Ruby
Ruby
R uby stood on the empty elevator blinking at the closed doors, trying to figure out if she had just heard Luke say what she thought that she had. He was the head of security at the firm that she worked for and every day, he checked her bags and said good morning to her, but she was sure that he did that for everyone who passed through the front doors into the building. She had no idea that he thought that she was—what did he call her? Oh yeah, hot as hell. No one had ever called her that and she was still in shock hearing the hunky hulk say those words to her.
“Wow,” she breathed. “He thinks I’m hot as hell,” she repeated. The words didn’t even feel right on her own tongue. It was as if she was repeating a lie to herself, and she almost wanted to laugh at how ridiculous it sounded.
She was jolted backward when the elevator started to ascend to the seventh floor. Shit, she had forgotten to get off of the damn elevator after what Luke had said to her, and now, she was going to have to work her way back down to the lobby. A part of her thought about just heading back up to her desk and hiding out there for a bit until she could sneak out of the building without running into Luke again. But that would be ridiculous. She needed to get herself together and leave the building, just as she had planned. Then, she’d go home, make herself some dinner, and open a big bottle of wine.
When the elevator stopped on the seventh floor to pick up passengers, she stepped to the back of the car and asked for someone to push the button for the lobby. If she was lucky, she’d be able to hide in the crowd of passengers who had just gotten onto the elevator and leave the building without having to see Luke again. She needed time to process everything that he had said and that was going to require copious amounts of wine.
She didn’t feel as though she had taken a breath the entire time she made a run for it to her car. Ruby felt as though she was acting like a child, and if anyone knew what she was doing—running and hiding from a grown man, they’d believe she was a complete fool. How many women would run away from a man who looked like Luke Tracy? She was betting that the answer was not many.
As soon as she made it home to her tiny apartment that she had rented purely because it was close to the office, she pulled off her jacket and Converse and practically flung herself onto the sofa. What a day and all she could hear in her head was Luke’s voice telling her that he thought that she was hot as hell. It was playing on a loop up there and nothing she did would shake it loose.
The knock at her front door startled her from her daydreams and she sighed, standing to answer it. She pulled the door open and found her neighbor, Millie standing on the other side.
“Hey,” Millie said.
“Hi, Millie,” Ruby breathed. “Listen I just got home and I’m exhausted.”
“Oh,” Millie whispered. “So, you’re not up for dinner then. It’s fine, really. We can just reschedule.”
“Reschedule?” Ruby asked. “Crap, I forgot about our dinner plans,” she said. “I’m so sorry. Come on in.” she stood aside to let her friend in, and Millie looked hesitant.
“It’s fine if you want to reschedule,” Millie said again.
“Not at all,” Ruby insisted. “I was about to open a bottle of wine to help me unwind. I’m sure I’ll get my second wind as soon as I down my first glass. We can order some takeout if that works for you.”
“Well, I could go for some Asian takeout,” Millie agreed.
“Deal,” Ruby said. “I’ll call in our order and you grab the wine from the fridge and open it. You know where everything is.”
“Yep,” Millie said, seeming to pep up a bit. Millie had been her only friend in town since she moved into the apartment two months ago. Honestly, besides a few people at work, she didn’t know anyone in her new hometown. Being alone usually worked for her since she was kind of a homebody and very much a loner. Ruby didn’t go out to clubs or parties like other girls her age. At only twenty-four, she should have been living it up, going on dates with men her age, but she was always a bit shy and tried to hide away. It was easy to do since guys weren’t beating down her door, begging her to go out with them. No one wanted to date a nerd.
Millie poured her a glass of wine and handed it to her. “So, how’s the new job?” She asked Ruby that every time they got together. She had been working for Alex McTavish for almost two months now, and Ruby always gave her the same answer.
“It’s great,” she said. “Although something interesting happened today.”
“Share,” Millie insisted. Ruby instantly regretted bringing up the incident with Luke. She and Millie weren’t friends like that yet, but Ruby had no one else to spill the beans to.
“The hot guy in charge of security at my building told me that I was hot. Well, he said, ‘hot as hell,’ but you get the gist.”
