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Well, that was worth a try, but clearly wasn't what I needed to say to get her out of here. “I have a phone you can call, you know.”
The second I say the words, I watch her lift her phone. My screen lights up and I refuse the call with a sense of joy in my heart. Maybe now she’ll get the message.
“Very funny, Clifton. You can’t ignore me forever.”
“Watch me,” I say with a smirk as I tab away from the security system and lean back on the couch. Tipping my head back, I gaze up at the tall ceilings and let emptiness consume me, before lifting my head enough to down the rest of my whiskey. I don’t need to leave my penthouse for any reason. I wonder if I can order up food or if she’ll make that difficult, too.
With a shrug, I sit, holding my empty glass and staring up. She’ll give up eventually. She has to.
But as she keeps knocking, alternating ringing the doorbell and talking to herself like a crazy woman, I wonder how long she plans to keep this up. My father must have really said something that frothed her up, or made sure she couldn't leave until she did his bidding - whatever that was.
“Let me in - we need to talk.”
That phrase doesn't inspire confidence, and the internal cringe that tugs in me leaves me wanting to throw up. “I have nothing to say to you,” I say through the security system.
“But I have things I need to say to you.” She sounds almost... desperate. Cute. “Just let me in, please.”
I weigh my options. On one hand, there is nothing good that can come from this conversation. On the other hand, she has said the magic word.
I hit the remote release button and the front door opens for her. I hear her walk up behind me and lift a single finger with my glass still in hand. “No lectures.” I couldn't be more clear, but I bet she isn’t good with boundaries. Don’t ask me how I know.
“This place is beautiful.” She doesn't sound enthralled, more like she’s simply stating the obvious. I like it. “So many plants.”
I lift both shoulders. “I like plants. Now, why are you here?”
“You upset your dad.”
I point her direction without looking. “Yes.” The lights of the city remind me of stars reflected on the surface of water like the place my mother had taken me as a child. Her family home on the lake. A place I’d never been back to since she passed away.
“You only get one dad,” she says, her voice disappointed.
“I know, they refused to return mine when I tried to exchange him for a better one.” I don’t know why I’m bothering. She just knows the amazing man who treats her like a daughter. Like everyone else, she’s never seen the rotten core of him.
“That’s awful, Clifton.”
I wave my index finger in a u-shape as if I’m conducting an invisible orchestra. “It’s the truth. You ever feel like you know someone, only to be totally wrong?”
“No. Are you drunk?”
“No.” Warm and comfortable, yes. Drunk, no. “Isn’t it your job to know people?”
She sighs, making her way toward the window and giving me a great view of her ass in that little skirt. But she is as off limits as someone could get and I’m not interested. Am I? “Look, I meant it when I said you need to do better-”
“But not when you agreed no lecturing,” I say with a wink as she turns to face me.
Her expression tightens and she moves close to me, her voice low and angry. “You’re so selfish and, and, childish!”
I arch an eyebrow, wondering if that’s the first time she’s ever insulted someone.
With a slight smile, I lean in even closer until I’m inches from her face. She seems uncomfortable but unwilling to be the first to back down.
“The second you resort to name-calling, you concede defeat.” I swear steam comes rolling out of her ears as her cheeks go pink. But her eyes betray her as her gaze drops to my lips.
Well, if she’s going to be so obvious, I might as well give her what she wants. Grabbing her jaw with a gentle hand, I press my lips to hers, my thumb gently touching the velvet skin at the corner of her mouth.
She pulls back with an angry grunt. “How dare you?” she asks, obviously flustered.
“You started it. I’m just finishing things.” And I know that I’ve effectively driven her from my home.
