Chapter 12 Shadows and Dreams
Shadows and Dreams
AVA
I wake up in a car, a nice car. Gabe’s driving. I see a Maserati symbol on the steering wheel, the Trident plain as day, but all I remember is basically getting the crap kissed out of me by my new boss, seeing visions of blood, tasting something so good, was it his kiss? A dream? Did I pass out?
“Sorry about that fall.” Gabe apologizes and reaches over to pat me on the thigh before that same hand goes back to the steering wheel.
“You had us both super worried. Eli came running for me, yelling in a panic. You really need to get more comfortable heels.”
My eyes are blurry.
“I feel drunk.”
“Ah yeah, that happens after you get a concussion.”
“I have a concussion?” I wail, touching my head. There’s a bandage there and, in my other hand, an ice pack.
“I don’t even remember falling!”
“Oh?” He frowns ahead at the road.
“That’s so weird, you were going over his final schedule for tomorrow, he was reading it, he said you were staring out the window and your hair tie fell out, he helped you, do you remember that much?”
The memories are like shadows. I remember the paper clips, handing him the portfolio, the pretty moon, tripping into his arms and wanting him to kiss me, but everything after that is fuzzy.
I rub my temples and look down. My shirt’s tucked in, my hair’s back in the same ponytail. I have a weird vision of Eli’s eyes flaming blue, of being kissed senseless, of being threatened, of being so turned on that I almost panted after him.
“Hey, you good? A lot of people have weird shadows and dreams when they have concussions, hope now that you’re okay, yours was a trip.
I left the portfolio in your bag in case you wanted to drop it off at his apartment.
The doorman can let you in, just let him know Gabe sent you. He’ll be at his other home anyway.”
I nod slowly, still trying to process.
“Do I need someone to constantly wake me up in case I fall asleep?”
He smiles to himself, his grin adorable.
“We have constant wake-up calls for you every few hours and if you don’t answer, one of my assistants has the key to the door to wake you up and has been told to stay with you if need be. She’ll be in the room next door, so you don’t have to worry about anything.”
“Wow.” I squeeze my eyes shut.
“It’s like you’ve covered everything.”
“We always do.” He clears his throat, his tone serious as his hands flex and unflex against the leather of the wheel.
“Anyway…” He pulls the car to the curb of the large skyscraper.
“Take the day off, rest, make sure you eat, and don’t forget to drop off the portfolio, it’s important he has information. He has to stop by in the morning anyway to grab his car since he most likely had his driver take him home, he was pretty shaken up.”
“The driver?” I guess.
Gabe laughs.
“Wow, that’s adorable. No, about you.”
My heart warms in my chest.
“But he’s grumpy all the time, he hates me.”
“He technically just hates everyone that isn’t as fast as he is, but he’s a good person. Believe me. I know.” He unlocks the doors.
“Stay safe and don’t forget your purse.”
I nod.
“Okay portfolio, right, tell the doorman to let me in.”
“Actually…” Gabe searches his jacket, then grabs his phone.
“…I may still have his entry for his apartment on my phone.” He frowns, scrolls for a solid minute.
“Agh, got it from the Christmas party. He was so pissed I made him dress as Santa.”
I laugh. I can’t help it.
“Did he actually do it?”
“Hell ya he did. I spiked his eggnog.”
I laugh harder.
“I can’t imagine an out of control Eli.”
Gabe smirks down at his phone.
“Well, I’m sure you’ll see it soon, it’s quite… invigorating.”
Okay, strange word, but I smile anyway.
“Thanks for the save and I’ll be sure to stop tripping on the stupid area rug in his office.”
“Maybe flats next time, some assistants even buy tennis shoes.” His smile is adorable.
“No judgement, it makes it easier to run.”
I touch my head as a pulsing sensation begins at the base of my neck and snakes around my face.
I’m hot. I’m cold.
And then I see the blue of Eli’s eyes. Run? Did he say Run? Hunt?
“Everything okay?” Gabe asks.
“I can take you back to the hospital if you aren’t feeling well. You didn’t throw up, so that’s a good sign and your pupils are normal.”
“Yeah,” I say after a few seconds.
“I think I’m fine, I think? I’m just thinking about one of the dreams I had.”
“I used to have dreams about chickens.” Gabe nods slowly.
