I sat at one of the large bow windows overlooking the park deep in thought as I watched late night lovers going for carriage rides.

The lights of the surrounding buildings cast a glow on the snow that had fallen a few days ago and had yet to melt, and my mind went to the jacket she’d been wearing.

Was it warm enough for this weather? What if she gets sick? She’d said she just moved here. Maybe she’d moved from a place where the weather wasn’t as severe as it was here and didn’t have a suitable coat.

No matter how I tried telling myself that this shit was none of my business, I couldn’t convince myself. It’s the same reason I’d fed her so well tonight. It was almost a compulsion, something I couldn’t control.

What’s your story Annabelle, and why do I give a damn? I threw back the last of the cognac in the snifter and let the burn take my mind off of her for a few seconds.

It wasn’t like me to obsess like this. I wasn’t one to stick my nose in other people’s shit. But even as I sat in the comfortable warmth of my luxury apartment I worried about her. Where is she right now?

Was she warm enough, was she safe? Did she even have a roof over her head? The thought of her alone somewhere in the city unprotected made my gut hurt.

It wouldn’t be the first time someone living in a shelter came looking for a job. Word of my kindness in hiring certain types was sure to spread.

There were tons of jobs for the less educated in my places and I always went above and beyond to give everyone who needed it a shot when I could.

Is that where she’d heard about the open call for dancers? The Ad had been in all the papers and there might have been flyers around the city. I’m not sure what my team had done this time.

There was no point in worrying about it now. I won’t have any answers until I saw her again, that is if she was more forthcoming next time.

I looked up the PO Box number and zip code I’d jotted down on my phone to see where exactly it was. She was in the Morningside Heights section of New York, near Colombia University.

Hmm, is that where she goes to school? If so she must be very bright, and very wealthy. Their tuition is nothing to sneeze at. I should know, I was currently paying for three kids from the Bronx to attend.

Something they never would’ve achieved if not for the special scholarship fund I’d set up for underprivileged kids in my old neighborhood.

I also knew you had to be smart as fuck to get into one of the nation’s leading Ivy league universities with its very distinguished alumni.

I’ve always been fascinated by intelligent people. Though I’d done well in school myself, I’d always been more of an athlete than a scholar.

I wonder which program she’s in? Was it medical, engineering or business? Again I was almost tempted to pick up the phone and use my resources to get that information.

She sure doesn’t act like any preppie I’ve ever known. That tough girl act of hers wasn’t something she’d just learned. At least I don’t think so.

I played around with dialing the number I’d also made note of and gave in ten minutes later after debating myself to no avail.

I held my breath and hoped it was her real number and not some random crap she’d jotted down. She seemed like the type to do that shit.

In the few seconds it took for someone to answer, my mind ran through every possible scenario it could. None of it good.

Most frightening being that it wasn’t her number and that I wouldn’t see her again if she’d pulled a runner.

“Hello!” I couldn’t believe the relief I felt when I heard her voice on the other end of the line. “Did you get home safe?”

She didn’t answer for a bit, but it was telling that she didn’t have to ask who was calling. I know my name and number didn’t show up on her caller ID because I’d paid a pretty penny to make sure that shit never happens.

“You do realize that there’s a law against violating my rights as an employee right? Like the fact that you’re not allowed to just call me up out of the blue for no blessed reason at all.”

Her voice had gone up a few octaves there at the end, but I had become used to her insubordination already it seemed and I let it slide.

“Are you home or not?”

“Yes, not that it’s any of your business.” She hung up the damn phone. I looked at the blank screen on my end a bit flummoxed at this girl’s daring.

Looks like I’m going to have to come up with a new way of dealing with this particular female. She’s a whole different breed from what I’m accustomed to.

I’m convinced now, that’s no act. She really don’t give a shit who I am. Why that shit should make me smile is beyond me. Unless I’d lost my damn mind for real.

The sense of excitement instead of waning only seemed to grow stronger with her actions. I had a

feeling my well organized world was about to get turned on its ass with this one. None of my browbeating or strong arm tactics was gonna work here.

The kind of respect I command isn’t easily come by, especially for someone who’d come from my very humble beginnings.

It was a source of pride with me that the people I interacted with these days respected me, and my achievements. So far everyone else has.

But for the first time since I left the football field I’ve run into someone who either didn’t know who I am, or just didn’t care one way or the other. And she was damn near half my size.

I found myself smiling when I remembered our earlier interaction and by the time I stepped into the shower under the heavy spray of hot water, I was outright laughing.

It looks like I have a worthy opponent. Life had been growing dull here of late anyway. I had all the money I could ever spend in three lifetimes, my health was good and my momma was having the time of her life.

I’d been able to keep all the promises I’d made to her and the people I loved. Promises I’d made when I had nothing and no way of knowing how to fulfill them other than my will.

I’d grown bored with the menagerie of women who ran in and out of my bed and was well on my way to thinking that life really had nothing more to offer me except more work, more money, and more endless nights spent alone.

