Tumult (TSS Series Book 1) by Lea Hart (5)

CHAPTER FIVE

Thursday, October 12^th

New York City

Audrey walked along Beekman St. and wondered what had happened to fall. It had been in the seventies all week and she hoped that she’d get to see some of the leaves change before she left for Syria. Turning on Nassau St., she saw the beautiful Beekman Hotel where Carrick was staying and took a moment to admire the towers that were sparkling in the sky as the last of the sun faded.

It was one of her favorite buildings in the city and she was looking forward to spending a little time inside and being able to gawk at the nine-story atrium. Checking her watch, she saw that she’d given herself enough time to take in the pyramidal skylight before her meeting.

If she could get through the meeting quickly enough, she might even run up to the higher levels and look at the balustrades that were ornamented with flowers, dragons, and sunbursts.

Avoiding a crowd of tourists, she veered right and was inside the hotel before she knew it. Taking a moment to breathe in the scent of the old building, she let her lungs fill with the smell of books, furniture polish, and the beautiful fragrance coming from the enormous flower arrangement. Whoever had redone the hotel had succeeded fabulously because it felt like a glammed up version of the past. 

Crossing the mosaic marble threshold, she felt like she’d been dropped back into the golden age of travel, as the vintage Persian rugs and antique glass lamps beckoned her to take one of the crushed velvet chairs and stay a while.

And wouldn’t she love that.

Might be nice to move right into the Beekman Hotel and have them take care of her like some old eccentric bird with more money than sense.

Sighing, she walked toward the atrium, let go of the fantasy, and knew the best she could hope for was to grind toward a future that would allow her to live in more than eight hundred square feet.

She looked up and saw the last of the evening light fill the nine-story atrium and lost her breath for a moment. It was breathtakingly beautiful, and she wanted nothing to disturb the feeling of peace that had washed over her shoulders.

Hearing her name, she tried not to be irritated and turned to see Carrick standing with his arms crossed over his enormous chest. Good Lord, was he was smiling…at her?

How odd.

Also, did he get more attractive in the last week?

Narrowing her eyes, she tried to determine if it was possible and then realized it didn’t matter because he was, after all, entirely off limits. She waved and moved toward him, hoping he’d be pleasant. “How was the flight in?”

When they stood in front of one another and he didn’t respond, she decided to get rid of the awkwardness and opened her arms. “Welcome to New York, appreciate you making the trip in for the dog and pony show. Didn’t think it was going to be necessary, but I was wrong.” He enfolded her in his arms and she was surprised that he was such a good hugger.

“No problem,” he replied gruffly. Letting her go, he stepped back and ran his hand over his neck. “I saw you admiring the atrium; have you ever been here before?”

“I have, but it’s always to meet with clients, so I’ve never had a chance to geek out and simply take in the beautiful architecture.”

“Are you a fan of old landmarks?”

“Absolutely, especially when they find new life. Did you know that Edgar Allen Poe was once a resident?”

Carrick shook his head. “Had no idea.”

“I love history, so I have a tendency to remember obscure facts that are of little value.” Shrugging, she looked up at the atrium again and let out a sigh. “Enough about this old beauty, would you like to grab a drink and go over the details of the meeting? It shouldn’t take long, so you should be able to get on with your evening plans quickly.”

“Audrey, you are my plans for the evening.”

Another smile. What the hell was going on? His vibe was completely different than it was when they met in San Diego and she wondered if perhaps he was suffering from some sort of…She didn’t even know what could cause such a change. “Uh…I guess that would be fine.”

“I thought we’d grab some dinner and go over the latest developments in Syria and see how they’re going to affect our travel plans.”

“Sure, that makes sense.” Moving her hair off her shoulder, she studied him and tried to figure out what had changed and why his smile appeared so warm and inviting. “I figured you’d have something exciting planned and I didn’t know if it would make sense to discuss details until we got approval from the publisher.”

“We can do it in the morning if you’ve got a date or something.”

The way he frowned when he said the word date made her think he was suggesting she was about to go and get a voluntary disease. Which some of her dates had been like, but he didn’t know that. “The only plan I have is to slip up to the higher floors so I can see the dragons.”

Carrick looked up and shook his head. “Haven’t seen any dragons since I’ve been here.”

“They’re up on the ceiling. Along with flowers and sunbursts.”

