Authors: Evan Kelsey
I feel
the hair on my neck stand up and turn to the bank of elevators on
my left. As I expected to find, I see Ruxin walking towards us
talking to a man around his age with dark brown hair and bright
green eyes. Judging from the look on Ruxin's face and the man's,
they don't like each other, but they keep their voices level as
they argue showing their respect for each other. I wasn't here to
see him and don't want to interrupt any business he has. The six
guys following them are arguing louder then their bosses, getting
attention from passing people. When William comes out of the
elevator behind them, I smile and wave. Ruxin's stops walking in
front of me, but continues to argue and disagree with the man.
After he makes his point he kisses me quickly. "What are you doing
here, Angel?" He asks.
Before I
can reply, my dad saves me from explaining my stupidity. "Eva, I'm
so glad you got my message. Are you here for lunch?"
"Yep." I
reply, happily.
"Where
are you having lunch?"
I look at
William in question. "I thought Barney's, since its close." He
answers, almost sounding like he's asking Ruxin for
permission.
"Do you
mind if we join you?" Ruxin asks.
"Of
course not." William replies.
All ten
of us walk to Barneys with four big security men surrounding our
group. Ruxin keeps his arm around my waist the entire time. When we
get to the restaurant we're seated right away at a large circular
table.
Ruxin
pulls out my chair. After everyone sits. "Aren't you going to
introduce me, Novak?" The man that was arguing with him earlier
asks, amused.
"Xavier,
this is mine. Stay away from her. Angel, this asshole is currently
trying to low ball me on a piece of real estate."
"Nice to
meet you, Xavier." I state his name, instead of calling him an
asshole.
"Nice to
meet you too, mine or is it Angel?" He jokes, shaking my
hand.
"Eva,
actually." I correct smiling.
"Beautiful name for a beautiful women. Why are you with this
guy?"
I shrug.
"I told him to shut up and since then I couldn't shake him." I
reply, seriously. I look at Ruxin, his mouth twitches and his eyes
meet mine. On impulse, I kiss the offending mouth which makes him
smile.
I hear
Xavier laugh. "I can see how that could be confused for a term of
endearment." I laugh with him and nod my head in
agreement.
"I like
that dress, it looks familiar." Ruxin states, ignoring our
teasing.
I feel my
cheeks burn. I feel like Monica Lewinski in my blue soiled dress. I
hear Ruxin laugh and elbow him.
"Is she
really blushing? I don't think I've ever seen a women blush
before." Xavier observes in awe. I feel my cheeks heat even more
and bury my head in my hands.
"I
believe we have business to discuss." Ruxin replies, in his no
nonsense way.
"I would
love to, but I am rather intrigued by this women. Business will
have to wait. So, Eva where are you from?"
"A small
town in Michigan."
"And what
brought you here?"
"Family.
Williams my father." I explain.
"I didn't
know you had two daughters." He says, looking at
William.
"She
lived with her mother." William answers, looking at me
sadly.
Looking
back at me, Xavier continues. "Where's your mother?"
"She
passed away." I reply, still feeling the ache in my
chest.
"Oh, I'm
sorry. It makes sense that you came here then. Are you liking New
York?"
"I don't
like the crowds or the reporters. Other then that its
okay."
"Are you
staying here long?"
"It
depends. If I can't find a job, I'd consider moving back home." I
answer, honestly.
"You
don't need to work. Especially, as a waitress." Ruxin
mutters.
"What's
wrong with being a waitress? My mom was a waitress." I turn to
Ruxin getting defensive.
"There's
nothing wrong with it, but your a teacher not a waitress. I told
you, you don't need to work, you'll be traveling with
me."
"I'll
give you a job if Ruxin won't." I hear Xavier offer.
"You
will?" I ask, stunned.
"Of
course." He smirks at Ruxin. I realize at that moment he is just
like Ruxin.
Ruxin
huffs. "Fine 200 mil, but not a penny less."
"Oh, you
suck." I reply. Realizing that Xavier just used me to get a lower
price on a development deal. I throw a breadstick at
him.
"Hey, I
didn't take the deal. I think having you around might be worth the
extra cash I'll have to spend. She is very entertaining." He
states, looking at Ruxin. Who I know is burning holes in his
head.
"Forget
it. I won't work for another Ruxin." I respond, crossing my
arms.
"Ouch,
did you just compare me to that animal."
I roll my
eyes at his fake attempt at sounding outraged. "Trust me you two
are from the same cold blooded species of reptile."
I hear
Ruxin laugh. "Price just went back up."
Xavier
doesn't respond to Ruxin, but looks at me determinedly. "I'll give
you all the days off you want, benefits including dental and a nice
office with a view."
I cross
my arms. "What exactly would I be doing?"
"You'll
be my assistant and-."
"Hell no.
Absolutely not." Ruxin cuts him off.
"It would
be a great career opportunity and I'll give you a sterling
recommendation, no pun intended, if it doesn't workout."
"Pun?" I
question, confused.
Xavier
just blinks at me. "She doesn't know who you are." Ruxin points out
annoyed.
"Xavier
Sterling, never mind." He replies, looking at me strangely. I can't
tell if he's mad, but he looks tense.
So I
blurt out. "Oh, you work in the same building as Ruxin, but at a
different company."
He
smirks. "Yes. Do we have a deal, Miss Prescott?"
"It's
Thorpe, actually. Yes, we have a deal."
"I said
no." Ruxin says, taking my hand before Xavier and I shake on
it.
