Chapter 2
Dina stared after the mysterious man from reliving the moments that had curled her toes.
He said he had a meeting. Still why walk away so abruptly? Different reasons came to mind. A busy street or maybe it was her. She cuffed a hand over her mouth, blew air into it, and sniffed, nothing, not even the scent of coffee.
Feeling as immature as her thoughts, she toed the crack in the sidewalk and conceded she was flawed. Her ex-husband banging another woman in their bed had said as much.
She worked through the people on the sidewalk, stepped across the street, and reached into her pocket for the worry beads. When her therapist first advised her to purchase the beads, she’d thought the good doctor had gone crazy. As time moved on, she found the beads helped quiet her anxiety. Either the psychological effect of possessing the turquoise stones, or their ability to ward off stress had worked on her over the last year. She hadn’t killed Preston like she wanted.
They’d vanished.
She twisted, looking back at where she’d stood, but too many feet impeded her view. With the area so heavily traveled, hunting for them would now be more of a hindrance. She’d buy another strand later.
She hurried toward her building in upper Manhattan, jogging in the opposite direction the man, who lived in apartment twenty-ten, had gone.
Despite ogling him since she’d moved in, she hadn’t inquired about him, not even to her best friend who lived across the hall. The emotional wounds from her ex remained raw, and prevented her from pursuing a relationship, until now.
“I hope you had a nice run this morning, Ms. Wright,” the doorman said, smiling and opening the door to her building as she approached.
From staying up most of the night finishing the first campaign for her new advertising business, she’d looked forward to a relaxing run to loosen her tight shoulder muscles and calm the ideas ricocheting around in her mind. After the morning’s events and the knots Twenty-ten bestowed on her, she was a bundle of nerves. “Yes, thank you, Alfred. You’re wearing your New York Yankees baseball hat. Are they playing soon?”
“Game at five tonight.” His eyes brightened. “I have tickets behind home plate.”
He was the ultimate Yank’s fan. “Sounds like loads of fun,” she said, smiling.
“It will be. Have a good day, ma’am.”
“Thank you.”
The walk to her apartment didn’t take long. She strolled through the lobby, rode the elevator to the twentieth floor, and tried not to glance to the left at Twenty-ten’s apartment when she stepped onto her floor.
She still couldn’t get over how she had lived so close to him, fantasized about his hands and body caressing her skin, and not actually talked to him or learned his name. As if she existed in a tunnel for the last year, protected from all potential emotional turmoil. She went to work and came home, staying away from the delicious part of life. How boring!
She unlocked her door, tossed her things on the table in the foyer, and headed for the bathroom, then shower. Today, she planned to meet with a realtor, concerning renting office space.
“There you are.”
Dina startled, adrenaline kicked in and her heart flew to her throat at the same time her hand hit her chest. “You scared me.”
Monique Stone sat in the center of her floral couch, tossing her black, silky hair over her shoulder. “You’re scared of little ole me?” Her friend’s words laced with sarcasm.
“You’re lucky I didn’t pee my pants.”
Monique chuckled. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“Stop.”
“Where have you been? I’m starving!” Monique set her water glass on the coffee table and closed Dina’s laptop. “Did you forget about our lunch plans?”
Dina considered telling Monique what happened this morning and hesitated. Other than saying the man in the coffee shop had menacing eyes, she couldn’t justify her hasty reaction.
As for Twenty-ten…well, that was embarrassing and sent her self-esteem plummeting. One minute, she and her dream guy were hot and heavy into a kiss, the next she’s watching his back walk away.
Nope, she didn’t want to start a conversation with inquisitive Monique. Until, she came to terms with what happened, she didn’t want to open a can of worms and land in one of Monique’s drilling sessions.
“Sorry, I got delayed.”
A mischievous glint reflected in Monique’s green eyes, the all-telling sign she was about to ask a bunch of questions.
“Can I have a rain check? How about dinner tonight? My appointment with the realtor is in an hour.”
“I’ll check my schedule.”
Dina shook her head on how Monique was so lax about her schedule. “Okay. I’m heading for the shower,” Dina said and closed the bedroom door behind her.
She gathered her underwear and a bra from her dresser, and used the adjacent bathroom, stripped, and stepped under the water. While the spray from the showerhead massaged and relaxed the tired, achy muscles between her shoulder blades and neck, she went over the excitement of the next few days.