“Guess I know what we’re doing after dinner.” He moved forward and put his hand on her lower back and steered them in the direction of the bar. “Let’s get that drink before we take on any deadly beasts.”

“You don’t have to go with me. Your tour of duty doesn’t begin until we land in Turkey, so there’s no need to subject yourself to my company before it becomes necessary.” When he frowned, she realized she was being snippy. “I mean…”

“Audrey, you have no idea what I might be interested in, so don’t make assumptions.”

They stood on the threshold of the Bar Room and Audrey felt like she’d been chastised. Not enjoying the feeling, she squared her shoulders and decided to keep future conversations focused on the upcoming trip. Carrick Young was going to be her bodyguard and nothing more and, as such, they didn’t need to discover what the other was interested in or anything else of a personal nature.

The moment her professional cloak was firmly in place, she felt herself relax. She knew how to behave when it came to business associates and that’s precisely what Carrick was. No more.

And no less.

Smiling to herself, she moved toward the bar and congratulated herself on the quick attitude adjustment. She could handle the Carrick Youngs of this world with her eyes closed as long as she never thought of him as more than a professional acquaintance.

Which clearly, wasn’t going to be a problem.

***

Carrick pulled out a green leather chair at the bar and saw Audrey’s long legs swing around as she sat down. Racehorse legs was the phrase that came to mind. She was tall and lithe and he was doing his damnedest not to notice.

So far, he was failing miserably.

He took his own seat and faced the green marble bar and decided to focus on what he wanted to drink. Since he always had the same thing, it took less than five seconds. Glancing over, he saw Audrey studying the menu and wondered what her favorite libation was. If he had to guess, he’d say she was a frou-frou cocktail sort of woman.

When the bartender approached, he waited to see if the assumptions he’d made about the woman were correct.

“I’d like the Love, Gratitude, Bourbon, Tolerance please.”

Looking over, he wondered what in the hell she’d gotten herself. Deciding he was going to have to wait for an answer, he ordered his Vliet Pilsner and watched the bartender walk away. Before he could ask, he heard her speak.

“The drink benefits the God’s Love We Deliver charity, so in case you had any questions about whether I was a bleeding-heart liberal, they’ve been answered.”

“I had no preconceived notions about you.”

“You do realize that my IQ far surpasses my bra size and the chances of me believing a lie like that are just about zilch.”

Turning in his seat, he faced her and looped his arm over the back of her chair. “Okay, Barnes. Cards on the table—let’s just get it out of the way. I do have certain assumptions about you because that’s what people do when they first meet someone. But none it matters if we end up working together. You could be a purple dragon with a tendency to sing show tunes and it wouldn’t make a damn bit of difference to me. I will keep you safe no matter who you vote for, what music you listen to, and who you decide your god is.”

“I appreciate your frankness and want you to breathe a little easier because I sing Motown when given the choice, not show tunes.”

“I can live with that.”

She looked around the room and then returned her focus to him. “Unlike you, it matters to me, so I did my research. I know you come from an extremely wealthy family. Surprisingly, you went to USC instead of your dad’s alma mater, Xavier, which makes me think that you’re a bit of a rebel. The two years you spent at home after graduating, I’m assuming was your way of fulfilling your familial obligations before you went off and did what you really wanted to do and that was join the Navy. Your career, of course, is top-secret so I’m only guessing you fulfilled all your dreams about adventure and honor. You’ve been with Titan for a year and by all accounts, it’s going well.”

Their drinks were delivered and Audrey took a sip. “And I’m guessing you think I’m an uptight ball-busting lawyer who’s a pain in the ass. I’d also bet you think my neo-liberal bleeding-heart politics might get us killed when we head over to Syria, but since you miss the thrill of battle, you’re willing to allow me the indulgence.”

Raising an eyebrow, he drank his beer and kept his mouth shut. There wasn’t a thing he could say to dispute the unambiguous and accurate description she’d just voiced. The fact that she got him on such a fundamental level was disconcerting because no one ever had, and he didn’t think it was because he was such a mystery. “To be absolutely clear, I don’t think you’re absolutely on the left or the right and as far as your bleeding heart goes…well, it’s better to have one than none at all. I’m pleading the fifth on the rest because I don’t want to get in more trouble with you than I already am.”

Audrey lifted her glass and held it up. “To unlikely alliances.”

