“I need to get back to the kitchen and finish breakfast,” I mumble and rush out to the main apartment.
Thankfully all the screaming and counting has ended. I finish breakfast and have coffee ready to brew when Mr. Meyer walks in.
“Good Morning Ms. Williams,” he greets me.
“Good morning, Mr. Meyer. Breakfast is just about finished.”
“Thank you.” He takes the coffee mug from the machine. “I have a guest who is still here, but she will be leaving within the hour. I don’t expect her to return, so there won’t be a need for you to replace the towels we spoke about yesterday.”
“Oh…of course.”
Before I can even think about what Mr. Meyer said, he calls out for Garrett who immediately comes out of the apartment.
“I want all the security codes changed once Toni leaves the premises,” Mr. Meyer informs Garrett.
“Of course, sir.”
I slide the plate of eggs in front of Mr. Meyer while he discusses the plan for the day and the remainder of the week with Garrett. I find myself listening to their conversation, not necessarily because I want to know what they do all day long, but more because I find myself wanting to know if Garrett is going to leave overnight again. I’m momentarily disappointed when I overhear Mr. Meyer mentioning a trip to his brother’s house in DC this weekend. But then he informs Garrett that he will be traveling alone. Garrett immediately objects, citing security risks especially in the city, but Mr. Meyer is adamant that he go alone.
“We will leave in two minutes,” he informs Garrett before leaving the kitchen.
“I don’t know how that man expects me to protect him if he won’t allow me to provide security for him,” Garrett mumbles.
“Maybe he just wants privacy?” I suggest.
“Maybe, but his safety should come first,” Garrett points out.
“Did anything happen?” We don’t normally discuss security issues, so I just assumed there haven’t been any.
“The hate mail has started back up at the office.” He leans closer to tell me. “Nothing specific, but enough that it’s concerning especially since it had stopped for the last month or so.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t think it’s anything you need to worry about.” We both glance down at the counter top when his fingers just barely touch mine. Part of me knows I should move away, given that we’re in the main living area and Mr. Meyer could walk in at any time. But the other part of me…
“Okay.”
“I’ll text you the new codes in the next hour or so. The elevator we use won’t be affected by the change, so if you need to leave, just use that entrance.”
“Of course.” I don’t bother mentioning that I rarely use the main elevator unless I need to drop off Mr. Meyer’s dry cleaning since it’s picked up directly from the lobby.
“If she,” he gestures upstairs to Mr. Meyer’s guest, “gives you a problem leaving, give me a call.”
“I will.”
After Garrett and Mr. Meyer leave, I spend the next hour cleaning the kitchen and taking an inventory of the pantry to start my shopping list. I utilize my new iPad to check ingredients in recipes against the pantry and refrigerator.
“Your boss is a real son of bitch, you know.” I’m startled when I exit the pantry to find Mr. Meyer’s guest standing in the middle of the kitchen. Until now we’ve never spoken to one another, in fact, I’ve rarely even seen her. She stands in the middle of the kitchen, dressed in more clothing than I think she’s ever worn while here. The tight fitting jeans and snug shirt do nothing to erase the memory of her half naked being led around this room on a leash by my boss.
“Is there anything you need before you leave?” I ask.
“I don’t need anything from you.”
Without warning, she picks up the glass of water I had left on the island and throws is across the room. It hits the wall before shattering into hundreds of pieces on the cool ceramic floor. She storms out of the kitchen, knocking several items off the shelves in the foyer before stomping up the stairs while complaining about Mr. Meyer on the way. I shake my head, realizing that she’s obviously not in any hurry to leave.
Hope: Toni is throwing items, breaking things. What should I do?
I head back into the space I share with Garrett, locking the door behind me. I doubt she will come looking for me, but I’d rather be safe.
Garrett: on my way, stay in our apartment with the door locked. Don’t leave.
Hope: already in the apartment. Door is locked.