Today, if the details of the prime office space she looked at worked out, she’d no longer have to work from home, a plus, but not a must-have. A positive outcome of tomorrow’s meeting with her first client would help her tremendously to reaching her goal of being an up and coming advertising agency. Then she had the task of hiring employees. She already had a list of names for project managers, editors, and a production team lined up, waiting for a phone call from her.
She toweled off, dried her hair, and slid on bra and underwear, and headed for the closet in her bedroom.
“I can’t do dinner tonight.”
Dina flinched, her heart pounding so hard against her ribs she was surprised it didn’t jump out of her chest and run. “Stop scaring me!”
Monique lay stretched out on her belly on Dina’s bed with a magazine in front of her. “Sorry. Geez.”
Dina immediately regretted her clipped tone. Her irritability had nothing to do with Monique. “I didn’t mean to snap and I’m sorry, my day got off schedule.”
Monique smiled, her easy-going personality shining through. “No worries.”
In the closet, Dina pulled on a black skirt and searched for her lucky black strappy shoes that crisscrossed over her foot and hooked around her ankle. The next two days, she’d need all the good luck she could possibly gather. Even today, checking out the office space, she needed a little extra dose of good vibes. The owner of the building was very selective regarding who the realtor leased to.
She’d coveted the building since she first decided to branch out on her own six months ago and the building happened to house her first client. If she happened to see Mr. Dunbar, and had a pleasant exchange, then all the better.
The shoes were missing. She edged back out of the closet and eyed Monique. “Where are my lucky shoes?”
Dina knew the exact minute Monique remembered the location of the shoes. It reminded her of watching a light bulb turn on. Her blank expression brightened and her eyes sparkled.
“Um...I’ll be right back,” she said, scooting off the bed.
The stress of anything happening to ruin her plans weighed on Dina’s shoulders. She needed everything to proceed without a hitch which meant wearing the shoes that had accompanied her to each client she obtained for her former advertising agency. Attending a meeting with an arduous CEO without them didn’t bode well for a profitable outcome.
She stepped back in the closet and grabbed a lavender sweater off the shelf and tugged it over her matching-colored bra.
The apartment door opened and Monique’s feet padded along the hall.
“Please say you have them!”
“You’re so impatient,” Monique said, stepping into the bedroom and holding up the shoes by their straps.
“Thank you.” She grabbed the shoes and slid them on. Ever since her agency won a spot to pitch a campaign at West Technologies, she’d been wrapped tight. “Ignore me. I lost my beads.”
Monique chuckled. “You don’t need beads to help you release stress. A man is much better.”
Dina shook her head. “You’re relentless. I don’t want a relationship until I get over what my ex did.”
“Who said anything about happily ever after? I’m talking orgasms. Multiple ones, if you’re lucky. Hey, didn’t your jog rid your body of these bad toxins?”
Jogging had relieved her tension temporarily. The morning’s events had pegged her stress level at an all-time high. “Not like I hoped.” Dina lifted an eyebrow as she slid her shoes on her feet. “How did my shoes find their way into your apartment?”
“They need tender loving care, just like people. If they don’t get attention, they’ll leave.”
Dina went deadly quiet. She loved her friend. Most of the time, the woman gave her more encouragement than all of her other friends put together, but there were moments when Monique let her sarcasm go wild.
Monique’s face froze. “Oh, shit!”
“No worries,” Dina said, pulling the imaginary barb out of her chest.
“That’s not what happened between you and jackass,” Monique said in a rush. “He has a problem, not you.”
Dina didn’t want to rehash this old topic of conversation. For a long time, she needed to hear the reassuring words, and truth be told, she still needed to hear them some now, but she was doing her best to move on. A year had gone by after all, it was time. She held up her palm. “Let it go.”
“Okay.” Monique tucked a strand of her onyx-colored hair behind an ear. “I needed some luck on an interview I went to yesterday.”
“I thought you already had a job.”
“I do, but I want to work with a different airline. The pay’s better.”
“Did you get it?”
Monique’s face brightened, dispelling some of the concerned lines etched into her face from talking about Dina’s cheating ex. “I did. Your shoes did the trick.”
“More money means you can buy your own lucky shoes.”
