At that, any iota of patience, politeness, sanity . . . left me.
I pointed at him. “Listen, you—”
“You?” A slight smile played on his lips. It pissed me off.
“Yes,you. I am sore, I am tired, I am sweaty, and my stockings have a hole in them that is running all the way up to my ass. I just want to go home and shower and wash this terrible day away. Bottom line . . . I just can’t work for you. Thanks, but no thanks.” I started walking away. He didn’t follow me this time, and I was finally free of him. Forever. I managed to make it all the way to the door of the building when I thought I heard him say something.
“I’ll fetch you at six thirty sharp. Don’t be late. Only until you get your car back.”
When I realized what he’d said, I opened my mouth to protest. But it was too late. He was already in his car pulling away.
I stood there and watched his big, black car as it drove off into the distance and then finally disappeared.He was picking me up tomorrow? For work?
I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to be happy about this, or absolutely terrified.
CHAPTERTEN
Ryan
Why the hell had he just agreed to pick her up for work? Was he mad?
That hadn’t been his intention, at all. The intention had been for hernotto work for him. But as she’d walked, he’d realized just how determined she was. He admired that quality. She could have easily buckled and climbed into his car at any point during the hour, but she hadn’t. He could use someone with her sheer stubborn determination around the office. Maybe that attitude would also translate into her work? Besides, if he was honest with himself, she fascinated him, and he wanted to see her again, just out of curiosity. Nothing more.
Work was frenzied that day; his hour out of the office had meant that things had piled up. It was amazing how much everyone here relied on him. Sometimes the pressure felt too much to bear; it felt like everything would fall apart if he wasn’t there, and that scared him. He felt like he always had a million balls in the air and he was getting to the stage where juggling them was getting harder and harder.
He’d barely thought about Doris all day, that is until he’d gotten back into his car and started driving home. Then she became all he could think about. The way she’d tried to jog up the hill to get away from him in that silly skirt that she kept having to pull down. Towards the end of the walk, she’d taken off her shoes and had carried them in her hands. He’d been trying to talk on the phone but had become so preoccupied with watching the ground in front of her, in case she walked over some broken glass or stood on something that could hurt her. He’d almost honked his horn when he’d seen a branch obstructing her path, but she’d jumped over it.
It had been a long day at work, and he wasn’t really looking forward to going home either. Not after the unpleasant incident he’d had with Emmy this morning. He’d only asked her to hurry up, they were going to be late for school. And then he’d simply suggested that it probably wasn’t necessary to spendthatmuch time in the bathroom doing her hair, since it still looked terribly messy anyway.
“It’s a messy bun! It’s supposed to look messy!” she’d said before stomping off, throwing a “Don’t you know anything?” at him. How was he meant to know that looking like you’d just rolled out of bed was a thing? And how the hell did it take a full forty minutes to achieve that look? After that, things had just gotten worse when she’d made him park two blocks away from school so she could walk the rest of the way. And when he’d insisted on driving behind her, to make sure she was safe, she’d thrown another one of her favorite phrases around: “I’m not a child anymore.”
When he arrived home, there was no sign of Emmy, and her bedroom door was closed. She seemed to spend an unnatural amount of time in her room and it hadn’t gone down well when he’d suggested that she get out more, or she might start looking like a vampire.
“Emmy.” He knocked on the door and waited for a response. And when he didn’t get one, he knocked again. Still no response. He reached out and opened the door, and there she was. Sitting on her bed ignoring him. He walked all the way up to her and she jumped.
“Oh my God, don’t you knock?” she shouted, going red in the face.
“I did knock,” he said. “Why are you ignoring me?”
“I’m listening to music!” She pulled the earbuds out of her ears and waved them in front of him.
He looked around the room.Why did she need the door closed when she was just listening to music anyway?
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Why do you need to close your door?” he asked.
“What? Can’t I even get some privacy around here? Or is that also not something I’m allowed either?” She walked across the room in a huff.
“Are we back to talking about that party again?” He folded his arms and gave her a stern look.
“I don’t know why I can’t go.” She folded her arms too. She was stubborn—in fact, she definitely reminded him of someone he knew all too well.
“Your mother would never have let you go to a party like that, and you know it.”
“God, Ryan. I’m thirteen now! Mom was alive when I was eleven. You can’t expect me to sit at home all the time.” She looked furious.
Where the hell had this all gone so wrong?This used to be the girl who bounced on his knee when she was small. Who called him “best uncle Byran”, who—