I smile at his thoughtfulness, even though I think we’re both being too cautious. She makes me somewhat nervous knowing she’s still out there, but I don’t think her anger is necessarily directed at me. I head into Garrett’s room, pausing as soon as the door open as I’m met with the scent of his cologne. A smile forms on my lips remembering how good he smelled when we were dancing together last weekend.
I log into his computer, thankful that he gave me the password so I could access the security cameras. I scroll through each one, not seeing her anywhere on the screens.
Hope: Toni must be in the guest room. I can’t see her on the cameras.
He doesn’t answer right away, but I’m not surprised given that he’s probably driving here from Mr. Meyer’s office. I stay seated at his computer desk, watching the camera feeds so that if she decides to come back downstairs I have some warning. As soon as my phone starts ringing, I answer it without even looking at the screen.
“Hello?” I answer without even looking at the caller ID on my cell phone.
“Ms. Williams, I have Mr. Meyer with me,” Garrett’s voice greets me as soon as I answer. I find it odd for him to call me Ms. Williams, but I know he’s only doing it because Mr. Meyer is with him.
“Where is Toni?” Mr. Meyer asks before I have a chance to respond to Garrett.
“I believe she’s upstairs in the guest room, sir,” I answer. “I don’t see her on any of the cameras.”
“You’re in my bedroom correct?” Garrett asks.
“Yes.” I hear him let out a breath as if he was holding it waiting for my answer.
“What happened?” Mr. Meyer asks.
“She came into the kitchen and was visibly upset.” I decide to leave out the name she called him. “I asked if I could get her anything before she left. She said she didn’t need anything but picked a glass up from the island and threw it across the room, shattering it.”
“Fuck,” Mr. Meyer grumbles.
“She stormed out of the kitchen; I heard several items hit the floor on her way through the hallway. From what I can see on the video feed, it looks like several vases and a sculpture were knocked down.”
“She’s been upstairs since?” Garrett asks.
“Yes.”
“Are you hurt?” he asks.
“No,” I assure him. “Once she stormed upstairs, I came into our apartment. There’s still glass on the floor in the kitchen, so be careful when you come in.”
“We’ll be there shortly. I’m sorry you had to deal with this mess, Ms. Williams,” Mr. Meyer surprises me by apologizing.
“Don’t leave the apartment,” Garrett practically growls into the phone.
“I won’t.”
“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” he promises before ending the call.
Chapter 16
Garrett
The drive back to the condo feels like it takes hours, rather than the twenty-five minutes that it actually takes. I can’t stop worrying about Hope, even though I know she’s safely locked in our apartment. I’m pissed off at Mr. Meyer for not following my suggestion that we obtain a background check on all of his “guests.” Emily at Dark Water Security is only able to run a basic one without his permission. I spoke with Luke about it and he said unless we had a concrete reason, they wouldn’t run a more detailed report on her. I’d be more pissed off if it wasn’t for the fact that I know Emily’s basic background check is pretty extensive.
>
By the time the elevator doors open to the condo, Mr. Meyer and I are both equally angry though for very different reasons. Although the last thing I want to do is to get in the middle of their kink play, I have to force myself between Mr. Meyer and the bedroom door.
“Let me.” I dare him to argue with me.
He simply nods in response and takes a step back. With my hand firmly on the gun at my hip, I knock on the door and cautiously open it. The room is absolutely trashed, but I ignore all of it and search for the woman who could pose a risk to my boss. She storms out of the en-suite a moment later, her arms tensely folded over her chest. She ignores me, instead glaring at Mr. Meyer.
“Toni,” he reprimands and I watch as her arms immediately drop to her sides. “What on earth has gotten into you?”
“I’m sorry, sir,” she quietly says.
“I understand you threw a glass across the kitchen, near my housekeeper who could have been injured because of your little temper tantrum.”
