by Lexy Timms
“Of course I have the time for you,” she said. “What’s the problem?”
“You do physical organization, right?”
“I do make house calls, yes.”
“Do you have any for today? I’m really overwhelmed, and I’m sinking in so much stuff.”
Kallie toggled with her calendar as the woman on the other end of the line sniffled.
“I actually have two free hours from ten to noon today.”
“Oh my gosh. Could I book you? I’ll pay you whatever you ask. I’ve been trying to get my things organized and get them donated to charity and I can’t see my floor.”
“Don’t worry. Take a deep breath, Miss...?”
“Susan. Gloria Susan.”
“Miss Susan,” she said. “Take a deep breath. Chaos thrives on anxiety. Give me your address, and I’ll be there promptly at ten.”
“Thank you so much. Really. Thank you.”
“Of course. It’s not a problem. I’ll even help you pick out a charity that rings true with your values.”
“Really? You’ll do that.”
“Of course I will. Now, what's your address?”
Kallie took down the address and the phone number of the woman on the other end of the line. Miss Susa kept telling her she would pay her whatever was necessary, and Kallie kept trying to calm her down. In all of the years she had been doing this, Kallie knew that someone who was this wound up with anxiety probably had the situation blown way out of proportion. But she had the hours free, and James had spoiled the idea of her sitting at her desk for the morning.
It wasn't until she hung up the phone and agreed to be there in an hour that she recognized the address.
It belonged to the same building Ash lived in.
Forty-five minutes later, Kallie was looking up at the tall, shining edifice of Ash’s apartment building. Kalie sighed as she looked back at her car. She had been tricked. Like James tried to trick her that morning. There was no one in this building by the name of “Gloria Susan.” There was no one in that building who would call out to her for her services, because no one in that building would give away their stuff. They would simply leave it in a closet the way Ash’s father's whatever-numbered wife left all of her clothes behind in the divorce.
Should she even bother going inside?
“Miss Semple?”
Kallie was pulled from her trance before her eyes fell onto a man standing in front of her.
“Yes?” she asked.
“Follow me, please.”
Kallie frowned. Of course Ash had thought of everything. The doorman didn't even turn back to look and see if she was following. She could get in her car and drive away. Act like this never happened and go back to her desk. Back to her work. Back to her life. But work was waiting for her? She had intentionally lightened her schedule to almost nothing because of how she thought her life was going to pan out.
She wasn't in control of the situation, and Kallie was tired of using her energy to fight. She was tired of fighting for control. Fighting for her voice. Fighting for her right to make decisions. Ash had put her on a path toward him, and he had gone to great lengths to get her back out to his place. James just sent her a necklace and then dangled the receipt in front of her face. Like a doggy treat for an animal.
At least Ash didn’t treat her like an animal.
Kallie followed after the doorman and stepped behind him into the elevator. He rode up with her all the way to the penthouse floor, then he escorted her to where she needed to be. She stood in front of Ash’s door, and the man even knocked for her.
Heaven forbid she lifts her own fist do anything for herself.
The doorman nodded at her with a broad smile that swept across his cheeks. Did he know what was going on? Or was it in his job description to be that cheerful all the time? He left for the elevator, leaving her alone and listening to the footfalls of Ash’s feet, and she debated on whether or not to run again. She was tired of fighting, but was she tired of running?
Yes.
Kallie was simply ... tired.
He opened the door and smiled, and even though she was torn on what to do, the sight made her heart beat wildly in her chest. She didn't know whether to be amused or annoyed with him, but she did know one thing.
It felt good looking up into his hazel eyes.
Chapter 13
Kallie
“I’m sorry for the trickery,” Ash said. “But when you didn’t call, I figured I probably had to take matters into my own hands.”
Kallie had absolutely no idea how to feel about that. He intentionally conned her? Like James had? It seemed the two of them had more in common than she figured. She wanted to turn and leave. Wanted to walk away from the scenario and gain some semblance of control back.
But then Ash said the magic words she never could refuse from anyone.
“I was serious, though. About getting organized.”
“It wasn’t even you that called,” Kallie said. “And your apartment looks fine from where I’m standing.”
“I want to donate all those clothes from my father’s second wife,” he said. “You know, clear out some room for other things.”
Ash stepped off to the side, allowing her to make a choice. Did she go in and take the bait? Or did she turn and walk away. Kallie cocked an eyebrow as her eyes scanned the part of his apartment she could see. Everything had a place. Everything looked neat. But she was familiar with that massive closet full of clothes and she knew a bunch of local areas that could use donations such as those.
Battered women. Single mothers. Thrift stores that catered to the homeless. Social services that helped parents trying to redeem themselves by finding jobs and appropriate outfits for interviews.
She couldn’t let all of those charities go without simply because of her own personal feelings.
“Then I’m going to treat this like I would any other client,” Kallie said.
“I wouldn’t expect anything less, since I’m going to be paying you.”
