Page 70 of Beaten

For the last week, every time I looked at the car outside I’d hoped to see Jamie. It didn’t matter that Meg sent me a schedule so I always knew who was assigned to watch the house, and who was assigned to me if I went anywhere, I still hoped to see Jamie. At first I was surprised Jamie was never listed as my bodyguard, but then I remembered he thought I was a distraction, so it made perfect sense.

I wanted to decline—I didn’t want a driver, or a bodyguard, and I didn’t want to keep being reminded about Jamie and his need to keep a safe distance from me—but figured I should talk to Ashley first.

My text to Ashley was more about venting than asking her opinion. And once again, she sided against me.

Come on Em, it’ll be fun to have a driver.

Seriously??

Seriously! We can call him Jeeves and act all posh and drink in the back seat.

I couldn’t help but laugh, despite how annoyed I felt with her.

We can’t drink in the car, it’s not a limo.

Fine, but I like the idea of having mimosas with breakfast and starting the day off right.

She had a point. A mimosa or two might help me relax and take my mind off things for a few hours while we went shopping.

Okay, I’ll tell Meg Eric can drive us around.

Yay!! *smiley face emoji*

The next morning, Eric parked in the driveway twenty minutes before Ashley’s expected time. He waited in his car, then met us at the door when I texted him we were ready to leave.Does he really need to escort us to his car and open the doors for us?

I forced myself to laugh when Ashley made a joke about there still being a few gentlemen left in the world, before climbing into the back seat. Eric didn’t crack a smile.

Something about his professional tone when he answered her with a “Yes ma’am” made me anxious. His presence reminded me that Craig was still a threat. Or at least SSI thought so. Which was exactly what I didn’t want to think about today.

Today was supposed to be a fun girl’s day and I regretted not taking our own car.At least then we could try to lose him.I shook my head at my foolishness. Not only did I think we weren’t clever enough to ditch a professional bodyguard, but I couldn’t do that to my family, or SSI—they’d assume the worst if I succeeded. Not to mention, SSI would start a man hunt, and then everyone would be mad at me. And in the end I’d feel even worse, so it’d be a lot of chaos for nothing.

Ashley searched online and found a cute little café just outside Fort Worth. “They’re famous for their breakfast mimosas,” she said with glee as we looked at the menu during the drive. We wanted to be ready to order as soon as we sat down.

I tried to think of Eric as our chauffeur, not my bodyguard, like Ashley was, because she was having fun, and I wasn’t. But I couldn’t.

I need to relax.

Ashley texted me that Eric fit the SSI eye-candy bodyguard criteria. I rolled my eyes but didn’t reply.

Eric was a good looking guy, but his harshness detracted from his looks.I wonder if he ever smiles. I tried to remember if I saw him smile at the BBQ, but I’d been so focused on Jamie I’d barely noticed anyoneelse.

At the café, we each ordered two different mimosas so we could try four flavors. The lavender blueberry was my favorite, but Ashley thought it was too sweet. Her favorite was called Sweet Heat, and had chili powder in it, but I thought it was too spicy. One of the great things about our friendship was how different our tastes were, because we always encouraged each other to try new things. Sometimes it was a hit, sometimes a miss, but we always had fun trying.

I tried not to notice Eric sitting three tables down, pretending to read on his phone as he drank his coffee, during breakfast. But I did. I couldn’t forget about him, or why he was there.

It wasn’t any better at the mall. His presence was distracting and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t stop thinking about him hovering nearby. Jamie wouldn’t have hovered menacingly, he would have stayed close and offered to carry my bags.Stop thinking about Jamie.

To the other shoppers Eric probably looked like he was browsing casually, but if anyone paid attention for more than a few seconds they might have thought he was a stalker, because he followed us where ever we went, lingered near us while we tried on clothes, and he never bought anything.

Ashley was none too quiet when showing me low-cut, form fitting dresses. “This’ll look amazing on you, Jamie will go gaga if you wear this on your first date.”

And of course I was worried Eric would overhear her and tell Jamie I was shopping for our no-longer-happening first date.Does he know Jamie had asked me out? Does he care?What would Jamie think if he heard what Ashley was saying?I made it a point to loudly remind Ashley that we weren’t going on a date. Just in case.

“Yeah, yeah, says you. I say it’ll happen eventually.”

“I doubt it.”

Eventually I found a cute dress and matching shoes that could work for a date, but not “our” date because we weren’t going on one. I also found a cute pair of boots and some fun new tops. It was nice to buy myself new clothes and not worry about getting yelled at when I got home for wasting money, or trying to impress ‘some guy’ who only existed in Craig’s head. As a fuck you to Craig, I splurged on some new leggings and sports tanks for running. I wanted to look cute now that I could run outside again.I wonder if the SSI guys will run with me, like Jamie did, or if they’ll drive slowly behind me.

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