The look of horror on his face mirrors what I feel inside. I can't believe I'm discussing my precarious financial situation with him. How did we go from talking about intimacy at dinner to this? I feel suffocated and the door out of his apartment is my only escape hatch. "I just want to leave and you have a plane to catch."
"I do." His eyes tear into me but the kindness and tenderness that was there this afternoon in my bedroom is now replaced with something darker. It's clear he's not happy with my resistance and I fear that I haven't seen the last of that blank check that now rests squarely on the table.
"Thanks for dinner and…everything," I manage to awkwardly say.
"Leonard will drive you home and he'll be available all weekend if you need a driver. He'll give you his number."
"That's generous but I can make it where I need to be on my own," I mutter. "I don't have any plans anyways." I know he can hear the disappointment in my voice. I was looking forward to spending time with him over the weekend and more than that, looking forward to our promised intimacy. That has not only collapsed beneath his need to rush out of town but it's been shattered into fragmented pieces by his desire to hand me a blank check so I can shift from being Mark's kept woman to being his.
"I'm sorry I offended you. That's not what I wanted." He clutches my hand leading me to the door of his apartment.
"I don't like the situation I'm in but I'm not for sale." I open the door and glance back at him.
He reaches above my head to close the door. "One more thing." I feel his finger slide over my jawline before he tilts my chin up so my eyes meet his. "Don't talk to Mark or Liz this weekend."
I don't respond. Instead, I stare into his eyes for a moment, before I shake my head, open the door and walk out without looking back.
Chapter 16
The insistent buzzing of the intercom jars me awake. I look at the clock by the bed and realize it's already after ten. I'm not a late sleeper but I spent much of the weekend pacing and thinking about Jax's offer to give me a clear path out of Mark's life. I finally fell into bed at three this Monday morning, emotionally exhausted but also timidly excited of the prospect of a new space to live and work in.
"Hello." I clear my throat once I realize I sound sleepy and uninterested. I pray it's just one of the doormen and not an actual living, breathing visitor.
"Ms. Marlow, is that you?" an unfamiliar male voice shoots back at me.
"Yes. Who is this?" I instinctively tie my robe tighter around my nude body feeling slightly exposed even though the man attached to the strange voice is three floors below me.
"It's Leonard. Mr. Walker's driver." He sounds much too chipper for an early Monday.
"Leonard?" I reach for my phone on the foyer table wondering if Jax called or texted me. All that greets me is a few missed call notifications from Liz and a text from my sister asking when I'll visit.
"Yes, Ms. I'm here to pick you up. Mr. Walker has a surprise for you." The exuberance in his voice is grating.
"I'm sorry, Leonard, but I'm not aware of any surprise." I shoot back quickly into the intercom.
"That's why they call it a surprise." I swear I hear him giggle between words.
"I'm not ready to go out." I glance down at my robe. "I'll need some time."
"Will an hour do? I can steal a coffee break while you get prepared."
"Okay," I agree even though I'm about to call Jax to demand to know what the surprise is.
"I'll be here promptly at eleven. See you then, Ms."
"Sure. See you." I call back to him before dialing Jax's number. The call shifts to his voicemail almost immediately. I tap out a quick text asking him to call me before I race down the hallway to shower.
***
"Leonard, let's say you knew what the surprise was. Would you tell me?" I ask playfully from the back seat of the sedan as Leonard steers the car through the busy late morning traffic.
"Absolutely not." He laughs as he glances back at me.
"How long have you worked for Jax?" I quiz as I watch the many people briskly walking down the sidewalks all with some place to be.
"Since he returned from California so a few months now I suppose."
"Is he a good boss?" I throw the question out mainly to keep the conversation going.