As he reached the guy, Riley smiled. “Sir, excuse me.”
As the man looked up, Riley’s attention was drawn to the paper that lay open on the desk. It was one of the society pages and the big colored photo right on top took his breath away. He picked up the paper. “What can I do for you, sir?” asked the policeman.
Riley’s gaze was fixed on the picture. Tania was standing, holding hands, with a man who was grinning at the camera. She was looking away but he could identify her easily enough. The man was tall and good-looking, and the way his gaze rested on Tania, Riley could tell he wasn’t just a friend. He turned the paper towards the policeman. “Who is this guy?”
“That’s Jason, a hotshot director. Lives nearby. He is very famous.”
Riley read the tagline that accompanied the picture. “Jason, Director of Flaming Hot and Ruby Red, with his new girlfriend.”
Girlfriend? Anger exploded inside him with great force. What the hell was she doing? While he went nuts looking for her everywhere, she was shacking up with another man. Riley was so livid he couldn't think straight. He threw the paper on the desk and turned. When he found her, he would make her regret this. She had only seen the nice side of him, but Riley was now on a stampede and he wouldn’t leave anyone who got in his path.
“Hey, sir,” said the officer, but Riley strode out of the police station.
The limits of his patience were reached, and now there was no guarantee as to what he would do next.
Chapter Five
Tania didn’t have a clue as to what Jason planned. All she knew was that she’d never faced so much media interest in all her life. Every day they went out and whenever they stepped out of the restaurant, a couple of photographers clicked their picture together.
She smiled gamely as they stood waiting for their car. When the vehicle slid to a stop, she sat inside with a sigh of relief. “How do you live like this?”
“I don’t, darling. This is in your honor. Usually I avoid the media like a plague.” He laughed. “Don’t worry. It’s not bound to last for long.”
“I thought I was supposed to hide, and now I find you’re parading me in front of photographers and society columnists every day,” she complained. Tania was feeling grouchy. It wasn’t just that she’d lost her job and was in desperate need to find employment but she also missed Riley. Sure, the man was a cad. He broke her heart and then stomped on it. He bloody tried to kill her. But, yet, she couldn’t keep thoughts of him out of her mind. He was the first person she thought about when she woke up and the last man she dreamt of when she went to sleep. The days she spent in his company were delightful and fun. He’d shown her the lighter side of life, and she enjoyed it.
Of course if she ever saw him again, she would like to do something that would make him cry in pain for hours, maybe days.
“I have to go out of town for a couple of days,” he said as the car slid inside his estate. “Why don’t you come with me?”
She wasn’t particularly interested in traveling right now. “Where are you going?”
“To LA.”
She pulled a face. “More publicity. More photographers, paparazzi. I am not that demented yet.”
“You’ll love it.”
She stepped out of the car and stretched. His gardens were beautiful. She cast an eye out at the lush greenery that surrounded the house. “I don’t think so.”
Together, they walked into his lavish house. Living here had been easy, comfortable. But now that he wouldn’t be here, she wasn’t sure if it was a good idea to live there.
“Come on, try. It will be fun. We would go to all these movie premiers and you’ll meet famous people.”
Tania laughed as she turned to face him. “Jason, are you actually trying to entice me? Because let me tell you straight out that it won’t work.”
“You’re a hard nut to crack, Tania. Always were.” He gazed at her with a serious look on his face. “I remember the time when I was making my second movie and we were dating. You didn’t like being around the main leads because you said that they spent too much time gazing into the mirrors.”
She recalled those days. Jason had been obsessed with his work. She could understand that kind of drive because she’d experienced the same with her work. Now that she left it behind, Tania felt a little lost, a little out of place. “Yeah well, I bet that hasn’t changed.”
He took a step forward. The intent look on his face made her a little nervous. What was going through his head? He took her hands in his. “Come with me, Tania. It will be a good laugh.”
She gulped. There was something more to what he said with his words. Tania didn’t want to go down this road again. She liked Jason, admired, and respected him, but more than that, she didn’t want much. “Jason, I really don’t want to.”
His hands squeezed her fingers ever so gently. “Tania, I have to admit that being with you has sort of rekindled my feelings. We’ve always been friends…but what if I wanted something more?”
Her heart slammed into her chest with enough force to make it hurt. She didn’t want this, not at all, but she also didn’t want to hurt him. He was a good friend, and a great guy. “Jason…I’m just recovering from a bad breakup…well, it wasn’t really a breakup, more of a quick demise of a relationship on which I had pinned too many of my hopes.”
“Did you love that guy?”
She sucked in a deep breath of air. Even thinking about it hurt far more than she was prepared to deal with. “I think I did. Yeah, I did. Crazy, huh? He was only luring me in so he could finish the deal and then move on and here I was, making all these plans inside my head. It was stupid.”
