by L. M. Heidle
He was wearing his workout clothes because he moved his appointment. He knew what time I went to lunch. That, plus, his attitude change most likely meant he was trying to avoid me. Somehow, I found a bench nearby to sit down. It hurt. It hurt more than it should. Then the hurt turned to anger. What a jerk! I know we weren’t a couple, but still!
Well, forget him! Forget his stupid piercing blue eyes and sexy tattoos! Forget his dumb tailored expensive suits and his sexier-than-sin body! At least, I can say I got to enjoy that body. I checked my watch; it was 11:45am. Shoot, I could not be late getting back to work.
I was walking through the lobby when the electricity hit. Great. When was that feeling going to go away? Once I liked it, but now it just seriously pissed me off. I saw him walking towards the door and I know he saw me. We locked eyes for a second, but I looked forward and kept walking.
He smiled when we passed. “Ms. Day if you…” He stopped talking when I walked right past him without a glance. I’m sure that was a first for him. He’s not the kind of man who is given the brush off. Take that, Mr. Parker. I was going to give him the same courtesy I showed clients, well after that little brush off, that is. I was still mad, so that one didn’t count. I was going to start the last week of my life over without him. I didn’t need some rich, arrogant jerk ruining my life.
I felt justified in my decision the rest of the afternoon. The more time that went by, the more I convinced myself that I could do this. I just hoped I could stay convinced when he was around.
The day finally wound down. “Well, Liz, Monday is over, thank heavens,” Danny said. “It has been a long one for some reason.” You’re telling me. “Get on out of here. You cleaned this morning. One of the other girls can help this afternoon.”
I nodded and smiled. I wanted nothing more than to get my butt to the gym to run off my attitude. I said my goodbyes to everyone and made my way down to the lobby. When I walked out the front door, I faltered a little. There sitting at the curb was Kade’s—no Mr. Parker’s—black SUV. Tony stepped out and walked over to me.
“Would you like a ride, ma’am? Mr. Parker wanted to make sure you made it home safely.” What in the hell? He goes from ignoring me to offering me a ride home. Screw him.
“No thanks, Tony. I can walk to the gym.”
He frowned at me. “Ma’am, Mr. Parker was very adamant about you not going anywhere alone because of yesterday.” What was with this man? I wondered if he had a medical condition I didn’t know about.
“Well, you can tell your boss ‘thank you’, but I won’t need any more rides. It was nice to meet you, Tony, but we won’t be seeing each other anymore.” I turned on my heel and started walking for the gym. I bet that was going to piss him off, and I reveled in that.
On the walk to the gym, I had this eerie feeling that someone was watching me. I looked over my left shoulder to find Tony following me a discreet distance away. This was ridiculous. I waved Tony over.
“Tony, I know you’re just doing your job, and I don’t want to make that hard, but please stop following me. Just call Mr. Parker and tell him I threatened to call the cops if you didn’t.”
“Okay, Ms. Day, I’ll let him know. I probably shouldn’t say anything. I know Mr. Parker can be, let’s say difficult, but he’s an astounding man. He does more than most people know about.” With that, he rolled up the window and pulled into traffic.
Astounding man? More than most people know about? Difficult? That was the understatement of the year. I walked the rest of the way deep in thought. There is so much I don’t know about this man. I might have to go against my own advice and look him up. Honestly, though, what would the point be?
The gym was packed today. I found the only empty treadmill and started my warm-up. I hit play on my workout playlist and started running. Usually when I’m running, I can push everything from my mind. This was my peace in a hectic world. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about the constant contradictions this man was. One minute, he was telling me he couldn’t be in a relationship. The next minute, we had amazing sex. Then, he just wants to be friends. He asks me to stay the night with him, but today he is avoiding me. Now, he wants his driver to drive me home. This man made my head hurt. I wish I could figure him out. I looked at my watch to see I had been running for thirty minutes. I decided to hit the free weights for a change since my normal distraction wasn’t helping.
After about ten minutes in, I gave up on working out, grabbed my stuff and headed home. I veered off the beaten path into my secret park. As I slowly made my way through the park, my phone started ringing. I didn’t want to answer it but it was Meg. Most likely, she would continue to call until I picked up. “Hey Meg. What’s up?”
“What’s up? For starters, where are you? Second, your boyfriend has turned this place into Fort Knox.”
“I went to the gym then decided to walk through the park. And he’s not even close to being my boyfriend.”
“Park? What park?”
“It’s a sweet park, I forgot to tell you about. It’s right by the house. You’ll love it.”
“Sounds great, but this is nuts. He has gone overboard. As if the doorman wasn’t enough, now every tenant has new locks with deadbolts. The windows have been secured. There are cameras at every entrance and at the elevator on every floor. Every entrance also has keypad entry. On top of that, no one is allowed onto the floors unless they live here, are on the list, or the front desk calls for verification. This is nuts!”
“Meg, maybe we need more security. We did have a break-in yesterday. Plus, if you think about it, most Manhattan apartments already have all of that.”
“Yeah, I’m sure all of this is all because there was a little break-in. I’m sure it has nothing to do with the fact that you live here or that our apartment was broken into.”
