Chapter 5 – Erin
I walked out of the office without looking back. I didn’t know why he was there, and to find out that he was the same man who I had been avoiding the last couple of times that I had run into him was too much. He had looked at me as if I was a meal to eat, and the feeling was hard to shake. I didn’t know what to do or what I was supposed to do, but it was clear that he was not leaving. So however long the meeting was going to be, I knew that I was going to have to figure out something to deal with Drake.
It didn’t occur to me until I got to the conference room that he was going to be alone in my office, doing God only knows what in there. I was torn between hurrying it along, so that he wouldn’t have that much time in there alone, or just taking my time and hoping that he left. He was a billionaire, from what I had heard, so I knew that there had to be something that he had to do. He would get bored with waiting and then he would be gone when I got back.
That was what I was hoping for as I made my way to the front of the room and sat down. There was a bunch of notes of things that we had to go over, but they were all blurring in front of me. I wasn’t worried about the agenda or what had to be done to end my job. I was much more worried about the man who was alone in my office.
Had he known who I was that night at the art gallery? He had said that he was going to talk to me before I left, but what he didn’t say was why. Had he found out who I was and decided to follow me or what? It didn’t make sense, and I started to realize that nothing seemed to make sense when he was around.
The meeting got started without me. I was glad that everyone was there and was ready to start. I kind of just sat back and let them have it out. I was supposed to be supervising it, but the whole week I had been dropping the ball in that respect and today was no different. My mind was too worried about what would happen after we closed down the museum. This time around, though, my mind was on the handsome man who was waiting for me in my office. I still hadn’t figured out what I was going to do if he was actually still there when I got back.
I didn’t have long to think about it, because before I knew it, my assistant Justine was calling it a day. I watched helplessly as the people around me started to get their things together and leave. I was the last one in there save for Justine, and she was looking at me a little queerly.
“Are you okay, Erin?”
I kind of shrugged. “Yeah, I am fine, why?”
“Well, because you didn’t say a word for like an hour. I don’t think you have ever been this quiet. I thought we were going to talk about the severance packages today?”
I could feel my cheeks getting red. I had let the meeting stop and there still wasn’t any resolution to half of the problems that we had. Everyone had been worried about what was going to happen when we all lost our jobs. I was supposed to make it better and let them know that we were thinking of them and that I was making sure that Bishop was going to help them through the transition. He had offered each employee a very tidy sum for every year that they had been at the museum. It was part of the meeting that I had been looking forward to, and at the end of it I hadn’t been able to even think straight enough to bring it up.
Walking back to the office, I almost forgot about Drake for a moment, but as soon as I walked in the room I saw he was still there.
“You are still here.” I didn’t say it as a question. It was more a statement, and I was sure that he could tell by my tone that I wasn’t necessarily too happy about it.
“Did you really think that I wouldn’t be?”
I kind of sighed under my breath, more tired than affected by his close proximity. There was something in me that just didn’t want to talk about anything with him. He was the enemy in many ways, and I didn’t get why he was trying to play nice. There was a part of me that didn’t want to be nice, but there was a bigger part of me, the one that was raised by a gentleman, that told me that I had to at least be cordial. It wasn’t hard to do with such a devastatingly handsome man.
“No, I figured you had more important things to do, like conquering the world. I searched you on the internet last night, and I wonder why someone like yourself is so keen to take over a museum.”
“You didn’t read that it was for my new club?”
I told him that I had heard about it. “Don’t you think we have enough clubs and things of that nature in the city already? What we need is more culture, and taking away the museum is going to take away something that this city really needs.”
I was overdoing it, I knew I was. We weren’t the only museum in town, not by a long shot, but I liked to think that we had something special to offer. Many of our collections were hand-picked by me. Each piece was something that I thought would be a benefit to everyone in New York, and I hated to see it all go away. Soon every single piece that had been found and acquired with care was going to be sold in an auction, and there was no telling where it was all going to go. I know I wasn’t supposed to care, but I did. There was too much of me and too much of my father in every nook and cranny of the place. I couldn’t play nice.
“I didn’t know that you were so passionate about this, Erin. Are you that sure that New York needs this little museum?”
“It does. I know that it doesn’t mean much to you, but it is a big part of the neighborhood, and I know that if you just talked to some of the people who come in, you would see that.”
“Do you really think that you could change my mind?”
I knew that I couldn’t change his mind. It was like looking at Bishop. He had been so ready to move on, and nothing that I could have said would have made him change his course of action. Drake was looking at me in the exact same way. I didn’t know what to say.
“No, I guess I won’t change your mind. So I don’t really know why you are here. I mean, you are buying the building, not the museum, so why do you keep popping up?”
“When I came here the first time to look at the building, I couldn’t stop looking at you. Then I was there to see Rose Woods about some PR for my club.”
“And now?”
“And now I am here because I want to take you out. Ever since I saw you I have wanted to get to know you better, outside of work.”
That was not at all what I was expecting. I finally met the dark gaze that was centered on me. “Are you asking me out?” I couldn’t believe the audacity of him.
“Yes. Come out with me and have a drink.”
“I don’t think that is such a good idea, Drake. Do you really think that it would be wise, considering the circumstances?”
He straightened up and nodded his head. “Well, I just know that I want to go out with you. Your circumstances can be changed, and I am the one that can change them.”
I didn’t like where this was going. I was sure that I had seen a movie about this very thing. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, come out with me, Erin, just one time, and I will keep the museum going.”
Drake stood up and smiled at the shock on my face. I couldn’t help but respond to the boyish grin with one of my own. I couldn’t help it, and I think he knew that as well. He handed me a card and I didn’t even look down at it. Instead I was feeling his hot hand and fingers against mine and trying desperately to breathe. I just needed to breathe. Why was it so hot in here, and why was the oxygen becoming so thin?
“Just think about it, Erin. But don’t think for too long. I am not going to wait forever.”
I just nodded like I didn’t have any sense. When he looked at me I really didn’t, so there wasn’t much to act. He was gone before my mind was working well enough to do anything anyways. I was sure that I had looked like an idiot, but could what he said really be true? Could it really be that easy? All I had to do was go out on one date? I wondered what that would entail, and if he would even stick to his side of the bargain. Could I really trust a man like him? I turned the card in my hand and wondered.
To be continued…