Unfinished Sympathy

by Amélie S. Duncan

  Paul took a step forward, and my pulse jumped. He was still talking to them, but was, without doubt, coming over to bring me back into their conversation. Before that could happen, Gary called over to me.

  “Logan will fill you and the team in on tonight later. You can leave.”

  I looked at Paul to gesture my appreciation for his attempt to include me, but quickly shifted my attention to who was behind him. He hadn’t seen Cara until she had her arms wrapped around his waist. Even if I couldn’t have him, I didn’t want to watch them kiss again. I hurried out of the room, not stopping until I reached the sidewalk.

  Aubrey

  A car slowed down next to me on the sidewalk and the window rolled down. “Hey beautiful, do you need a ride? We can take you.”

  I peered over at the car. One man was driving and the other now leaning his head out the passenger side. “No, I’m fine.”

  The subway station ahead provided the only light in the empty street where most businesses were closed for the night.

  I was blocks away from Fuel now, and I didn’t want to wait for the car service. I planned to use the subway ride to clear my head.

  In terms of Emono Games, the evening had gone well. I should be happy, but I wasn’t. I couldn’t stop thinking of Paul with Cara.

  Honestly, did I even have a chance with Paul? He’d singled me out for a dance. Second choice. I didn’t understand him. Then again, I didn’t need to. He would be Emono’s business partner. I needed to think of him as a boss, up there with Ryan, Logan and Gary.

  “It’ll only be a ride, if that’s all you want.” The man’s voice broke through my thoughts, letting me know that he and the other man driving the car hadn’t left their far too close position on the road. Their laughter filled the quiet street.

  “We’re not going to hurt you,” he added.

  I rolled my eyes. Now that makes me relax. I ignored them and kept walking, turning right at the corner.

  Their car turned with me.

  “Did you hear me? I said you’re beautiful. You should at least thank me.” He spat the words out, frustration and contempt plain in his demand. There was no way I’d speak to them again.

  I increased my pace the last block, staggering on the heels that hit every crack in the uneven pavement. The subway stairs were ahead, and I rushed down them, but discovered that the gates were shut. The sign through the metal bars read: THIS STATION IS CLOSED FOR CLEANING.

  What would I do now? Call the car company? Would I need to go back to the club first? I wasn’t familiar with the area. I took out my phone to find an app that could direct me to a close stop as I walked up to the street.

  “Why won’t you talk to us, bitch?” the man yelled venomously. The car was parked, and the driver got out, remaining in the street. “Looks like you’ve run out of options,” he said, and snickered.

  The hair on the back of my neck rose. I wasn’t waiting around to find out their next move. I pushed my phone into my purse and broke into a run, taking the opposite direction of their car, then crossed the street and hurried away, hoping to lose them.

  Sparing a glance over my shoulder, I didn’t see them following me, but there were other cars on the road. I kept moving.

  Ahead was a parking lot, and my target was to reach it and ask for directions.

  I was close to the front entrance when the edge of my right sandal caught on the bumpy sidewalk. My hands went forward to brace me and I fell knees first on the concrete. Pain shot through me on impact. I cried out.

  Behind me came the sound of running feet. Had the men found me? My eyes darted frantically around, watering. Things were blurry. To top everything else off, one of my contacts had fallen out.

  “Are you okay, miss?” A security guard stood beside me, his position and the name of the parking lot stitched on his shirt. “I saw you fall. Can I call someone to help you?”

  I swallowed hard. A memory surfaced of the last time I’d sought help from my family and been denied. Destiny was the only person that would come, but she couldn’t because of her flight.

  The guard guided me to his security booth while I hastily thought of my options. It was easier to take the subway. I only needed to wait until I was certain the men were gone. That was what I planned but was sure the guard couldn’t have me in his booth for too long. I would have to leave soon.

  As if I wished it into being, my phone rang. Though unfortunately the call was from the very man I’d left the party to avoid, Paul Crane.