“No, why would it? He’s just being a smart businessman. He’s only looking after his assets. Plus, our suggested friendship is way over.”
“I’m not sure which ass-et he is looking out for. What do you mean the friendship didn’t work out? Shocker there. Umm, not. Hurry up, I’m hungry.” With that, she hung up the phone.
Billy was standing at the door when I walked up. “Good evening, ma’am. I hope your day went well. There have been a lot of improvements made today to avoid anything like yesterday from happening. I’m terribly sorry I let that happen.”
“Billy, you didn’t do anything wrong. He came through the window. Besides, you called the police as soon as you knew something was wrong. Don’t beat yourself up. It’s a big city and things like this are bound to happen.” My words seemed to pacify him because he nodded and opened the door. While I waited for the elevator, I looked at the changes. The cameras were discreetly hidden but they were there. The ding announced the elevator and I walked in as two neighbors I didn’t know walked out.
Meg was still in her work clothes when I walked in. She was on the phone and by the look on her face, I guessed it was Derrick. Her face was lit up like a Christmas tree, which was so unusual.
I made my way to my bedroom to take a shower and change into something more comfortable. I walked back into the kitchen twenty minutes later to find Meg sitting on the couch with the phone still to her ear. Sitting on the breakfast bar were the roses Kade had given me. How could someone be so sweet and so irritating? Sitting next to the flowers was an envelope addressed to Ms. Day. I instantly knew it was from Kade.
Elizabeth, I hope your Monday went well. I just wanted to let you know the new security improvements were completed today, so you should feel safe in your apartment. Thank you for the wonderful weekend. It’s a memory I will never forget. Thank you for everything.
Kade Parker
Meg had walked in and started reading over my shoulder. Neither one of us said anything for a minute. It was so formal, so final. There it was written down: a goodbye. “See, Meg, I told you there was nothing going on between us. It was a one-weekend fluke. Honestly, I think it’s going
to be better to completely move on and have nothing to do with him. Now, maybe things can get back to the way they were before him.”
“I know you want to believe that, Liz. I’m sure yesterday scared the hell out of him and he’s not used to that. It was a situation that directly affected you that he had no control over. My perspective is a little a different because I’m on the outside looking in and trust me, you haven’t seen the last of him. For one, I have never met a guy who would even write a letter like that let alone deliver it himself if he didn’t care. Let’s just say, for talk’s sake, that he wrote the letter because he’s a great guy; he still could have sent a courier to drop it off but once again, he did it himself.”
“He did? Never mind. I don’t want to think about it. You can believe what you want, but I’m going to look at it like he does. It’s the past. Can we please talk about something besides him for once? Please? Maybe about how Derrick is doing.”
She nodded and smiled. “He’s doing great and should be back in town this weekend. He’s going to call me later this week to let me know for sure. We’re going to go out Saturday if everything works out. I feel horrible being this happy while you’re so sad.”
“What are you, crazy? Why would you say that? I’m ecstatic that you’re happy! I’m not sad at all. I’m excited to have him out of my life. It’s going to be so much more relaxing without his mood swings all the time.” I tried my best to make that sound believable, but it still hurt.
“When will you learn you can’t hide things from me? I know you too well. I can see the hurt in your eyes. I haven’t seen that look since Brent.” I shook my head. “I know you’re thinking you were with Brent for five years and you’re right, it’s not the same thing. That doesn’t make the hurt any less. You guys have an undeniable connection.”
“Please just stop. We have nothing. We are nothing. We are done. There’s never going to be anything between us.” I snapped.
She looked at me but she knew to not say anymore. I didn’t usually snap at her but I was tired of hearing about it. “So what do you want for dinner?”
“Nothing. I’m just going to go to bed.” I knew I should have asked her about her first day at work but right now, I just wanted to curl up in my bed. I felt like I was going to cry but I was not about to do that in front of her.
She nodded and let me go without an argument. “What do you want me to do with the flowers and card?” she asked me softly before I made it to my room. Should I keep them? No, they would just remind me of him. Should I be a total bitch and send them back to him? No, because I’m sure that would guarantee a visit from him and I don’t want that.
“Throw them out. Give them away. I don’t care. I don’t want them.” She nodded. I made it into my bedroom before the first tear hit. Then they wouldn’t stop coming. Why was I crying over a guy I barely knew? I walked over to my bed and crawled under the covers. I curled up into a ball and tried to sleep. I tossed and turned for hours but finally fell asleep, dreaming of the whirlwind that was Kade Parker.
Chapter Ten
Tuesday, September 3
I woke the next morning with a new resolve. I had cried my last tear for him. I was sure he wasn’t crying over me so why should I give him another thought? We had a great time together but that was over now. It was time to move forward. I had worked too hard to get here and I was not about to let a guy ruin that for me.
I was dressed in no time. One of the benefits of wearing a uniform is there are no real choices to have to make. Meg came to the kitchen shortly after me. She looked stunning in a green silk blouse with a grey pencil skirt. “Meg, I’m sorry. I didn’t think to ask you how your first day went.”