"Ruxin,
dear. Leave it alone." I respond. Looking up to him, telling him
with my eyes I need this job. Just like him I can't sit idly by and
be taken care of like some China doll. He doesn't blink just
stares. He pecks my lips with his then turns to Xavier.
"Try
anything with her and I'll destroy you." Ruxin
threatens.
"Fair
enough. Now, about that building." Xavier continues
unaffected.
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Okay...I
know I screwed everyone up, but people that are following me are
having trouble getting the private chapters...what I did was
resubmit the whole book without the private chapters...I lost all
my comments and votes...so if I didn't respond to you that's
why...:( but its all fixed and hopefully no one has anymore
trouble...again I'm sooooo sorry!!! also if you could let me know
what story I should enter in the Harlequin writing competition that
would be awesome! thanks!
Eva
Thorpe
After
lunch we stand to leave when Dave comes to the table. "Sir, we wont
be walking back. We have two cars waiting."
"How bad
is it?" Ruxin asks.
"At least
20." He replies.
Great,
that's probably three times as many as there were leaving he condo.
I feel the blood drain from my face. I can do this its fine. It
only takes a minute, its fine.
"You
giving me a ride Novak?" Xavier asks.
"Yeah,
lets get out of her before more show up." He grumbles.
With his
steely arm Ruxin guides me to the door, the same feelings as before
clawing at my chest. I feel an arm take mine and pull me away from
Ruxin, towards the waiting SUVs. I'm lifted into the seat and Ruxin
gets in after me, he slides me over and I concentrate on breathing.
I feel like its getting worse. The bigger the crowd, the louder the
people, the more I panic.
"Its
okay, don't panic its fine." He says, quietly wrapping me in his
arms.
"Is she
okay?" I hear Xavier ask. I nod, letting them know I'm
alright.
"She's
fine."
Three
minutes later we pull up to the building where they work. There are
a few photographers, but not as bad as back at the
restaurant.
"You're
coming in with me. I'm not leaving you like this." Ruxin says,
opening the door and sliding past me. He picks me up and set's me
on my feet. We walk into the safety of the building. I hate that I
don't feel safe outside. I loved taking walks and running in the
park, now the thought of it makes my heart skip.
"Eva, do
you want to start working today? Get your mind off things?" Xavier
asks.
"Sure.
Yes, Thank you." I reply, still a little flustered. We walk to the
elevators and I feel my dads eyes on me. I smile at him
reassuringly. "Will you come get me when your ready to leave?" I
ask, Ruxin.
"You'll
probably get done before me. Just come to my office. Dave will be
going with you, he'll show you the way."
"What?
No." I beg.
"He'll
stay out of the way. You don't get a choice." I'm about to argue
with him, when Ronan beats me to it.
"Sir, I
thought I was-"
"Yes, you
were." Ruxin states, and I can here the anger in his
voice.
"Until
you got a nice feel of her ass." Xavier states, clearly knowing why
Ruxin is mad at Ronan.
"My ass?
When did he touch my ass?" I ask, looking around.
"When he
put you in the car." Xavier answers, smirking. While Ruxin glares
at Ronan, waiting for an explanation.
"He did
not. Your overreacting." I say.
"I know
what I saw." Ruxin argues.
"You're
the one who put him in charge of babysitting me."
"Protecting you." Ruxin corrects.
I roll my
eyes. "That's exactly what he said this morning." I
grumble.
"This
morning? You didn't leave the condo until 11:30 a.m. that's not
really morning."
"Yeah, it
was earlier then that." I explain. Not knowing what the big deal
is, but seeing the rage that crosses Ruxin face stops me from
saying anything else.
"You were
in my home alone with her?" He questions, turning back to
Ronan.
Ronan
doesn't respond and Ruxin continues. "You're fired."
"What?" I
ask, shocked that this is getting so out of control. "No, come on.
This has gone far enough. What's the big deal? He just wanted to
know what I was planning on doing today."
"Did you
know he was there?"
"Not at
first but-"
"What
were you wearing? You don't have pajamas at my house."
I open my
mouth and close it again trying to think how to get out of this.
Will he be mad about me in my underwear or me in his
briefs?
"Clothes." I choke out.
"Fully
clothed?"
"I- It
was enough." I answer. "You're not firing him. He didn't do
anything wrong." I state, stubbornly.
"Sir, I
was only trying to get her to the car as quickly as possible. She
was a white as a sheet." Ronan explains.
"And this
morning? When you were in my home alone with her?"
"I just
wanted her to know I was there if she wanted to go out. I know you
didn't tell her and I didn't want her to avoid leaving." He
explains.
We all
step on the elevator. "If you pull her from me or touch her again,
you'll wish I only fired you. And you're not to enter my home while
she's there, without my permission or hers."
"Yes,
sir."
"You're
not guarding her anymore, Dave is."
Ronan
nods once and the rest of the ride to my new office is in silence.
I'm just glad he didn't fire him. He really hasn't done anything
wrong and I don't want anyone to lose their job . As much as I
don't like the idea of needing a bodyguard if I have to have one,
then I want it to be someone Ruxin knows and trusts. I know he
trusts Ronan or he would have never put him with me. I'm sure they
have been working together for a while and to fire him over a
misunderstanding would be awful.
The doors
open and Xavier says, "This is us." I'm about to follow him when I
hear.
"No,
goodbye? Angel, that hurts."
I scoff.
"We already established you don't have feelings." I joke. But turn
around and kiss him lightly, at least the was my intention. I pull
away and Ruxin pulls me forward again and crushes my lips with his
making me feel claimed.