Chapter 10 Grant
“Ready to go?” I asked Ruby.
“Yes, sir,” she replied with a naughty smile. “Where are we going?”
“The Kennedy School Theater.”
“That’s such a cool idea.”
“I figured you might enjoy it. It’s not exactly the usual movie experience.”
She nodded. “That’s even better. What are we watching?”
“No idea. I just booked the evening slot.”
“Honestly, I like most everything.”
“I know that too,” I informed her, and she narrowed her eyes lightly.
I was deliberately making eye contact. I’d taken my time drinking her in earlier when she walked out of the restaurant.
She was a knockout, as usual. But I was determined not to make her uncomfortable just because I couldn’t take my eyes off her curves.
And since I was a gentleman, I escorted her toward my Lexus.
“It’s a twenty-minute drive, give or take,” I said.
“And you want us to go in your car?”
“Of course. I’m picking you up. ”
“Hmm. But that also means I can’t make a quick escape with my own car if I need to.”
I tilted my head as I opened the passenger door for her. “Do you foresee the need for an escape?”
“You never know. What if you turn out to be a giant bore?”
I threw my head back, laughing. Fucking hell, this woman.
“I’ll show you a bore,” I told her. “I like you, Ruby.”
“I like you too,” she replied, then rolled her shoulders back. “Otherwise, I wouldn’t have said yes to this.”
I carefully cupped her face, resting my thumbs at the corners of her mouth. Her eyes widened and she pressed her lips together before sliding into the seat. After closing her door, I went around to the driver’s side.
Once we were on the road, the traffic was fine until we approached the river crossing. The Broadway Bridge was almost at a standstill.
“Wow. I’m never out and about at this time. It’s really busy.”
“We’ll make it in time,” I assured her.
“So, is the Kennedy School Theater one of your favorites?”
“No, I’ve never been. I don’t really go to the movies.”
She furrowed her brow. “Then why did you decide on going tonight?”
“Daphne told me you enjoy movies, and I do too. I just usually watch them at home.”
“Okay, you have to spell it out. How did you get Daphne to tell you stuff about me?”
I gave her a half smile. “I’ve got my ways.”
She laughed. “I’m sure you do. But Daphne’s stubborn.”
“Yeah, she was. Let’s just say that I needed to make more of an effort than usual.”
“Oh, you bad man.” She pressed two fingers into my bicep. “You aren’t going to tell me anything, are you?”
“Nah. Why give away all of my secrets?”
“You know I can just ask Daphne, right?”
“She won’t tell you a thing. ”
She gasped. “You’re joking. She’s my best friend.”
“Trust me, she won’t.”
Ruby narrowed her eyes but didn’t say anything else. Then she glanced out the window, running her hand through her thick, shiny hair. I loved her blonde hair and full lips. Ruby was incredibly beautiful—from head to toe.
But her hair was different today. There seemed to be more of it, somehow. Maybe there were curls in it too. Yeah, that was it. That was the difference.
I couldn’t even believe that I was noticing such a detail. I could mentally scan a space for security purposes in minutes, but things like that usually escaped me completely.
This wasn’t like me at all. But apparently, when it came to Ruby, I wanted to commit every detail about her to memory.
“This city is so beautiful,” she said as we finally crossed the river.
“I agree.”
“How come you decided to stay in Portland?”
“It’s where I grew up. It never really crossed my mind to live anywhere else. My brothers and I discussed New York at some point, but then we decided that we could keep the base in Portland and operate everywhere in the country. We didn’t have to move our headquarters.”
“So, how does it work? You and your brothers are all co-CEOs? I’ve never heard of such a setup.”
“It’s easy because we have two departments. One deals with physical security—I do that. Digital security is more extensive, which is why both of my brothers deal with that division. But we all meddle a little bit in everything.”
“How did you come up with the idea of a security company in the first place?”
“I worked as a bodyguard when I was in high school.”
She turned to face me. “Really? Oh my God. Wait, high school? Was that even legal?”
“No. I lied about my age. I easily passed as being older. ”
“Wow. You really are something. And your parents approved?”
“They didn’t know at first. They thought I was actually going to clubs with friends.”
“So you spent every weekend working?”
I nodded. “I wanted to have my own money. They gave us an allowance, but I didn’t like to be dependent on them.”
She furrowed her brow but didn’t say anything.
“They did catch on eventually. Once, I was at the same club as Heath. He got sick because someone slipped something into his drink. They came to pick him up, then saw me, and the jig was up.”
