by Lauren Wood
Ashley agreed and wished me luck. The way I was feeling today, I was going to need it. My optimism had worked, but set upon a whole new set of problems.
Chapter 4
Cameron
I hadn’t thought that I would call him. When he gave me his card with a number on the back and mentioned giving me a place to stay, I had thought that it was a big city. It wouldn’t be that hard to find somewhere to stay. I was wrong in my assessment of that it appeared. It was quickly clear to me that there wasn’t a single decent room in the city that wasn’t already booked. I felt like I was stuck and then I remembered the card in my pocket.
When he answered with the same gruff voice, it was impossible to hide the small shiver that it gave me. The man was a player, I could see from how he talked and how he looked at me, but it wasn’t like I had much to worry about. Men like Grey dated models and the like. I was barely five foot two and I knew that I was far from the long legged creatures I saw on all of the magazines. I wasn’t beautiful and since I knew that I wasn’t his type of woman, I wasn’t too worried about his attraction to me. I was far more worried about my attraction to him. It was hard not to think of him in a way that didn’t involve him getting naked and finding out what that grin was about.
The thought brought pink to my cheeks even now just thinking about it. Leo, Grey’s driver picked me up and I went with him and one of my bags that was stuffed into my trunk. I didn’t know how I was going to get back to my vehicle, but I wasn’t going to worry about that right now. Right now I just wanted to get a few hours of sleep before I met my boss later that afternoon. I wasn’t too nervous, but I was a little unsure of the future. The trip and big move was certainly not starting out the way I wanted it to.
The city was huge, bigger than I ever would have imagined it to be. Everyone was going somewhere and it all led to chaos as he drove me through the downtown area. Leo must have known that I wasn’t from New York because he would point out some of the great places there were to go. He made me feel welcome more than I could have imagined and I greatly appreciated it. It was a lot to take in and my heart was racing a little faster with everything going on around me. It was getting later in the day and traffic had increased tenfold. Now I was thankful to be out of the streets and not having to drive. Driving here was never going to be something that I don’t think I would ever looked forward to.
“Would you like to stop and get something to eat before we arrive at your destination? I doubt that Grey has anything in his refrigerator. He never eats at home, so it will be a toss-up if Marie has anything there.”
It was strange to get information on the enigmatic man in such a way, but I was thankful for it all the same. I didn’t know what he was talking about or who Marie was, but I was hungry and the suggestion made me even more so. “That would be great. Anywhere fast on the way if you really don’t mind.”
Leo said he didn’t and I had to wonder what capacity he worked for Grey. Grey had told me that he didn’t drive, so I had to think that Leo was the one that did it for him. He certainly seemed to know him and didn’t seem all that shocked at all to pick up some strange woman, get her some breakfast and take her back to Grey’s place for some rest. That fact threw me off a little more than anything else. I half expected the man to ask me some questions, but he just didn’t and that made me wonder even more. The very idea that this was normal made it even less so.
But the driver was impeccable with his silence and the ability to not ask the burning questions. I know that if I had his job, I would be wondering what in the world was going on. There was a weird thing going on in New York. I had met only a few people so far and they all lived in a different world than I was used to growing up in Muskegon. The pace of life and what was said and not said was very different. In small towns, everyone was in each other’s business and there was always a wealth of information to be had. This wasn’t the case here. Privacy reined because the scale of people guaranteed a wide swath of anonymity.
“Here we are Miss Cameron. I will take your bag in if you like.”
“No, I got it. Thank you Leo. You were very helpful.”
The man was in his thirties and only then did he look me in the eyes, though I had felt his gaze through the rearview mirror before. He was handsome and appraised me in such a way, but then the moment was gone and I was left to get out and wave.
“If you need a ride or anything else, just give me a call. Grey told me to help you out with anything that you need. I am on call, so don’t hesitate.”
I thanked him again before he drove off in the dark car. The windows were tinted much like the other one was that Grey was driving. It just showed how much he liked his privacy. Then why was he letting a stranger stay here? It was confusing and the man was inconsistent. He was generous though and as tired and shaky as I felt, he really was a godsend.
The place was a bit intimidating. When I envisioned an apartment, I was not thinking of the sort of one that was in front of me now. The building was huge and I had to look up several floors before I could see the top. This was not at all what I had expected and I looked back to see if Leo was still close enough to flag down. How was I going to know where to go?
The door was opened for me and I smiled at the doorman. “Who are you here to see Miss?”
He knew that I didn’t belong here just by looking at me and so help me I felt the same way. I didn’t like to think of how different I was then most of the people here, but I was doe-eyed and I couldn’t help it.
“Um, I was told to come here by Grey.”