“I didn’t mean—”
“It doesn’t matter if you meant to!” He slams his hand against the dresser next to him. “What if you had hit her? What if she had been cut by a shard of flying glass? All for what? Because you were upset that I ended our arrangement?”
“Sir—”
“There is no excuse for your behavior, and it only further confirms what I said earlier. You’re not ready to be what I need. You knew what my expectations were going in; they haven’t changed. Have they?”
“No, sir.”
Silently she drops to her knees, bowing her head. I glance at Mr. Meyer wondering how he’s going to respond. I’m surprised when he rolls his eyes and shakes his head. I don’t know how I expected him to respond, but that definitely wasn’t it.
“Get up, Toni. We’re done here. Your temper tantrum didn’t change any of that. You’ll make someone very happy someday. Unfortunately that someone isn’t me. My needs…you’re not there yet. There’s some wonderful masters at the club that will be more than happy to take on someone with your beauty. Be proud of who you are. Find your purse and meet us downstairs. I’ll arrange for anything left here to be shipped to your home. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” she whispers.
Mr. Meyer nods at me before leaving the room; I follow behind him, softly closing the door before we head downstairs. Although I still keep an eye on the closed door behind us, especially when I begin to hear Toni moving around the room, I’m surprised that it’s over with so little drama.
“Can you call my office and ask Ms. Wise to arrange for the cleaning crew to come take care of this mess? I’m not going to ask Ms. Williams to do it; she’s been through enough because of Toni,” Mr. Meyer requests.
“Of course, sir.” I send an email to his personal assistant at the office, who wastes no time confirming that the arrangements will be made.
“I’m ready to leave, sir.” The woman coming down the steps is very different than the one we left upstairs only a few minutes ago. Her previously disheveled dark hair is now pulled back into a neat ponytail, the puffy eyes all but gone and she’s…calmer. She no longer looks like she’s going to fly off the handle at Mr. Meyer.
“I’ll take it from here, Foxx,” he says.
Is he crazy? Did he forget about her destroying the bedroom upstairs? And the glass in the kitchen?
“Sir, with all due respect, I’ll be driving Ms. Toni home tonight,” I insist.
“Fine,” he growls. “Let’s go Toni.”
I send a text to Hope letting her know what’s going on, although I have no doubt she’s watching everything unfold from the security feed in my bedroom. The ride to Toni’s home is quiet; rather than speak to her, Mr. Meyer spends the entire ride typing on his phone. It’s not my place to have small talk with her, even if I could figure out what to say.
When we pull up to a large apartment complex, I glance back at my boss in the rear view mirror to see if I can gage how he wants this to go. He must sense me looking at him, because he glances up and subtly shakes his head. I get out of the vehicle, open the door for Ms. Toni and grab her bag from the trunk. She simply thanks me at the door and informs me that she doesn’t need me to walk her upstairs. Since Mr. Meyer is sitting in the car by himself, I don’t argue and return to the vehicle once she’s through the locked door.
“Can you let Ms. Williams know that you both have the remainder of the day off?” he says as soon as I start the car.
“Yes, sir. Will you be returning to the office today?” I should take his giving me the day off as meaning that he is working from home the rest of the day, but after his announcement this morning that he’s going to his brother’s without me, I don’t take anything for granted.
“No.”
The ride back to the apartment is quiet; the moment we get inside Mr. Meyer heads to his office without another word. Entering the kitchen, I shake my head at the glass all over the floor, thankful that Hope didn’t try to clean it up while we were gone but still surprised that it’s even there to begin with.
“Is everything okay?” Hope asks the moment I open the door.
“Yes.” Walking to the fridge I grab a beer before stopping in my room to lock up my gun. I collapse on the couch next to Hope and take a large gulp from the cold bottle.
“I’m going to go clean up—”
“No, Mr. Meyer’s assistant is arranging for a cleaning crew to come by to take care of it.”
“It’s just a broken glass; it’ll take me less than ten minutes to clean it up,” she argues.