  “Hello?” I said above the sound of the cars waiting at the gate to pay the attendant.

  “Hi, you left so fast. I thought I’d call to see if you were okay,” he said.

  “I’m okay,” I said my shaking decreasing. I waved to the garage man to signal I was leaving. “I’ll be even better if you could stay on the line until I reach the subway station. I know this is a weird request—”

  “Why are you taking the subway? Tell me where you are now. I’ll send someone to pick you up,” he said.

  I winced in pain as I limped down the block on a broken heel. “No need.”

  “Now, I must demand it,” he said authoritatively. “You sound upset. Has something happened?”

  “I’ll be all right.” I looked around and startled at the car that slowed down in front of the building. Had the men in the car found me?

  “Please, I insist,” Paul said.

  “Well, maybe a ride closer to my place if your driver isn’t too busy.” I went back to the parking garage and gave the address, though I cursed myself for putting him out like this.

  I was unsure what to do, but it wasn’t long before the car that had dropped me off earlier at the shopping area showed up.

  Paul stepped out of it, and with him came that magic that made me lose myself when he was around. He’d lost the suit jacket and was in his dark shirt, unbuttoned at the collar, and black slacks. He looked so achingly beautiful. Even now, with his gorgeous face warped in anger.

  “What happened to you?” He didn’t ask, he demanded. He also didn’t wait for me to respond. The distance between us evaporated. His hand caught one of my arms, and he lifted it to the streetlight to examine the scratches. The briefest touch from him brought a tingling warmth to my skin. I wanted him to keep his hands on me.

  I bit my cheek. Focus.

  “I left to catch the subway, but the station was closed,” I replied, pleased with how even my voice was. “There were two men following me in a car who wouldn’t leave me alone. I panicked and came here to get directions to another subway station. And then I fell on the pavement. Heels!” I tried to make light of it.

  “Damn it, Aubrey,” Paul scolded. He shoved a hand through his hair, his voice rising. “It’s dangerous out here. Emono doesn’t have a car service? I’m sure it would upset your family to find you out here like this. Why didn’t you call them?”

  I dug my fingers into my palm to stop the pain that rose inside me. “I gave my car service to my friend Destiny, who’s a flight attendant and had to leave on an emergency trip. I have no one beside her who would come for me. Now can we go, please?”

  “Sorry,” he said and immediately helped me into the car. “If you get lost, hurt, or even if it’s too late to take a subway, you can call me for a ride. Any time. My family would come for you too.”

  I turned my head towards the window. “You can’t do that. You don’t know me. Honestly, I’m embarrassed I couldn’t make it back on my own and that I asked you to stay on the line with me.”

  “You were being followed. Your dress got ripped. You’re limping. No one who’s worth knowing would leave you like this.” He took my address and told his driver where to go.

  I sat rigidly until we reached the FDR, then calmed down once I recognized the exit that led to my apartment. “I suppose you’re right, but I feel bad for putting you out. You can just drop me off at the corner.”

  “I didn’t realize you were stubborn,” Paul said in a disapproving tone.


  “I’m not really,” I replied. “I just find it odd that a guy like you, as successful as you are, would leave your own party to take me home.”

  “I always leave early,” he said. “I do most press pre-events, and only speak to friends after. I’ve learned to avoid the after parties. It degrades the business relationship with my clients.”

  I looked at him. “Isn’t Cara one of your clients?”

  He turned his head toward me as I busied myself with my purse. I had no right to be jealous. He could choose when he wanted to put up the client wall, though I thought it made him disingenuous. He probably had Cara on her way to his place to warm up his bed while he finished up his Good Samaritan check on me.

  “I don’t know what you’ve heard, but that’s not me. At least that’s not me now. Cara isn’t my client, but she wants to be. She won’t be. I can’t work with her after the way she behaved with me tonight. She used me as a prop in her desperate attempt at publicity.”

  “You won’t work with her because the two of you kissed?” I asked.

