Neither of them spoke much, but when she was done eating she knew Adam was going to tell her what was going to happen. She had the feeling he had wanted her to finish her food first, and she had the feeling he wasn’t going to accept anything else. She was proven right when he turned to her and started speaking almost as soon as her plate touched the table.
“To keep you safe, I don’t want you going anywhere alone. You can go anywhere you want on my property but you do not leave the property. I will take you to work and pick you up, and you do not leave for lunch or errands. He won’t walk into your office to get you, of that I am certain. I have a private investigator whom I will have track down Mark and see what he can find out about him. There has to be more to the story, if he was simply looking for a relationship he’d move on to the next girl. Until we find out what it is, you will have to keep these safety precautions.”
“And if I don’t?” Julia asked, both dreading and looking forward to the answer. There was something inside her that made her want to test him on this and see if he was truly that serious about her safety, that he would truly do anything to keep her safe. She wanted that sense of safety if she wanted to be with him, but how could she be certain it wasn’t just words if she didn’t test him?
“You will get exactly what I told you at lunch last week,” Adam said sternly. “Please just be careful and trust me in this,” he added in a much softer tone, clearly wanting her to just follow it and she could hear the concern in his voice.
“I’m not used to being told what to do in that way, but I will try. I know you are worried, so I will do my best,” Julia replied, knowing that he really was worried about her and not wanting to add to that worry.
“Thank you. Why don’t I show you where you’ll be staying and then we can go to your place and get what you’ll need to stay here?” Adam suggested, already starting to get up as if he knew she would follow. She rolled her eyes at his presumptiveness, which caused him to chuckle especially as she followed it by getting up anyway.
Adam walked ahead of her up the stairs, pointing towards the kitchen as they passed it, and opened a door on the first floor landing. “I was thinking you’d like this room, it has an ensuite bath and large closet so there’s plenty of space for anything you bring.”
Julia looked around the room and thought it was beautiful. It was done it reds and blues, with a large king sized bed in the middle. There was a spacious bay window with pillows and the bed looked comfortable. “This looks nice. We should probably get my things, it’s getting late.”
“I will be asking one of my security guards to go with us. I’d rather have someone else there, considering Mark probably knows where you live,” Adam said resolutely. “If you need anything, my room is across the hall.”
Julia followed Adam silently to his car, where they were met by a large man who was clearly a security guard. He held the backdoor open for Julia, who got in after a slight smile to the man who didn’t make any sign that he had seen it before shutting the door behind her. She was glad when Adam got in next to her, before another large man got in and sat in the passenger seat. “They thought we should take two of them,” Adam said with a slight shrug before the car pulled out of the driveway.
Julia wasn’t surprised when they didn’t ask for directions or where she lived and she simply watched the houses and buildings as they passed by them. It was late and the streets were quiet, but once they got to the part of town she lived in it started getting a bit busier. She knew she lived in the part of town that had a lot of college aged students and a lot of bars, and it wasn’t the greatest place to live but it was affordable and it’s why she had chosen it.
When they got there she got out easily, Adam and one of the big guys right with her as they walked up to her apartment. She was a little bit embarrassed to have Adam see where she lived, knowing she hadn’t cleaned yet for the week and knowing the place was a bit rundown. Choosing to ignore that for now she walked to her bedroom and pulled her suitcase from under her bed, immediately starting to put clothes into it. When she had left her hometown she hadn’t taken much, and most of her clothes really needed to be washed but for the moment she ignored that and simply grabbed her laundry bag, throwing it in her suitcase.
“I’ll show you the laundry room later,” Adam said from behind her, “Can I help with anything?”
“No, I’m almost done,” Julia said, forcing a smile as she continued packing. She had no idea how long she would be staying with Adam but even so she only had enough for just over a week of clothes and decided to just take all of them. A few personal pictures and other personal items from the bathroom later and she was done, not entirely surprised when Adam took her suitcase before she could and started towards the door. As they walked out of the apartment, Julia saw Mark across the street, watching everything “Adam, he’s across the street.”
“In the car. Now,” Adam ordered, putting the suitcase in the trunk quickly before glaring at Julia who was simply looking at Mark instead of getting into the car. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him opening the door before taking her upper arm and getting her moving towards the car again, which shook her out of the shock she had been in and she quickly got in the car. As soon as they were all inside, they took off and she watched Mark look after them through the back window.
“Julia, you really need to start listening better,” Adam scolded after a few minutes. “You saw the man who attacked you. Yet you didn’t listen to me when I tried to get you safely in the car.”
“I’m sorry, I froze,” Julia replied, looking at her knees. She had never been able to stand up to Mark, and she knew she would likely always freeze when she saw him.
Adam reached his hand over and turned her head to look at him, and she saw him smiling at her softly which instantly made her feel better. “Hey, I’m not angry with you, I’m just concerned. I’m worried about you running into him when I’m not there.”