“I’m sorry that you’re hurting. Perhaps when…you have recovered enough, you might think about it some more.”
She didn’t want to think about it. She thought she was over men for good. All she needed was to get a job and, perhaps, tomorrow might be a good idea to go and scout some new places. She might go and talk to some people and see if there was a place that had an opening. “Jason, I am sorry. It’s not possible for me to even think along those lines right now…and, perhaps, it may never be.”
He winced. “I’ve crossed over to the friend zone, haven’t I?”
She rose up on her toes and gave him a kiss on his cheek. “Jason, you’ve always been in that zone but if it makes you uncomfortable to have me here, I think it’s better I shifted out.”
“Don’t be silly,” he said as he let go of her hands. “You’re staying here until my plan works.”
She frowned. He refused to tell her as to what he planned and, yet, there was some scheme in his head that he thought would lure Riley back to her. Tania was only interested in seeing that man for one reason and that was to make sure she got her revenge. “Why don’t you tell me what this plan is?”
“Let it be a surprise, darling.” He stepped away and yawned. “I should go now. Although I am going to leave early in the morning but my chauffeur would be here. I would suggest that you not step out on your own. It wouldn’t be safe.”
“I won’t.” She was still worried as to what might happen if those men found her again. Whatever they planned for her hadn’t been good. She definitely didn’t want to fall in their trap again. “See you later, Jason.”
“Stay safe, darling.”
She walked into her room. Now that he’d said something like that, she didn’t feel comfortable. Why did he have to complicate matters? It wasn’t fair. She enjoyed her time here. Tania was content to sit back, relax, and let Jason take care of things for a while but now she realized she’d been passive long enough. It was time to wake up and get hold of her life. The grief that overwhelmed her for so long suddenly lifted. Sure, it didn’t fade away but it did dim a little, and now she could see that it wouldn’t be possible for her to entirely get over Riley – at least not in a short time. It would take months, years. But in the meantime, she had to live – and the first step forward was to get a job.
Walking over to t
he window, she stared out at the lights that lit the trees and bushes. Her gaze traveled towards the far wall and out on the street, which she could barely see. Suddenly, she straightened. For a moment, she thought that she saw a man standing opposite the house. Even from this distance, it looked as if it were Riley.
No. It couldn’t be. She blinked and when she looked back, the man was gone. Or, perhaps, he was a figment of her imagination. She’d been thinking about Riley that her overtired brain made him up. She wasn’t likely to see him again. He was gone from her life, perhaps for good. And it was the best thing ever. If she did ever see him again, nothing good would come out of their meeting.
He wanted to kill her. She wanted to hurt him. How far they came from their resplendent days when they were bathed in the glory of love – or what she’d thought of as love. Those days were gone, and it was foolish to think that they would ever come back.
After changing her clothes, she went to bed. She couldn’t sleep well, tossing and turning, thinking about what would be in store for her.
The next morning, she realized she had missed Jason He and his bags were gone, already making their way to the airport. Rather than waste time, she put together her résumé and the portfolio she’d built over the years and went out. She took Jason’s car and chauffeur. It had been so long since she looked for a new job. She wasn’t sure if she was ready for interviews and the whole, long process that went with finding a new position, but she didn’t have a choice. If she didn’t do this, she wouldn’t have work and without a steady income, she would fall into despair pretty soon.
She went into the first agency and left her information. “We’ll call you for an interview when we have a position, ma’am,” she was told.
She had nothing else to add. Actually she expected pretty much the same. Jobs were rare and good jobs were even rarer. Initially, she would have to start from the most basic position and move upwards. It was an insult for someone like her, but she didn’t have a choice. If she was the one who had left her position at the agency, she could’ve moved on to better things, but since they fired her, she didn’t have any references or clout.
Once more, she had reason to curse Riley. If he didn’t make her life miserable, she would’ve been promoted by now. Instead, she was out seeking a new job. If she ever saw him again…No. She wasn’t going to think along those lines. It was over and done with. She wouldn’t see him again.
She drove to another agency that had once vied to hire her. She might have better luck there. After she gave her name to the receptionist, Tania was ushered in to the CEO’s office. Good start! She crossed her fingers. Perhaps this might lead to good things.
“Hi, Martha, how are you?”
Martha Winters knew Tania well enough. They had worked together on a couple of deals years ago. “Take a seat.”
Tania pushed forward her folder. “I’m looking for work.”
“So I heard. Actually, I was expecting to see you earlier than this.”
Tania winced. Had she suffered a blow in the industry? Was she now persona non grata? She sucked in a deep breath of air. Rather than make excuses or lament the ways things turned out, she decided to accept blame. “I screwed up,” she said. “There was a deal and I thought it was in the bag…but turned out that I was wrong.”
