Page 20 of New Girl in the City
Chapter Five
All the excitement of nearly getting run off the road in the middle of a New York rush hour made me forget the fact that Claudia had booked not one, but three dates for me that week. One date I could manage, with enough time to regroup if it went less than stellar.
But three?
That was...a bit much even for a seasoned dater, right? It was amazing what you could forget when you were still riding the adrenaline high of nearly being run off the road, let alone recovering from the embarrassment of your hunky driver getting his hands on your phone while it lit up with notifications like a Christmas tree.
I shut off my computer and shook my head at myself. It had to be a lot. If it wasn’t, then how did people manage it? I had let Claudia answer my messages and set the times and date and I was still exhausted.
All I had wanted to do was eat, drink, and be merry, and not think about the distracting asshole driver that was waiting for me outside. The driver that I seriously needed to get reassigned, or whatever it was that happened when you decided a man’s sass mouth wasn’t for you.
And then there was thema’am.I could understand it if he had called Claudia by it, but he hadn’t. I was thirty-freaking-five, not dead. I knew I looked great. I knew Claudia looked sensational, too. All women did, age was just a number after all. And besides that—we were exactly the same damn age so why was I a ma’am while Claudia wasn’t? Why was he hell bent on making me hate him a little more with every interaction, when he had been sweet as pie for her? Not to mention he’d been ma’aming me every day of the week...except for today that is. Today he had laid heavy on the Princess. That was another issue altogether really.
I steepled my fingers and leaned forward, elbows going to the desk in front of me, my email forgotten.
What was the deal with Liam, and why had Walter picked him for me?
I might have obsessed over that tiny detail more if my phone hadn’t buzzed, breaking me out of my brooding. I snatched it up to see that it was even more messages from the app, and immediately tossed it into my purse. Without Claudia around to navigate it, the newness and fun of the app had started to wear off on me. Talking meant real plans and I wasn’t too keen on so many social engagements in one week. Yes, I wanted to get out and be social, but that didn’t mean I needed to pack two months of it into a week.
Right? I nodded at myself. “Right.”
I got up and switched off the light before exiting my office. This time my sojourn to the elevators was peaceful and without an unexpected couple tumbling out of an office. My thoughts moved to my worries about the young intern, but the swift arrival of the elevator was a welcome distraction. I didn’t need to add to my anxiety, not when I was already bracing myself for a run-in with a hot asshole.
The ride down to the ground floor was a little too fast for my liking and it was only when I was walking towards the front door I remembered I hadn’t texted him. I hadn’t needed to text Walter. With him it had just been magic. But we had always been in contact, with him checking in during the day to see where I was with my workflow. I hadn’t thought to do the same with Liam, and so it was an empty curb that greeted me in the waning twilight.
“At least it’s nice out,” I told myself before pulling out my phone and shooting off a quick text.
‘I’m done for the day. See you soon.’
I slid my phone back into my bag, not bothering to look at the message that came from him. I rocked back on my heels to look up at the sky. It was a beautiful spring night. One that was perfectly crisp but with a hint of the warmth that summer would bring. I sighed happily as a breeze blew around me and closed my eyes. I could get used to this—it was a far cry from the spring weather of the mountains, but it was nice. Good even.
I was still soaking up the nice night when I heard someone walking towards me. Quick steps heavy, and that was what caught my attention. I had just dropped my head to open my eyes in time to see Liam looming over me before he suddenly pushed me back. I cried out, my arms reaching for the air but catching nothing, before I felt his arm circle my waist, pulling me upright and against his back.
“What the fu--” I began, my hands going to grip his back, but Liam wasn’t paying me any mind. His attention was squarely on someone standing in front of him.
“Back the fuck up, creep,” Liam barked out. The arm that wasn’t holding me to him was pointing at whoever he was speaking to. I leaned to the side to see who it was. I almost wished I hadn’t the second my eyes hit the man in front of us. There was nothing wrong with him, not at first glance. He was dressed well enough, in the required attire of business New York City. A suit and tie, shoes polished and hair neat. But there was something...wrong.
His eyes, I decided when he leered at me. His eyes were wrong. Mean and cold. Greedy even. I knew that a man like him would take whatever he wanted and not care who he hurt. I turned away from him, pressing my face into Liam’s back without even realizing I had done it. His arm tightened comfortingly around me, and my hand found his.
“I was just looking,” the man spat out. He reached up, straightening his jacket with a flick of his wrists. “You don’t need to go all bodyguard on me, man.”
“The fuck I don’t. I saw you lookin’ at her.”
“She shouldn’t be out here like that then.”
“Like what?” Liam moved forward then, dragging me with him, I stumbled in my heels, but held onto the arm that was now like iron around me. There was no comfort being given there anymore. I could practically feel the man vibrating beneath my fingers. I leaned away from his back, unsure of what he might do. He felt like he could thrash the man now retreating from him with a hasty backpedal. I hoped he would let go of me if he chose that option. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage to stay upright, or how easy it would be for Liam to clobber this guy with only one arm.
“Like what?” he asked again when the man didn’t speak, and this time I heard the change in his voice. It wasn’t angry, but calm. There was a darkness to it that made me think of soot on your fingers after you scattered the burned-out embers of a bonfire. Cool to the touch, but the evidence of their blaze was there on the tips, lingering and marking everything it touched with little reminders of the fire that had once been.
Liam wasn’t cool now. He was ablaze. I cautioned a glance at his face and saw a downright murderous look that was leveled squarely at the creep who had his hands up and was shaking his head.
“Like she wanted to be grabbed.”
Liam jerked his chin up at the man. “That’s bullshit.”
“Like hell it is. You saw her.”
“You grab her or any other woman, and I’ll make you eat shit.”