“You’d think, but there’s only one pair that has ever earned the name. And you own them.”
Dina wished she’d had the shoes years ago. Maybe she wouldn’t have married the wrong guy. “Then, I want my key back,” Dina teased, holding out her hand. “Nothing in my apartment is sacred around you.”
“Fat chance.” Monique slumped on the bed. “Besides, you sneak into mine for food.”
Dina stood in front of her cheval mirror and check out her outfit. “You ate mine. My refrigerator was empty.”
“You’re a better cook.” Monique laughed. “Last night when you were in my apartment, did you hear anything?”
Dina learned a while ago, not to go into Monique’s apartment without ear plugs. The first time Dina went over for a midnight snack, unusual noises came from Monique’s bedroom. When her friend didn’t answer, Dina, calling her name, snuck to the open bedroom door. The image of what Monique and whatever guy she picked up at a bar were doing was still embedded in Dina’s head. “I wore the plugs,” she said, pointing at them in a tray on her dresser.
Monique hooted. “Good thing, too.”
“Why, were you screaming?” Dina asked. Sometimes she lived vicariously through Monique’s escapades.
“I puked...” Monique paused and Dina knew whatever she was about to say would make her laugh. “...on my date.”
“You didn’t.” Dina gasped and couldn’t help prodding. “Where?”
“You know, down there.” Monique pointed below her waist. “Certain things a guy shouldn’t do. I gave him fair warning.” She flapped her hand. “It only slowed us temporarily.”
“You’re incorrigible.” Dina twisted to check out the back of her skirt and sweater.
“Don’t worry your shoes are doing their job. Your ass is tight and high.”
“Monique! I wasn’t checking my butt.”
“Sure you were.” Monique’s laughter faded. “You’re a sex goddess. I secretly have a girl crush on you. With your violet eyes and champagne hair, you’re stunning.”
“Thank you. You always know how to make a girl feel good. Too bad my rat bastard ex-husband didn’t think so. If he had, he would have left that slut in his veterinarian office alone. The girl is twelve.”
“She’s older than that.”
“She’s five feet tall to his six-eight. What the hell does he see in her?” Dina cringed. After just declaring to let the old conversation die, she brought it back up. Thankfully, Monique didn’t give her grief over it.
“Honey, you know what he sees,” Monique said, a mischievous tone in her voice. Dina braced herself for Monique’s next comment. “She doesn’t have to kneel.”
“Disgusting!” Dina grabbed her brush from the dresser and twisted her long locks on top of her head, before pressing a clip into the roll, securing it on the back of her head, as the alarm on her cell buzzed. “I’ve got to go.” She grabbed her purse from the cushioned chair. “Remember a friend of mine will be staying with me for a few days. Don’t pepper spray him.”
“Him?” Monique rubbed her lips together. “Your friend’s a guy?”
Dina tried to ignore the excitement in Monique’s voice, but couldn’t. “Keep your hands to yourself.”
“Are you laying claim?”
Dina tilted her head. Her and Vince’s families had been close, but she never considered him anything more than a brother figure. “That’s not it. We haven’t seen each other for years.” With Vince and Monique’s track record, she didn’t want either of them unhappy from the other ones’ actions. “He’s a dear friend and so are you. I don’t want any complications with my two best friends.”
Monique’s lips twisted.
Dina hated her friend’s pouty face. “Okay?”
Monique nodded, slanted her head, and raised an eyebrow. That was the best response she’d get from her which meant, maybe.
“Hey, did you see the news? Two girls have been killed. They’re saying it’s a serial killer.”
Dina thought back to the man in Café Coffees. “I heard human trafficking ring.”
“Huh?” Monique eyes widened. “Maybe, it’s both.”
Dina released a long breath. “I hope neither.” She kissed Monique on the cheek. “I’ve got to go.”
Monique followed her out the door. “Watch your back!” she said, giving Dina a finger wave and scooting into the apartment across the hall.
“You, too,” Dina said, before Monique’s door closed.
****
The temperature had risen from this morning. A gentle breeze blew, tugging out wisps of Dina’s hair from her twist, and tickled her neck. Nearing the Café Coffees she raced out this morning, she slowed to look in the window to see if the man with dark eyes happened to linger, and felt someone watching her.
She picked up her pace as someone touched her shoulder.
