Page 9 of New Girl in the City
“Don’t need a coffee. I need you here on time,” he said, tapping his watch and then turning back towards the door, shoulder’s rigid and his back straight like he had a rod shoved up his ass, which when I thought about it, he probably did. “We aren’t friends. I work for you. Please do not make me late to my job again, understood?”
My mouth opened and closed because this was so not the friend I had thought Walter had picked out for me. Hadn’t the old shit said I would like him? What in the fresh hell kind of joke was Walter playing on me from beyond the car? I was sure the old man was cackling in a rocking chair, or whatever, it was they sat on, on porches in upstate New York whilst their grandchildren frolicked in the yard.
I swallowed hard, abandoning a look that could only be described as ‘put out goldfish’ and gathered up the vestiges of my pride which included tossing my hair over my shoulder and keeping my head up as I stomped towards the car. The car that the man was currently still holding the door open for. We passed and I was made even angrier when I caught a whiff of sage and citrus rolling off of him.
Of course he smelled...decent. Men like him didn’t roll around smelling like horseshit, they smelled like things you wanted to lick.
Whatever.
“Yeah, understood,” I snapped, throwing the second coffee in the trash with more force than necessary. Some of it splashed out and near me, but I refused to pay it any mind, or the low chuckle it pulled from the driver. He was too close for my liking, and I turned my head away from him as I slid into the back of the car. “Don’t worry. I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Good. No time for spoiled princesses.”
My mouth opened and I gasped. Straight up gasped. But the door was slamming shut and just narrowly missed my ankle. The fucker had some big ones, didn’t he? When he got into the car you could cut the silence with a knife. I took a long pull of my coffee, opting to sit in uncomfortable silence than engage the asshole in conversation. I hated that when I looked up to the rearview mirror I finally caught sight of him.
Oh no, he’s hot.
I gritted my teeth at seeing the high cheek bones, dirty blond, almost brown hair, full lips and stupid pretty blue green eyes that were staring back at me. I tilted my head to the side and raised an eyebrow at him, to which I was pleased to see he had the good grace to snap his eyes back to the road.
“Don’t get us killed, will you?” I muttered.
He snorted but said nothing else. It was then I saw the big hands on the wheel. The big hands with tattoo lines coloring the backs of, a few dotting his knuckles. I had to take another hot swig of coffee.
This man wasn’t just hot. He was smoking hot.
Big arms strained against the cut of his suit and I just fucking knew there had to be a pair of thick thighs on this man to boot. Of course he was an asshole. Of course. We couldn’t be friends, now could we?
I blew out a sigh and looked out the window, letting my eyes take in the streets though I saw none of it. Not truly. My mind was squarely on the man driving me. The man I didn’t even know the name of. My heart squeezed and the earlier anger I felt at his behavior died. I missed Walter. He had promised me a friend, not some hot asshole.
What the hell, Walt?
We remained silent the entire way to the office. It was only when we got there that he spoke. “Listen, you need me to come get you after work. You text me fifteen before, I’ll be here. Don’t keep me waiting.”
I frowned at him, a hand already on the door, had put it there the second the building had come into sight. I couldn’t wait to throw it open and make my escape.
“What’s your name? How do I even get a hold of you?”
“Don’t worry. Walter gave me your info. I’ll message you soon as you’re out of here, ma’am.”
I frowned at him. “My name’s Melinda.”
“Sure thing, ma’am.”
I thought about telling him where he could stick his ma’am but didn’t. He was working. That meant he was on the clock, which also meant he was getting paid because of me. It wasn’t worth it, and I was already going to be late as it was.
“Sure, whatever,” I replied, opting for breezy. If he wanted a spoiled princess, he was going to get one. “We’re going for sushi for lunch today. I’ll text. Don’t be late.” And then I was getting out of the car and pushing the door closed without another look at my hot asshole driver.
I kept my pace slow, pose relaxed just on the chance he was looking, but the car slid away from the curb a minute later. He hadn’t been watching. Another reason I missed Walter. He always kept an eye on me until I hit the door.
‘Too many crazies out here. Gotta watch.’
This guy didn’t seem to care too much one way or another if any ‘crazies’ got me, but whatever. I pushed into the building and nodded at the front desk on my way to the elevators. He probably was the crazies. I hummed at that and thought on it. What if he had kidnapped Walter’s pick? Assumed his identity and that was how I came into him. I was very lucky I’d even made it to work. For all I knew the real driver was in the trunk of his car and-
A ding of my phone caught my attention and I juggled my coffee and bag to pull it out to see that I had a text from an unknown number. I slid the message open and saw two succinct sentences.
Name’s Liam.
Don’t abuse my number, Ma’am.
