Page 22 of Objection
“Sandra, don’t worry about it. It’ll be okay. I promise it will.” I eased her worries, knowing that she would bend over backwards trying to fix things if she could. It wasn’t about that. “I’m safe here and I just need a minute to figure out what to do next. But I promise I’ll keep in touch.”
“Let’s have lunch today, okay? My daughter doesn’t get into town until late afternoon, and I’d love to see you. It’ll be good for me to see for myself that you’re okay.”
“Fine, let’s do lunch. At that little Mexican place we went to on your birthday,” I suggested.
“Yes! Lunchtime margaritas are just what we need,” she agreed happily. I picked up the plate of food from the dresser, wanting to sit and enjoy the rest of the food when I noticed the little black card underneath the plate.
“See you around 12:30, Sandra,” I said quickly, my eyes focused on that card.
“See you then!”
I picked up the card, setting the phone and the plate down.
A black American Express with Soren C. Wellington written under a series of numbers.
With the card still in hand, I made my way down the stairs and to the back door. He was gardening. What? Gardening? I had him pegged for the guy who had a gardener or maybe a landscaping team. But there he stood, dark gray gloves on his hands as he did something with the plants that I didn’t quite know. I opened the door and stepped outside.
“Mr. Wellington, I think you left this by accident,” I offered, holding the card out to him as I approached.
“No mistake was made, Ms. Adams. Please, go buy the things you need.” His eyes didn’t lift from his gardening work once.
“I don’t need your money, Mr. Wellington. You pay me well, and I have plenty of items at my home. I just need to retrieve them. And honestly, now that we are discussing it, I really just need to go clean things up and I can head back there. Maybe install a security system, but…” I trailed off, pushing away the fear and dread that filled me as I spoke the words, but I couldn’t just stay here.
“You can’t be serious.” His eyes met mine this time. I simply shrugged at him. “Ms. Adams, the man you were dating attacked you, made you flee your own home, and then ransacked your belongings, destroying a large portion of what you own. You cannot go back there. I’m not trying to tell you what to do, or be overly controlling, especially in light of what you’ve experienced. But you need to be safe. You need to take legal action against this man. I would have brought it up sooner, but I didn’t want to add to the trauma you were experiencing.” He set his gardening tools down as he spoke, removing his gloves and stepping closer to me.
“I’m not ready…” I trailed off, that fear I had successfully pushed down working its way back up once again.
“Which is why I offered you my home. If you’d rather stay with someone else, I completely understand. Just be safe. Going back to that house is not safe. You have to know that.” The way he pleaded with me spoke volumes. I understood; deep down, I did.
“Normally I would stay with Sandra. But she doesn’t have the room right now. I could get a hotel, though. I have savings that I could use,” I thought out loud.
“You’re not much more protected at a hotel. Please, consider my offer to stay here. I’ll leave you be during non-work times. I have a full gym you can make use of, far too many DVDs, and a fully stocked kitchen. Until things with your ex settle down and you get some kind of legal action against him, I would feel better knowing you are safe.” I wasn’t used to hearing him speak so kindly, without all that stark firmness that I was used to from him. There was compassion in his voice, and it spoke volumes. Plus, as odd as it was, he wasn’t a stranger. Not really. Well, not exactly. I had worked with the man for five years. There were worse options out there. Not to mention, he had a state-of-the-art security system, and I would be safe here while I figured things out with David.
“Fine,” I huffed with a small smile. “I will use the card and buy a few things, but please don’t make a habit out of things like this. I’m going to meet Sandra for lunch at that little Mexican place near the office, and then I will go shopping with her.”
“Noted, Ms. Adams.”
There was something about telling him where I was and who I was with that made me feel safer. I made my way back into the house and to the room he had let me stay in. I needed to shower and feel a little more put together before lunch.
If I’d learned anything at all about Mr. Wellington in the last twenty-four hours, it was that he was a man with more layers than I could possibly imagine. While I knew I was safe here, I also didn’t know this man outside of a professional capacity.
11
Soren
I watchedher walk back into the house.
I waited another thirty seconds.
And finally took a real breath.
When I had brought her breakfast, after she had failed to come down this morning, I had kept my eyes averted as much as possible. Honestly, I was distracted by the scent in the room. It seemed to fill the room and tempted me to simply walk in and stay.
When she made her way outside, demanding to know why I had left her a credit card with her breakfast… Well, let’s just say I had never been more thankful for perfectly placed shrubs and plants than I was in that moment. She stood there, her red hair piled in a mess on top of her head, glasses perched on her clean face, and dressed from head to toe in my clothes. My clothes. Mine. She was curvy, and soft, and I wanted to touch her. I wanted to take her into my arms and feel her softness melt into me.
I needed to distract myself. I needed…
I pulled the phone from my pocket and texted Leah.