It was then that I realized that I didn’t know his last name. I was about to fish out the card from my pocket that had it on there, but the doorman took me to the elevator instead. He pushed a button that took me to the top and told me to have a good day. Like Leo, he didn’t ask any more questions and again it seemed perfectly reasonable that some strange woman was sent to his apartment. I had to ask myself over and over again in my head, who was this guy?
The elevator dinged and pulled my attention away from my thoughts and I waited a heartbeat till it opened. I was expecting a hallway or something of that nature, but instead there was no other doors, just one right in front of me as I got off of the landing. I looked back and the elevator was already going back down. I don’t know why I was so weirded out all of a sudden, but I was in a place that I wasn’t used to and it was hard to deny that it was a strange way to start this adventure.
Leo had told me that Grey was in court and wouldn’t be here when I got here, but was there going to be someone here?
The knock was loud and seemed to reverberate through the small area I was standing in. All I could do was wait, even though I really felt like an idiot right now. What if no one was here and I had come all of this way for nothing? I don’t even know if I am going to be able to find my car again. The city was overwhelming, as well as just the day in general. I was knackered from the drive up from Georgia.
“Hello, you must be Cameron.”
The small, petite woman was about my height and weight. She smiled in the sweetest way and I had no other option but to smile back at her.
“Yes, I am. I was told to…”
She waved me off and opened the door to let me in. "I was told you were coming and I have made up one of the guest rooms for you. You are welcome to take a shower, sleep, whatever you like just let me know.”
I followed her through an apartment that was huge and felt more like a house. Only when we went by a large window did I remember that I was in the city and that I was many stories up. The view was magnificent and Marie smiled, claiming that she got the same look on her face when she caught a certain view out of the window.
“It is beautiful here. I think the view pays me half as well as Grey does.”
Everyone I had come in contact with worked for Grey in one capacity or another. He must be a good boss because they had nothing but good things to say. But it didn’t change the fact that they all seemed to be normalized by
the presence of me.
We stopped in front of a door and she opened it as my hands were full of breakfast and my bag. Marie reminded me that if I needed anything to contact her through an intercom system and I thanked her again. I was doing a lot of that this morning, but as I closed the door behind me, I was able to relax a little bit.
I set the bag and brown paper one down on the bed sheets and looked around the room. It was bigger than I was used to and I felt tiny in such a large area. There were roses everywhere and it took me a minute to see that there was also a bathroom connected. The bath was calling to me, but the bed and the food was calling to me more. I had several hours before I had to go to my new job to do paperwork for the next week and I hoped that I would have enough time to do both.
At the moment though, all I could think about was getting a few hours of rest before I had to get up. I ate the sandwich I bought on the way and set the alarm on my phone for a little after one. That would give me a little bit of time to get ready, take a shower and hopefully navigate my way there in enough time. I was going to have to get used to the extra pressures that I wasn’t used to before.
It wasn’t the day and what was next that kept me up thinking for a few minutes though. I was thinking about Grey and how I was going to thank him for his generosity. I am not used to getting help from someone like him and not being expected to pay it back in some way. Was he any different?
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Chapter one
I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to tear off my arm and beat him with it. Blind dates were the devil’s handiwork, but I had been on the shelf for too long. It was a mistake to let my best friend set me up with someone that she thought was going to be perfect for me. How she could possibly think that I could enjoy myself while he was blathering about his car was beyond me.
“I never thought that I would be ‘that’ guy, but I have never been happier with my latest acquisition. The cherry red color turns heads and if you play your cards right you might be able to see the back seat of it.” Helena was right about one thing and he was handsome, but he was also boring.
“I appreciate your enthusiasm for your car, but maybe we can talk about something else.” I was seriously regretting shaving my legs when I could’ve been sitting comfortably in my sweats watching my favorite shows on Netflix.
“I know I have been monopolizing the conversation, but you have to experience it for yourself to understand what I’m talking about. The power and the exhilaration of flying down the highway with the wind blowing through my hair was the best possible feeling in the world.” He did smell nice and I felt that it was in poor taste to walk out on a meal that was the only good part of the date.
The lobster with garlic sauce had me holding the tears of joy back with each bite.
He hadn’t even mentioned how decadent I looked in the little black dress. I was also wearing my dirty little secret, but I had a feeling he was not going to get past the cover of this story. I was well aware that love could lift me up into the stratosphere with a smile on my face, but it could also bring me back down to the cold and unforgiving earth at my feet.
I was getting over a nasty breakup with only one man to blame for all of it. Measuring each relationship with the one that got away was destined to fail from the very beginning.
“I’m getting a headache and might have to take a rain check on the test drive.” It would’ve been interesting to get behind the wheel and get a brief peek at what he felt.
“You really didn’t think that I was going to allow you to drive a $30,000 automobile. I meant that you could sit beside me and live vicariously through me.” I felt like reaching over the table and grabbing him by the scruff of his neck to throttle some sense into him.