I’m not saying that she’s going to fill the void, but she damn sure is going to make things interesting for the next little while.

The next day I showed up at the club half an hour before she was due, scaring the shit out of my staff who had no idea I was still in the city.

Since I didn’t have to answer to anyone I left them all staring after me as I made my way to the office. It took me ten seconds to switch on the security cameras on the special bank of computers and zoom in on the entrance.

I puttered around with the shit on my desk counting down the minutes until she arrived, my heart racing in my chest like I was about to win something.

I must’ve scanned the doorway ten times in five seconds looking for her to appear, wondering what kind of mood she was going to be in today. My excitement grew as the minutes passed and I knew I was in deep shit.

I haven’t felt this way since the draft. Not even when I won the super bowl did I feel this kind of excitement. For me the win had been a given. Besides, I was usually ice on the field.

With this one there was no guarantee how things would shape up. And I still didn’t know what part she would play in my life if any.

I’d kept her on my mind all night until sleep finally won out, knowing that I was going to dream about her. How could I not?

I hadn’t though. I can’t even remember what I did dream about if anything. But it was the most peaceful rest I’d had in too long to remember.

She was the first thing I thought of when my eyes finally popped open this morning and the hours seemed to drag on between then and now.

I could hardly sit still as I waited for her to show up. Then I felt the bitter uncertainty of wondering whether she was going to or not.

My mind was already moving ahead to the steps I’d have to take to find her if she didn’t. I didn’t have much to go on but I’d make it work if I had to.

I no longer questioned why I felt so strongly about it one way or another. But accepted that for whatever reason I wanted her here.

It could be as simple as the fact that I knew she was in need and I knew that here, more so than anywhere else in this fucked up city, she was sure to be taken care of.

I only relaxed when I saw her walk in five minutes before call time. I released my pent up breath and rubbed the knots from my gut. I tracked her all the way to the employee lounge on different cameras.

She wore the same ugly jacket from the day before, but instead of jeans her legs were covered in nude stockings under a short skirt that was mostly covered by the too large jacket that came almost to her knees.

When she made her way downstairs to the employee lounge, I watched the manager approach her. They shook hands and exchanged a few words before she removed her coat and hung it up.

Once she was hired she’d be given a locker where she could keep her stuff safe, that was protocol. I wanted to run downstairs and bring her purse and coat back to the office with me instead of leaving it out in the open like that.

I told myself it was just a protective measure, that I’d do it for anyone. But I knew I was lying to myself again. It seems I want to look out for her in every which way I can.

She had a cute little figure in the white shirt and short black skirt, but even through the screen I could tell they were a little too big on her.

She didn’t have a stripper’s build as far as I could see. For one she was shorter, and she was also very slender. I wonder what made her think she could pull it off.

Most of the women here were svelte and busty. Her chest hadn’t made it out of the lower B-cup stage. In other words she had a neat little figure, but nothing close as per the requirements to dance on my stage.

My eyes moved up to her face, that captivating mix of innocence and sex appeal. It was her damn eyes, those catlike orbs that held a man’s attention as was evident by the way the manager looked at her now.

I squeezed my hands into fists when he put his hand on her shoulder and made myself stay in my seat instead of going after him to break it the fuck off.

She did one of those shifts that said she didn’t like the familiarity either and that calmed me down some. I’ll have to have a talk with him about personal space.

She pulled her hair up in a ponytail and pulled at her clothes before making her way back upstairs. I tracked every move until I started to feel like a voyeur.

I watched the first hour of her training, long enough to know that she was a fast learner and also that she was here to work.

Her interactions with the guests were vastly different to the way she treated the other waitresses and the rest of the staff.

She wasn’t rude or anything that I noticed, but neither was she inviting. At the tables she was courteous and always wore a welcoming smile while taking orders, but that professional mask slipped back into place once she was dealing with her trainer.

I also kept an eye on the way the others reacted to her presence. It wouldn’t be the first time some of the girls got catty at the presence of a new coworker. Especially one as pretty as her.

Maybe it was her standoffish attitude, or that don’t give a fuck way she had about her, but so far I hadn’t seen anyone getting out of hand, which was a relief.

Again I noticed her movements, how precise and calculated she was in each step she took. She had a commanding presence, an attention grabber without seeming to try.

I realized I was watching over her like a protective older brother, or would be lover. Something else that I wasn’t used to. It was obvious from what little I’d seen of her yesterday that she could take care of herself.

That mouth of hers was acerbic enough to keep anyone at bay. I told myself that since I was the one who’d offered her the job it was only natural for me to worry. Bullshit!

My eyes weren’t following her every move because I wanted her to do a good job. I was trying to find the answers to why. Why she’d been on my mind all damn day. Why I cared so much about what happened to her.

I’d had to fight the urge to run her name all day and had only held off because I was beginning to feel too much like a damn stalker.