CHAPTER THREE
It had been nearly ten o'clock the previous night when Finn had received a call from Liz, apologizing that she'd been taken to hospital with a broken arm. She'd reassured him that she was fine and being well looked after. She'd also promised to send over his missing meals and snacks for him today. His mouth watered thinking about having a fully stocked fridge again.
He'd had a meeting with his sponsor that finished early and it wasn't all great news. They wanted him to take part in a three month international tour promoting their latest game release which was being billed as 'the hottest first-person shooter game this century.' It was part of a successful franchise and he'd spent many, many hours playing the earlier games in the series and it was a franchise his followers loved.
Although he didn't mind the traveling that would be involved, and playing against the top players in the industry was usually fun, he felt like there was something missing. He'd felt like this for a while. Since Marcus met Carly and his life stopped revolving around work. He was shocked at the realization but knew it was true. Marcus was his oldest brother who'd met his wife-to-be in a series of coincidental meetings and both of them couldn't be happier.
Where he used to enjoy living out of a suitcase and traveling all over the world to compete in gaming competitions, it had recently lost it's appeal. He was still under contract with the sponsor so pulling out wasn't really an option.
He sighed, knowing it was the payoff for the privileged lifestyle he was living and it wasn't as if he'd ever thought of doing anything else. He had a long list of things he didn't want to do or wouldn't do, 'not work at Harrington Enterprises' had been at the top for as long as he could remember. Being a gamer and YouTuber had allowed him to achieve that but it wasn't exactly a long term strategy, at least not for him.
As he let himself back into his apartment he paused, hearing a curse come from the kitchen. It was a female voice and it didn't sound like Liz, who was the only female who had seen the inside of his apartment, apart from his mom and housekeeper. Surely someone hadn't broken in?
He made his way towards the kitchen, making as little noise as possible. He didn't want to make his presence known. If it was a burglar he wanted to have the element of surprise on his side. Instead, the would-be burglar came crashing into him, sending them both flying to the floor.
"Fudge cakes," the woman lying on top of him cursed, looking down and squinting at him, "Finn?" She asked while quickly scrambling to her feet.
He burst out laughing at the ridiculousness of the situation now that he was sure she wasn't a burglar, and even if she was, he reckoned he could easily take her as she would be lucky to reach his shoulder when he finally stood up. He still had no idea who she was or what she was doing here and there was guilt written all over her face.
Finally on his feet he held his hand out towards her. "Yes, Finn Harrington, and you are ...?" he prompted.
She stared at his hand as if it would bite her, ignoring the gesture and looking up his six foot three frame, obviously deciding eye contact was the safer option. If she was feeling anything like what he was feeling at this moment in time, it wasn't. A fight with a starving lion would have been safer.
"I'm Willow, Liz's daughter. I came to deliver the meals you missed yesterday, my mom didn't think anyone would be here so I just let myself in ... with the key you gave her, of course."
She was cute and not one of those waver thin model types he'd just met at the sponsorship meeting. Her warm brown hair was cut straight, landing just below her chin and her bangs were falling over her eyes as if she was trying to hide from him. It was funny, when Liz had mentioned her daughter he thought she'd be much younger. High school younger, not this young woman who took his breath away ... literally.
Willow looked towards the kitchen then back at him, nibbling her bottom lip. "I had a little accident," she said, looking back towards the kitchen.
"So you weren't just trying to skip out on me?" he asked, trying to keep a grin from slipping.
"What? No!" she replied looking indignant. "I was going to pick up a few things so you wouldn't even have known I'd been here if you hadn't decided to come back when you did ... well apart from the food in your refrigerator." She grinned as she relaxed her shoulders, she obviously didn't see him as a threat anymore.
"Uh-huh" he replied, wondering what damage was waiting for him in his kitchen after experiencing the speed she shot out of there with. Curiosity getting the better of him, he moved around her to go inspect his kitchen but when he saw what was around the corner he turned to Willow, confused. "Are you sure you had an accident? You didn't just hit your head and imagine it?" he asked.
The place was spotless, tidier than how he'd left it that morning.