Playing It Safe(46)

“I’ll see you at one o’clock in my office,” he says. “And Julia?”

“Yes?”

“Don’t be late.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” I tell him as sickeningly sweet as possible.

The last thing I hear is his roguish laugh when he ends the call, adding to my already crabby mood. How this man can be such a nuisance and still somehow be appealing at the same time confounds me. One minute I’m itching to be with him in the biblical sense. The next minute I have an overwhelming urge to slap him. Everything is so black-and-white where Alex is concerned. Generally, that is the way I deal with most people in my life: either I like you or I don’t. But in this scenario it makes me uncomfortable. Makes me feel like I’m out of control. And God how I despise not being in control. I’d much rather be the one calling the shots.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Lisette asks sheepishly.

“Nope. And yes, I’m sure.”

The few minutes left of our drive to my car is in silence. Well, not total silence since she decides to turn up the radio when Justin Timberlake’s latest single comes on. Can’t say that I blame her. It’s quite catchy, and plus, you know, it’s Justin.

When we arrive at my car, I gather up my things and step out into the blistering Miami morning sun. Not wanting to be drenched in sweat by lingering too long outside, I throw a quick thanks to Lisette over my shoulder. She drives off just as I’m climbing into my Range Rover, and I follow her back the few blocks to my office.

There is no use in pretending that I’m not distracted the entire morning at work. I’m able to power through it, but I’m edgy and having a hard time staying focused. My mind keeps drifting to the impending appointment I have with Alex. I’ve even tried to watch some How It Should Have Ended videos. Specifically the Lost one because it still cracks me up. But today, zilch, nada, not one crack of a smile from me. And yes, it’s definitely because I’m remembering the phone conversation from last night. That right there might be the more accurate reason why it’s so difficult to concentrate. It’s enough of a distraction that I’m not even bothering to play with the stress ball, which has been like an extension of my own arm for the last few weeks. I can’t lie either and tell you that there isn’t a big part of me that is curious to see how this will go later. Because this game we so effortlessly play is part of the allure. The thrill of the chase, if you will.


But what happens when he catches me?

Wait. Don’t answer that.





CHAPTER SIXTEEN


You know that feeling you get when you’re strapped in your seat on a roller coaster ride and realize there is no turning back? The cars start to lurch forward, inching ever so slowly uphill while your stomach is in knots. The clanking noises of the wheels churning along the track until you get to that inevitable first drop. But at that point all you can do is scream at the top of your lungs from both fear and excitement. That’s about as close as I can come to describing precisely how I feel as I approach the front doors of the gallery. I can almost hear Darth Vader’s “Imperial March” in the background if I listen closely enough. Jesus, I’m going crazy because I really do hear it.

Oops! That’s my dad’s ringtone.

I don’t know what’s worse right now, having to deal with my dad or having to deal with Alex. I take the lesser of two evils, which also buys me some time, and answer the phone.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Julia Ann, where the hell have you been? You and your brother up and disappeared on us the other day without so much as a good-bye. Your mother has been worried sick about you two.”

Great, just what I needed right now, a mental image of my parents being horn dogs because of a freaking screwdriver. “Daddy—”

“Don’t you ‘Daddy’ me, young lady,” he says with authority. “Just call your mother before she drives me crazy.”

“Daddy, she can’t be that bad. I bet she just—”

“She’s gone insane, Julia! She wants me to help her redecorate our bedroom. I keep telling her to do it herself, but she says she wants us to have a bonding experience and we should do it together.”

“Daddy—”

“Now I love the woman to death, you know I do, but if she thinks I’m going to Home Goods one more time just so I can follow her around like a goddamn lost puppy dog, she’s got another thing coming.”

I sigh loudly into the phone while I begin to pace back and forth at the entrance of the gallery. “Daddy …”

“Have you ever been to Home Goods, Julia?”

“Yes, I have, but Daddy—”

“Let me tell you what it’s like. It’s a f*cking nightmare, Julia. A nightmare. It’s a glorified Marshall’s with no clothes.”

“Daddy,” I say, trying yet again to get a word in edgewise, but he’s on a roll now.

“If I have to listen to your mother tell me about one more set of prints that would look fabulous in the bedroom, I’m going to lose my shit. Don’t even get me started on all the choices they have for bedroom linens.”

“Daddy—”

“Did you hear what I just said? I called them f*cking bedroom linens. They’re sheets, for chrissakes! See what she’s doing to me? And that’s the other thing. I—”