.
When he turned towards me, Meg started playing charades trying to tell me how bad my hair looked. I got her hint and turned on my heel to make a beeline to my room. I shut the door and raced to my vanity to grab a brush. When the door opened, I assumed it was Meg coming to save my hair. “What in the hell is he doing here? Thanks for coming to save my hair.” I looked up to see Kade, not Meg.
He walked over to me and motioned for me to sit on the bench. I sat down without argument due to complete shock. He picked up my hairbrush and started to untangle my hair. Kade Parker, multibillionaire, was in my bathroom, brushing my hair. Was I still dreaming or something?
“You have beautiful hair, Elizabeth.” That was his opening line? He wants to talk about my hair. I shook my hair free from his hands and turned in the chair to face him.
“Kade, cut the crap. What are you doing here? I’m sure you didn’t come all this way to talk about my hair.” He leaned down to put his hands on my shoulders to turn me back around. When he leaned in, he smelled heavenly. He still didn’t say anything as he started brushing my hair again. He was the most frustrating man I had ever met!
When he finished, he set the hairbrush down. He put his hands on my shoulders again and turned me halfway in the seat. He grabbed my makeup remover pads, kneeled down, and started rubbing my makeup off. My head was spinning. What in the heck was going on here? As he removed the makeup, it gave me a chance to look at him. He was even more breathtaking than the first time I saw him. His beautiful features were softer somehow. It dawned on me that this was the first time I had seen him relaxed. It was almost like it made him happy to take care of me. Regardless of what happened in his office yesterday, this felt more intimate. I decided to shut up for once and just enjoy his proximity.
He threw the pads into the trashcan and turned back to me. The smile he gave me took my breath away. This smile transformed his whole face all the way to his eyes. He looked more like a twenty-seven year old man rather than a dominating tycoon with billions.
“Now that’s better. To answer your question, I’m here because I wanted to check on you. Let’s just say yesterday was a crazy day. It went from amazing in my office to a fight at a club. Plus, I said our conversation wasn’t over.”
I scoffed, “Yeah, you could say it was crazy. Kade, what is there left to say? We both are attracted to each other or at least I’m attracted to you but you don’t want a relationship. As mind blowing as yesterday was, I don’t do the friends with benefits thing. I still can’t believe yesterday happened because I’m not a one-night-stand type of girl.”
“Of course I’m attracted to you. I’m used to living my life one way and then you come walking into my life and everything changes. You bring out a protective side in me I didn’t know existed. I almost had myself convinced that we could just be friends so I could keep you safe. But I knew that could never happen because you’re all I can think about. After you left, I went home pissed. The more I thought about it, the more pissed I became. It’s not like me to behave that way. Then I thought about your date. It drove me insane to think about you going out with another guy especially after sex in my office. So I brought up the security cameras at the club to find you dancing with that guy. The sight of that made me see red.”
“Whoa, wait, you searched security cameras to find me? That’s why you relaxed a little at my work when you found out where I was going, isn’t it? You knew you could check up on me!”
“I don’t think ‘relaxed’ is the right word but yes, I was relieved that I could make sure you were safe. Don’t look at me like that. Right or wrong, I needed to know you were okay. If you haven’t figured it out yet, I have control issues. When I saw what you were wearing, my anxiety skyrocketed. You looked stunning and I know I wasn’t the only guy to notice. It made me angrier with every head that turned your way. I raced over there without a real plan. I just knew I had to get you out of there before something happened to you. Then you started dancing with that guy again, almost like you were taunting me. That was the final straw.” I blushed because that was exactly what I was doing.
“I hadn’t meant to drag you away. I just wanted to see if I could get you to leave with me. The words didn’t come out like I planned which ended up pissing you off. In turn, that pissed me off more. When he came to check on you and you went with him, it shocked me. I didn’t have any control over the situation.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes before my anger got the best of me. I opened my eyes and slowly let out a long breath. “I’m not a situation to be controlled. I’m a person who doesn’t know whether I’m up or down with you. You can’t always control everything, not if you want to enj
oy life anyways. It’s been said over and over every time we’re together: we can’t be together. I don’t know why you can’t just leave it alone so we both can move on with our lives. What’s the point of doing this to each other if nothing will ever happen? Just get out.” He sucked in a breath as I pointed to the door.
