Chapter Thirteen
Brad
My plan was working. I hoped. It was risky—I knew that—but I wanted her to be completely surprised. I knew what she was thinking. She had told me as much. Mia didn’t think I was serious about going to New York, the pact, or her. She was about to find out just how wrong she was.
In order to keep her in the dark, I had quit texting her. I smiled, imagining how pissed she was at me. I bet she was cursing me and thinking of different ways to get revenge. I had gone radio silent. No texts, no little emojis, nothing. I wanted her to think I had changed my mind and had no intention of seeing her or rekindling our friendship.
It was risky. Very risky. Mia could be a bit of a hothead, and I was pressing her buttons, especially since she had only just started warming up to me. I walked past the baggage claim area at La Guardia and was glad I had only brought a single carry-on bag. Now that I was in the city, I didn’t want to waste another minute. I had to see her.
It had been a long time since I’d been in New York. It smelled different than LA. There was a different vibe altogether. I pulled up the handle of my suitcase, rolled out the doors, and inhaled the East Coast air. It was good to be home.
I hailed a taxi almost immediately. That was something else I had kind of missed. It was a bit fun to try to get a taxi to pull over. I gave the driver the name and address of Mia’s office and sat back to enjoy the ride. The hustle and bustle of the busy city never ceased to amaze me.
Though fully aware it was unprofessional for me to show up at her office unannounced, I figured it was safer territory. She wouldn’t make a big scene if we were in public and had her coworkers around us. At least I hoped she wouldn’t. She was going to be shocked when she saw me; I just hoped she didn’t throw anything at me or refuse to talk to me at all.
When the taxi stopped in front of the massive building, I hesitated a split second before jumping out and going inside. I read the directory and quickly found the offices of her magazine. The ride up in the elevator seemed to take forever, yet the second the doors slid open, I felt like it had been too short.
Gulping down the giant lump in my throat, I headed for the reception desk. A pretty young woman was smiling at me and looking me up and down. I was used to the attention, and it didn’t faze me, especially when I was on a mission.
“Hi,” she said, showing her perfect white teeth. “You look like you need something.”
“Someone, more like.”
That amped up her smile. “I’m someone.”
“I’m here to see Mia Hunter.”
The woman’s smile slipped a little as she nodded her head. “Oh. Let me see if she’s in.”
I waited while the woman called someone on the phone. I glanced around the walls, looking at the various past covers of the magazine that were framed and hanging on the wall.
“She’ll be right out,” the woman said.
I suddenly had the urge to run. I was excited and scared at the same time.
It wasn’t long before the huge doors opened and Mia strolled through. She took one look at me and stopped. I was paralyzed as well. She was absolutely fucking stunning. I knew she was pretty, but this woman was gorgeous. It was my same Mia but with a more refined, mature look. Her body was slender, her hips slightly fuller than I remembered. Her brown hair was still long but styled with choppy waves and some highlights.
I quickly looked her over, taking in the black pencil skirt, black high heels, and white shirt tucked in tight. My body instantly reacted to hers. Once I managed to catch my breath, I walked to her, dropped my bag, and threw my arms around her.
She was stiff, her arms hanging at her sides while I embraced her, squeezing her body against mine. I kissed one cheek and then the other before stepping back, my hands on either of her shoulders as I gazed into the hazel eyes I remembered so well.
“Hi.” I grinned. “You look amazing.” She was still in shock.
“Brad?” she croaked out.
“In the flesh,” I said, still grinning like an idiot.
“Brad? You’re here?”
I nodded. “I’m here. I told you I was coming.”
She was shaking her head as if she were seeing a ghost.
“Mia, are you okay?” I asked, a little concerned about her mental health.
She nodded but still didn’t answer.
Glancing over, I saw the woman at the desk openly staring at us. I shot her a look and she quickly diverted her eyes, pretending to busy herself on the computer in front of her.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” Mia said.
“I told you I was coming,” I repeated. “I was very serious, which I told you as well. You know when I set my mind to something, I’m going to do it,” I said, hoping to remind her of our old friendship.
“But, nothing. Two days and nothing.” She waved a hand. “And you’ve said things before and haven’t followed through.”
I dropped her shoulders and slapped my palm over my heart. “Ouch. I said I was sorry.”
“You didn’t tell me you were coming today. I mean, you didn’t tell me any date, actually.”
I winked. “I wanted to make sure it was a surprise. If you knew I was coming, you might have dodged me.”
“Yes. I definitely would have,” she spat out.