“Don’t worry about it. You were dealing with your own stuff. It was great. My boss is amazing. She showed me how everything worked. She also encouraged me to write some articles and she would look over them to see if they were print worthy. Can you believe it? My name may appear in the New York Times!”
“Yes, I can believe it! We’re going to need to celebrate. Our usual?” I laughed.
“Sure! Why break a tradition? I’ve got to get going. It takes me a little bit longer to get to work than you.”
I gave her a quick hug. “Have a great day.”
She started walking towards the door then stopped and turned to face me. “Liz, I hope you have a great day too. Everything will work out the way it’s supposed to, and I have your back always.” She turned and walked out the door as it shut with a snap. I just stood there and stared at it. She was right, of course. Everything would work out the way it was supposed to. Right now, I just needed to focus on my goals. I nodded with determination. I could do this. Besides, it’s not like it was a real relationship that I had lost. It was a possible friendship that probably never would have worked anyway.
I had plenty of time to make it to work so I decided to take a stroll through the park. It was so serene there. The rest of my world didn’t matter when I was there. I took more time in the park than I realized because I made it to work only five minutes before 9am. I quickly put my stuff up and checked the computer. It was a light morning. I only had three clients. The morning dragged by and I couldn’t wait until lunch. I saw the black SUV pull up to the curb as I made my way to the deli. Kade stepped out and I stopped. He was his usual sexy self in a black suit and tie with a dark grey shirt. He looked around then a tall blonde slid out of the backseat. Guess he moved on fast. Oh my gosh, I wanted to smack myself. This was a good thing even if it felt like a kick in the gut.
Lunch went by quickly as I tried to think about everything but him. I read the menu a thousand times just to keep my mind busy. I probably knew the menu better than everyone working there. I walked back to work and waited for the elevator. There was a group of women standing in front of me talking about work. That’s what I needed to focus on, making friends. Meg and I needed to meet some new people. Maybe we could have a girl’s night out and I could invite Susie. Maybe even Lori. Yeah, that’s just what I needed. The elevator arrived and I followed the ladies in. I went back to work excited about the idea of a girl’s night.
The rest of the day flew by. I decided to skip the gym so we could start celebrating Meg’s new job.
Meg had already ordered a pizza and we had beer left in the fridge. “Let me grab a quick shower and then we can celebrate.” She smiled and waved me on.
I grabbed a couple slices of pizza and a beer then joined Meg on the couch. She was watching The Housewives. I didn’t know why she liked those shows. It just seemed so fake but like usual, I was drawn into it too before long.
“How was the second day? Hopefully as good as the first.”
“It was even better. She has a huge deadline coming up and wants me to help her. That means I will be working late for the rest of the week but it’s a huge opportunity for me.”
“That’s awesome! She already knows how valuable you are and that she lucked out by hiring you.”
“Thanks, Liz. I was thinking Friday we should go out. We need to get out to celebrate my job and your new life.”
“Sounds like a plan to me. I was thinking the same thing today. I was thinking about inviting Susie. I met her at the gym and she lives in our apartment building. Maybe Lori from work, but now I think I’d rather just go out with you, just like old times.”
“Then it’s a plan. I’m going to go to bed. I’m exhausted from today. Who knew being a journalist could be so tiring.” We both burst into giggles. I followed her into the kitchen to put the plates in the sink. She went down the hall, but I went back to the living room. Maybe a little TV could distract me enough to sleep.
I woke with a start. Where was I? It took me a second to wake up enough to remember I had been watching TV. I must have fallen asleep. I shut the TV off and started towards my bedroom. I fell back asleep as soon as my head touched the pillow. It was the first night I hadn’t dreamt of him since I met him. Maybe things were going to be better.
Chapter Eleven<
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Wednesday, September 4
I found a note from Meg in the kitchen. She left early for work and wanted to remind me she would be home late. The house was too quiet without her so I walked over to the stereo to turn on the radio. At least the music would fill the silence while I ate breakfast and got ready for work.
I had forty-five minutes to kill before I had to leave for work so I decided to curl my hair and leave it down. I put on my usual eye shadow and mascara. When I couldn’t kill any more time, I decided just to be early to work.
I walked into the building mindlessly, wondering if anyone was going to be there to let me in. Someone walked up behind me but I didn’t have to turn around to see who it was. The feeling between us was unmistakable. Of course, we were the only two waiting for an elevator. It took every bit of strength I had not to turn around. Once the elevator doors closed, it made the electricity almost unbearable, it was almost suffocating.
“Ms. Day, you look nice today.” Why did he have to talk? The sound of his voice made me ache for him that much more.
I closed my eyes and took a breath before I replied, “Thank you, Mr. Parker.” I still didn’t look at him. Did this elevator usually go this slow? Finally, it hit the tenth floor. Just as I started walking out, he moved his foot to stop the doors from closing and grabbed my elbow.
“Please, Liz, look at me.” I slowly turned towards him. He was breathtaking as usual. When would his looks stop affecting me? “Liz? Never mind, have a good day at work.” With that, he dropped his hand from my elbow. What was that about?