Chapter 10
Sawyer
By the end of the second week, Z seemed to be adjusting well as part of the staff.
I watched on the cameras as she hugged two of the laundry girls and headed for the elevators.
Watching her move comfortably around the building was one of my favorite things to do.
It felt like she was living freely, although she hadn’t been outside the building since she’d come back from the hospital.
Something had her terrified of going outside of this place.
For the past twenty-five minutes, I had been staring at my phone.
All it would take was one grainy picture and all my questions would be answered.
I had taken half a dozen stills of Z from security cameras in the hall.
If I sent one of them to our private tech guy, Psalm, I would know who she was before it was time for me to take her to the show tonight.
My guy was good. It didn’t matter where she was from or how far she’d traveled, he could find her.
My finger hovered over the send button as it had about fifteen times since I sat behind my desk.
Instead of sending the picture, I tossed my phone on my desk and blew out a gust of hot air.
Z was here under a fake name for a reason.
She felt like she needed to hide. I appreciated the fact that she felt safe with me.
The last thing I wanted to do was betray her trust and become something else she needed protection from.
Sending that message could possibly send up a red flag.
Not knowing who the hell she was hiding from limited my resources.
For all I knew, there was a bounty on her.
I didn’t need to pull my protective covering off her.
If anything, I needed to cover her more.
She would tell me what I needed to know in due time.
For now, her secrets were safe with me. A knock on my office door caused me to look up from the screens as Chris let himself in.
“You busy?” he asked, walking over to my desk.
“When am I not busy?”
“Yeah right. I bet you’re in here watching that girl.”
“What girl?”
“Whatever, man. Who do you think you’re fooling? You know what damn girl.”
“I’m just making sure she’s adjusting to her new position. It’s not like you didn’t see what I saw in that bathroom.”
“I was right there with you, but I haven’t been down to the laundry room every day for two weeks.”
“I own the hotel. I have to make sure shit is copacetic around here.”
“Admit you’ve got it bad, and I won’t call and aggravate you for a week.”
“In that case, I love her. Now stop acting like you can’t do your job without me standing over you.”
“Whatever. I just think it’s nice to finally see you with a woman.”
I didn’t know why that made me laugh. “See your way out my damn business.”
“I’m gone,” he said, moving back toward the door. “I just came by to check on you, lover boy. Stop watching the woman on these cameras. Get your big ass up, take the night off, and show your lady a good time.”
“Out!” I said, chuckling as he closed the door behind him.
Instead of walking Z back from work for the fifth time this week, I waited next to the elevator on her floor. I had given her a key that allowed her access to the floor after the first couple of days because that was the only way she would be able to stop on the executive room floor.
“Look at you waiting for me,” she said, smiling as she walked off the elevator.
“How was your day?” I asked.
“It was good. What’s all that?” she asked, referring to the bags in my hands.
“Let me in so I can show you,” I suggested.
“Why didn’t you let yourself in? You have a key, don’t you?”
“I do, but I didn’t want to invade your privacy like that. This is your personal space,” I said as I followed her into the room.
“I appreciate your consideration.”
I waited while she opened the door, slapping her on the ass as I followed her inside. She smirked, looking over her shoulder at me. I winked, making her shake her head. After placing the bags in my hands on the counter, I looked up at her as she waited with her arms folded across her chest.
“Go ahead and take a shower and unwind while I set everything up,” I instructed.
“Aren’t we bossy today. Thankfully, that sounds perfect to me,” she said, smirking as she sauntered over to the closet.
“I thought it would.”
“Well, if you’ll excuse me. I’m about to freshen up.”
“I’ll be here when you get out.”
Once Z was in the bathroom with the door closed, I went to work.
Twenty or thirty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom dressed in a pink T-shirt dress.
She had taken her hair down from the ponytail, and it draped over her shoulders in thick waves.
Her white toenails stood out since she walked around barefoot.
This woman was so cute. I wasn’t even sure if I had ever used that word in my life.
“I did not expect to come out here and find you cooking.”
“What did you expect?”
“Not this. I don’t think I would have ever imagined you cooking. You look more like an order takeout or have someone else cook kind of guy.”
“Two things can be true.”
“I knew it.”
“It’s good to be able to do things for yourself too.”
“What’s for dinner?” she asked.
“Are you hungry?”
