Powerless (Finding Love Book 2)

by Paris Hansen

  Chapter 5

  Finley

  Long after Liam walked out of Heat, Finley hadn’t moved from her spot next to the door. She had a laundry list of things she needed to do, but was too stunned to move. It wasn’t just that he had shown up in Seattle to find her that was surprising; it was what he said that really shocked her.

  If he’d been asking for sex, she would have understood, but that wasn’t the only thing he wanted. Liam Crawford wanted more. No one ever wanted more from her. Granted, she never let them get far enough to ask for more, but that was exactly how she liked it. Or at least that was the way she used to like it. Since the wedding, she wasn’t sure. Honestly, seeing her childhood best friend marry the love of his life with a few of her past regrets in the audience, all with their wives, had made Finley start to reevaluate her love life a little. Meeting Liam, feeling the connection between them, made her realize that falling for someone would be easier than she ever thought possible.

  She’d always assumed she’d spend her life single. It seemed easier and safer than dealing with the heartache that she’d seen time and time again from the people around her. Why would anyone want to put themselves through that? Why risk it when you were happy alone?

  But that was part of the problem. She was no longer sure she was happy alone. Finley could no longer deny that it would be nice to have someone to lean on, someone to share her time with, someone steady to share her bed with instead of the revolving door of men she’d been using for fun.

  Why did the first person to finally spark her interest, the first person to make her realize that she might want something more, have to be part of the world she fought so hard to get away from? While she could allow herself to have fun with Liam, she could never let herself fall for him. She’d seen far too many times what his lifestyle could do to a relationship; how much it could damage another person. Finley refused to let that be her.

  She refused to sit at home wondering if he was taking things a little too far with his co-star or if that picture of him in the tabloids, out to dinner with some other woman, meant anything. Hollywood was filled with opportunities and rumors. She would not allow herself to turn into her mom, paranoid about what her boyfriend was doing when she wasn’t around. Walking through a room where everyone was whispering about her and all the rumors that were swirling around about her relationship. That wasn’t the life Finley wanted. She wouldn’t go through that again, even if the first time she was just a semi-innocent bystander.

  * * * * *

  Six hours later Finley stood behind the VIP bar. There was less traffic in the upstairs area on a Thursday night which was exactly what she needed. Since Liam’s unexpected visit she’d been unable to focus. An hour after he left she broke down and called in one of her employees for overtime. Although the VIP area wasn’t that busy on a Thursday night, the rest of Heat was always packed. Finley couldn’t afford to screw things up, so when she started to hook up a keg to the wrong tap, she had to ask for help.

  She knew she couldn’t continue to let him distract her. Tonight she would let him know that she wasn’t interested in what he was offering. She would have to convince him that she wasn’t the more type of girl. It wouldn’t be easy. He seemed determined to win her over and she would be lying to him when she told him she wasn’t interested. One night of talking with Liam had been better than any date she’d ever had. And the sex…Liam had put everyone else she’d ever been with to shame. Sadly, that wasn’t all that difficult when she really thought about it, but it was still a mind-blowing experience that she would have loved to repeat.

  Finley just couldn’t let him know that.

  Pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket, Finley checked the time. It was nearing midnight and Liam had yet to make an appearance. Part of her hoped he’d changed his mind, realizing that she wasn’t worth the fight. The other part was pissed that he left her hanging. She’d stressed about his return to the club four hours. She’d rehearsed what she would say to him over and over again, although she knew it wouldn’t do any good. Once she was face to face with him she’d be lucky if she remembered her own name.

  For hours she waited, changing her mind every five minutes and it was really starting to make her mad. She needed him to show up so she could get rid of him. Staring at her cell phone, she was half tempted to text him to tell him not to bother. His appearance in her club would cause a commotion that she didn’t need, both personally and professionally. People would recognize him and swarm him. And she would take one look at him and forget her reasons for saying no.

  It didn’t help that when Finley had Googled him earlier she hadn’t seen one picture of him with a female co-star or some other Hollywood starlet. In red carpet pictures, there was only one woman on his arm and all of the captions said she was his sister. Pictures of him out and about in Hollywood were usually ones of him solo or again with his sister. Finley spent hours looking through pages and pages of images to find something to use to justify her fears. The time spent had nothing to do with how hot he was or how many pictures there were on the internet of him without a shirt.

  “Boss…hey boss.”

  Finley shoved her phone back in her pocket and turned to face one of her bartenders. He had the bar phone in his hand and an annoyed look on his face. Once again she’d been distracted by thoughts of Liam and her employees were having to deal with it. She hadn’t even heard the phone ring despite the fact that the ringer was turned up loud enough to be heard over the music playing below.

  “Sorry. What’s going on?”

  “There’s a man out front trying to get in, but the line is long and he’s not on the list. He says he knows you and that you’re expecting him. Says his name is Liam.”

