Chapter 4 - Sky
The city was busy as usual by the time I stepped out of my Pilates class with my gym bag slung over my shoulder. Still wearing my yoga pants and sports bra underneath a relatively thin zip-up hoodie, I shivered slightly as the cool morning air swept by me.
Regardless, I felt nice and refreshed after the class, and was looking forward to work even more.
It wasn’t out of the ordinary for me to head to work still in my athletic wear since I had the option to get changed in the office. Due to my busy schedule, it was usually the only way I could fit my weekly workouts in.
Following the natural flow of foot traffic on the sidewalk, I blended in and focused on getting to the office to avoid losing those extra moments I had for myself before the workday began. Everyone else around me moved with mutual purpose, and I kept up my pace to do the same.
Traffic also moved as it usually did. It was rush hour, so the jammed-up downtown highways were nothing new.
Even if the sights and sounds could be overwhelming, I enjoyed New York and everything that came with it. It was the opposite of what I came from, and no part of me wanted to leave the fast-paced lifestyle.
I grew up in rural Oregon with my dad, and ever since I was a teenager, I had my sights set on New York. It was everything I could ever want, and while he didn’t approve of me being so far from home, I made the move anyway.
Despite my efforts to keep in touch with him, our contact mostly fizzled out, and while I tried to at least call him during the holidays, it was a fifty-fifty chance if he actually picked up.
Being on my own in the big city was daunting and lonely at times, but between work and maintaining my friendship with Gemma, I felt at home. There was nowhere else I’d rather be.
After some time of walking, I couldn’t help but notice the black car on my left. Despite the other vehicles honking and trying to get around it, the sleek, luxurious-looking car made no effort to go any faster.
Instead, it seemed to linger.
That couldn’t be right, though. Surely not.
The cars were backed up by everyone trying to get to work at the same time. It was highly unlikely that anyone would be hanging back just to follow me.
That was what I told myself, at least. But the further I went, the longer it seemed to trail behind me, not moving far while the other cars managed to slip away one way or another.
As I stuck with that crowd of pedestrians, I tried to keep my head down and focus. I just needed to get to work, even if that paranoia was starting to get to me.
The more I saw the black car with tinted windows, the harder my heart pounded in my chest, and I could only think about the realities of what happened in the city. The dark things that the Levovs and Novikovs were privy to, and even participated in.
As much as Gemma tried to keep those things hidden from me out of fear of scaring me, she couldn’t always help herself from letting the occasional tidbit slip. Besides, from the few events of theirs I attended, there was no mistaking who they were or what kind of life they led.
Every one of them was beyond intimidating and cold in one way or another, and you’d have to be completely oblivious to remain unaware of their affiliations.
It was a shame, though. They were certainly interesting, but I knew someone like me shouldn’t get mixed up with any of them. Associating with Gemma was pushing it enough already.
Forcing a deep breath in and out, I tried to keep my wits about me as I moved with the crowd. Every part of me wanted to run and hide somewhere for my peace of mind, but I couldn’t. I had to get to the office, and I didn’t want to draw any attention to myself.
Instead, I found myself stuck at a crosswalk while we waited for the signal to walk.
It felt like an agonizing wait, but when I glanced over and didn’t see the black car again, I felt relief as it moved through me.
Maybe I was just being paranoid…it was nothing after all.
Then, that sleek paint job pulled up right beside me as the window rolled down, and my heart clenched all over again. More cars honked as drivers cursed the person out while they wheeled around the vehicle and pulled away, obviously annoyed by the interruption to the flow of things.
I was prepared to scream as my stomach squirmed, but the moment I saw Damien’s face, I sighed and put a hand against my chest.
Damien leaned toward the passenger side with a lopsided grin. “Need a ride?”
“Jesus…you scared me,” I said, taking a small step closer as the crosswalk signal changed, and everyone around me continued walking. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling slightly relieved that I knew the driver after all.
“Apologies…I noticed you there and thought I’d offer.”
Nodding my understanding, I adjusted my bag on my shoulder, not missing how his eyes discreetly trailed up and down my body, surely taking notice of my different attire.
“I appreciate the offer, but I’m fine walking.”
