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I wondered earlier about how someone so bright and sunshiny could be related to Liam O’Connor. I saw it now. Jaime bared his teeth, beyond pissed, and his fists clenched at his sides. He didn’t like me dismissing him but unlike when I was with Liam, I wasn’t afraid of Jaime. I lifted my chin, narrowing my eyes, and he finally snapped.
“Fine. I’ll be picking you up tomorrow. We’ll discuss this later.”
Walking him out, I held the door open for him. “No. We won’t. I’m taking the train. Good night, Jaime.”
For the second time tonight, I got to slam the door in someone’s face. But unlike Gavin, Jaime didn’t immediately walk away. I heard movement and when I looked through the peephole, Jaime was leaning his palms against the frame, glaring at me. I froze, surprised, even though I knew he couldn’t see me.
“That shit might work on the douchebag from earlier but it’s not gonna work on me. I’ll see you in the morning,” he growled.
When I didn’t reply he eventually stormed off and I let out a breath. Liam was scary but at least I knew what to expect. Jaime with his two personalities and his weird ability to get me to drop my guard was absolutely terrifying. I couldn’t exactly avoid him but he was going to have a hell of a fight on his hands if he thought I’d bow down to pressure that quickly.
* * *
I got up earlythe following morning, hoping to avoid Jaime, but he was waiting for me when I opened my door. Leaning casually against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, he rolled his head toward me, giving me a bored look.
“You didn’t honestly think I wouldn’t see that coming, right?”
I scowled. “What are you doing here? I told you I’m taking the train.” I even had a good excuse for it. It started snowing again last night and the roads looked awful. He’d have to tie me up and knock me out to get me in his car. He didn’t argue though. He just nodded, picking up his jacket from the floor.
“I heard you. Let’s go. The crowds are going to be a huge pain in the ass.”
Growling to myself, I shut the door a little more firmly than necessary before stalking down the hall. He followed more leisurely, his easy going attitude back in place. When I stepped outside and the freezing air knocked the wind out of me, he actually grinned.
“Reconsidering that ride? I can call CJ and have him come back.”
I glared at him. “Not on your life. If you can’t handle it, you can wait for your little friend but I’m taking the train.”
He looked so damn smug, following me as I headed for the station. I couldn’t even storm off like I wanted to because I was afraid of slipping and falling. I was smart enough to wear decent shoes this time, my heels in my purse, but it wasn’t much better and the wind was stronger than before. Huge gusts threatened to topple me until Jaime linked arms with me. He wasn’t smiling anymore and he grimaced every time the wind blasted us as we plodded our way to the station.
The station by my condo was busy and crowded. It took the edge off the wind with all the bodies huddled together but it took two trains before we were able to squeeze ourselves onto one. I was crushed up against Jaime and he was wrapped around me protectively, a sour look on his face. I didn’t argue because there was zero breathing room to speak of and it was better than leaning myself against the portly man behind me who was breathing unusually heavily and kept brushing up against my back.
Jaime must’ve noticed my discomfort because he shifted, switching places with me. The large man made an irritated noise but Jaime ignored him, keeping one hand on the small of my back, the other holding the bar above him to keep him stable.
“I feel like I should get hazard pay for riding the train during rush hour,” he murmured.
I fought off a grin. “I told you I didn’t need a babysitter. You signed up for this. Stop pouting, our stop is next.”
I expected the glare. I didn’t expect him to lean close until his lips were brushing against my ear. “Payback is a bitch, I hope you know that.”
Rolling my eyes, I resisted the urge to shiver. His low growl gave me goosebumps and being pressed up against him wasn’t helping matters. I seriously considered letting him drive from now on just so I could avoid being this close to him. I’m not breaking my no fraternization rule for him. No matter how much I wanted to.
Since there wasn’t a gaggle of women blocking the door, it was a little more complicated to get off the train this time around. Jaime kept hold of my hand and shouldered his way through the crowd, following the masses off the platform and out of the station. When we were finally far enough away that we could breathe, the wind reminded us that standing around wasn’t a good idea and we ended up hustling the rest of the way to the office.
Stumbling through the door, I shuddered. This winter was going to be brutal. It wasn’t even December yet but the temperatures were already plummeting and the snow started early. I don’t hate the snow but it’d be a lot more enjoyable if I wasn’t in a damn skirt for work.
“Okay, seriously. I’ll pay you to just let me drive you. Your fear of cars can’t be that bad that you’d want to suffer through that twice a day.”
We weren’t the only ones in the lobby and all eyes swung our way. Embarrassment flooded me and I shot Jaime a dirty look. He didn’t seem to notice, brushing the flakes off his shoulders and out of his hair. The severe looking woman I noticed the day before approached us, a deep frown on her face.
“You’re late.”
I thought she was talking to me but her eyes were locked on Jaime. He made a face. “I’m aware. She likes to take the train and we missed a few because of the crowds.”
She studied me momentarily, her sharp eyes searching my face before she returned her focus to Jaime.
“I don’t care for your excuses, O’Connor. We should have been informed of any deviations in the plan. You’re lucky Mr. O’Connor won’t be coming in until later. He’ll have words with you about this, I’m sure.”
My eyebrows went up. It was interesting to see Jaime get dressed down by this woman but he seemed unconcerned with it, a smirk crossing his face.