  Finley smiled, amused by the fact that her bouncers didn’t recognize Liam. Although if there was a long line and he wasn’t being accosted, then maybe he’d done a good enough job making sure he was unrecognizable. She also couldn’t help but be ecstatic about the fact that there was a long line outside of her club at midnight on a weeknight. Even though she was starting to feel burned out, she was still proud of the success of Heat.

  “Is there anyone free who can escort him around back? We don’t want him walking through the club to get to my office.”

  The bartender spoke quickly with the person on the other end of the line before hanging up the phone. “Garrett will take him around back to your office. He was just about to take a smoke break.”

  “Thank you. I’m going to head down there to meet him. You know where I’ll be if anything comes up, but I’d prefer not to be interrupted, so only call if there’s an emergency. I need to take care of this.”

  Heading down the backstairs of the VIP loft, it should have only taken Finley a few minutes to get to her office, but the crowd was thick and her employees were needy. Ten minutes after the phone call she finally pushed the door to her office open. Her breath caught as her eyes met Liam’s. He leaned casually against her desk, his legs crossed at the ankles, his arms crossed over his chest. A baseball cap sat next to him on the desk, a pair of dark sunglasses resting on the brim. His hair was completely disheveled from being covered by the hat.

  “Hi,” he said as soon as she shut the door behind her.

  “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to show.”

  “I almost didn’t,” he admitted. “Not because I didn’t want to see you because all I want to do is see you. I almost didn’t come cause I didn’t think about the walking into a packed club and getting recognized thing. I know the fact that I’m an actor is a bit of a dealbreaker for you and I didn’t want to draw more attention to that fact if I could get away with it.”

  “And that was the disguise you came up with? I’m surprised that didn’t make everybody stop to look at you. Who wears dark sunglasses at night? And hats are against Heat’s dress code.”

  “This was all I could find and your bouncer made the dress code thing very clear when I walked up to him. He also made it r
eally clear that I was a dick for trying to cut the line. Don’t worry, he apologized when I showed him my ID and explained myself,” Liam explained when Finley tried to interrupt. “I should have thought about the situation sooner. I would have sent you a text, but since you haven’t used mine yet, I don’t have your number,”

  Finley smiled not wanting to admit that she’d entered his number into her cell as soon as he left that afternoon. Or admit the fact that she’d been fighting the urge to use that number all night. Although she’d had mixed feelings about being in the same room with Liam again, now that they were together it felt right, which scared the hell out of her. She didn’t want to want him. She didn’t want to admit that there was something between them that was more than just sex. Something that could be so damn good if they just gave it a shot.

  She started to lean against the door, but remembered their earlier encounter and knew it was a bad idea. If she was going to have any hope of convincing him that she wasn’t interested, she had to make sure that she wasn’t put into another compromising position. There was no way she could say no to him if he had his body pressed against hers. Especially not after she was reminded of what he looked like without his shirt on. She was fairly certain nobody could pass that perfection up.

  There was a sense of safety on the other side of her desk. One that she desperately needed since Liam was currently checking her out. He watched her walk around to the other side of her desk then turned to face her when she was no longer in front of him. She wore her usual club uniform of black skinny jeans, 4-inch heels and a tank top. That night’s tank top was dark blue with the club logo across her breasts.

  “So…you wanted to talk,” Finley said finally breaking the silence. She didn’t sit once she reached her safe zone. Instead she faced him, her shoulders and back ramrod straight, hoping that standing would show him that she was confident in her decision. She needed the extra boost because she was anything but confident. Just as she figured, the minute she was in his presence she forgot all of the reasons she had for not wanting to try anything more with him. She forgot how insistent she was that they were a bad idea. All she knew was that she wanted him; that whenever he was around she felt different…better.

  Putting his hands on her desk, he leaned over it invading the safe space she thought she’d found. He smirked at her as she squirmed a little. She wanted to take a step back, but there wasn’t enough room. She also didn’t want him to realize how much he affected her. If she was going to be convincing she needed to figure out a way to get the upper hand.

  “I know you’re going to say this is a bad idea or that you don’t feel the same way about me. That you aren’t interested in seeing if there is something between us. You’re going to try to be convincing and sure of what you’re saying, but I know that you’ll be lying so we can just forget about all of that. All I am asking for is the weekend. Give me the weekend to prove to you that what we both feel is right. If I can’t do that, then I’ll leave you alone.”

  “And if somehow you can persuade me to see things your way?”

  “Then we agree to see where this goes. It won’t be easy. I’ll be in L.A. and you’ll be here, but I will come to visit as often as I can. I already know you won’t promise the same thing, so instead of meeting in L.A., maybe we can come up with somewhere else that we can meet to spend time. Whatever works for you, Finley. I’m open to it all. I just want the chance to show you how perfect we can be together. I want the chance to get to know you better. I just want a chance.”

  What was she supposed to say to that? How could she tell him no when he was willing to do whatever she wanted as long as she gave him a chance? She didn’t know him well enough to put her baggage onto him. He had done nothing to make her think that he was like all of the others in Hollywood. Elijah knew what her issues were and he still told Liam how to find her, which had to say something about the kind of man he was. Elijah was her best friend; he wouldn’t push someone into her life if he thought the guy was a total asshole…at least she didn’t think he would.