He started walking towards the door and I had to wrap my arms around myself to keep from falling apart. When he reached the door, he turned to face me. “I don’t know if I can stay away from you.”
With that, he walked out of the door and presumably out of my life. I went to my bed and flopped face down. What just happened? Did I just tell the man that I was dangerously attracted to, to get out? What was I thinking? Part of me wanted to run after him but what good would it do? No, I was right to ask him to leave, but then why did it hurt so much?
There was a knock at the door and Meg walked in. She didn’t say anything. She just came to sit beside me. Once the tears stopped she quietly asked, “What happened?”
I sat up. “I just asked him to leave. He showed up there last night to take me away because of the looks I was getting. He watched our date through the security cameras.”
“Wow…he does have control issues. I’m proud of you. You don’t need someone like that. You wouldn’t be happy with yourself if you let him take over your life. You’ve worked too hard to get independence.”
“I know but then why am I so upset? I barely know him, Meg. Why does it make me so happy that he said he doesn’t know if he can stay away?”
“Lizzy, it’s because you’re attracted to each other. I have been around the two of you and I can feel the intensity. I can’t imagine what it feels like to you. Just because you’re attracted to someone doesn’t mean that you should be with that person. Attraction isn’t enough to make a relationship last. You learned a little bit of that with Brent. You two were nauseating together but in the end, that wasn’t enough.” I frowned at her. “I know the attraction you had for Brent isn’t even close to the same level as Kade, but if you break it down, it’s the same principle.” As much as I hated to admit it, she was right. In the end, we were no good for each other.
“Let’s get out of this house. I need to be distracted.”
She hopped up and down, “I have just the thing. Let’s go shopping. I need to get a couple of things for my first day of work.” Ugh, shopping. I wasn’t sure shopping would distract me, but I was willing to try anything at that point. She skipped to her room to get dressed and I found a pair of jeans and a shirt. I mentally prepared myself to go shopping with Meg. Shopping with her should be considered an Olympic sport. Hmm, I’m going to see Kade Monday, so maybe I should also get something new. Did I seriously just think that? I was mad at him for not leaving me alone but there I was trying to get his attention. I was just as bad as him.
Just then Meg walked in, “We’re getting you something new to wear, too. I can’t do anything about your work shirts but I sure as hell can help with the pants.” I did need a wardrobe update. Yeah, I wasn’t doing this for him; it was for me. I’ll just stick with that logic and nobody better question it.
“Meg, don’t forget I’m broke so don’t go overboard, okay?” She was lucky her parents still sent her money until she was on her feet. “Me? Go overboard? Why would you say such a thing?” Crap, I was in for one very long day.
We had been to ten shops before lunch. Finally, I had enough, “I’m hungry and we’re getting something to eat now. Plus, these shoes are killing my feet.” What in the world possessed me to wear heels shopping I will never know, especially shopping with Meg. I knew I was going to have blisters the size of Texas on my feet.
She let out an irritated sigh. “Fine but it’s a short lunch. We still have a lot of shops to hit. I’m not done shopping for you yet.” She had to be kidding me. Shopping for me? She had already ‘helped’ me pick out several pairs of new jeans and khakis for work. I might be paying my credit card off for years, but at least my butt will look amazing, according to her. She had even talked me into a few pairs of flats to wear to work instead of ‘boring’ tennis shoes as she put it. All in all, it had been a pretty good day so far.
We stopped at a little Italian restaurant. It felt so good to sit down and rest my feet. “Remember to order something fast.”
After the waiter left, I looked at her, “What else could you possibly need? You have more outfits to wear to work than there are days in a month.”
She looked thoughtfully at me. “I’ll make you a deal. We’ll only go to one more shop of my choosing as long as you don’t complain. If you start arguing or complaining, we’ll go to ten more shops and I’m not telling you where we’re going.”
This could work out for me, but it also could be a complete disaster. “You know I am twenty-four and could leave at any point I want to, right?”
She shook her head, “Yes, you could but you won’t. You wouldn’t leave your poor defenseless roommate all alone in such a big, scary, and dangerous city.” I threw a breadstick at her.
“You’re anything but defenseless.” When we moved to NYC, she had signed us both up for self-defense classes. “You could take about anyone down with all your bags.”
