Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
London
The moment I stepped off the elevator, Sammy walked over to me.
“It’s lovely to see you again, London.” He smiled.
“Hi, Sammy.”
“May I ask where you’re off to?”
“Central Park.” I smiled.
“Very nice. If you come over here with me for a moment, I’d be happy to give you the map to Central Park, and I can point out which areas I think you’d really enjoy.”
“How sweet of you.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “I’d love that.”
I followed him to the corner by the door, and he pulled out a map of Central Park and opened it up.
“You are not going to Central Park by yourself at this time of the evening,” Damien spoke as he walked up behind me.
“I’m sorry, and who are you to tell me what I can and can’t do?” I asked as I turned around and stared into his eyes.
“The person you’re staying with for a couple of nights and apparently now your damn babysitter.”
“Just because I’m staying in your guestroom doesn’t mean you can tell me what to do. I’m twenty-five years old. I don’t need a babysitter. I travel alone, Mr. Prescott.”
“I don’t care. You’re a beautiful young woman, and you’re not going to Central Park by yourself tonight.”
“Then, are you coming with me?” I asked as I placed my hands on my hips.
“I guess I don’t have a choice.”
“Don’t you have work to do?” I cocked my head.
“Yes. I have a lot of work to do, and you’re taking me away from it.”
I glanced over at Sammy and gave him a smile. “Thank you, Sammy, and I’m sorry you have to hear all this.”
“No worries, London. Have fun in Central Park.”
“I won’t if he’s tagging along.” I turned and walked out the door.
“You think you’re so funny.” He followed me down the street. “Where the hell are you going? Central Park is the other way.”
“I’m stopping at this little Thai restaurant on the corner I saw. I’m hungry.”
“For fuck’s sake. Are you serious?”
“Go home, Mr. Prescott.” I put my hand up.
“You do not tell me what to do. Understand me?” he firmly spoke.
I rolled my eyes as I stepped inside the restaurant and walked up to the counter.
“Hello. May I help you?” the kind man behind the counter asked.
I looked up at the menu that was hanging on the wall. “I would like the Chicken Pad Thai and an order of your spring rolls, please.”
“For here or to go?” he asked. “To go. Mr. Prescott,” I turned and looked at him, “would you like anything?”
He let out a sigh and placed his order. “I’ll have the drunken noodles with shrimp. Medium spice.”
He rang up our order and gave me the total. I reached into my purse and grabbed my wallet.
“I got it,” Damien spoke with irritation.
“No, no. Let me pay. It’s the least I can do for your amazing hospitality.” I smirked.
“I said I got it.” His eye narrowed at me as he handed the nice man his credit card. “Add two bottles of water onto that.”
“Your order will be up in about fifteen minutes. You may have a seat over there.” He pointed to the long red couch that sat against the wall by the door.
Damien and I sat down and waited for our food.
“Thank you for dinner, Mr. Prescott, I spoke.
“You’re welcome,” he replied as he stared straight ahead. “I’m going to ask you to stop doing something because it’s really getting on my last nerve.”
“What?” I asked.
“For the love of God, stop calling me Mr. Prescott. It’s Damien. Got it?”
“Okay. Got it.” I smiled as I nudged his shoulder with mine.
He slowly turned his head and narrowed his eye at me.
“Don’t do that,” he spoke.”
“Your order is ready,” the man behind the counter spoke as he held up the plastic bag.
We both got up, and Damien took the bag from him, and we walked out the door.
“Aren’t we going to take a cab?” I asked.
“No. The East entrance to the park is only a five-minute walk from here.”
“Okay.” I grinned.
“Why did you decide tonight to go to Central Park? You have a month to see it.”
“Because it’s a beautiful night, and I just wanted to go and sit somewhere peaceful and enjoy a nice dinner.”
“You call Thai carry-out a nice dinner?” He glanced over at me.
“Yeah. I do. Are you going to be okay?” I asked.
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re not working.”
“And who do I have to thank for that?”
“I didn’t ask you to come. I was perfectly fine going by myself.”
“That’s just dumb, London. During the day, it’s fine, but at night, no. Think about it for a second. You sitting all alone on a blanket, eating Thai food. You’re the perfect target for some deranged person, and trust me. The city is full of them.”
“I can take care of myself, Damien.”
“Maybe you can or maybe you can’t, but I’m not taking the chance. That’s not something I want to carry around the rest of my life.”
“Aw, so you do like me.” I nudged his shoulder.
“I told you not to do that, and whether I like you or not is still up in the air. Right now, I’m not liking you very much.”
I rolled my eyes as we entered the park.
“Follow me. I think there’s something you might like to see,” he said.
I followed him a short distance until we reached a large bronze statue.
“Is that the famous Alice in Wonderland statue?” I asked with excitement.
“Yes. You’ve heard of it?”
“Of course!” “This is one of the reasons why I wanted to see Central Park.” I ran up to it. “Oh my gosh, look at it. It’s beautiful. Alice In Wonderland was my favorite Disney movie when I was a kid.”
I set the blanket down and pulled my phone from my purse. “Can you take a picture of me?” I asked as I handed him my phone.
I sat down on the mushroom in front of Alice and smiled. He took the picture and handed me my phone.
“Good job, Damien,” I spoke as I looked at the picture.
“We better eat now while there’s still some light left. Once it gets dark, we’ll have to leave this area.”
We sat on the benches across from the statue, pulled our cartons of food from the bag, and began eating.
“Since you’re staying as a guest in my penthouse, I want your story,” Damien said. “You flew directly from Nashville to New York. Where were you before Nashville?”
“Chicago.”
“Do you not have a job?” he asked.
“I do some freelance work, as you know.”
“Some freelance work doesn’t pay for all these little adventures you’re going on. How the hell do you afford it? Are you living off credit cards or something?”
“I have one credit card, and I have a savings account. I did have a job at a marketing firm, and when my mom passed away three years ago, she left me with a sizeable life insurance settlement.”
“I’m sorry about your mom. Am I to assume there’s no father in the picture?”
“I never knew my father. In fact, he doesn’t even know I exist. My mother had a falling out with her parents when she was nineteen years old.
She packed a bag and went to London to visit a friend of hers who was attending college there.
She met a man and fell in love. Little did she know he was married and had two children.
She found out he was married right before she discovered she was pregnant.
So, she broke it off with him and moved back to the states.
It was just her and me since I was a baby. ”
“So, he never knew about you?” he asked.
“Nope.”
“May I ask how she passed away?”
“Stage four lymphoma. She died within six months after she was diagnosed.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it.” I softly smiled at him.
“You collected the life insurance money and quit your job to travel the world? What are you running from?” His brow arched.
“I’m not running from anything. My mother was forty-two years old when she died. You never know when your time is up, and I want to make sure I see and do the things I’ve always wanted to before my time expires.”
“You’re twenty-five years old. You have plenty of time. What are you going to do when your money runs out? Have you ever thought about that?”
“I’ll figure it out.”
“You’re either a brave woman or a stupid one. I haven’t decided yet,” he spoke.
“There’s more to life than money, Damien.”
“Money is what makes a life, London. I grew up in poverty. I’m never going back there again.”
“And there’s a fine line between work and appreciating life.”
“I appreciate my life. I appreciate all the hard work I put into my company and the millions of dollars I make.”