  “What do you say Fin? Let me spend the weekend with you. Let me show you that I’m a good man. Let me show you that you don’t have any reason to worry. I have references if you need them and Eli said you should give him a call so he can help you make up your mind. He warned me about how stubborn you can be, especially about relationships and actors.”

  Finley sighed. There was no way she could say no to him…not that she really wanted to anyway. Spending the weekend with Liam sounded like the best idea in the world, heartache and drama be damned. Even if things didn’t work out she would have the best weekend of her life and that had to count for something. After one night with Liam she started to rethink her life, an entire weekend would hopefully give her more perspective and strength to make the changes she knew she needed to make.

  “Alright, I’ll give you the weekend, but I can’t promise anything more than that. I’ll try to keep an open mind though. I know I can’t continue to hide behind the excuses of my childhood, so show me what you got Liam Crawford. Maybe you can be the man to change my mind.”

  Liam

  Show me what you got Liam Crawford.

  Her words echoed through his head. They were exactly what he wanted to hear. She was giving him a chance to show her what they could be together. Hell, she’d issued him a challenge and he never backed down from a challenge. Finley Blake wouldn’t regret her decision to spend time with him this weekend and she wouldn’t regret the decision she’d make at the end of the weekend either.

  Even though he still had a lot to do to convince her they were meant for each other, Liam felt like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. Relief flooded through his body; most of the tension that filled him all day fled with her words. Although it was late, he didn’t want to waste any more of the precious time they had to spend together before he had to head back to L.A. Sunday evening.

  “Can the weekend start now?” he asked. “I have to head back Sunday night and I’d like to spend as much time with you as possible before I have to head to the airport. I’m sure you probably have a lot of work to do, but is there any way you can get someone else to cover the club until I leave? I promise next time I’ll plan this better and we’ll have more time together.”

  “If there’s a next time,” Finley said with a laugh. She winked at him before picking up the phone on her desk. Liam pushed off of the desk, realizing that he was still leaning over it, invading her space. He backed away so she could make her call, opting to look around at the few things she had up on the walls. A framed dollar bill hung on the wall next to the club’s business license and liquor license. Next to those was a framed picture of Finley standing outside of Heat, pointing at the sign and a banner that said Grand Opening. The smile on her face was one filled with pride and excitement.

  There were a few other framed photos along the same wall, ones of Finley with friends, like the blonde he’d met earlier in the day and ones of Finley with a few celebrities that had obviously frequented the club. The rest of the room was filled with filing cabinets and shelving units that held bottles of booze and boxes of other supplies.

  “I don’t spend a lot of time in here, so it seemed like a good idea to use it as storage too. I do most of the paperwork and stuff for the club upstairs in my apartment. It’s easier and more relaxing and it gave me the opportunity to make the employee breakroom bigger and give them their own bathrooms so they don’t have to use the ones that the patrons use. I’ve found giving them their own space makes for a happier bunch of employees.”

  “I’m impressed. You’ve put a lot more thought into this than most business owners. So…are we able to start our weekend now or do we have to wait?”

  “The club is under control for tonight and I’m pretty sure I’ve got enough coverage for tomorrow and Saturday, but I’ll have to be on call just in case. I hope that’s okay.”

  “As long as I get to spend time with you, I don’t mind. Hell,
if we had to hang out here the entire time, I wouldn’t like it, but I’d do it as long as we were together,” he admitted. “Now that we’re free, can I take you out to dinner?”

  “It’s after midnight,” Finley pointed out.

  “I was too nervous to eat earlier and now I’m fucking starving. I know it’s late and Thursday night, but there’s got to be somewhere we can go eat.”

  Shaking her head, Finley smiled at him. “I was too nervous to eat earlier too. Damn it, I didn’t want to admit that. We could always just go back to my place.”

  “If we go back to your place, the only thing that will get eaten is you. I didn’t come here for sex, Finley. I want to spend time with you…time where we’re fully clothed, talking about our lives, getting to know each other. There will be a time for getting laid, but that time isn’t right now.”

  “Fine. I know of a place we can go to. I’m pretty sure no one will recognize you, although putting the hat back on wouldn’t be a bad idea. Let me go upstairs to change my shirt and grab a jacket. Do you mind staying here? I promise I’ll be right back.”

  “Just don’t make me wait too long,” Liam laughed.

  Finley pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket, quickly typing out a text before shoving it back into her jeans. Rounding her desk, she walked toward the door, with her hand on the nob, she turned back to face him.

  “I promise I won’t be long, but if you get worried, you can go ahead and use what should be coming through to your phone any second now.”

  She walked out of the room just as his phone vibrated in his pocket. Pulling it out, he smiled at the message that popped up on his screen.

  I can’t stop thinking about you either.

  * * * * *