He rolled his eyes. “What’s keeping you here? This will get you away from that jackass you call landlord. Besides, I really could use you there.”
His words were genuine and even though she wanted to fight them, she realized that a weekend away from reality was exactly what she needed. “I don’t have the money to pay for a flight and hotel room.”
He laughed. “I don’t recall asking you for money. It’s a business trip, and I can write it off. Come on. I’m not taking no for an answer.” He smiled, and it hit her all at once. She didn’t want to say no. She wanted to spend the weekend away with him, even if it was just business.
“Two hours you say?” she asked.
He nodded. “Well, it’s more like an hour and forty-five minutes now.”
She laughed. “Alright. I’ll go.”
“Good. I’ll be back to get you soon.”
He walked out of her apartment, and she stared at the door opening. She slowly walked over to the door, and he walked down the stairs and disappeared. She closed her door, as a text message sounded on her phone. “Damian,” she muttered. She turned around and walked over to the floor, where she had dropped her phone when Robert walked towards her.
Damian: Are you almost on your way? The wait is killing me.
She groaned, staring at his message. She couldn’t bring herself to reply back to him. She put the phone down on the coffee table and left the living room. She had packing to do, and his message just had to wait.
***
Derek stood in the parking lot and glanced around to see if he could figure out where her landlord went. He had never hit anyone before, but hitting him was the highlight of his year. He spotted a sign that read office and he headed towards the building. He went up to the door and tried it. It opened right away. When he got inside, it was empty.
“Hello?” he called out. After a minute or two of waiting there, the landlord walked out from a back room. He had an ice pack on his nose.
He pulled it away and Derek saw redness around the eyes, a bruise and it was evident if the nose wasn’t broken, it was severely wounded. Derek had to hide his exhilaration that he did that to the ass that was about to force himself on Charity. “Come to finish the job?” the landlord asked. A light of recognition shone on his face. “It’s amazing the right hook you had there, Mayor Worthington.” He put the ice back on his nose.
“I came to see what it will take to keep you away from her?”
“She has debt and lots of it,” the landlord stated.
Derek pulled his checkbook from his pocket and grabbed his pen. “Alright, then how much to square away her rent?”
“Hmm…” he stroked at the stubble on his chin. “Well, there’s her rent, the pain and suffering she’s caused from lack of payment and not to mention the mess you caused.” He pointed to his nose and Derek remained calm through it all. “I’d say a thousand dollars will cut it.”
“Who do I make it out to?” he asked, without batting an eye.
The landlord laughed. “Make it out to Richard Westlake,” he said with no remorse.
Derek scribbled out the details on the check, then tore it from the checkbook and looked up at Richard. “You lay a finger on her again, and you’ll have to answer me.” He tossed the check at Richard.
“Whoa…I’m scared,” the landlord snidely replied. “I wonder how the city would feel about the almighty Mayor Worthington laying a hand on one of the citizens.”
“I think they’d be just fine knowing I was protecting someone against another asshole. Mark my words…lay a hand on her, and you have to answer to me.”
Derek turned around and ignored Richard’s rudeness that followed him out the door. Once outside, Derek sighed and took in a breath of fresh air. He meant every word. He’d protect Charity again if he had to, but he’d protect any woman against a guy like that. He walked back towards Charity’s apartment building and slowly walked up the steps. He didn’t have an excuse for why he had to leave when he did, but vagueness was key.
He reached the top of the stairs and walked to her apartment door. He knocked on the door, and a moment later she opened the door. She was wearing a bathrobe, and her hair was wrapped up in a towel. He quickly looked away. “I should’ve taken longer,” he said, keeping his eyes away from her.
She shook her head. “No worries! I’ll be finished soon.” As she walked away, she continued to talk. “Where’d you go anyway?” His eyes went to her back, where his eyes slowly fell across her ass. He was slightly distracted. She disappeared into the bathroom, and he closed his eyes, falling back against the door. “Did you hear me?” she asked.
“Um…yeah, sorry. I had some business I had to deal with before I left.” He walked away from the door and took a seat in an overstuffed chair.
“Did you?” she asked.
His mind went back to her outfit. Momentarily he thought about what she was wearing underneath the robe. It completely caught him by surprise. He thought about her question, then quickly asked, “Did I what?”
“Did you get your business taken care of?”
“Yeah, I think I did.” He felt like a high school boy waiting for his date to arrive. He was nervous, and it didn’t make sense as to why. After a while, she walked out of the bathroom. She wore a pair of jeans and a yellow and red striped tank top. Her top hugged her curves nicely, and he took note. She looked amazing. Her hair was pulled back in a pony-tail, and several wisps of hair hung down around her neck. Their eyes met, and she smiled. “Are you ready?” he asked, nearly choking the words out.
“I think so!” She looked around her living room and grabbed her phone. She slipped it into her pocket and started to reach down for her suitcase. He quickly went to it and grabbed it from her. “Thank you!” she softly replied.
He smiled. He led the way out of her apartment, and she followed after him. She locked the door behind them, and they headed down her stairs. He loaded her suitcase into the back of his car, and he noticed her pause and stare up to the office. “He won’t be bothering you anymore. I’ve made sure of that.”
