"Who the hell is this?" Mick asked, and it became clear from the slur of his voice and the stagger of his stance that he was drunk.
"This is the CEO of Speed Motorcycles, Ethan Colson," Kayla explained, looking shocked and bewildered to see me. I realized I'd better explain myself, quick.
"I came to tell you the photoshoot has been moved to Friday. When your phone was off and we couldn't reach you, I wanted to tell you the message personally."
Kayla smiled, looking touched, but Mick saw right through me immediately. With slurred words, he said, "Ha! No rich, company big-shot drives all the way to some model's house to tell her simple message like that. You want her. You came here hoping to fuck her."
Kayla looked at me with such intensity then. In a breathy voice, she whispered, "You could have sent your assistant. Is what Mick's saying true?"
"He's right. I
am interested in you. We had such an incredible time together that day I taught you how to ride. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you ever since."
"I have a boyfriend. Mick and I are going to get married. I told you that, and you still came over here hoping that I would..."
She couldn't finish the sentence. She wasn't sure what I wanted, and the truth was neither was I; but Mick didn't have any trouble filling in the blank space.
"He came here to fuck you," he blasted drunkenly. "He wants to use you to get his dick wet. Well, she belongs to me. You want to get with her, you and me need to talk some business. How much is it worth to you?"
I couldn't believe Kayla's boyfriend was offering to prostitute her out to me. Worse than that, I saw from the look on her face that she thought I was considering the offer. She turned on me with a look of pure hatred blazing in her eyes.
"Get out!" she screamed at me as she shoved me hard against the chest with both hands, forcing me out the door. "How dare you come to my home, break in the door, assault my fiancé, and then think you can buy me that way? I am not a whore. I am a professional model. I pose for pictures, but that is the extent to which I sell my body."
"No, it's not like that. I don't think you're a prostitute. I just think you’re beautiful. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all week. All I do is stare at your portfolio. I've memorized every page of your résumé. When I found out the shoot had been cancelled and I wouldn't get to see you today, all I could think about was coming down here just so I could look at you."
I thought my heartfelt plea would make her understand, but I was shocked how she took it the completely wrong way. In the end, all it did was fuel her anger to even greater intensity.
"What? You're obsessed with me. You're a sicko. A stalker. Get out. Get away from me. Leave me alone. If I see you again, I'll call the police."
With every sentence, she shoved me back with steadily increasing strength, until she had pushed me completely outside her door. Then, she slammed it shut in my face and locked it. Inside I could hear the sounds of her turning to Mick for comfort, so I left.
As I drove slowly through the city streets, I couldn't believe how wrong things had suddenly gone. I had actually thought that she'd be happy to see me, glad to know that the shoot had been rescheduled, and maybe even willing to go out on another ride with me. Now, she hated me. She thought I was a stalker — and maybe I was.
It broke my heart that she was stuck in such a miserable little apartment with such a Neanderthal for a boyfriend. How could she stay with a jerk like that after I swept in and tried to protect her from him before things got ugly? It was obvious he didn't treat her like she deserved to be treated, the way that I would treasure her if she were mine.
Except, I had vowed to be an eternal bachelor. Maybe it was time to change that. All I knew for sure was that this wasn't the end of things with Kayla. I needed to find a way to see her again, to know that she was safe and being taken care of. I needed to know that she was happy and being treated right. She was my obsession, and I had to have her now more than ever.
Chapter Six
Kayla
"You're so lucky you have Mick. I would give anything to have what you two have," my best friend Samantha said to me from her barstool, as yet another loser hit on her with a bad pick-up line.
Her bleached-blonde hair was cut short in a sexy shag highlighted with pink and purple dye to make her stand-out during dance auditions. She was working as an exotic dancer at the bar where Mick sometimes hung out when I was working, but her dream was to become a professional chorus dancer in a play.
It was girls’ night at her favorite bar and I'd agreed to go with her even though I was in a committed relationship so she wouldn't be alone. Besides, after the tough day I had, I really needed to get away from the apartment so I could think and breathe.
"Don't be so sure about that. Being in a relationship can be even harder than getting into one," I said, only half joking as Sam handed me the drink loser-boy had just bought for her. I swallowed it down with gusto, making Sam blink with surprise. She handed me the Mai Tai the previous loser had bought for her, too.
Normally, I wasn't much of a drinker, so I knew I had to be careful how much I consumed or I would get sick. Today had been such a strain, however, I was willing to throw caution to the wind and downed the fruity beverage in just a couple of gulps.
"What's the matter? You and Mick have a fight?" Sam leaned closer on her barstool, intrigued. She loved gossip, especially of the romantic nature.
"Not so much me and Mick, as Mick and my boss." I told her the whole story about how I went to the studio for Speed Magazine that morning ready to work, only to find the building locked. "There was no note, nothing. So, I went home and found out that my cell had been shut off by the phone company. So, if the cover shoot had been rescheduled, I wouldn't even have known about it. Mick and I were arguing about it, when suddenly my psycho boss Ethan breaks down our apartment door and punches Mick right in the face. Ethan tells me that the cover shoot was rescheduled for Friday and he wanted to tell me personally, which instantly had Mick suspicious. So, he got Ethan to confess that he's obsessed with me. He's been stalking me for the past week."
"Oh my God," Sam gasped as another loser with slicked back hair and a low-cut shirt bought us another round of Mai Tais. "So what did you do?"
"I kicked him out and locked the door. I haven't heard from him since." I sipped my drink slowly, already feeling the room start to spin. This was more to drink than I'd had in a month, let alone an hour.