“Mia, come on now. You know you’re happy to see me. It’s been so long,” I soothed.
She opened her mouth to fire another retort but quickly shut it when she heard the doors open behind her.
An older woman with perfectly smooth black hair cut into a sleek bob walked through. She had a commanding appearance. She had to be someone important. She was beautiful in a regal sort of way. I imagined she had probably been a model in her youth. She had excellent bone structure and healthy, glowing skin despite her years.
Mia turned to look at the new arrival. “Helga!”
“Who’s this?” the woman asked, looking me up and down as if she were considering me for purchase.
“This is Brad,” Mia said.
“Brad!” Helga’s voice went up a couple octaves. “Oh my. I’ve heard about you,” she said, stepping forward and extending her hand.
I took her hand, kissed the top of it, and smiled. “I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”
She winked. “I guess that’s for you to determine, isn’t it?”
“This is Helga, my boss,” Mia said, making the introductions. “Helga, Brad.”
“Good to meet you, Helga.”
The woman turned to Mia. “Go. Get out of here. Your day is officially cleared. So is tomorrow.” She turned back to look at me. “You’ll be here for the weekend.”
Uncertain if it was a question or an order, I nodded my head. “Yes, I’ll be here through the weekend.”
I didn’t tell them I had planned to stay until Monday. If things went bad, I wanted to leave myself an out; I could say I had to work and change my flight and run away like I had in the past. I hoped it didn’t come to that, but this was a huge leap of faith. There was always a chance it wouldn’t work between us. After seeing her and touching her, I didn’t think that was going to be a problem at all, though. The chemistry between us was still there.
“Good. It’s settled then. Good-bye, Mia,” Helga said. She walked back through the doors.
Mia stood there, her mouth hanging open, and looked at me, then the doors. “I have to get my purse. And my laptop,” she mumbled before spinning on her heel and going through the same doors.
I turned to look at the receptionist, who seemed very interested in the situation.
“We haven’t seen each other in a while,” I said, trying to explain Mia’s reaction.
She nodded. “I didn’t realize Mia had a boyfriend.”
No reply seemed most prudent, so I didn’t disagree with her assumption. I was happy to hear Mia truly was single. In the back of my mind, I had been a little worried she was seeing someone and hadn’t told me. I knew she never believed I would show up.
Mia came back through the doors a few minutes later and slowly walked toward me. She stopped in front of me, stared at me a few seconds, and then moved to the elevator. I followed her, not saying a word. I could feel the receptionist staring at us, waiting to see what we would do. I wasn’t interested in putting on a show.
The elevator doors finally slid open, and Mia and I practically pushed each other out of the way in our rush to get on the elevator and out from under the prying eyes behind us.
The second the doors slid shut, she turned and looked at me. There was fury in her eyes, and realized I had just locked myself inside a small box with an angry woman. She slapped my shoulder and then my chest. I didn’t move. I let her. It was something she usually did when she was pissed or frustrated with me. It wasn’t a mean or hard hit; it was just her way of letting me know I’d pissed her off.
I raised an eyebrow, waiting to see if she had more to give.
“You horrible, rude, cruel man! How dare you show up here without an invitation! You actually think you can walk right back into my life after what you did to me? You pig. Slimy, nasty pig!”
I couldn’t help but smile at her. I had missed even this, her raging at me.
“Don’t you dare smile at me!” she shrieked. “You’re a world-class jerk!”
I kept smiling. I would let her get it all out now so the rest of my visit was relatively peaceful. I couldn’t deny her insults. They were all true.
She opened her mouth to call me more names, I assumed, but the elevator doors opened, preventing the words from coming out of her mouth. She stomped out of the elevator and across the marble floors to the tall doors leading outside. I followed her, easily keeping pace.
Outside, her arm shot up to hail a cab, and it didn’t take long for one to pull up to the curb.
“Where are you staying?” she asked, sliding into the back seat.
“With you,” I said, using my size to bodily push her across the seat of the cab.
Mia stared at me in horror. “No, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.”
“Where to?” the driver asked.
I looked at Mia, waiting for her to give the man her address. She made a loud growling sound before finally spitting it out.
Mia was frustrated and wanted to slap the shit out of me, but I smiled broadly the entire ride. That was all fine with me. I finally had her near me. I could smell her sweet perfume, and it was making me giddy. I felt like a teen girl meeting my crush for the first time.
She looked straight ahead, refusing to meet my eyes. I busted into laughter, earning me a quick glare before she focused on the road ahead.
She could try to ignore me all she wanted, but I wasn’t going away.