He clicked his glass against hers and noticed once again that she was one hundred percent breathtakingly beautiful. Her face was perfectly symmetrical, and her smile was as empty of craftiness as a child’s. There wasn’t an ounce of artifice in her and, for the first time in forever, he wanted to get to know a woman.

And not just in between the sheets.

Though that would be freaking fantastic.

“Now that you’ve surgically examined my life, I have just one question for you, Audrey.”

“And what’s that, Carrick?”

He studied her as she leaned her chin in her hand and smiled at him with more happiness than he was used to seeing in a person’s face. And in that second, he was hit over the head metaphorically, when he realized that’s what was so damn enticing—her happiness. She was exactly where she wanted to be, doing what she wanted to for reasons that mattered only to her. Which was a luxury most people were never able to indulge. “What made you leave the partner fast track at Sullivan & Cromwell?”

Sitting up, she took a sip of her drink and fussed with her napkin. “The reason doesn’t reflect well on me because it shows how stubborn and impetuous I can be when pushed. Considering you don’t have a great opinion of me, I’d rather skip it.”

Letting out a chuckle, he made the “gimme” motion with his hands. “Spill.”

“Fine. I got into a fight with my boyfriend and he basically said that he wouldn’t be interested in me if I weren't headed for a partnership.” Looking up, she scrunched her nose and then drained her drink and signaled for another one. “The conversation afforded me the opportunity to see what was in his heart and all I saw were dollar signs and ambition. Not surprisingly, we broke up and I took a step back and examined my life and wondered what the hell I was doing. I resigned from the firm and went to work for a Catholic charity that was working in Greece on the refugee crisis. I spent a year in Athens and offered my services to people who were stuck in no man's land. When the year was up, I came home and wrote about my experience. It all turned out, but one small argument had me upending a career that I worked hard for and all because I didn’t like being thought of as a commodity.”

The bartender came by and delivered another round and Audrey ordered clams casino and caramelized onion dip with gaufrette potatoes. “Did you just order onion dip and chips?”

“I sure did, because nothing goes better with whiskey than chips and dip.”

Leaning over, he dropped his hand to her shoulder and nodded. “I think the story shows exactly who you are and, as far as I can tell, you’re someone to be admired.”

“Did you just give me your stamp of approval?”

“I sure as hell did.” Not wanting to say more, he looked at the veined glass that sat behind the bar and wondered how long he was going to be able to ignore his growing attraction to the woman sitting beside him. He sure as hell had to find a way because shit was serious where they were headed and they weren’t going to be far from the fighting in Raqqa.

The last thing he needed to be was distracted and the fact that he’d been repeating that mantra since their previous conversation wasn’t something he wanted to spend too much time thinking about. Which meant he had to lock down any inclinations he had and treat her like any other client.

Most people thought of him as a damn machine and now certainly wasn’t the time to let that go. Except he saw her large almond eyes in the mirror and the last thing he wanted to be was a machine. In fact, he wanted to be nothing more than a man free to indulge his curiosity with a desirable woman.

Why did things have to be complicated?

Because that was life, he reminded himself. There were few times when you got to do what you wanted without repercussions. He knew that better than most and the fact that he was questioning the well-worn truth at this particular moment was foolish.

Except he felt all kinds of foolish as he saw Audrey’s oversized sweater slip off her shoulder. Seeing her creamy skin revealed along with her long neck had him gritting his teeth.

Control.

He needed some fucking control.

Inhaling a deep breath through his nose, he recited the current stats of his favorite football team and, since their season was in the shitter, he was able to get his mind off his libidinous thoughts until he saw her long fingers push her sweater back over her shoulder.

“Carrick, are you feeling okay? You looked a little flushed.”

Giving her a wide confident smile, he shrugged. “Never better.” Their appetizers were delivered and he watched her dive in and silently groaned as he watched her mouth move. “Let’s talk about the current conditions in Syria.”

Turning, she gave him a funny look and then nodded. “All right.”

He lifted his glass and congratulated himself because nothing put a damper on wayward sexy thoughts like a discussion of war. And that’s what they were about to walk into—the last stand between the YPG and ISIS.

“I read today that…”

He tuned out as she spoke and realized he was going to have to keep a tight leash on himself as they moved forward because, if he didn’t, they were not going to come home unharmed.

And that would be entirely unacceptable.