“I’m going to be very blunt. Life is too damn short to spend one more minute with you. The only thing you have talked about from the moment that we sat down is that damn car. I’m through playing nice for the sake of our mutual friend.” I signaled the waiter, but he was way ahead of me bringing the check and lightly touching my shoulder to show that he understood my outburst.
This man with closely cropped hair took out his glasses and began to mumble underneath his breath. He was using a pen from his pocket to circle the entrees on the bill. I wasn’t sure what he was doing until he slid it across the table in front of me itemized for my perusal.
“Helena told me that you were opinionated, but I gave this a chance to get back on the whore… horse.” The slip of his tongue gave me a clear understanding of what his motives were for the evening.
“You would have had a far better chance getting into my pants had you been a little more attentive to my needs. I would rather go home and break out one of my toys that don’t talk back. Sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut. It’s a painful lesson that you have learned here tonight that not every woman is interested in cars. I think that I can speak for every female in this restaurant that talking about cars is the last thing we want to hear when we sit down to enjoy fine dining.” I had raised my voice and my declaration had been received favorably with an applause that was deafening.
Those that the women had come to dinner with were shaking their head and trying to hide.
“I don’t need this and I have options.” I could’ve left well enough alone, but he was gradually getting on my last nerve and needed to be taken down a peg.
“The only option you have is to go home and use the hand that you have been intimately acquainted with since you were a teenager. No woman in their right mind would ever consider sleeping with you. Change your tune or you’re going to be alone for the rest of your natural life. Take it as constructive criticism to use in the future when you feel compelled to share every detail of your sports car with another woman.” He was expecting me to pay half the bill going Dutch, but we had never discussed anything of the sort during the initial phase of this date.
“I have a little black book and what I consider a port in the storm. There’s a booty call with my name on it and she will gladly and enthusiastically open the door at midnight with her arms and her legs open in invitation.” This time the applause was directed at him by the men that were going to find themselves in the doghouse for siding with him.
“The only way this could’ve gone worse was if I considered sleeping with you out of pity and catching something as a result. I have no doubt that you have a standing arrangement with your Dr. for a shot of penicillin. I feel it’s my duty to warn every woman out there that you are not worth a lobster dinner.”
The wave of my hair was covering my eyes and I had to constantly blow the strands away to see him stewing in his own juices. My mother warned me that there would be days like this, but I never believed her.
“You are a stuck up bitch and it’s no wonder that you haven’t had sex in almost a year. I would have slept with you, but I would’ve snuck out in the middle of the night to avoid breaking up with you in the morning.” I heard loud boos and hisses which fueled me into standing up to his tirade.
He might have been a foot taller than me, but the encouragement from the women made me feel like I was 10 feet tall.
I gripped the tablecloth and pulled it with the food on the table spilling into his lap with his wine glass staining his pants making it look like he had some kind of accident. Getting out relatively unscathed was no longer something that I could consider when the battle of the sexes was at its finest.
“I have no idea how you have gotten laid in the past, but I suspect that it was last call at a bar where pickings were slim. Seeing things through rose-colored glasses is the only way a woman would give you the time of day. I would have to have my brain pickled and feeling no pain to even consider jumping into your bed willingly.” I was
n’t backing down and we had gotten the attention of both sexes and I felt that I had a duty to give him a piece of my mind.
“I’ve never had a problem attracting the opposite sex. You might be the exception. To be completely honest, you’re not even my type, but sometimes a man wants something different than the same old thing all the time. There’s just so much chicken I can stomach and sometimes a man has to splurge on Filet Mignon. The only high point of this evening is the very thought that this will be the last time I ever see you.” His tongue was in desperate need of being severed from his mouth.
I stood my ground staring down the barrel of the metaphorical bullets coming from his mouth. The venom spewing was unexpected, but the anger building up inside of me was going to be used in a more constructive way than slapping him across the face. That behavior would be typical of any woman that was caught in the headlights of something they couldn’t handle. I wasn’t about to play the same game
“I went to all the trouble to shave my legs and go to the salon for this. I don’t know how I’m ever going to forgive Helena for putting me in your crosshairs. This could have been a pleasant diversion from my troubles, but you made it the most painful and prolonged agony of my life. The fine art of listening is something that you are missing. Take my advice filling the awkward silence with details of your car is only going to leave you with your cock in your hand.” I took out a wad of cash and wasn’t even concerned about what kind of extravagant tip I was leaving.
He grabbed my wrist with his seething rage seeping through every word that was coming out of his mouth.
“How dare you talk to me like that and expect to get away with it? Somebody should teach you some manners and I elect myself.” I swallowed hard wondering if he was really considering hurting me to give him a modicum of pleasure.
“I would really consider what you’re going to do next. The best thing that you can do right now is to take your hands off of me before I do it for you.” He thought that he was the immovable object, but I used a tried and true method to break his grip.