She gave him a mystified look. “Derek, I still owe him money to catch up on the rent. He’s not going to drop it.”
He smiled. “Don’t worry about it. He’s not going to bother you. Trust me.”
He couldn’t tell her that he covered the money she was behind and then some. She opened up the passenger door and slid in. He walked around and got into the car, then started it and turned to her before pulling out of the parking lot. “Ever been to California before?” he asked.
She shook her head. “You?” she asked.
“Once when I was five.” He smiled. “Don’t recall it.”
“With your parents?” she asked.
He nodded. They put on their seatbelts, and he pulled out of the parking lot. He didn’t want to talk about it. It was one of the last trips his parents and him went on. They didn’t bring up any more uneasy conversations during the drive to the airport, but periodically her phone rang, and he mentioned it after the third time she received a call and ignored it.
“You can answer that,” he stated.
She shook her head. “I’ll call them back,” she quietly replied and went back to looking out the window. He kept driving and let it go. She obviously didn’t want to talk to whoever was on the phone, and he wouldn’t meddle.
***
Derek and Charity grabbed their boarding passes from the man at the desk. They stepped away from the desk and headed off to a quiet group of benches. “We have fifteen minutes until they’ll start boarding. “She heard her phone ringing again, interrupting his words, and she couldn’t push him off anymore. Derek glanced at her, and his eyes fell to her pocket, where her phone was hidden.
She grabbed it out of her pocket. “I’ll be right back.” She mumbled.
She answered it as she hurried away from him, far enough that he wouldn’t hear her conversation. “Hello?” she quickly answered.
“Charity
? Where the hell you’ve been? I’ve been scared to death something happened. You said you were taking a shower and coming right over. That was two hours ago.”
She rolled her eyes and found herself watching Derek. “Something came up. I’m going to be busy all weekend.”
“What happened?” he asked.
“Nothing,” she replied. “I just have some things I need to do.” All she had to do was tell him the truth, but she couldn’t bring herself to mention Derek’s name.
“Forgive me if I’m confused, but earlier this evening you seemed all for getting together tonight and now…you’re acting completely different.”
“Something came up. Not to mention, we stated that both of the parties had to be committed to being together. I’m no longer available. I’ll call you later.”
Derek got up and started to head towards her, as Damian argued on the phone. “Just tell me what’s going on. One minute you’re all excited about coming over and the next…” his words dropped off. “If you don’t want to continue this, then just tell me. I’m completely fine if that’s the case.”
“Charity…it’s time,” Derek said.
Charity held up her finger and mouthed she would be right there. “Is that a guy? Is that it? You’re screwing some other guy, and you decided you don’t need me anymore?”
Charity felt her blood pressure rising. Derek had turned away and was walking back to the bench, leaving her the space to speak her mind. “This isn’t about you, Damian. I have to take care of something this weekend. I’m not screwing some other guy, but even if I was…you’d have no say in it. We’re not in a relationship.” Derek turned around and beckoned her with his eyes. “I have to go.” She disconnected the call, not giving Damian the chance to give his rebuttal.
“Everything alright?” Derek asked, appearing concerned.
She nodded. “Everything’s fine.” She plastered a smile on her lips, but he didn’t seem to believe her. He started to say something, and she quickly continued. “Everything’s fine…promise.”
“Alright then!” They headed away from the seating area and got in line to board the plane. Damian’s words still echoed in her mind, but she couldn’t let them get to her. Even though she was sure it wasn’t the last time she’d hear from him that weekend, she couldn’t worry about him. She had a job to do in California, even if she didn’t know what that job was.
They walked up the steps into the plane, and she followed Derek to the area where she never dreamed of going. She was surprised music didn’t play as they crossed the threshold. Her eyes widened, and she followed him to their seats. Extra leg room and comfortable chairs greeted them. “Holy cow!” she mumbled.
He laughed. “I’ll take that as a good thing.”
She glanced at him and nodded. “Never been on this side of the plane before.”
He smiled. “It has its perks. In fact, if you’d like a tour of the cockpit, I’m sure we could get you a set of wings,” he teased.
She chuckled. “I’ll pass, but maybe next time.”
“Suit yourself,” he replied softly. He undid the buttons of his jacket and sunk back into the seat. Charity made herself comfortable, and it wasn’t long before she saw what those perks were. A stewardess greeted them and offered them champagne, wine, lobster, steak, or whatever else they wanted. Charity settled on just a red wine to take away the nerves she had about flying. Derek seemed to notice right away. “Don’t like flying?” he asked.
She laughed. “Not particularly. Maybe if I was acclimated to it, but only been on one plane before and there was lots of turbulence.”
“Don’t worry!” he whispered. “I’ll make sure you’re safe.” He winked at her and then looked down at a magazine he had grabbed from the stewardess.