“Oh—that is something,” Millie agreed. “Do you like this guy?”
“I mean, I never really thought about him that way. Sure, I’ve noticed him and all, but I never thought that he even knew who I was,” Ruby admitted.
“But he does, so you like him?” Millie pushed.
“We’ve only said a handful of words to each other, but yeah, I think he’s nice,” Ruby admitted.
“And hot,” Millie said. “Don’t forget that you said that he’s hot.”
“Yes,” Ruby agreed. “He’s nice and hot.” God, she sounded like an idiot and now, she fully regretted bringing up the subject with Millie. “Let me call in the order. You want your normal meal?”
“Yep,” Millie agreed. “P7—the orange chicken and fried rice combo.”
Ruby nodded and told the woman who answered the call their order. She was promised that the food would get to them in about twenty minutes, and she wondered how she’d be able to change the subject because talking about hot, nice Luke until their food got there wasn’t going to happen.
She ended the call and Millie sat down on the sofa next to her, wearing a huge smile. “So, what are you going to do about Luke?” she asked.
“Um, nothing,” Ruby admitted. “I work with him, and I’d be mortified if I asked him out and he said no.”
“I get that,” Millie said. “I’ve been turned down before and it hurts. It doesn’t hurt to play things safe,” she said. “Let him come to you.” As if that would ever happen. Guys like Luke didn’t come for her—ever.
Ruby did her best to make small talk while Millie kept trying to drive the topic back to Luke. Ruby said a little prayer of thanks when the delivery guy knocked on her front door.
“That must be the food,” she said. “Give me just a minute.” She pulled the front door open and gasped when she found Luke standing there. “You’re not the delivery guy,” she said.
“Who is it?” Millie asked. She joined Ruby in the doorway and gasped a bit as she looked Luke over. “Wow, the delivery guy’s hot.”
“Millie, this is Luke,” she said.
“You weren’t kidding, he is hot,” Millie said.
“You told her about me?” Luke asked, smiling at her like a loon. Ruby suddenly wondered how the hell she had gotten herself into this mess. The better question was how the hell was she going to get out of it?
“No,” she lied.
“Oh, she told me all about how you told her she’s hot while you both were on the elevator,” Millie shared.
Ruby shot Millie a look, trying to silently tell her to shut up, and Luke laughed. “What can I do for you, Luke?” she asked.
“I’m in a bit of trouble and I need your help,” he admitted.
“How can I help you?” Ruby asked.
“By giving me a place to lay low,” he said. “I’ll explain everything, if you’ll just let me in, Ruby, please.”
“How about you send my order over to me and I’ll leave you two alone,” Millie asked.
“You don’t have to leave, Millie,” Ruby insisted.
“I don’t mind,” she said. “What are friends for?” She winked at Ruby and all she could muster was rolling her eyes.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll have the delivery guy bring your half over when he gets here,” Ruby agreed.
“Nice meeting you, Luke,” Millie said as she brushed a little too closely by the big guy. He nodded and gave her his best smile, but Ruby could see that it didn’t reach his eyes.
Ruby let Luke into her place and shut her front door. She didn’t even offer the poor guy something to drink before she crossed her arms over her chest and told him to, “Spill it.”
“I think I’m being watched,” he admitted, “and, I need a place to stay for a while. I had no one else to turn to,” he said.
“You have no other friends or family in the area?” she asked. Sure, she was prying, but she couldn’t help it.
“No,” he admitted. “Well, no friends that I want to be involved in this mess. Alex and Rod both have families and I’m worried that whoever is watching me is really trying to get to them.”
“To the McTavish’s?” she asked. “Why would someone want to hurt them?”
“I’m not sure, but I need time and space to figure that all out. That’s where you come in, Ruby.”
“Fine,” she said. “You can hang out here for as long as you’d like. But for the record, you don’t need to lie to me and tell me that I’m hot next time you want something from me.”
He dropped his duffel bag in the corner of her small family room and turned back to smile at her. “For the record, honey,” he said, giving her back her words, “it wasn’t a lie.”