“You sure?” Damien asked again, lifting an expectant brow at me. “It’s no problem…I’m on the way to the same place anyway.”
A vague spark of irritation moved through me despite how I tried to appear pleasant on the outside. “Yeah, I’m sure. There’s no need to hold anyone else up,” I murmured, aware of the other honking cars and the lingering stares we were earning.
Damien scoffed quietly. “Everyone else can wait for all I care. I insist.”
More frustration bubbled within me. He just wasn’t getting it. “I’m fine, Damien.”
He narrowed his eyes at me slightly. “Don’t be so uptight. Just get in.”
“I’m perfectly capable—”
As our bickering continued, more cars honked and other pedestrians glanced over at us, likely questioning if there was a problem, or if I needed them to interfere.
For half a moment, I wished someone would just so Damien might take the hint, but those lingering gazes made my skin crawl, and I sighed. I hated causing a scene, and I hated how willing he was to make it happen even more.
The passenger door popped open, and Damien threw me a look that said he wasn’t willing to take no for an answer.
Tired of feeling like an interruption on the street, I forced out a breath and approached the car wordlessly.
“I’ll take that,” Damien said, reaching for my bag as his grin returned, looking more smug than before. When I gave it up, he put it in the back seat before correcting himself and turning his signal on while I sat down and buckled myself in, closing the door behind me.
Easily enough, Damien merged back into the line of traffic and rested his arm over the steering wheel casually.
As attractive as I found him, I was beginning to see those small habits and patterns in him that reminded me of how entitled he was. Impatient, too.
There was something beyond appealing about his strong features and the tan that never faded from his skin, along with the way his dark lashes framed those hazel eyes that seemed too expressive for his own good at times. Everything about him felt like an invitation to fall completely for him, but it was those small things that irritated me. That made me somewhat indifferent to him.
I wasn’t used to anyone trying to interrupt my morning like that or go out of their way to give me a ride, but the scene on the sidewalk was something I could live without.
Even when I insisted that I could handle my commute to work just fine, he refused to listen, and that stubbornness irked me.
It was hard to make me angry most days, but for some reason, Damien was beginning to get under my skin whether he knew it or not.
Forcing out a breath, I had no choice but to sit in his passenger seat while the radio played quietly but not loud enough to drown out the vaguely awkward silence in the car.
After a time of moving at a crawling pace, Damien glanced over at me and shamelessly looked me over again.
“Nice outfit, by the way.”
Forcing myself to be cordial, I took another steadying breath and looked ahead. “Thanks…”
“Did you come back from a class or something?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Pilates.”
He chuckled after a moment. “Pilates, eh? And here I was thinking you were a spin-class kind of woman.”
Still vaguely annoyed and uninterested in his banter then, I gave him a casted glance. “Are you patronizing me?”
A faint grin reached his lips again as he looked toward the road. “Maybe a bit…”
I scoffed to myself, wishing he’d just drop it and continue in silence instead of poking at me.
After my lack of response, Damien chuckled and threw me a quick look, clearly not dropping his amusement yet. “I’m only teasing. Most people are too lazy to workout at all…as far as I’m concerned, you’re more in shape than most.”
Lifting a curious brow, I watched as he drove. “Is that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Don’t act so surprised, I have quite a few in the chamber, you know.”
Despite being surprised by his words, feeling a faint blush move through my cheeks, I maintained my indifference and sighed. “I’m sure you do…”
“Confident…I like that,” he mused, far too smug for this early in the morning.
Doing everything I could to hide my fluster, I shook my head faintly and steeled myself against his teasing. “Something tells me I should’ve kept walking…”
To my surprise, Damien laughed quietly to himself at that, finally reaching a longer stretch of movement as the vehicles became less locked together. “Maybe so…but here you are anyway, right?”
Still irritated by his verbal poking and prodding, I sighed and sat quietly, trying to bide my time until we’d eventually reach the office building.
As ridiculously hot as he was, he was also aggravating, and I found myself itching for the chance to breathe normally again.
Catching on to my pointed silence, Damien glanced at me again before that smug grin settled on his lips once more, and he, too, decided to be quiet as he continued to drive. At the very least, he managed to take the hint.
Although, he still seemed far too pleased with himself for getting me in his car at last.