“You sounded angry,” Julia replied, fully aware she sounded petulant without meaning to. The smile Adam gave in reply send shivers down her spine, and they were the good kind of shivers much to her surprise.
“If I was angry, you’d know, trust me. And no, I will never treat you the way he did. Just be careful, alright?”
“I will.”
“I will have one of my guards close to your office at all times to make sure Mark doesn’t go near it. If Scott sends you on errands, tell him I told you you’re not allowed to run errands and if he has a problem with it, have him call me or call me yourself.”
“I can’t tell him you forbid me,” Julia replied, now looking at Adam appalled.
Adam just continued smiling at her, his hand having now moved to her thigh. “He knows how I am, and he knows if I tell someone that I have a good reason. If he doesn’t, you call me and I will have your guard escort you. I’m doing this to keep you safe. Please?”
“Fine, but I’d look ridiculous. I do appreciate everything you’re doing for me.”
“Where is your family that they aren’t helping you with this?”
“My parents died a few years ago and I was an only child. I haven’t been really close to any of my aunts and uncles and they don’t know about him. I left and nobody has tried to contact me. I have some friends from college, but everyone moved away upon graduation so our contact is mostly through email and text messages. I haven’t told them about Mark, I was too embarrassed. I figured once I got a good job and that was all behind me I would be able to prove to them that it wasn’t a big deal.”
“Well it is a big deal and I’m sorry you had to deal with that on your own. You’re no longer alone, alright? Whatever happens, I’m here for you.”
Julia had no idea what to respond to that, if anything, and she simply smiled at Adam before turning to look out the window instead. She had no idea why he was so protective over her, while also not understanding why he was going to such great lengths for her. She was just the paralegal at the law office he used, and wh
ile he might have been interested in asking her out that didn’t mean anything.
As soon as they got back to the house Adam took her suitcase and carried it up to her room for her, Julia following close behind. “I’ll leave you to get unpacked. I will be in my study if you need me, otherwise I will see you in the morning.”
Julia wished Adam a good night before starting to unpack her suitcase, putting her picture frames on the dresser and her toiletries in the bathroom. She knew she should do laundry but she was exhausted after everything and really just wanted to get some sleep. She got ready for bed quickly and slid under the covers, sighing at how soft the bed was and how warm the covers felt. She wasn’t sure she’d ever slept on a bed so comfortable and it took her mere minutes before she fell into a deep sleep.
Chapter Four
When Julia woke up the following morning she sighed when she realized she had to get out of bed. She quickly got dressed in jeans and a shirt, the only thing she had that was clean, and made her way down the stairs and to the kitchen in search of some food. She found Adam there, drinking what looked like a shake and looking sexier than she thought any man should be allowed to look. Wearing shorts, and only shorts, and with a sweaty torso she had to swallow and take a deep breath before she could continue walking. He was muscular, which she realized she should have known considering he was an athlete, and it was very obvious he had just finished a workout.
“Good morning. I apologize for my state of dress, I hate wearing shirts when working out. I’ll get out of your way, feel free to raid the kitchen for breakfast,” Adam said with a smile when he saw Julia and saw her hesitation at coming in further.
“Don’t run just because I walked in. This looks like a morning ritual for you so don’t let me interfere. I usually don’t eat much for breakfast but I’ll see what you have.”
Adam leaned back against the counter, clearly happy he didn’t have to leave and Julia realized she liked being in the same room as him. She wanted to find out why that was but her stomach growled and she realized food was more important in that moment. She opened the refrigerator and happy to see there was some plain Greek yoghurt there she pulled it out before going in search of bowls and sugar. She knew Adam was watching her every move and for some reason she couldn’t explain she put a little bit extra sway in her hips, bent over a little bit more and stretched out a little bit more than necessary. By the time she had put some yoghurt in the bowl, added some sugar and sat down at the kitchen counter she saw that he was breathing a little more heavily and she had to fight not to smirk at him.
“Do you have plans for the day?” she asked innocently, leaning forward slightly.
“Not really. I contacted my private investigator but expect it will take him most of the day to get back to me on anything. Do you have plans?”
“Laundry and then I have to do some work. Do you mind if I use the kitchen table?”
“That’s fine. If you want to put your laundry in the laundry room it will be done by tomorrow. I do have a library with a large table if you’d like to use it? Chris, my chef, will be here today so it might be quieter in there.”
“I can do my own laundry,” Julia replied as she got up and put her bowl in the sink.
“I never implied you couldn’t, but it’s much easier for Andrea to do ours together as opposed to having to wait for you to be done or you to wait for her to be done. I saw her going in there not long ago.”
