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Clients would arrive in ten minutes. I needed to pull it together. That was life, pulling it together. My mind drifted to Sylvie again. She probably would’ve loved seeing me this miserable, if she’d lived long enough to see it.
16
The appointment with my sleep specialist started in a half hour, which meant I needed to leave in the next five minutes. I recorded my puking from earlier in the week, since my GI doctor had me keeping a log. All of my time with doctors lately was starting to make me twitchy. I hated having to explain the poisoning.
No, they never caught who did it.
Why? It was probably my father’s co-conspirators, the Russians.
Inevitably, the conversation ended with them staring in either total bewilderment or remembering how Layla had been kidnapped by the Russians. In those cases, sometimes they put two and two together to make five.
Luckily, not too much of that would come up at my sleep appointment. My snoring wasn’t a new problem, but I still figured the poisoning would come up with the doctors. I hoped I could breeze over it and focus on the snoring, though. I didn’t want to disrupt future partners, after all.
Michael Li claimed to like my snoring. Then again, he’d lied about everything else.
I grabbed my keys, my phone, and my sweater before I headed outside. The slightest chill bit at the air.
Nodding to the doorman, I headed outside. Did I want a cab or to take the subway? If I already called a ride service, it would be fine, but it would take too long at this point. If a cab happened to be outside, that might work just as well. I could…
“Bridget.” A voice I never expected to hear again called my name and I froze. I didn’t turn to look. I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe.
Did I imagine it?No, that happened. I turned around to find Michael Li standing on the street next to my building. He stepped away from the brick where he’d been leaning, and it was like I forgot how amazing he looked in person. Like my memories, but so much better, damn him. There he was, Michael. Tall, buff, gorgeous. Dressed all in black. I swallowed hard.
I took him in then finally let myself breathe.Okay. He is here.I could function. I just had to. My head was so thick, so unable to think. I just stared at him and tried not to cry because I missed looking at him, which made no sense.
I still hadn’t spoken.Great way to make it awkward, Bridget.
“Hi.”There, at least I said something.
“Hi. Yeah.” He ran a hand through his hair. It was slightly longer than I was used to seeing it, and I remembered how it felt in between my fingers while I gripped his head and he kissed between my legs until I screamed his name. I swallowed again. “Are you okay?”
Am I okay?Absolutely not. “Sure.”
I turned and left him there. I didn’t have to talk to him or give him any more information. Michael didn’t get to ask me how I was doing.No.Almost a year since I last saw him, and he dumped me then so…No.
“Bridget.” He chased after me as I headed toward the subway. “Please, wait. I was hoping I could speak to you. Please. I have a lot of things I need to explain. Can you give me a second so I can? I mean, I know I don’t get to ask, but could you do that anyway?”
I stopped. I didn’t want him following me all the way to the subway. I really didn’t. It had to end.What is he even doing here?I wouldn’t know if I didn’t let him tell me.
I promised myself, though, if he even hinted at insulting me again, I would break his fucking nose and he wouldn’t even see it coming. The thought made a small smile curl my lips, so I answered, “I have five minutes before I’ll be late for a doctor’s appointment.”
He shook his head. “I think it’s going to take longer than that.”
“Bummer for you. Bye, Michael.” I moved to slip past him, and he grabbed my arm gently.
“Are you okay, Bridget? A doctor?”
I stared at his hand. “Let me go.”
To his credit, he released me immediately, his hand falling to his side.
I didn’t owe him an answer but I said, “I’m going to the sleep doctor to find out how to stop snoring.”
His eyes widened. “Why would you do that?”
“Bye, Michael.” I left him standing there on the street. If my hands shook and my blood pressure was just a tiny bit high when I got to the doctor, well, I didn’t have to attribute that to him at all. It was just something else. I’d be in denial. That was my right if I wanted.
The next timeI saw him was outside of my work. I was getting ready to run home. I started doing it to get an extra run in every week. Dressed in my workout clothes, I felt bizarrely vulnerable seeing him. Ten minutes earlier, I would’ve been in a suit that screamed power and control, but he caught me in spandex.
