You Own Me (Owned 1)

“Lennox.” The way she said my name was not a question. Bethany stood in front of my cubicle, eyes burning small holes into my forehead.

I know how it looks. It looks like I’m lounging about, staring at my wall, and taking a break. If only that were the case.

“I have the market research for the Fall Gala,” I said, quickly grabbing and handing her a stack of papers. I was not going to give her the chance to comment or even think about my little “break.” Picking up another sheaf of papers that I had finished an hour ago, I thrust those in her direction. “I was just brainstorming possible pitches for the NuLight brunch. I thought you might want to use them.”

Her gaze didn’t soften, but the contemptuous glint was gone. I was safe.

“Good,” Bethany said, quickly flipping through my pitches. “This is adequate. You need to go see Thomas down in accounting to get your paycheck sorted.” She looked up at me, eyes cold. “Are you waiting for a personalized invitation?”

I stood up as if poked by a hot stick and started on my way toward accounting. I had no idea where accounting was, but that was only a minor detail.

“Hold the door!” I yelled, as I ran toward the elevator. It was ten o’clock at night and my day had been horrible. I wanted to get to my apartment and into a hot bath as quick as possible. The nice thing about Santa Barbara is that, even though it’s relatively big, it feels like a small town. I walked to work today because Simply Seattle’s offices are only a mile from my apartment complex. That’s serendipity for you.

Walking at night time is al

ways scarier, though. The dark obscures everyday objects, making menacing shadows of mailboxes and trashcans. For someone with a homicidal ex and PTSD, it’s downright petrifying. So, tonight when I walked home I was jumpy as an electric fence—as usual. The scenery is beautiful though. Spanish architecture, bright flowers, and fountains. I tried to enjoy the view as I walked, ignoring the menacing shadows. But that’s when my trouble began. I heard a noise, so I picked up my pace. Then a shadow loomed over me, so I started running. I didn’t care at that point if I looked stupid. Demons from my past were chasing me, so I sprinted.

I thought I could take a shortcut through a park. Not really a park, one of those urban beautification projects that the government implements. They put a patch of grass, two flowers, and a small fountain in the middle of an otherwise busy section and called it a day. Well, I took a shortcut through there going full speed, tripped, and into the fountain I went. I walked the rest of the way, feeling stupid. I was like a wet cat, utterly humiliated. How had I ended up like this?

“Hold the door!” I yelled again. I couldn’t see who was inside, but whoever it was wouldn’t hold the damn doors. No way in hell was I waiting for the elevator to go all the way up and all the way down again. I was drenched and fighting with fate. I wanted out of this miserable day as fast as possible.

I ran to the elevator, my hair a mess and my clothes wet. I slid inside the doors just as they closed.

“Motherfucker,” I hissed to myself. Vic. Was he still mad about the coffee? It was an accident. I didn’t purposefully burn him. It wasn’t like I set out to pour coffee on him. I didn’t wake up and think “Oh, I know, I’m going to burn my neighbor this morning with scalding hot coffee!”

Vic, however, was purposefully being a jerk. Ever since running into him in the hallway, he seemed pissed off. He acted like I’d done something to offend him. I’m sure spilling coffee on him only threw fuel on the fire.

“What’s your problem?” I asked, my voice brimming with anger.

“My problem?”

His slightly amused tone made me grind my teeth. “Yeah. Your problem. You’ve been a complete asshat every time I run into you.”

He was full-on smiling now. It was gorgeous. He was gorgeous. He had dimples on either side of his cheek and the smile exaggerated his rugged, chiseled jaw line. I hated that I was noticing how good looking he was when all I wanted to do was yell at him.

“You mean because I’m not falling head over heels for you I’m an asshat?” He repeated my insult like he had no idea what it meant.

I swallowed hard. It was like he slapped me. Everyone else in this building had been so friendly except for him. Maybe I had overreacted.

“Whatever,” I mumbled. As the doors opened to my floor, I straightened my back trying to salvage my dignity. I stepped out of the elevator, or tried to, Asshat grabbed my elbow. I raised an eyebrow.

“What’s your name?” He asked, still smiling.

“Lennox.” I glared at him. I had just fallen in a fucking fountain, I was in no mood for Asshat’s antics.

“I’m sorry, Lenny,” Asshat said.

I stifled my indignation and frowned, not sure of what game he was playing or why he had called me Lenny. The only time people called me Lenny was when they were comparing me to Lenny in Of Mice and Men. When Asshat called me Lenny, however, I felt tingly inside.

The elevator doors dinged in protest, angry that we were keeping them open.

I gave him my best Ice Queen stare and said, “Thank you.” Raising my head up haughtily, I retrieved my elbow from his grasp and continued out of the elevator. I swear I heard him laughing as the doors closed behind me.

For the life of me, I couldn’t get my key in the lock. This building was old and beautiful, but, at times like these, old was the operative word. I was on my fourth attempt, banging on the knob and swearing, when someone called my name. I jumped, startled, and turned around to see Zoe smiling at me.

“Hey,” I responded, a little less enthusiastically than I should have. I hadn’t seen Zoe since I first moved in and I’d been meaning to thank her for getting me a job. Without her, I’d be begging for change somewhere near the beach.

“Something up?” Zoe asked. She eyed my defensive stance. Ever since Dean I was constantly in defensive stance. I couldn’t help it.