“Are you sure you want to organize and declutter?” she asked. “It comes at a high emotional cost. More than most people understand. Of course, I would work with you to find an appropriate place to donate all of your items that fits your ethical and moral code. And at any time during the process, we can stop and talk about what you’re feeling. I’m here not just to help you organize, but to help you process the emotions behind it.”
“And I’m thankful for that,” he said. “It’s time I made a few changes around this place anyway. I’m going to be sticking around the city for a while, so making some room in my life seems like a good place to start.”
Kallie’s eyebrows hiked up onto her forehead. Was he serious? Ash was staying in the city? What for? Had something happened?
Was he sticking around for her?
“Come along,” Ash said. “We’ll head back to the closet.”
Kallie followed him through the house and her mind was swirling. If Ash was serious about sticking around in the city, did that mean he was serious about her? Was she ready for him to be serious about her? Kallie drew in a deep breath as they walked into the closet. She had to keep it professional. Keep it light, by the book, and she didn’t need to deviate. If anything, this would be a good time to figure out where Ash’s head was emotionally. That was part of the services she offered. Emotional coaching as well as coaching on organizational skills.
“So! How should we start?” Ash asked.
“This isn’t usually the part I’m employed for,” Kallie said. “I give a quote, set forth a plan, then bring in movers and helpers to do this part.”
“I’ll pay you double whatever you quote me, and you can pick whatever you want from the closet to keep.”
“We agreed to keep this professional, Ash.”
“And I countered your offer. A businessman to a businesswoman,” he said.
Kallie pursed her lips before a grin rose on her cheeks. She did technically tell the random wom
an on the phone she’d come over and help her today. So she sort of roped herself into packing all of it up when she came over. She was a sucker for someone crying on the other end of the line. She couldn’t stand people who were sad. Kallie was a helper. Willing to sacrifice anything about herself to make someone’s life a little easier to bear.
“Okay,” she said. “Then we’re going to need some boxes.”
“I’ve got some places I can call for those,” Ash said.
“And a marker. If you don’t want all of the donations going to one place, then labeling the boxes will be imperative. Do you have any charities in mind?”
“Whichever ones you have connections with. Charity is charity. Whoever can use this stuff the most is fine by me,” Ash said.
Kallie got on her phone and called up a few charities while Ash had boxes delivered. One by one, they were dropped in the closet as Kallie set up delivery times for the local places she’d become accustomed to working with. The battered women’s shelter. The pro-bono law office downtown that worked with soon-to-be single mothers. A local thrift store known for their work with the homeless. Kallie popped off the top of the marker and began writing the charity name on each of the boxes, then started scanning the clothes.
“So much floral,” Kallie said. “Did your father’s second wife have a thing for spring?”
“She had a thing for booze. That was pretty much how they met,” Ash said.
“There’s an entire row of dresses with nothing but floral print on them. And these heels. They match exactly.”
Kallie held up the dress and the shoes before wrinkling her nose.
“Should we thrust that choice onto an unsuspecting population?” Ash asked with a grin.
“I’m almost afraid to,” Kallie said with a giggle. “Though I still can’t get over the diamond-encrusted hair clips. I mean, really. We couldn’t have toned that gem down a little bit?”
“What would you have put in it?”
“Nothing. The pattern in the hair clips is pretty enough. The diamonds just force her wealth down the throats of unsuspecting people.”
“Tell me how you really feel,” he said.
“Not how this job works. You’re supposed to be talking to me about how you feel with all this.”
“I feel liberated,” he said.
Kallie turned her attention to him as she continued to pull clothes off the hangers.
“This stuff has been sitting around in this apartment for a long time. And when I came back to it, I felt stifled. Like this apartment was pawned off on me instead of given to me to make it my own. I still feel like I’m walking around my father’s place instead of a place I figured he thought I’d call home.”
“Then this is a good starting point for that,” Kallie said.
“I think so too. Thanks for helping me with it.”
“My pleasure. It’s what I do.”
“It’s one of the things you do.”
Kallie caught Ash’s stare and her breath caught in her lungs. She tore her eyes from him and continued to fold the clothes, and four hours later they were done. Kallie had to slip out in the middle of everything to take a scheduled phone call, but other than that, she’d been free the entire afternoon to help.
And she wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
“I’ve got delivery times scheduled with the charities,” Kallie said as she walked out of the closet. “A couple of them can’t get out here until tomorrow, but the homeless shelter and the law office are coming by in an hour or so. Their names are written on the boxes, so if you let them in, they’ll know which ones to take.”
“Thank you for all your help today,” Ash said.
“I’ll send you an invoice in the mail for my services with a due date at the top. You can pay all at once with a check or a card, or you can—”
Kallie felt herself being grabbed before his domineering lips planted onto hers. She felt her phone slip from her grasp, clattering to the floor as her body went weak. His tongue slid across her lips and she moaned into him, falling into his body even though her mind kept telling her not to. Not to give in. Not to fall prey to the trick. His tongue forced his way inside and her toes caught on fire. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her away from the front door before setting her ass on the edge of the couch.
