Page 6 of Her Surprise Protector
Just when my impatience began to morph into anger, the office door creaked opened. I swiveled my chair slowly to face the door, ready to unload my righteous annoyance for the unnecessary wait.
Surprise made me forget my anger. The woman who stood in the doorway was dressed in heels, a pencil skirt, and a white blouse… She was the redhead from the beach, the one with the dog. I had to admit; her professional attire was more complementary than the casual shorts and tank top she was wearing that day.
Or maybe I just liked how the slightly loose neck of her blouse fluttered in the gentle stream of air from the vent above her, showing a smattering of freckles across her collarbone.
I didn’t like how, for a second time, she had done something to interfere with my carefully-planned days off. “Printer not working?” I remarked snidely, my chest wrenching a little at the sight of the papers in her hand. Apparently, a tiny traitorous part of me still didn’t want to do this.
“No, um- I apologize,” she said quickly, stumbling over her words. “For the wait. A-and for the dog. He found a hole-”
“No offense,” I cut her off in a tone that said I really, really didn’t care right now, “but I just want to deal with what I came for and leave. Can I have the papers?”
“O-oh, yes. Sorry. Again. Um…” She turned away quickly, lifting a hand to her face, and when she turned around the back of her hand was wet. “You’ll need to read through this, initial where indicated and sign at the end. Do you- do you have any questions?”
I took the papers and glanced over them. They weren’t particularly complicated. Anyone with half a brain could complete them without having to ask for help. “No.”
“If you ch-change your mind, the front desk can help you. I…” This time I spotted the tears in her eyes before she could swipe them away. “I’m really very sorry.”
Poetry might not be very manly, but making a woman cry was even less so. Suddenly, when I took a moment to think about someone else besides myself for once, I noticed a few things. First, I had made this particular woman cry twice now. Second, the redhead genuinely appeared apologetic, without even a hint that she felt I was overreacting about the dog or the delay in this office today.
Lastly – and I had noticed this before, but it bore repeating – she was strikingly beautiful. The kind of woman I would instantly notice in a bar or club because she was exactly my type. Unfortunately, a law office wasn’t really the best place to hit on women. Besides, I had made her cry twice, and she would probably tell me to go to hell.
Although, I did wonder if there was something else going on with her. I hadn’t brought up the dog incident, she had. And, no, I hadn’t exactly been polite about the wait, but I hadn’t been rude enough to make someone cry, either.
I reviewed the papers and had them nearly finished by the time Devon walked in. “Good morning, Riker,” he greeted me. “Sorry, I’m late. Had to stop by the courthouse this morning and got held up.”
“No problem,” I told Devon, feeling my brows knit. I couldn’t be irritated with him, even though he was about thirty minutes late and lateness rubbed me in all the wrong ways. “I’ve already signed the paperwork.” I closed the file folder, slid it across the conference table and cleared my throat, “And, oh, by the way, is your legal assistant alright? I ran into her on the beach the other day.” Since he was looking at me a little oddly, I finished my thought, “She seemed upset then, too, so I was just wondering.”
“Elena? She’s been going through a rough time lately,” Devon explained as he took the documents and looked over them. “You know that saying. When it rains, it pours.”
And I had added to everything, pouring hardships on the woman.Great job, Riker.I should have apologized for my behavior on the beach when I had the chance, and I shouldn’t have been so impatient today.
Oh well. We would never see each other again, and she would forget about it in a few days. I still felt a little guilty, but there was nothing I could do about it now.
After Devon finished going over the papers, we stood and shook hands. I left him in the office and re-emerged into the lobby, relieved to have this legal visit behind me, finally.
But, as the automatic glass doors slid open for me, I couldn’t help but send a glance back over my shoulder- no beautiful red hair came into view. I didn’t know why I hoped to see Elena – she probably wanted to avoid me as much as possible. There was just…something about her. Something special. I had a feeling about Elena, and that feeling made it hard to turn my back on the law office without apologizing to her.
The doors began to shut, and I slipped the rest of the way through them before they could catch my shirttail. Even as I walked to my car, I looked back. Nothing.
As I drove past the glass entryway on my way out of the parking lot, a flash of red at a second-story window had me tapping the brakes, slowing the car to a crawl while I stared. A vase of fake flowers sat on a table in front of the window panes, but I was almost positive what I caught a glimpse of wasn’t artificial flowers. Not a red that dynamic and eye-catching.
Maybe, I would see her again. Now that I knew where she worked. I could come by and apologize… and I wanted to see her again. I wanted to see what a woman that beautiful was like, and I wanted to know what monster other than me had brought tears to her eyes.
Chapter Four
Elena
“Bree?”
No response.
“Bree!”
No childish, high-pitched giggle, no “mommy,” and no clatter of toys answered my call.
I dropped the hand towel in the top rack of the dishwasher and hurried over to the office that doubled as a playroom - no curly mop of sandy red hair. The bathroom door was cracked, so I checked there too - no Bree.
Trying not to take the corners at an all-out panicked sprint, I checked every single room in the house for my daughter, growing more and more frantic as each opened door showed no sign of a little girl. “Bree! Br-”
