She finished her waffle, dragging the last piece through the pool of syrup before placing it in her mouth. “No regrets.” She wiped her mouth with a napkin even though she hadn’t spilled and set it on the table.
I didn’t eat as much, just enough to make me full. I didn’t like to eat out often. I was too picky. It was another reason I chose to pick up women in bars. We didn’t have to share a meal together. I couldn’t imagine having that level of intimacy with anyone besides Cleo. Face-to-face, with nothing but conversation, I would go crazy if she were Natalie or one of the others. I’d probably just get up and leave.
“I’m sorry you didn’t like yours as much.”
“I’m full. That’s all that matters.”
The waitress put the paper tab on the corner of the table.
Cleo immediately grabbed her clutch.
I kept a lot of cash in my wallet to keep my interactions with people limited, so I set a hundred-dollar bill on top of it, not even checking the total. The waitress could have whatever was left over.
She opened her clutch and pulled out a twenty.
I raised an eyebrow as I stared at her. “What are you doing?”
“Splitting the tab.”
I was annoyed with her attempt, but I didn’t know why. If she were Tucker, I wouldn’t have this reaction. But watching her try to pay for her meal, using her hard-earned money when I was a billionaire, was infuriating.
She seemed to understand all those thoughts just by looking at me, reading my mind like always. She felt my hostility like a hot shower, felt my annoyance without my having to verbalize it. She put the cash back into her wallet. “Well…thank you.”
I told the driver to take her home first. Didn’t make sense for her to walk three blocks to her apartment just so I could get home a half hour sooner. I had so much work to do, but it would be there regardless when I returned.
The driver pulled up to the curb.
I unclipped my safety belt.
“Deacon, you don’t need to walk me. It’s the middle of the day.” She unclipped her safety belt and opened the door.
There was no reason for me to escort her. It wasn’t late at night and she lived on the good side of town, but I felt weird sitting there and driving away. She’d given up her Saturday to help me, pulled strings with a client to give me something that was perfect for me. I didn’t want to do it out of obligation. I just wanted to.
She was almost to the door when I got out of the car.
I caught up with her at the elevator.
She turned to me, immediately surprised that I’d decided to follow her.
I came to her side and placed my hands in my pockets, quiet.
She cleared her throat and didn’t say anything.
The doors opened, and we got into the elevator together. It was a short ride to the top, but it felt like long, like I was dreading the end.
The doors opened, and we walked to her front door. Her keys were already out, so she unlocked it, but she made sure it stayed closed like she didn’t want me to see the inside of her apartment. “Thank you for walking me, Deacon. I’ll see you on Monday.”
I continued to stand there and stare, gaze at her pretty face like I never wanted to stop.
She was patient with me, staying still as I tried to find the words to speak.
“I’m sorry I doubted you.” Sometimes it was easy to talk to her, but other times it wasn’t. This was one of those times when I couldn’t express my thoughts whatsoever. “You’ve done a lot for me…and I don’t deserve it.” I had no idea what her salary was, though she did live alone in a nice building just a few blocks from me, but I knew she wasn’t rich. There was no way she was paid enough to put up with people like me.
A soft smile moved onto her lips, her eyes crinkling like she heard those words exactly the way I meant them. “I’m happy to help you, Deacon. One of my favorite things about this job is coming to work…and seeing your face.”
We met at a bar after work.
Tucker was still in his suit like he’d walked straight there after he left the hotel. “So, you bought a cabin?”
I nodded. “Just a few hours outside the city. Right on the lake.”
“Man, that sounds nice. Imagine taking a babe up there to screw all weekend.”
That hadn’t crossed my mind. That would mean I’d have to sit with her for the two-hour drive, and she’d been there all weekend…that sounded terrible. I didn’t want to spend any extended amount of time with anyone except my boy. “No interest in that.”