Not again!
Her heart leapt. She whirled around, ready to raise a knee and stopped when her eyes landed on six-foot-three, sandy blond hair, and steel eyes, a fedora resting on his head.
“Vince!” The excitement of seeing her childhood friend for the first time in years rushed out in a high pitch. “I didn’t expect to see you for another day.” She slid her gaze down his body and back up. “You’ve filled out.”
“Hi to you, too.” He chuckled, squeezed her to him, and kissed the top of her head before releasing her. “I’m not a skinny teenager anymore.”
“And you don’t have long hair.”
“Don’t let that fool you. I’m still the same lazy ass mom accused me of being.”
Vince Carrington was a lot of things, a womanizer, athlete, know-it-all, but lazy? “Never.” She smiled.
“You are a sight for sore eyes, absolutely gorgeous, Di.” He closed his arms around her again. “I’ve missed you.”
The soft cotton of his shirt pressed against her face. Familiarity struck. Years evaporated. She’d missed him more than words could express. For so long, he acted like her right hand. When he left without warning, she felt like he’d cut off her arm.
“Do you have time for a coffee?” He nodded toward the shop.
She eyed the Café Coffees. “I have an appointment within the hour.”
“Still walking everywhere?”
“I am.”
“I can drive you.”
Momentarily, she considered telling him she’d rather go to another coffeehouse, but why? Being scared of “what ifs” was silly, no matter how much her gut told her the soulless-eyed man was up to no good. “Okay.”
They stepped inside and she did a quick scan, relieved to see the man who’d scared her out of the building was gone.
After Vince bought two coffees, they settled at a table in the back, away from the other patrons.
“I can’t believe it’s been so long since I’ve seen you,” he said, setting his hat on the table and covering her hand with his. “Di, I’m sorry for the way I left. I can’t go into the reason just yet, but soon.”
A million questions raced through her mind, but at the moment, she wanted to bask in his company. “As you know, I was angry with you for a long time.”
“What about now?”
“I still am. After you refused to tell me over the phone your reasons for leaving, I let it go. I didn’t want to take the chance of you not calling me, but now that you’re here…in New York, I expect you to tell me all.”
“Fair enough. In time, I will.” He sipped his coffee. “I wish I could have been here for you during your divorce. Hell, I wanted to cut the guy’s balls off!”
“Why weren’t you?”
“As soon as I read about the affair in the tabloids, I called, but you wouldn’t answer or return my calls. And…” He cleared his throat. “You chose not to tell me.”
“I didn’t want to talk to anyone. My phone rang off the hook. I’m still awestruck my divorce made national news.”
“You’re the daughter of Tom Saunders, one of the richest men on the east coast. It makes you newsworthy.”
If Vince only knew. Her dad wasn’t as wealthy as he once was.
“When you finally picked up the phone,” he said, chuckling. “You told me to ‘shove it.’”
“I was ticked at Preston for cheating and took it out on you…” She shook her head. “I don’t want to talk about it.” If they did, she’d cry. She hesitated, and reconsidered not talking about the past. Vince needed to understand what he did cut her to the wick. “You weren’t there! You were my best friend. You should have been here.”
“Di—”
She held up a hand. “Save it. I didn’t mean to say anything. I don’t want to argue or relive the past, not right now. I want to enjoy being together.” She sipped the coffee. “Tell me what brings you to the city a day early?”
He studied her a long moment. “Since I’m expediting the opening of my Manhattan office, I need to confer with the board members. Getting them to meet at a venue that works for all of them on short notice is tough, so I’m meeting each of them separately. My next meeting is an hour out of the city. I had a few free minutes, so I was on my way to your apartment. Luck intervened, letting me run into you.”
“Luck did intervene. You’re fortunate you caught me. Why didn’t you call?”
“I did. I left a message on your voicemail.”
She tugged her phone out of her purse. “The volume button keeps getting hit.” She thumbed through her missed calls. “The realtor called. Excuse me a second.”
When he nodded, she pushed the button to listen to voicemail. Two messages: Vince and her realtor. “My appointment has been pushed a half hour, so we have some more time.”
“Thanks for letting me stay with you for a few days. I hate hotels. You are the closest thing I have to home.” He chuckled. “Hell Di, you are home.”