  “She kissed me,” he corrected, annoyance clear in his tone. “I know that sounds odd after the way I flirted with you earlier.”

  “We flirted with each other,” I said. “I… I didn’t think you’d go through with your offer, anyway.”

  “No, and not because I didn’t want to. It was more because having sex with me after knowing me a few hours wasn’t you,” he said as if he knew me.

  I glanced at him but kept quiet. Paul was quite observant. To be honest, he was right. Sex after meeting him yesterday really wasn’t me. I didn’t jump into bed with strangers.

  “I have done things like that in my past,” he said candidly. “That’s my problem, and why I asked you to show me mercy. I’ve crossed the professional line with the female artists I worked with. It’s causing me problems now and may well affect my business. That’s why I’ve made it clear to everyone I work with that I will never get personally involved with any clients again… no matter how tempting it may become.”

  I could feel his gaze on me, though I kept my eyes on the back of the driver’s seat.

  “I understand,” I murmured.

  We fell silent for a few minutes, until he said, “I don’t know if you noticed, but the music I played onstage—”

  “Yes. It was from earlier,” I said with a lift to my voice. “I couldn’t believe it. What you did was amazing.”

  “The music came from playing with you.”

  “No way,” I replied modestly. “I stopped playing and listened when that music came from you.”

  “And I say it’s you,” he persisted. “You inspired that music. I’m sure of it.”

  The car slowed in front of my building, and I pointed it out. Paul got out of the car and walked me to my door.

  I took off my shoes after stepping inside the tiled lobby. “I can handle it from here.”

  He grinned down at my feet. “Sparkly toes. I didn’t notice them earlier.”

  “I painted glitter over my toes when I got home,” I explained and wiggled them. “I like to dazzle.”

  We laughed.

  “Thank you for the ride home,” I told him again.

  “Let me see you upstairs,” he insisted.

  “Shall I invite you in for hot coffee?” The joke was out of my mouth before I could stop myself.

  His eyes widened and his mouth spread into a grin. “Is that a joke about that hidden scene from GTA’s San Andreas, for ‘hot coffee’ sex?”

  I nodded. We both broke into laughter again.

  “I have a weird sense of humor,” I explained. “It’s how I get through things that scare me. Seriously, I’m fine now.”

  “I’m happy that you’re safe, but being followed must have been frightening,” he said. “Allow me to be a gentleman and see you to your door.”

  My eyes followed him over to the empty security desk. I suspected all was fine and that the guard was doing his routine checks, but still took Paul up on his offer. “All right.”

  We didn’t say another word as we rode the elevator to my floor. On the ride, he placed his hand on my back and rubbed it soothingly. A knot lodged in my throat. After my fright and the pain from my fall, I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed that extra comfort, or that he knew it.

  His hand slid off my back in the hallway, and I instantly wanted him to touch me again, just to feel a little secure.

  After we arrived at my door and I opened it, I turned back to him, standing in the jamb. “Thank you for the event, and especially for this morning. Well, afternoon. We were playing for hours. It meant a lot to play for and with you.” I held out my hand for him to shake.

  My stomach dropped and I lowered my eyelids. I didn’t want him to see my sadness at cementing our new friendship.

  “You’re welcome.” Paul clasped my hand, but he didn’t let go. He placed his thumb on my wrist and let it linger on my racing pulse. He exhaled in a rush. The electricity of his touch still lingered, as did my sensual awareness. My breath staggered in the quiet moments that followed. There was nothing that we could say to make things different between us now.

  “I feel you, Aubrey,” he said in a deep voice. “Putting up barriers with you is harder than you know.”

  I closed my eyes. He was struggling, just like me. “Thank you, Paul.”

  Closing the door behind him, I leaned against it. Undeniably, working with Paul Crane was a golden opportunity—and to do it successfully, I’d have to shut out any feelings I had towards him. But I had no clue how.

  Aubrey

  “Is this where Ryan stashed you this week?”