“Why don’t you just show me where to find the laundry room and then the library,” Julia said with a sigh, knowing Adam didn’t understand that she wasn’t used to having others do these kinds of things for her. The fact that he had a library really shouldn’t be surprising but she was anxious to see what it had in it or if it was just an empty room with a handful of books.
After a quick conversation with Andrea, who had practically sent Julia away when she had suggested doing her own laundry, she walked to the library only to realize it was the biggest private library she had ever seen. Movies didn’t have libraries this nice and she couldn’t help but walk in and run her fingers along the spines of the books. There was a landing up above to reach the books on the top shelves, and ladders that ran the span of the room. She was impressed and she wasn’t going to hide it, smiling as she looked at everything that was on the shelves.
“You like books,” she stated, sensing that Adam was watching her every move.
“I do, but I rarely have time to read. I didn’t used to like books growing up but on long bus trips with the team or on long plane rides I started to appreciate a good book. When I bought this house a few years back I converted this room into the library you now see and started collecting books. At the front of the room you’ll find an IPad which has a catalogue of all the books on it. If you take a book, please log it out so I know where it is. It’s not that I don’t trust you not to give it back, but that way if I’m looking for it I know it’s not in here.”
“This is incredible and I won’t deny I’m slightly jealous. I could spend days in here.”
“I’ll leave you to your work. He usually has dinner ready around seven, and you’re on your own for lunch. I will be around the house,” Adam said before leaving. Julia looked around the library once more before putting her work down on the large table in the middle and sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs. Soon she was hard at work, which happened to be the last bit of paperwork for Adam’s retirement, and she worked straight through lunch. By the time she finished it was almost time for dinner so she gathered up her papers and took them up to her room before walking into the living room, where Adam was reading something by the fire.
As soon as she walked in Adam motioned towards the plate of appetizers on the coffee table and she noticed there was a glass of wine waiting for her as well. “I noticed you missed lunch. Chris made those appetizers, they are something new he came up with and I must say I like them. I have no idea what we are having for dinner, but he said it might be a few minutes late tonight so I recommend trying some of those.”
“Thank you. I’ll admit it’s nice to have food ready, laundry done and wine waiting after a day of work. If I had been at my apartment I likely would have ordered Chinese and eaten from paper plates so I wouldn’t have dishes.”
“There are definite advantages to being able to afford a lifestyle like this. It took time to get used to at first but especially on days that I’m busy and after long trainings or game days it is incredible to come home to a clean house, a fully cooked meal and warm, soft towels on the warming rack in the bathroom. When I first started playing I didn’t have this and I would often have to do something around the house when I got home, which made me even more exhausted. I heard back from my investigator. It appears that he didn’t initially come after you because he started dating someone else. However, when he found out that you were working on my retirement he wanted to get close to you to see if he could get you to blackmail me or something like that. He wasn’t sure what his exact goal was because it seemed poorly thought out and he had apparently given his girlfriend many different reasons. I’m sorry, the last thing I would want is someone to be in danger because of me.”
Julia sighed before taking another appetizer, deciding to compliment Chris when she met him. “It’s alright, I half expected this. He mentioned you when he approached me yesterday and I thought that was odd, but I suppose it makes sense now.”
“I suppose. I want you to be very careful, I don’t think he’s going to just give up. You go anywhere alone and you will be sitting slightly more uncomfortable when you get home, understood? My investigator got the impression he is planning something drastic if he can’t get you the easy way.”
“You can’t just threaten to spank me,” Julia said indignantly, still unsure if she liked his dominant ways.
“We’ll see about that. I think you’d like it. Monday we sign the papers for my retirement, Monday night I’d like to take you on a date. Would you accept going out with me?”
/> “I would love to go out with you,” Julia replied easily. “That doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do. Then again, if that comes with being with you, I’m not sure I’d mind.”
The happy smile Adam sent her made her feel incredible, and she suddenly couldn’t wait to go out with Adam on Monday night. Looking around she realized she could easily get used to being with a billionaire, and to the easy lifestyle he lived. She could continue working, at least part time, and spend the rest of her time exploring that amazing library in between trips to places she’d always wanted to visit.
Chapter Five
The papers had been signed easily and while Mark had been spotted near her office, she had obeyed Adam and stayed inside all day. There was something that made her want to obey him and want to listen to him, and when she walked down the stairs to go on their date, she smiled at seeing him waiting for her. She just felt right, like this was why she was meant to move here. The restaurant they went to was beautiful and romantic, and Julia was certain she had never had a better time than during that dinner. They talked throughout about their hopes, their dreams and their life goals and they found they had a lot in common. She also found it easy to let him take the lead, when at work she had to be assertive all day. Something about letting go of some of that assertiveness when she came home felt good, and when they got back to the house, she sighed as she sank into the couch.
Jocked Up: Sports Romance (A Secret Baby Second Chance Romance) Page 59