“It’s been torture not touching you,” Ash whispered into her lips.
Kallie cupped his cheeks as her tongue darted out to lick his lips.
“Stay for dinner,” Ash said.
Kallie closed her eyes before she took a step away from him.
“I can’t,” she said.
“Come on. Stop fighting this, Kallie. Stop making excuses. I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. And yes, we’ve lived lives before we met, and we’ve been through things no one could even imagine. That’s what happens in life. But I know you feel this. I know you just felt what I did.”
“Ash, I can’t—”
“It’s been torture for me to stand by you for four hours and not touch you. Not kiss you.”
His hand reached out for her face and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
“Not taste you,” he said mindlessly.
“Ash, you aren’t listen—”
“I want you, Kallie. More than anything. And I’m not going to stop pursuing you,” he said.
“It isn’t that I don’t want to, Ash. I actually can’t,” Kallie said. “Not tonight.”
White-hot heat was pulsing through her veins. Desire was bursting in her gut. She could still feel the lingering of Ash’s lips upon hers and she wanted to feel it again. She wanted to be wrapped up in his arms again. To feel his naked body against hers again.
“Why not tonight?” he asked.
“I already have plans,” Kallie said defeatedly.
“Then cancel them.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“Because I have to return this necklace,” she said.
“What necklace?”
Kallie groaned as she took another step away from Ash.
“I’m busy tonight, okay? It’s not an excuse. I actually have plans.”
She could feel his eyes on her. Burrowing a hole into the side of her face. Her cheeks blushed with embarrassment at the mere thought of it. Successfully manipulated by her ex-fiancé into dinner. It was pathetic and she knew it. Her eyes chanced a look up at Ash and his sight was narrowed, reading her like an open book.
“Ash—”
“Are you meeting with Eris?” he asked.
Kallie shook her head and watched as he balled up his fists at his side.
“Ash ... it isn’t—”
Then he was the one to take a step away. Inch by inch, putting more space between them. Kallie took a step toward him and his body stiffened. She stopped immediately, clocking his reaction to her closeness.
“It isn’t what you think,” Kallie said.
“That phrase sounds familiar.”
“Then you know it’s true.”
Ash bit down onto his lip and Kallie cursed herself for ever getting into this situation. For ever walking into the building and succumbing to his plea for help. For ever picking up that phone call or taking that package from that damn delivery man or even leaving the island early.
Kallie cursed everything that had led her to this point.
That had led to the distance between her and a man she naturally gravitated toward.
Chapter 14
Ash
Ash immediately felt her absence, but he ignored the longing. He kept stepping back from her, trying to ignore the rage boiling in his chest. He crossed his arms over his chest to hide his fists. Kallie was meeting another man tonight. He could tell. Those red cheeks of shame and the guilty look in her eye. Her skin was still flushing down her neck and she wouldn’t meet his eyes. Not when it counted.
He needed to know.
Ash needed to know who she was meeting
“Yo
u’re seeing him again, aren’t you?” he asked. “The man from your apartment.”
“Please don’t do this,” Kallie said.
“I haven’t done anything. There was a man in your apartment when I arrived in the city. That’s who you’re seeing tonight, isn’t it?” he asked.
He watched Kallie take in a deep breath and he braced himself for the impact. For the hurt her words were going to bring him. Rejected for another man. A man who wasn’t good enough for her. Part of him feared she would lie to him. Tell him what he wanted to hear instead of the truth. But instead of a lie, he got the truth.
And he wasn’t sure if it was any better.
“I am,” Kallie said.
“You’re having dinner with him.”
“I am.”
Ash snickered and shook his head.
“The man in my apartment was James, Ash.”
His gaze whipped back over to Kallie and he found tears in her eyes.
“He’s ... he’s trying to get me back,” she said. “He bought me a gift he’s still got the receipt to and I have to meet him for dinner, so I can return it.”
“What?”
“This morning, James sent me a gift. This ... this necklace I’d been eyeing for months. It was beautiful, and for a split second I thought—”
Kallie looked away and Ash’s arms uncurled.
“You thought about going back to him.”
“I thought it was a nice sentiment,” she said as her voice wavered. “Proof that he really had been paying attention to me more than I thought he was. But then why would he buy that necklace now? Send it to me now after he’s so royally fucked me over?”
Ash stayed silent and watched as a tear rolled down her cheek.
“I called him and told him I couldn't accept the gift, and he said if I didn’t want to hassle with returning it, then I could meet him for dinner and drop it off. So, I’m meeting him tonight to give it back.”
That manipulative bastard. What the fuck did he think he was doing? Scratch that, Ash knew that man knew what he was doing. Her ex still had a choke hold on her and he could see it in Kallie’s eyes. The conflict. The hurt. The confusion. Ash didn’t like any of this one fucking bit. He didn’t like watching his Kallie being manipulated by a man who was nowhere near good enough for her. Even if she was simply going to dinner to tell this man it was over between the two of them, he knew she was walking into a dangerous trap.