She gasped, “And hurt my clothes and shoes? Not going to happen! I thought you knew me better than that.” We both broke out laughing.
“As long as it’s not another shoe store, I’m in.”
Our food arrived and it looked mouthwatering. She smiled. “Okay.” The conversation ended there because we both dug in. The food was amazing. Meg paid for lunch as I gathered up all my bags. As we stepped outside, I froze. There parked along the curb was a black Mercedes SUV, exactly like the one Kade rode in. I had to mentally kick myself to remind me that his wasn’t the only one in NYC. Then the driver got out and walked around to the passenger side of the SUV. It was Kade’s driver. Meg pulled on my arm to get me moving again. “You’re not breaking our deal now.”
I turned my head to look at her then I turned back to look at the driver. He had opened the door but no one was getting out. He put his left arm out to motion me to get in, “Ms. Day, would you like a ride?”
Meg turned to look at me, “Who in the hell is that?”
“That would be Kade’s driver. How did he know where I was?” He better not have been tracking my cell phone again.
“Who cares? You were complaining your feet hurt and here’s your relief.” She jumped into the backseat without another thought. I climbed numbly into the backseat. The driver shut the door then walked around to climb into the driver’s seat.
“Where to, Ms. Day and Ms. Montgomery?” I didn’t know whether to be flattered by his behavior or seriously annoyed. Right now, I was leaning towards flattered because my feet were seriously hurting.
“We’re going to Victoria’s Secret right around the corner.” He nodded and pulled out into traffic.
I whipped my head around to face her. “Why are we going there?” I whispered. I was mortified. I’m sure Kade would want to know where his driver took us.
“Well, because that’s all we need to finish off our outfits. Don’t forget, you said you wouldn’t complain.” I was too embarrassed to argue. Hopefully, his driver would just drop us off at the curb and leave.
He pulled over then opened the back door, and we both slid out. “Thank you for the lift. I hope you have a great afternoon.”
He looked at me quizzically and smiled. “I’ll wait here for you, ma’am, so I can give you a lift home. I don’t have to pick up Mr. Parker for a couple of hours so take your time.” I smiled then turned away as fast as I could.
“How awesome is that? Your supposed non-boyfriend sending his car to chauffeur you around.”
“Are you kidding me? He’s probably going to ask his driver where he took us. Do you know how awkward that’s going to make seeing him Monday?”
“It will serve him right. Make him think about things he says he can’t have. You’re going to drive him nuts!”
&nbs
p; I snorted, “Yeah because that’s going to solve our mixed signals situation.” She waved her hand dismissively at me.
We were in there for what seemed like hours. She wanted to make the driver wait so he could tell Kade how long we took. She was even hoping we would make the driver late to get Kade. I wondered if he had to pick him up at all. Knowing Kade, he was probably at home watching from some sort of camera in his car. Oh shoot, what had I said in the car?
“You know, if you leave a few strategic buttons undone on the top, it would perfectly show off your assets.”
“I’m not sure I want him to go crazy. Remember, I’m the one who told him to leave. Plus, I would be at work. Not sure that’s exactly work appropriate.”
“Details, details.”
We walked out almost two hours later to see the Mercedes SUV still parked at the curb. The driver was reading the newspaper. I really should ask his name. He jumped out of the driver’s seat when he saw us, “Can I get your bags, ladies?” He opened the door for us as he took our bags. He put them in the rear of the car, and climbed into the drivers seat. “Where to now, ladies?”
“Home, please. Do you know how to get there?” He nodded and smiled. Of course he did. I’m sure he drove Kade over the night he showed up to ‘view’ our apartment and probably this morning as well. “Okay, thank you. Oh, I forgot to ask you your name.”
He looked at me through the rearview mirror and replied, “Tony, ma’am.” I smiled at him. The rest of the ride home was in a peaceful silence. My mind was filled with Kade and there was no telling what was running through Meg’s head. We pulled up to our apartment about twenty minutes later. Tony opened the door for us again and we scooted out. He grabbed all of our packages and handed them off to the doorman.
I turned to face Tony. He was probably in his late forties with black hair. You could also tell he worked out frequently. I was sure he was a bodyguard as well as driver. “Thank you for everything, Tony.”