CHAPTER EIGHT
Alisa
I’d rushed around that morning thanks to the traffic from Zek’s house into downtown. Now, I realized why in the world I continued to pump money into my shitty apartment instead of buying another house in the suburbs. Traffic.
After getting to the office and grabbing a cup of coffee, I stopped by to talk to Lizzy for a few minutes and to gather my things. I had a long day in divorce court, which wasn’t my forte, but my co-worker Seth was out with something serious and needed me to fill in. I read over the files and called his client that morning to reassure her that I would be there, and that everything would be great.
I made sure to stop by the cafeteria in the bottom floor of the building and grab a muffin as I headed for the door. I’d almost made it out as someone called my name. Dillon.
Great.
“Hey there. How are you?” I lifted my muffin and took a deep bite of it, hoping to gross him out a little, but it almost seemed to do the opposite. It was disturbing. So much so that I thought about mentioning to Zek that the creep was getting on my nerves. It wouldn’t go over well with my handsome male companion, and I had no doubt that he’d either visit the office and make it painfully obvious that we were together, or he’d pay Dillon a private visit. Both sounded good as I stifled a shiver.
“Better now. You want me to take you down to the cafe by Berkley’s and we can grab a real breakfast?” He smiled and reached over, wiping crumbs from the side of my cheek before I could move back.
I needed to get away from him, but maybe I was overreacting. He would be at the firm for a while from what I could tell, and all of his transcripts and job history had been vetted and found quite attractive. I just needed to make him understand that I wasn’t interested, and telling him about Zek would most likely help with that.
“No thanks. I’m actually rushing out for a hearing. Seth is still out with whatever bug he has and I’m filling in. Lucky me.” I forced a fake smile and took another bite of the muffin. “I’ll see you later.”
He grabbed my arm as I started to leave, his expression moving from welcoming to serious. “Alisa. Please have dinner with me then. I really do think that a friendship between us would be incredibly beneficial. Not just to me, but to you as well. I’m a good guy, and you’re edging toward thirty, right?”
“Edging toward thirty?” I was over thirty, but the way he let his eyes move down my body left my calmness obliterated.
“Yeah. It’s a good thing, but I’m simply saying that women don’t age as well as men. You need to find someone who will enjoy the last few years of your youth with you and then settle into a comfortable relationship after that.” He released me and smiled, as if he were proud of himself for helping me out.
“You’re kidding right now, right? Please tell me that you’re kidding so I don’t have to look for a hot beverage to toss into your face.” I gritted my teeth as red moved before my vision. Zek wouldn’t have to do anything. I was going to kill the asshole right there. How dare he insult me simply because I wouldn’t go to lunch with him. He wasn’t at all my kind of guy, and even if he were… “I’m in a relationship, so back the fuck off. I’m over thirty as well, so find someone else to badger. This old lady is already wrapped around a much older man. Young men don’t do it for me. Especially cocky ones... like yourself.”
I didn’t wait to hear his reply, but walked to the door as he called after me. His apologies sounded sincere, but no one would be so ignorant as to think they could demean me and then get a pass on doing it. It wasn’t happening.
After pitching the muffin into the trash as I walked to my car, I pulled out my phone and read Zek’s text. I let him know I would be out there later that night. The memories of the long night in his arms calmed me a little, but I was still hot by the time I arrived at the courthouse. I would have to talk with my partners at Dellup and tell them what Dillon was up to.
If they weren’t willing to do something about him, then I was at the wrong firm. Maybe it was a sign that things were about to change again. I couldn’t help but feel like they might go the wrong way though. Too much good had happened over the last few weeks. It was time to even out the scales, which wouldn’t be in my favor.
***
I wrapped up the case just after lunch and walked out to find Dillon waiting patiently in one of the wooden chairs just outside the courtroom.
“What exactly are you doing here?” I pressed my hand to my hip and moved to the side of the crowd with him, keeping my voice low and my expression pleasant, but letting him know quite clearly that I wasn’t happy. He touched my shoulder and I pulled back. “Don’t touch me.”
“Alisa. I’m sorry about earlier. I shouldn’t have said those things, okay? I’m new to the firm, and I know you don’t want to hear this, but I’ve been looking for someone who made me feel something most of my adult life. You do. I can’t explain it, and I won’t bore you with it, but forgive me for overstepping my boundaries. I’m used to getting what I want, when I want it. I’m sorry.” He tucked his hands into his pockets and gave me a look that had me questioning if he was sincere. He was pretty good at pulling my strings, but I still wasn’t ready to relent.
“Why are you here, Dillon? Is the firm paying you to follow me around?” I glanced around the busy hallway to see if anyone else was with him.
“What? No.” He ran his fingers through his black hair and tilted his head. “Lizzy asked me to come wait for you. She’s a little worried about you because of something that came out on the news this morning. She wanted me to tell you that some chick is out of the hospital and you need to be careful.”
Ice water ran through my veins as I took a step back and glanced around the crowd again. Melissa Mills was dangerous. I didn’t care what anyone said about her. The bitch was missing the part of her brain that spoke reason. I could still see the look on her face in my mind’s eye from the night she came to visit me. She wasn’t stable, and she could fool the masses, but I knew she was crazy.
