Ian

If I didn’t hate New York already, today was the tipping point of my loathing for this godforsaken city.

Cutting over to the far lane to try to avoid the traffic piling up, I ignore horns blasting. Living here the last six months has been a complete nightmare and I now understand why property in California is so pricey. It’s because nobody in their right mind would want to live in New York.

In fact, if I meet anyone who is here on their own free will I will personally drive them to the insane asylum and check them in—if I can find the damn thing. Anyone who would live here on purpose is in need of psychiatric help, and what can I say, I’m a problem solver.

When I left California to start the East Coast branch of my company, Strong Enterprises, I promised myself I would only be here for a year. Six months in this purgatory is making me rethink my decision. In my mind, a year was just enough time to get my company up and running, then I would be back to tanning on sandy beaches, this place the last thing on my radar.

Only halfway through and I’ve already found most of the right people to run the East Coast branch. People I’ll check in on but for the most part trust enough to keep Strong Enterprises in business and paying for itself.

I’m very successful because I work harder than anyone I employ. I go in, build a business from practically nothing, then as soon as my self-allotted twenty-six weeks are up, I skedaddle knowing my company is in good hands. Mostly because my employees know I will be watching them, closely.

My Malibu office is nothing compared to the dreary top-story office I’ve been stuck in while in New York. Even with my business associate, Collette Weaver’s—the only person I semi-trust—flair for decorating, I still can’t catch the feels for this damn place. Hell, the more I’m in New York, the more I miss not only my home office at the beach but my company office as well.

Nostalgia hits me for the view I was enjoying this time last year. Nothing can come close to working on a huge account while the ocean relaxes me with its smooth repetition. I constantly found myself staring out my floor-to-ceiling window watching the waves roll in then back out, all my stress floating away with the tide. I could be working on the biggest account my company would ever acquire and I still wouldn’t feel any stress.

Here in New York, my shoulders are like rocks with the amount of stress I carry in them.

The sidewalk and intersection are so damn crowded with people crossing that I give up trying to turn and end up going a few streets up. I take the first right I can and end up in a tight alley. There’s nothing to do but go forward. I miss the open stretch of a California road, the hills, the trees. I miss the wind blowing in my face, the sun, and everything else that is California and not New York. Now I’m surrounded by a different type of ocean—instead of beautiful sandy beaches and crystal water, I’m stuck in a sea of concrete and steel.

I need to be here, I remind myself. Not just to make sure everything will be moving smoothly so I’ll never have to come back here. Because of other circumstances. Thinking of those circumstances adds another weight to my already full shoulders.

If it wasn’t for my fiancé, Vanessa Beck, I would’ve never stayed as long as I have. Six months ago, I was planning on opening up my East Coast branch, but I wasn’t going to oversee the construction of the building firsthand. Six months ago, I wasn’t the micro-manager I am today.

Six months ago, I walked in on my fiancé bumping uglies with my brother, Tyler, in my Malibu beach house.

Sure, Vanessa had been complaining that I was spending too much time at the office, but I didn’t realize just how lonely she was. To be fair, I was spending an excessive amount of time at the office.

That day, I wanted to surprise her and was going to take her out on a Vanessa and Ian day. The stress of the wedding was getting to her and I wanted her to know she was appreciated.

The surprise was on me. I can honestly say I was not expecting to see my big brother–my hero—buried deep inside the woman I was going to spend the rest of my life with.

As I stormed out, they both shouted at me to come back so they could explain, but I didn’t feel they were in the position to make demands about what I should and shouldn’t be doing. There was also no explanation that could pardon their behavior. I walked out and booked a flight as I drove to the airport. New York—what better place to lick my wounds. And with the new branch’s construction starting, the timing was perfect. I would give myself one year to get over Vanessa and Tyler’s indiscretion. Then I’d go back to my home, where I belonged.

One year was more than they deserved.

Work was just what the doctor ordered to heal my broken heart. After the two people I trusted more than anyone in this world stabbed me viciously in the back, I had to ask myself, could I really trust anyone?

The only thing I trust now is money. Money doesn’t lie. Numbers are truthful. People… nope, I don’t have faith in them at all.

On the plane to New York I vowed I would never be stupid enough to trust anyone again. I would be the one watching my back, because if you can’t trust the woman you love and the man who taught you how to ride a bike, who can you trust? No more letting people get inside my heart, that was closed for business for the foreseeable future.