“They weren’t happy, huh?”
“They didn’t like that I lied to them. And after that, I had other jobs for a while—ones I could legally do.
When I was in college in New York, I worked as a bodyguard again.
I was determined to make my own way. My brothers too.
We all got scholarships, but they only covered tuition.
We still needed to pay for room and board and so on, and we didn’t want to burden Sybil and Thomas.
They made good money, but not that much. ”
“I can imagine. You usually need to plan and put aside money for a college fund. If you suddenly take on three kids...” She grimaced.
“Exactly,” I agreed. “Anyway, it’s a good industry to be in. Unfortunately, crime rates aren’t getting any better, so business will always be booming.”
She laughed. “I can’t decide if that’s an optimistic or pessimistic point of view.”
“It can be both at the same time.”
“I’m not convinced.”
We arrived a short while later, and I found an empty parking spot a few blocks away near Florida Hill Park.
It was unusual for me to take a woman out to a movie with the sole intention of spending the evening with her just so we could get to know each other better. Yet here I was. It made me question everything I knew about myself.
After I parked, she got out and then stopped, closing her eyes and taking in a deep breath as she leaned against the car.
“God, I love June. It’s my favorite month.”
“Why?” I asked, walking closer to her until I was right in front of her.
Every minute of my day was allotted to a meeting or business of some kind. But tonight, I wasn’t in a rush at all. I wanted to enjoy this, whatever this was.
“It’s warm but not hot. The days are long. When I was in college, I hiked in the woods every chance I got.”
“You studied in Portland?”
“Seattle. Honestly, I don’t think I could move too far away from the Pacific Northwest. I love it too much.” She opened her eyes slowly. “What’s your favorite pastime?”
“Swimming.”
“Nice. That would explain it.”
“What?” She just pressed her lips together. “Explain what?” I repeated.
She looked down fast and then back up at me. Her cheeks were red. “All the muscles.”
I smirked. “You noticed them, huh?”
“Noticed? Oh my God. Like you could overlook them. Which reminds me.” She opened her purse and tipped it so I could see inside. “I’ve got your tie. Don’t forget it again. Want to put it in the car?”
“Nah, I’ll do that later. Come on, let’s go.”
“Yes, we don’t want to be late.”
I’d looked up the location before asking Fran to book us tickets. She’d been the one to suggest it in the first place. It was a converted school with very comfortable couches. They offered a menu of snacks and drinks, too, so it doubled as dinner for us tonight.
“Oh, they have so much to choose from. Much more than the usual popcorn or nachos,” Ruby said as we walked in. “What a brilliant idea. This way, it’s dinner and a movie.”
“Exactly. I figured you might want a different experience than going to a restaurant.”
“Thank you, Grant,” she said with such sincerity that it caught me completely off guard, as if I’d done her some big favor.
“I do like restaurants,” she continued as we looked at the menu hanging above the bar.
“But whenever I’m in one, I can’t turn my brain off.
I keep thinking of what they’re doing versus what I’m doing, how I could improve The Cozy Place, and so on. But tonight I can just relax.”
I put my hand on her back. I’d been dying to touch her the whole evening—only now that I did, I wanted more.
“That was the plan. Forget all about the restaurant and other things you need to do and just enjoy tonight.”
I wanted to kiss her hard and make her forget her own damn name. In fact, I wanted to do more than kiss her. So much more.
We both ordered the Kennedy mix, as they called it, which had an assortment of finger foods and drinks. We chose two seats near the aisle. There were a few other moviegoers, but it was in no way cramped. Out of habit, I looked around, marking the exits so I would be aware of them.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Checking out the area.”
“Oh, Grant!” she chuckled. “Let’s make a deal. I don’t think about the restaurant, and you don’t think about... dangers, okay?”
I looked her straight in the eyes and nodded.
The movie began a few moments later, and Ruby slid a bit lower in her seat. I put my arm around her shoulders, which felt great. How could I be so desperate to touch her? I wasn’t a fan of PDA. I liked having my personal space.
But all I wanted right then was to lean in closer and smell her perfume.
“Grant,” she whispered, “the movie. ”
Oh yeah, the fucking movie. I was supposed to pay attention, but even though I did look at the screen, I couldn’t really tell what was going on.
It had won an Oscar, which meant I wouldn’t like it.
I always liked more commercial stuff, which was typically poorly rated.
Not once in my life did I enjoy the movie that had won awards.