Chapter 9
Quaid~
My mother was a firm believer in that our destinies chose us, not the other way around. She also believed that, while we did control our choices, we didn’t control the outcome of those choices, and that’s why there was a bigger power at play in our lives.
Well, whether that was true or not, I wasn’t sure.
All I knew was that I couldn’t stop thinking about Zia DeLéon, and it was presenting a problem, though not because I still viewed her as a spoiled brat.
It was a problem because she was fifteen years younger than I was, her father was still a client, and I couldn’t see how we’d ever have anything in common.
Nonetheless, a week later, and I couldn’t get her off my mind.
Plus, instead of going to a hotel like normal people out for nothing but a good time, I’d taken her back to my place, and my sheets still smelled like her.
Yeah, I could have washed them the next day, but I hadn’t, and if that wasn’t telling, then I didn’t know what was.
Now, while the sex had been phenomenal, and the experience of being on display had added to the heightened experience, it’d been Zia in my bed that had left this lasting impression on me.
Once we’d gotten back to my place, we hadn’t picked up from where we’d left off.
Instead, Zia had been on a mission to deliver on what she could bring to the table sexually, and it’d been beyond what I’d first given her twenty-five-years of living credit for.
She’d been a siren silently leading me to my doom, and here we were now.
Still, for all that we’d been wrapped up in each other all night long, I’d woken up alone, and that hadn’t been fun.
Not only had she robbed me of the chance of escorting her home like a gentleman, but I’d gone to sleep with the hope that we could make a weekend out of it, but no.
Like a woman filled with regret, mortification, or both, Zia had snuck out of my bed and home without a backward glance.
It also didn’t help that the woman knew where I worked, so she could have easily called the office at any time to talk about our night together, but she hadn’t.
While I’d spoken to her father a couple of times, I hadn’t heard a word from Zia, and I seriously wondered if this was how women felt whenever a man ghosted them.
Then, as if I wasn’t a grown ass man, I had stalked the woman’s social media pages, and nothing felt more emasculating than searching for crumbs from a woman that you had dismissed at first. Upon meeting Zia, I had labeled her spoiled and useless, and now I knew that there was more to her than met the eye.
Not only had she been uninhibited on Friday night, but she’d also been vulnerable as hell, and it was quite a thing to be able to be both strong and weak at the same time.
A knock on my office door snapped me back to the here and now, and when I saw my senior law clerk, Kara Sweets, peeking her head inside, I motioned her forward, not really getting much done any damn way.
“What’s up, Kara?”
Walking into my office, she said, “I know that you hate going to these things, but Anderson and I are not going to be able to make it to the Starlight Gala next week.” To emphasize her statement, she waved the invitation in the air before setting it down on my desk.
“Anderson’s grandmother took a tumble, and he’s convinced that if we don’t go visit her for the weekend, then he’ll spend the rest of his life being haunted by her ghost.”
“Uhm...is it that serious?” I asked, genuinely concerned. Though a little...animated, Anderson was a good guy, and I’d already thought that before this show of concern. “If she’s seriously hurt, then maybe you guys shouldn’t wait until next week to go see her.”
Kara rolled her eyes. “Minus a few bumps and bruises, she’s fine. Anderson is just being Anderson.” She shrugged a shoulder before adding, “Still, she’s up there in age, and even though she keeps assuring us that she’s fine, it doesn’t hurt to see if for ourselves.”
“Of course,” I easily agreed.
“So, it looks like you’re going to have to represent Crawford Law at the gala, unless you want me to give the invitation to someone else.”
Now, the reason that Kara always went in my stead was because I hated going to any event that represented the legal community, but not because I didn’t believe in the cause or hated all lawyers in general.
I hated going because, like most professions, you had your good apples and bad, and the ambulance chasers were bad enough when they weren’t drinking, but they got so much worse after having a few, and I just didn’t have the patience for that crap.
However, whether a sign from the gods or not, I’d just been handed an excuse to call Zia.
Sure, there was no guarantee that she’d agree to go with me, and being as sharp as she was, she might see right through my ruse, but I didn’t care.
I was grown enough to know that I had only two choices here; keep struggling with her on my mind or just bite the damn bullet.
“No, it’s fine,” I told her. “I’ll just dust off my tux.”
Kara smiled. “It’s not that bad,” she lied. “Plus, I can always call you with some fake emergency if you really can’t take it.”
“Don’t think I won’t take you up on that,” I chuckled.
After throwing me a friendly wink, Kara headed back out of my office, and I grabbed the invitation off my desk, staring at the fancy inscription.
Now, seeing as how I couldn’t remember the last time that I’d gone to one of these things, I knew that showing up with Zia would make a huge statement about our relationship, and I would owe it to her to be honest about that.
As a lawyer, I hated being blindsided, and so I always did my best to make sure that I was upfront with the people in my life.
Having made my decision, I set the invitation back down on my desk, then locked my computer, grabbed my phone and keys, then headed out.
Now, because I had stalked the poor woman online, I knew where she worked, and I could only pray that she’d see me without an appointment.
Though Ethan & Flowers wasn’t a huge marketing firm, it was still respectable enough to need an appointment to get in.
As I passed my secretary on the way out, I said, “I’ll be back in an hour.”
“Of course,” Suzie automatically replied, used to me coming and going erratically.
As I got in my car, I realized how idiotic I was behaving. Even if I could make it past the lobby of Ethan & Flowers, Zia could be with a client, in a staff meeting, or she might not even be there at all. For all I knew, she could have given herself a three-day weekend just because she could.
So, given that I really was smarter than this, I decided to call first. After all, what good would it do me if she wasn’t there or busy? Plus, back to not appreciating being blindsided, the right thing to do would be to call her first, so that’s what I did.
After finding the number, I dialed, and like any well-operated business, the phone picked up on only the third ring. “Ethan & Flowers, how may I direct your call?”
“Hello, good afternoon...uh, can you transfer me to Zia DeLéon?”
“May I ask who is calling?”
No turning back now.
“Of course, Quaid Crawford,” I answered, ignoring how my palms were a bit sweaty.
“One moment,” she automatically replied, and it was funny how one moment didn’t really feel like one moment when all your hopes were hinging on what would happen at the end of that one moment.
When she finally came back on the line, it was to surprise the hell out of me. “Ms. DeLéon is in, Mr. Crawford. So, if you’ll please give me just a second to transfer you.”
“Yes, thank you.”
“You’re welcome, and have a lovely day, sir,” she replied before that universal click sounded in my ear.
A couple of seconds later, the phone was ringing again, but this time, it was answered on the first ring. “Quaid?”
“Yes...uh, thanks for taking my call-”
“Is everything okay? Is it my father?” she asked, and I immediately wanted to kick myself, the thought of her father not occurring to me when I’d made the call. I mean, honestly, why wouldn’t she think that I’d be calling in regard to her father’s case.
“What...no, your...your father’s case is fine,” I quickly assured her. “I just...do you have a second? I wanted to stop by and talk to you about a couple of things.”
“Now?” she asked warily. “Here?”
Those two simple words had me feeling like the biggest idiot in the world.
She was at work, for fuck’s sakes, and I was about to show up to put her on the spot and have a conversation that really could and should wait until a more appropriate time.
Even if the conversation turned out in my favor, what was I going to do? Screw her in her office to celebrate?
“Well-”
“I mean, I’m free right now if it can’t wait,” she said, cutting me off. “Just...just text me when you get here, and then I’ll come down and get you.”
God, I was such a fucking idiot.