Martha cocked her head. She made no attempt to pick up the folder. “Everyone screws up once in a while, Tania. Brin was an idiot to let you go over it. That deal wasn’t kosher from the get go. I’ve had the unpleasant experience of doing business with Xavier and he isn’t the most forthcoming man. And after what happened to that warehouse…well, I wouldn’t want to ever handle his properties again.”
Tania couldn’t believe what she heard. Was Martha actually telling her that all was not lost? She didn’t quite know what to say. “I should’ve have seen that coming.”
“You’re too hard on yourself. It wasn’t your fault, and even if it was, you shouldn’t have been fired for it. I don’t need to see your portfolio to know you did excellent work while you were at the agency,” she said.
“Thank you,” said Tania, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. She worked with Brin for seven years and he never appreciated her this much. She should’ve taken the job here two years ago when Martha offered. Was it too late now?
“I might be looking for someone in a couple of weeks.” Martha winced. “An agent of mine is in mid-life crises. He can’t decide if he wants to move to another town or stay here…and if things don’t work out with him, I am going to need an experienced and qualified person, and you fit the bill perfectly. Leave your number and I’ll call you.”
Tania realized that she still hadn’t bothered to get a new phone ever since she lost hers in the explosion. She’d been avoiding that task because she didn’t want people to contact her. Actually, she was in hiding. She hadn’t wanted to get back to life, but now Martha’s words made her wish that she could forget all that happened and start all over again.
“I don’t have a phone yet. Lost mine,” she explained. “But my email is in this card.” Taking one out from the folder, she left it on the table. “Thank you for seeing me, Martha. It was very kind of you.”
Martha smiled. “It’s fine, dear. Sometimes we fall down, and that’s fine as long as we learn to pick ourselves up and start walking again. I have a feeling you’re ready to do that, and I would like to help you.”
Tania nodded, feeling overwhelmed. It was nice when a stranger helped. She walked out of the office, feeling a lot more positive. Things were looking up. She was ready to get back her life. From now on, nothing and no one could derail her. She wanted to get back on her feet and stay up.
As she stepped out of the office, her gaze was drawn to the sleek car of Jason’s that she’d borrowed. A man stood next to it. Riley! All the breath whooshed out of her body as if someone had punched her.
What the hell was he doing here? How did he find her? And what the hell was she supposed to do now?
Chapter Six
She wanted to run. She didn’t want to have a conversation with him. She didn’t want to indulge in hot debates and long arguments. More that than, she was scared of what he might do if she went near him. Would he attempt to kidnap her again? Were his men lurking around the corner, ready to grab her?
She looked around but didn’t see anyone.! He gave her perfect opportunity to confront him. Now that the initial shock wore off, she was glad for this chance. This was the time when she could ask why he did all those things that cut her heart into ribbons. This was her opportunity to take matters in her own hands. She strode forward and glared at him. “You bastard. How dare you show your face to me again.”
His upper lip curled as he gazed at her from up and down. “I just wanted to see if you were okay, but apparently there was no need for me to do that. Given this…” He pointed at the car. “And the fact that you’re living in a mansion right now, it appears that you are doing more than well.”
Fear made her blood chill. “How do you know where I’ve been living?”
He didn’t answer her question. Instead, he stepped forward. His shoulders were hunched over, and there was a wild look in his eyes. If she didn’t know any better, she would’ve thought he didn’t sleep well during the past many days. Dark circles rimmed his eyes. His hair had grown a bit longer than before, and there was dark stubble on his cheeks. But he was still the most handsome devil she ever saw. Seeing him, all the old feelings resurfaced: pain, love, and joy. Everything exploded in her gut and she felt dizzy.
She’d allowed him to make love to her. She gave him a chance to lay his hands on her, to make room in her heart, and she allowed him to wrap her around his finger. And now she was paying the price for her naivety.
When she first saw him, she should’ve run away. Instead, she allowed him in her heart and home. What the hell was she doing here now? She should have told him to take off. Perhaps she should drag him over to the nearest police station. At the very least, she could regis
ter a complaint against him for stalking her. Maybe they would issue a restraining order and she would be well and truly rid of him.
He wasn’t done as yet. “I saw your picture in the papers. Nice outfits by the way. That man…Jason…appears to be smitten with you. Does he know that you’ve got a heart that’s made of stone?”
Anger hazed in her mind until she couldn’t think anymore. Tania jabbed her finger at his chest. “How dare you?”
“How dare I?” His voice rose up an octave. She was aware that some people were staring at them, but she didn’t care. All she wanted was to make sure that she gave it back to him as well as he’d given her. When he was quivering with pain as she did during all those days only then would she be able to sleep in peace. “You’re the one who has moved on.”
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