“That’s a question you don’t even have to ask. I’m sure you hear my stomach growling from over there.”
“Could that be because you defied me by skipping lunch again?”
She smiled but looked down at her feet.
“Don’t look down. I asked you a question, mama. Why do you insist on starving yourself? I don’t like that.”
“Sometimes I like fasting. It helps with my weight loss journey.”
“Fasting is one thing. Starving yourself while you’re working in a hot ass dungeon is another.”
“I don’t see a difference.”
“Who told you that you needed to lose weight?”
“No one had to tell me. They make scales and mirrors. I can see that for myself.”
“I disagree. I love your body.”
Her lips formed a smile, but her eyes squinted as if she were measuring my words.
“It’s not up to me, though. If you’re not comfortable, you have every right to want to change.”
“I do, but I do know that I’m fine. Don’t get me wrong.”
“Good. I thought I was gon’ have to remind you.”
Her brows hiked, but she didn’t question my statement. I made a mental note to follow through with that statement the next chance I got. For now, I needed to feed her.
“What’s for dinner?” she asked, walking into the kitchenette to stand next to me.
“Lemon garlic chicken, sautéed vegetables, and buttered rice. I wanted to keep it simple.”
“It smells really good.”
“Hopefully, it is.”
“What do you mean hopefully? I’m hungry,” she joked.
“Nobody told you to go all day without eating.”
“Shut up,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Ugh! You make me feel so small when I’m next to you. How tall are you?”
“You should. I’m probably a whole foot taller than you. I’m six-five.”
“Not quite but close. I’m five-six.”
“A midget.”
She slapped my bicep as she laughed. “I’ll have you know that I’m of average height for a woman.”
“So you say. You’re tiny to me.”
“There is nothing tiny about me.”
“And I love it.”
When I was done cooking, we ate in front of the TV where I tried to follow one of her soapy shows.
It was something about a love triangle and a drug empire in a small town.
It was probably pretty good, but I was more interested in the woman sitting next to me.
Z curled her legs under her and balanced the bowl of movie theater popcorn in her lap as I grabbed handfuls at a time and stuffed them in my mouth.
“You’re not paying attention to the show. That’s why you’re asking so many questions.”
“There’s too many characters on here. I can’t keep up with it.”
“You’re too busy eating popcorn and looking at that phone.”
“You feel neglected, mama?” I asked, leaning forward to put my phone on the table.
“A little,” she said, forcing a pout as she tried to bite back a smile.
“I’m sorry.” I pulled her until she was in my lap and kissed her cheek. “I was just thinking.”
“Thinking about what?”
“How I can’t wait to be able to take you away for a while.”
“I like the sound of that.”
“Good, I got you something.”
“Sawyer, you already made dinner.”
“This is different. I remember you saying something about reading, so I got you some books,” I told her, reaching over into the bag on the floor next to the couch and pulling out the paper shopping bag.
I placed the bag in her lap and watched as she pulled out three books.
She read each title before looking back at me.
“I usually read fiction. I don’t remember the last time I read a self-help book. My mom made us read a couple growing up.”
“I think they’ll be good for you.”
“I prefer escaping from reality into a good storyline. It’s easier.”
“I get that. I think these will be good for you, though.”
“Have you read them?” she asked.
“I read two of them. The other is fairly new.”
“Did they help you?”
I nodded. “Yeah, they did.”
“I’ll give them a try. Thank you, baby,” she said, leaning in and kissing my cheek. “I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”
“You’re not a mess, beautiful.”
“Either way. I hate that we had to meet under these circumstances. I can’t tell if you really like me or you just feel sorry for me.”
“I’ve been trying to show you just how crazy I am about you, mama. What I gotta do to prove that to you?”
“Just give me time, I guess. I’m working on accepting that just maybe I can change my fate.”
“I can tell you how much I believe in you all I want to, but at the end of the day, you have to believe your story can get better on your own.”
After a brief silence, she kissed my lips softly again. “Thank you. I know I keep saying that, but I really mean it. You don’t even know my story, and you haven’t pushed me to talk about it.”
“I know you’ll tell me when it’s time.”
“Thank you for being you. I have to think of a way to show my appreciation.”
“You don’t have to show me anything, mama. Just make sure you’re taking care of your mental, and I’ll take care of the rest.”