Now, all my time and energy go toward my work. My focus is on my company—something I can control that doesn’t have the freewill to hurt me. Work is safe. People are not.

I make another turn and another, each new alley more disturbing than the last.

“Shit,” I yell, not giving into my need to beat the hell out of the steering wheel. Somehow, I’ve ended up in a maze of alleys. “I should have ordered a driver.” I have the money to buy one, but I like my freedom and don’t want someone to know every move I make.

Stopping, I look around at the soot-streaked buildings. There’s trash overflowing from dumpsters and I can smell the stench with the windows up. I have no idea where I am. I’m lost and need to figure out how the hell to get back to somewhere recognizable. I look at the GPS mounted on my dash, hoping it will give me some indication that it knows where I am and where I need to go. The signal is going in and out. Looks as if even my GPS has given up on me. I sigh.

I need to stop dwelling on the past. Onward and upward. If I wouldn’t have allowed myself to dwell on Vanessa and Tyler, I wouldn’t be in this mess I’m in now. I need to get my life back on track.

Determined to put them in the past for good, I set my jaw and hit the gas a little harder than necessary, which rockets my Maserati past the dumpsters. As I’m rising out of my pity party and headed for the rectangle of light that tells me I’m about to exit onto a real street, there’s the flash of something moving to my left. I can’t make it out, but I know it’s alive and I’m going to hit it. I jerk the wheel to the side, knowing that only by some miracle I’ll avoid the oncoming collision.

There’s a sickening thud on my front bumper that resonates throughout the interior of my car, letting me know a miracle is not in the cards for today. The brakes screech as I slam to a shuddering halt before jumping out of my car.

Please be alive. Please don’t be a person.

I round the front of my car to assess the damage.

My knees almost give out. The most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen is lying on the filthy asphalt in front of my car.

I killed an angel, is the first thought that runs through my head.

Her blonde hair is soaking up the blood from a cut on her forehead and her leg is bent at an odd angle. Her pert little nose is bleeding as well, but even in her state of disarray she is gorgeous.

On my knees, I take note of her injuries. When I brush back her feathery bangs, I can’t help but think how soft her hair is and how I wish she would open her eyes so I could find out what color they are. Yeah… I need to stop the creepiness. I hit a woman for god’s sake—this is not how you meet people, even in New York.

The cut on her head doesn’t look too deep but it is bleeding profusely. I apply pressure with the sleeve of my thousand-dollar suit jacket as I continue to check for more serious injuries. I run my hand down her body, feeling for anything that doesn’t seem right. Her slim figure is well maintained and I assume she is some type of athlete. When I run my hand over her legs, I notice swelling in the one that is at an odd angle and my heart drops. With gentle pressure I probe the swollen limb, trying to see if there is any damage.

Just the slightest touch has her gasping for breath. I look up in time to see her eyes fly open from the pain I’m inflicting.

“Please, help me.” Her almond-shaped eyes are crinkled with pain.

I want nothing more than to take it away. That thought startles me and I shake my head to clear it. She has the clearest blue eyes I’ve even seen and I briefly wonder if the blue is from contacts. Nobody’s eyes should be that beautiful. I’m slightly dazed from her transformation from gorgeous to stunning just by opening her eyes.

“I’ll help you,” I tell her, grabbing her hand and giving it a slight squeeze. Her fingers are firm and hold my hand tight. “I promise, you’ll be fine.”

I’m unnerved as her blue eyes search my face. I want nothing more than for her to trust me and that realization is like a kick in the gut. What has this girl and hitting her done to me? I’m disoriented, that’s all. It’s normal since I just hit a human being with my car.

She must see what she needs to. A small smile curves the sides of her lush mouth before she grimaces in pain. With a hiss she tries to adjust her leg and quickly passes out.

I let out the breath I’m holding. Why it’s so important that she trust me I couldn’t say without delving into things I don’t want to think about. Maneuvering her head under my thigh, I call an ambulance and wait for it to show, frustrated that I don’t have enough knowledge of the city to get her to the hospital.

When the ambulance arrives and the EMTs get her onto a stretcher and into the back of the vehicle, I jump in my car and follow them, breaking several traffic laws in the process. I promised her I would make sure she was all right and I’m not going to let her down.

I’m not like the people in my life I’m supposed to be able to trust. I’m going to follow through.