  I looked up from my cubicle in Quality Assurance to find Quinn and Kyle peering down at me. I’d received a text from Ryan before I reached the office on Monday to report there. I’d enjoyed the past four days of playing the game. Though I’d found it not as easy as I remembered.

  “You have no idea how difficult it is to replicate bugs,” I said. “I’m totally out of practice.”

  “You shouldn’t be down here, especially after you helped land Paul Crane for their soundtrack,” Quinn said. He came around and pulled up a chair to sit next to me. “It’s completely unfair.”

  I squinted at him, masking my disappointment. Paul had agreed to work there, and I was already excluded. Had he had second thoughts after our exchange at the door? “I don’t know anything. What have you heard?”

  “Stuff.” Kyle drew out the word nauseatingly. “I heard Yasmine tell her assistant to hand deliver documents over to Paul Crane’s production studio.”

  “Gary and the Cranes are negotiating, for sure,” Quinn confirmed when I turned towards him for his take on what was going on. “A contract is imminent.”

  They didn’t have anything…

  I plastered on a smile. “That’s good for Emono. Thanks for the info.”

  I could have sent them off after that, but truthfully, I would have used any excuse to think about Paul. I must have replayed him feeling my pulse a dozen times over the weekend. It had been a bit old-fashioned, yet so sensual. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, or the way he’d said he was struggling with his attraction towards me. That, along with how protective he’d been by picking me up in the middle of the night, made it hard to firmly place him in the friend column—even though he’d said he’d never allow anything to happen with his clients. I could split hairs on the fact that it was my company hiring him, but ultimately it was his choice. He hadn’t left without making that special connection with me, and deep down that gave me hope. For what, exactly? I didn’t dare go further, but what was clear to me now was that I was pathetically obsessed. I was also grinning, which Kyle immediately seized on.

  “Look at her,” Kyle mused, elbowing Quinn. “She looks different, like she got some.”

  I rolled my eyes and went back to looking at the computer screen. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, and anyway, my private life is private.”

  “You didn’t
deny it, though, did you Aubrey?” Kyle teased.

  I turned my head to glare at them. “I can smile and not have it mean anything.”

  “True.” Quinn picked up my notes from my desk and leafed through them. “But something else is going on with you. Since I know you haven’t been hired, and Ryan is still being an asshole to you, that couldn’t be why.”

  “Couldn’t I smile because I’m happy?” I asked, clicking the game controller.

  “No,” Kyle replied. “You’re not married, you don’t have children, pets or money. Sex would be the only other reason to smile like that.”

  I smirked. “Whatever.”

  “So how did you get your hook-up?” Kyle wondered, lightly shoving my shoulder. “Are you on a dating app or what?”

  “No, and I’d never tell you any way. You’re Emono’s gossip central,” I told him. I could give as much as I got from them, and then some.

  “I keep secrets when I want to,” Kyle replied, as if that made a big difference.

  “All right, leave it to the pros,” Quinn said. He laced his hands together and pretended to crack his knuckles. “We want to hear this rumor from you. Could that smile you’re sporting be from some dirty dancing with Paul Crane?”

  My eyes widened, and I looked around the space to see if anyone was nearby. The closest coworker had on headphones. “Okay, Grandpa. The dance was closer to a waltz compared with the dancing all around the club. How do you know we danced together?”

  “Audio wasn’t the only one invited to the party,” he said. “Some of upper management were given passes to attend, and I heard through the office grapevine. By the way, thank you for not inviting me, and I hate you forever.”

  I lowered my brows and pushed his shoulder playfully. “Hey, I was only invited because of work. Ryan, Logan, and Gary were there. That’s hardly barring you from a fun night out.”

  “Paul also offered for you to be the liaison on the project Friday and you didn’t tell us,” Quinn pointed out. “Something is up.”

  I tightened my jaw. “I’m not sure why he asked me to be the point of contact on the project. He had access to all of our work, and some of mine was in the promotional presentation.”