“I’m late,” she snapped. “Sorry. I’m just having a bad day.”
“We all do. What’s your name?”
She only shook her head and stuffed all the papers into the torn briefcase. Since the handle was broken, she tucked it under her arm. “Thank you for your help.”
“Can’t I at least have your name?”
“Why? My name isn’t important.”
“Just common courtesy, after I rescued you.”
“So you had an ulterior motive? Sorry to disappoint you, but I don’t play games.” She stood up and dusted off her pants. The cuff was splattered with coffee, as the Styrofoam cup full of her coffee had smashed near the dumpster. The brown box from the coffee shop was obliterated. The contents were flattened with the visible print of size-ten shoes. It was probably the big guy who had stomped on it.
“Lady, I just want to know your name. That’s all.”
She took a deep, wavering breath. “Arielle. And thank you for your help, Superman.” She started walking away.
“Are you sure you’re okay? Can I drive you to your office?”
“Now you’re being creepy. I said I’m fine and thank you. You better go save Lois Lane. Good day to you, sir.”
“I’m just worried about you.”
She had already rushed out of the alley with a brisk pace, as if she were afraid he was going to chase after her.
Trent cursed to himself. Here he thought he had the perfect opening to get to know her and she didn’t even bat an eye. Fuck.
He had never been cut off so coldly by the opposite sex before. For once in his young life, a woman had resisted his charms and good looks. It annoyed the hell out of him.
It was only then that he noticed a stack of business cards scattered on the ground near the smashed Styrofoam cup. Trent picked one up. The card read;
Arielle Winter, JD.
Senior Paralegal
Hoffman, James, & Associates
Bingo.
Well, the encounter wasn’t a total loss. At least he knew her full name and address. He just had to be patient. Perhaps the next time, she wouldn’t be so cold. He grabbed the rest of the cards and pocketed them.
As he walked down the sidewalk toward where he parked his car, his heart was considerably lighter.
She will be mine.
Chapter Two
Arielle Winter had a bad day.
She knew the day was going to suck when she woke up in the morning and found the toilet tank had leaked water all over the bathroom floor. The flush handle had been broken for almost two weeks and the building caretaker hadn’t fixed it, even though she had complained to him several times. And now this shit happened. What a way to start the day.
So she shut off the main water and wasted her morning mopping the bathroom floor. Everything got soaked and had to be dried. As she tossed dirty towels in the washing machine, she looked at the time and startled. It was already 7:45am.
She was freaking late.
She rushed through her shower, then got dressed. She skipped breakfast and headed straight to the courthouse to file some papers. The line was unusually long and just her luck, she got a particularly bitchy clerk who liked making the relatively easy process as painful as possible. When she was finally done, she stopped at the coffee shop to buy a cappuccino and a slice of cheesecake for breakfast.
And then she got robbed.