“It’s a broken glass in the kitchen, but it’s an entire bedroom upstairs.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it.” I reach across the couch and put my hand on hers. “He also gave us the rest of the day off.”
“He’s not going back to the office?”
“No.” I take another long drink of beer. “What a fucking day.”
“No kidding.”
Mr. Meyer: I’m moving my trip up. I leave tomorrow. Your presence is not requested.
“Looks like we have tomorrow off as well.” I show her the text on my phone.
“When is he due back?”
“It was Sunday or Monday, so I’m guessing that’s still the case?” I shrug.
“Abby was talking about going to some new dance club Saturday night. Want to come along?” she surprises me by asking.
“I could definitely use some more alcohol after today,” I chuckle. “I could see if Chris wants to go as well? Unless you think Abby would mind him tagging along.”
“No, she won’t mind.”
We sit in a comfortable silence, both of us sort of staring at the TV without necessarily watching it. It’s only then that I remember we needed to finish the conversation that was started earlier.
“About this morning…”
“You don’t—”
“I need you to know I’m not like Mr. Meyer. I’d never treat you the way he treats women; I’ve never treated a woman the way he does. I’ll never hurt you.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
The world seems to stop when our eyes meet and the only thing I can think about is kissing her again. Not a day went by in the last two and a half years that I didn’t think about the night we spent together. But dancing with her and kissing her last weekend didn’t even come close to my memories of that night. We’ve been in this sort of weird space since then, almost like we’re walking a line that neither of us knows if we should cross.
I cautiously move closer to Hope, giving her every chance to stop what I’m certain we both want. When she doesn’t, I lean in and do what I’ve been dying to do since I saw she wasn’t hurt by Toni hours ago and kiss her. When she moans softly against my lips, I wrap my arm around her back and tug her even closer to me. Our tongues dance with each other as we explore and taste one another again.
After several long moments that leave us both breathless, I pull back just enough to find her eyes. I
hold my breath until she opens them, relieved more than anything when I don’t see regret there. I’m still trying to figure out what the hell happened after she left my hotel room that night, and until I do, I know I need to move very slowly with her.
Chapter 17
Garrett
“What do you say to ordering in pizza tonight and watching that movie I recorded?” I ask as Hope comes back into the apartment. Even though Mr. Meyer left a couple of hours ago, Hope insisted she needed to finish her scheduled chores today. Thankfully the cleaning crew arrived late yesterday evening and took care of everything so there are no leftover signs of yesterday’s incident.
“Sure, just let me change into something more comfortable,” Hope agrees.
“Do you like anything in particular on your pizza?” I ask.
“Nah, just not anything weird.”
I can’t help but watch a she walks down the hallway to her room, wishing I could go with her and help her change. UGH…I force my attention back to ordering the pizza and arranging delivery. Ever since the charity dinner last weekend, I can’t keep my thoughts off Hope and how wonderful it felt to hold her against me as we danced. After that first dance, something changed between us and I couldn’t keep my hands off her that evening. I held her hand, wrapped my arm around her shoulders or just sat close to her most of the night.
Just as I finish ordering the pizza, Hope comes out of the bedroom dressed in a pair of pajamas that makes me curse inwardly. The thin pajama pants hug her hips perfectly and the matching tank top falls to just the top of her pants, leaving just the smallest hint of bare skin. I can even see the pink lace of her bra under the strap of her tank top. I can’t help but wonder what the rest of her bra looks like and if she’s wearing a matching lace thong.
Stop it!
We watch something on TV while waiting for the pizza, but for the life of me I don’t think I could tell you what it was. My entire focus was on Hope and those pajamas she was wearing. Thankfully doorbell eventually rings, pulling my attention away from her. When I return with the pizza, she’s already set out plates, napkins and drinks for us as well as started the movie we agreed to watch tonight.
Garrett (Dark Water Security Book 2) Page 9