“Alisa?” Dillon touched my arms tentatively. “You okay? What can I do to help?”
“Hm?” I glanced around again. “Nothing. I’m going back to the office and talk with Ronnie a little, and then head out. Thank you for coming to tell me.”
“You want to ride back to the office together?” He looked hopeful.
“No, but thank you.” I moved past him and kept my wits about me as I walked quickly to my car. I wasn’t scared of Melissa necessarily, but knowing that she was willing to pull a knife on Zek left me a little leery. I wasn’t sure if he was aware of the situation, but I didn’t want to scare him. I could talk to him when I got back to his house.
I drove in silence all the way back to the office as my mind moved through the possibility that she could very well go after Zek. I would have to check in with Lizzy to see if Zek had alerted her to Melissa breaking out or if she got the news from some other place. I would assume that the poor girl would run straight to her father, but that would probably be her worse bet. Jon Mills didn’t give two shits about anyone but himself. He had proven that by going on with his life while Melissa rotted in the mental hospital. She’d been in and out over the last year from what I understood through Lizzy, but her latest scandal had her back for good.
I couldn’t imagine having a group of doctors and scientist poking and prodding at me to try to understand my compulsive need to destroy men. Then again, it wasn’t my problem and I’d be best to let it all go. There was too much of a chance that I would work myself into a frenzy by the time I got to Zek’s, and he didn’t need to see me bent out of shape over Melissa. She didn’t matter to either of us. I was over thinking things as per usual.
After making my way back up to our floor, I dropped my things into my office and knocked on Ronnie’s open door.
The older man glanced up and waved me in.
“Alisa. How are you? Come on in and take a load off.” He motioned for me to take the seat in front of his desk.
I did, but sat on the edge of the chair, making sure to keep myself locked into a professional stance around him all the time. I’d heard too many horror stories of people getting comfortable around partners in various firms only to be let go or misunderstood and hit on. It wasn’t happening to me, at least not because of anything I was doing.
“The case went well today, and Ms. Lena is quite happy with where we ended up on the divorce.” I pressed my hands to my thighs and waited for him to nod.
“We knew you were the best fit for that one. Thank you for picking up the slack. Sickness happens, right?” He gave me a warm smile.
“Absolutely. I need to touch base with you on something that has me a little uncomfortable.”
“Of course. Speak your mind.” He leaned forward and pressed his forearms to the desk in front of him.
“It’s Dillon. I know he’s got a great work history and that we’re really excited to have him here, but he’s offensive, and honestly I’m tired of him hitting on me. I’d really appreciate it if one of you could remind him of what appropriate office behavior might look like. I’ve said no to him more times than I can count.” I tried to keep my voice steady, but the anger rising inside of me caused it to pitch a little.
“Really? Wow. I never would have thought Dillon was that type of guy.” Ronnie leaned back in his chair. “He asked you out for a date or what?”
“For lunch. And breakfast. And dinner.” I shrugged. “He’s being subtle about it, but today he offended my age in hopes of getting me to move toward going out with him. It was rude and tacky.”
“Offended your age? How old are you? Thirty-five? Thirty-six? You’re just a spring chicken.” He chuckled and picked up a file on his desk. “I’ll talk to the kid, but I think you might be overreacting just a little. He’s only asking you to share a meal with him. Unless there’s something more to it, I’m not sure I find the situation too dire.”
I took the file, a little shocked by his words. After standing, I pressed the file to my chest and hugged it tightly.
“I’m thirty-one, and I find it offensive. You weren’t there, and if you’re unwilling to talk with him, I’ll have someone else do it. Thanks for your time.” I turned and walked to the door as he called out to me.
“Alisa. You’re being overly sensitive. Get out of here and have a beer. You need to rest as much as the rest of us. Okay?” He offered me another smile, but I didn’t return the gesture.
My stomach was sick with the thought of him not only refusing to help me, but turning my concerns into something trivial and childish. It was all of a sudden my fault that Dillon was an overbearing ass.
I walked out and stopped by my office to pick up my purse before walking to the front door. Lizzy’s door was closed, and I figured I could just call her later. Besides, I wanted to pack up my things and get over to Zek’s. He would make me feel better, and more than anyone, he would know what to do about Dillon. He might blow a gasket over everything, but so what. Someone needed to.
Traffic wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be, and I made it to my apartment in fifteen minutes, which was the first bright spot in the day. I took a deep breath as I walked in, but stopped short, noticing cologne yet knowing no one had been in my apartment who might wear it.
“You know, refusing a man over and over is liable to leave him a little more needy than he might prefer to be.”
I jerked around to see Dillon standing in the doorway to my bedroom. Every cell in my body lit up with fear.
“What are you doing here?” I took a step back, trying to rationally think through how to get the fuck out of the apartment without him blocking my way. There was only a few steps between me and the door.
“I’m here to collect you. You coming without a fight, or do I get to put my hands all over you while I take you down?”
I didn’t wait another minute before turning and running toward the door. He was faster than I imagined possible, and I fought like hell against him until the chemical on the napkin pressed to my mouth and nose caused the room to dim and finally go black.
The last thing I remembered was his lips pressed to my ear, making promises I prayed like hell he wouldn’t keep.