I’m sure you will, she thought. After all, she couldn’t brush away the part where he busted into her apartment and took Richard out. Well, he didn’t exactly bust in, as the door was wide open, but he did hit Richard, and that was something she wanted to do from the beginning. She took a drink of her wine, and things started to fall into place. Damian, Richard, and her life in Maine was put on hold, and she could only think about California and making the best out of a strange situation. What she didn’t know, was it was about to get stranger.
Chapter 18
Derek went on the trip thinking that things were going to be awkward between them, but what he discovered was that Charity was nice to talk to. Along with the obvious attraction he felt, he found admiration. Jesse was right in the fact that she had a lot to overcome and their flight they spent time talking about it. It caused him to want to open up to her. He expected her to want to sleep the entire flight, but outside of a total of an hour, they didn’t spend any time sleeping. When they got off on their layover, they went to the restaurant in the airport and grabbed a cup of coffee. They never ran out of conversation, and it felt right.
When they arrived at LAX, he had an array of emotions. On one hand, he was thankful to finally be that much closer to talking to Jenna. However, on the other hand, he worried that things would slowly fade away from the easy time he had with Charity. They got off the plane and once inside, he suggested going to get a rental. They reached the counter and were informed they only had one car available. It was a Camaro, and he quickly took it.
With the keys in hand, he walked over to where Charity stood. “I hope you like the top down.”
She laughed. “I don’t know, I’ve never had the opportunity.”
He snickered. “Now, we do.” He led the way to the luggage carousel where they located their suitcases, then went to the front of the airport and exited the building.
“Where do we get this car?” she asked.
He glanced around the parking lot and pointed to a small lot to the side of the airport. They walked through a gate and went to the yellow Camaro parked in the front of the lot. He unlocked the doors with the fob and then walked to the passenger side door. He opened up the door and put the suitcases in the backseat. He then held the door open to allow her to get inside.
“Thank you!” she replied with more confidence than he’d seen since they first met.
“You’re welcome.” He closed the door behind her and then hurried to the driver’s side. “Let me see if I can figure out this contraption,” he stated quietly. He turned the car on, then pushed some buttons until the top of the Camaro finally went down. He smiled at her, and she leaned back in her chair. A few more wisps of hair had fallen out of her ponytail, and they were blowing in the wind. He looked away from her, determined not to get lost in the beauty. The GPS that had come with the car was easy to use and before long he had entered the address of the hotel. They pulled out of the parking lot and followed the directions to the hotel. After a few moments of silence, he turned on the radio. “Good sound system!” he yelled over the radio.
She nodded but didn’t reply back. A Luke Bryan song played in the background and not even thinking about it, he started to hum along. The hotel was only half an hour away from the hotel, so they didn’t have too long in the car. Periodically one of them pointed to something outside the window, but they pretty much kept quiet during the ride. They were both tired and also mesmerized by the beauty of the state.
They turned into the hotel, with palm trees gracing the landscape of the outside of the hotel. Charity seemed eagerly enthralled with looking at the view. “Do you want me to drop you off at the door?” he asked.
“Not necessary! I can walk.” She smiled at him, and he nodded his willingness to comply.
He grabbed a spot close to the entrance and parked. They both got out of the car, and he reached in the back and removed the suitcases. He carried them away from the car, and they headed into the hotel. Again her words of excitement spilled out. He chuckled. “My sentiments exactly.
Her face turned red. “You probably think I’ve never been on vacation before. I’ve just never been on such a nice vacation before…no matter how short.”
He smil
ed. “I understand.” They approached the desk, and he mentioned the reservations he had.
“Yes…I have you down for the deluxe suite.” The woman told him his total, and he stared at her.
“I have two rooms,” he replied.
The woman frowned and looked down at the computer. “I’m sorry, sir, but I only show the one room.” He groaned and dug out his wallet. He handed her the confirmation that he was glad he brought along. She entered the confirmation into the computer and nodded. “I’m sorry, sir, but there must be some mistake. We are completely booked this weekend.”
“I have the confirmation number,” he replied.
“Yes, I see that, but unfortunately, it appears to have been canceled. There’s nothing I can do. We’re completely full, but I assure you…the suite has more than enough room.”
He turned to Charity. “What do you want to do? We can cancel the room and go somewhere else.”
“There’s a $100 cancellation fee,” the woman insisted.
He shrugged. “That doesn’t matter. What do you want to do?”
“If the room is big enough…it’s only for two nights, right?”
He turned back to the desk. “I guess we’ll take it.”
“Good choice,” the woman sarcastically said. The woman finished the transaction and handed them two keys, then smiled. “Have a good day and enjoy your stay.”
“Thanks.” He took the keys and handed one to Charity. He grabbed the bags, and they headed to the elevator. “If you change your mind once you see the room, then we’ll cancel out the reservation and go somewhere else. I don’t care if I lose all the money.”
She seemed astounded by his words, but frankly he was concerned more about whether he could handle it, than whether she could. “I’m sure it will be fine,” she replied softly. He hoped she was right. They took the elevator to the seventh floor and got off when the doors opened. He led the way to their room and glanced at the room key to make sure he had it right. He dropped the suitcases down on the floor, to open up the door. When he did, he slowly walked into the room, and she followed.
The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1) Page 21