“And now when I see them—the live ones—I literally want to power walk in the other direction. It’s just weird that you can cut their heads off and they still run around, it’s not natural.”
“I’m sure there are a lot of things in this world that aren’t natural, just my opinion.” I joke.
Maybe it falls flat, because he suddenly looks so serious and tense I want to jump out of the car, kind of out of character from what I’ve seen so far.
“Yeah, well… life is full of the misunderstood, you know?”
“Including chickens?”
“Always and I do mean always including chickens.” He nods up to the apartment.
“Get some sleep, oh and I’ll text you the code, okay?”
I nod.
“Thanks again.”
“Don’t mention it.” He flashes a smile as I get out of the car and walk into the building, the doorman in his black and white uniform with his red tie opens the door and lets me through the marble-floored lobby to the elevator.
He’s elderly, maybe in his seventies, his eyes are very blue, and his hair very white.
“Heard you had a fall Miss Ava, how are you faring?”
I smile and look down at the elevator floor as he presses the button.
“I’m feeling much better thanks to Gabe and Eli.”
“Heroes those boys.” His chuckle is full of happiness and trust, I can taste it in the air.
“Hired me after I already retired to help take care of my family, best job I ever had. Good people. Really good people.”
I wasn’t so sure about Eli yet, but I agreed with his assumption of Gabe.
“Yes. Yes, they are.”
The elevator dings, he holds out his hand.
“Oh, did you need the code to Mr. Eli’s apartment?” He starts digging around in his jacket.
“No need.” I grab my phone and hold it up as a text from Gabe comes through.
“I have it right here.”
He nods.
“We have alarms set up for you just in case and the assistant next door was a nurse in another life, no need to be concerned, you’ll have a restful sleep.”
What if I want a fitful one where I get my hair pulled though?
I shake the weird random thought away and touch the paperclip elastic band in my hair.
“Right. Thank you.”
I take a deep breath and choose to walk to my apartment first. I type in the code, change out of my clothes and, since I know I’m not seeing him at all, take off my bra and throw on a white shirt and black sleep shorts.
I keep the paperclip elastic in and put on the Birkenstocks I’d bought the other day, then grab the portfolio and check my phone again, bringing it with me.
I laugh. His code is 6666.
Ah, just take one away and we have grumpy alpha, I’m still laughing when I get to the penthouse with the schedule. I type it in really quick. The beeping sound hits and it turns green.
It’s massive. I didn’t exactly expect the penthouse to have two floors or for it to have a panoramic view of the city.
A full, tempting glass of red wine rests on the counter. How wasteful! I look around and I know I shouldn’t, but I lift it to my nose and smell. It’s clearly expensive. I take a quick sip, then another, before setting it back down and arranging the portfolio on the pristine white counter.
I take one last look around, tempted to jump onto his fluffy white blanket covering his jet-black sectional, but think better of it.
Frowning, I notice the fireplace is going and the sliding glass doors that open to the balcony on both sides are slightly open.
Seriously, this guy. Does he have any responsibility toward electric bills, air, wasted wine, people, at all?
I close the sliding glass pocket doors and make sure to lock them, then ten minutes later locate the controller for the blue rectangular fireplace set in the middle of the room.
“Off.” I click it and end up turning down the lights, well I guess that’s not the worst idea, I leave as is. The only light filtering into the apartment is from one of the rooms off to the right and the outdoor lights, making it still possible to see but making it more intimate.
“Never dates, my ass.”
I set the remote down and notice another light on in the hall. Should I turn that off too? If he knows later that I was here he’s going to probably blame me for whatever reason.
Begrudgingly, I walk toward the light and stop at the primary bedroom.
So wasteful!
“Damn rich people.” I reach to turn off the light on the side of the room when I hear a noise. Frowning, I follow it into the master bathroom, a candle’s lit.
Is there no end to his immaturity?
I blow it out, it’s darker but still, I can see.
I turn around to leave when a dark figure appears between the bathroom and bedroom. He turns around quickly, his eyes electric blue, his hair wet.
And completely naked.
I. Am. So. Totally. Fired.
I weakly say.
“I was dropping off the portfolio and saw lights and didn’t want to waste electricity.”
His chest heaves, his mouth parts as he braces himself against the wall and screams.
“LEAVE!”