She always felt the same about him. “You can stay as long as you like.”
The relaxed bond they once shared in each other’s company found its way back.
“I wasn’t kidding when I said you’re gorgeous. I’m surprised you don’t have guys beating down your door.”
“Stop with the compliments. We haven’t seen each other in a decade. You don’t know me anymore. I may take you seriously.”
“At least with you, I know you won’t date me for my money. Your family’s loaded.”
Past tense. While her parents weren’t without means, the money had dwindled. “It’s not mine.”
His posture stiffened, lending the impression what she said bothered him, yet he squeezed her hand suggesting differently. “Does that mean you’re a gold digger?” he asked with a bit of mischief in his eyes.
“Not hardly. I earn a comfortable living.”
“The grapevine told me you started your own advertising company.”
“You still keep up with the gossip?”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Vince leaving without warning removed his right to know everything. She simply said what would get to him, “You weren’t here.”
His jaw tightened. The pulse in his neck ticked. “Not fair. We talked close to every day once you finally returned my calls after the divorce, yet I had to read about you in a magazine.”
“At least it wasn’t a tabloid.” Not long ago, an article on her appeared in a local magazine, Women in Power. “Yet, you refused to talk about why you left. Vince, you skipped out of my life.” She swigged some coffee without thinking and burned the roof of her mouth. “Ouch!”
“Geez, Di.” Vince went to the bar along the wall, housing the condiments, filled two complimentary cups with water, and set them on the table in front of her. “Don’t do that again.”
Dina gulped the water from both cups before meeting his gaze. “Thank you. I should go.”
“I can’t express how sorry I am, Di,” he said, distress resonated in his voice. “I was a screwed up kid.”
The apology helped ease some of the resentment. She decided to let go of the subject for now, but he’d better talk soon. “Are you a screwed up adult?”
“Eh…maybe a little.” He winked. “If you need to take off, my car’s parked out front.”
She glanced out the front window as they rose and tossed their coffee cups in the trash. “How do you rate? Finding a parking space on the street is unheard of.”
“I have my sources.” Grinning, he plopped his hat on his head and opened the door.
“Love the fedora,” she said and stepped out into the warm afternoon sun.
“It adds to my charm, don’t you think?”
Vince looked good in whatever he wore. The hat did show off his playful, charming side. “I’m glad you’re back.”
“Me, too.” He squeezed her to him, stopping them in front of a maroon sports car. “What do you think?”
She scanned the sleek design and recognized it immediately. “You did it. You bought your dream car, an Aston Martin.”
“As soon as I made enough money and could splurge on myself, I did.”
“I’m so happy for you!”
His smile stretched across his face and his whole face brightened. “I love that you’re just as happy for me as I am.”
“Of course, I am.” She punched him in the arm. “But don’t take off again!”
“Not planning on it. I’m actually considering buying a house.”
That was the best news she’d heard in a long time.
“Okay, where to?” Vince asked, opening the passenger door for Dina. Then he slid behind the wheel.
“Not far. Two more blocks on the right.”
Five minutes later, he stopped in the no parking zone in front of the building she wanted for her future office.
“Thanks for the ride.”
“No problem. How will you get home?”
“A taxi.”
“Is there grass growing under your car?” He chuckled.
“Nope. My Audi has a roof over its head and clean floors under its wheels, thank you very much.” She giggled.
“Your car lives in a parking garage. I bet it’s lonely.”
No worse than her, she thought.
“Let me get the door.” He jogged around to her side.
She accepted his stretched out hand and stood. “Thank you.”
“Do you want me to escort you inside?”
“No. That’s okay.”
“Good luck with the office hunting. I’ll be back late tonight or sometime tomorrow. I’ll call. Keep your cell on.” He pulled a card from his shirt pocket. “My new cell. I’m a New Yorker now.”
He gave her a tight squeeze and pecked her lips before hopping back in his car and driving off.
She turned toward the impressive structure, Techno Park. The modern day building sat off the street twenty yards and stretched thirty floors, housing a lounge, a gym, and a spa. A screened-in veranda was on the right, an open-air patio on the left. The amenities were perfect.
A dark-haired figure stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling window on the second floor looking out. As if she was a piece of metal and the figure a magnet, a draw so strong tugged at her core. Her breath caught.
Who is he?