Eleven
Iapproach the temporary sitting area in the hotel lobby, and Logan immediately stands to greet me. Intentionally slowing my steps, I stop at the chair across from his. Our eyes meet, and thankfully, he reads the room and doesn't attempt to hug me. "Hi, Ava. Thanks for hearing me out."
After deciding that Logan really didn't deserve my time, especially with everything I have going on right now, I canceled lunch and asked him if we could talk for a few at the hotel.
"Logan, I'm not here to hear you out. My only intention is to clear the air so we can move forward for work."
His expression is full of regret as he responds, "I understand, but truly, that text wasn't as bad as it probably seemed. She's an old…" I hold my hand up, stopping him from making more excuses that are just going to piss me off.
"Look, I'd rather not hear your excuses. It is what it is. We never talked about exclusivity, so you didn't owe me anything, but I'd appreciate you not lying to me. From the very beginning of all of this, you have made your intentions clear with me. And you seemed to be pretty adamant about wanting a chance with me and only me, so how can I believe anything else you say when that was certainly not the case?"
He lets out a long sigh, and I continue. "I'm honestly not mad at you. I just have a lot going on and this is probably for the best. I would appreciate it if you would respect me as a colleague and not pursue me as anything more moving forward."
"Ava…" he whispers, and I cut him off again.
"No, Logan. I need you to respect my wishes. I look forward to continuing our working relationship, but that's all I'm willing to give.
And saving the day once again, Olivia waltzes into the lobby at that moment. "Logan…" She barely greets him, turning to me. "Ready to go, Av?"
"Yep!" I say, grabbing my purse from the chair and giving Logan one last glance. "You act professional, and I promise you, I will too. This project is important to me."
He gulps, looking at Olivia, who he is obviously not used to receiving the cold shoulder from. "It's important to me too. You have my word." Just before I turn to head out the door, he calls my name, and I give him one more glance.
"I'm sorry," he says sincerely.
I nod and give him a soft smile. At the end of the day, he wasn't right for me, and I know that. I was more pissed he seemed so invested and then really wasn't. I don't want to be played as a fool.
On the other hand, the man I can't get out of my head says he isn't invested, but lately his actions are speaking louder than his words. And I'm not sure he even realizes it.
"Glad to have that over with?"Olivia asks as we head toward the Target not far from the hotel.
"Yes, definitely…and you know you don't have to be mad at him, right? I don't expect that. It's not really that big of a deal."
"Yes, it is. You forget I was there from day one when he kept gushing about you to me. I even put in a good word for him, and for what? So he could go fuck it up over Tasha?"
I grab her arm, wanting to make sure I heard her correctly. "Wait, Tasha? As in, Parker's assistant?"
She nods, pursing her lips. "Mmhmm! When I confronted him this morning, I made him tell me who it was."
The sick side of my brain flits to Parker. I wonder if he thinks she's as worthy of his attention as Logan does. This is exactly why I can't hold a grudge against Logan. My thoughts always spiral to him.
"Wow, that"s interesting."
"I know, right! No wonder she is always giving us the stink eye."
I giggle at that because she certainly does.
"I'll say this last thing, and then I want to drop the Logan topic. I appreciate you having my back, and I love you for that, but give him some grace. Deep down, I'm sure he could tell I wasn't all in, which is why I can't be so pissed at him. I hate liars, but he's young, dumb, and will hopefully learn from his mistake."
She laughs. "I swear I thought you were about to say he's young, dumb, and full of cum."
We both fall into a fit of giggles as we walk into the Target.
"Okay, so what do you need?" Olivia asks as I get a shopping cart.
"Basically, everything. If it wasn't in my suitcases from my trip, it's ruined."
"Fuck."
"Yeah, my grandpa called me a few hours ago after the contractor went to assess the damages and basically said my room, bathroom, laundry room, and half of the living room will require a complete gut because of the standing water and mold that's most likely growing in the walls." The news didn't come as a shock to me. After I saw it in person last night, I knew it was bad. Doesn't mean I'm any less upset about it.
"Shit, so what are you going to do in the meantime?"
I honestly don't know.
"I've been searching Airbnbs, thinking maybe I could do an extended stay."
I also thought about asking Eli and Quinn, but I feel like such a burden doing that. I know he is rarely at that condo, but they have a stretch of games here this month, so I hate the thought of inconveniencing them and the girls.
"If they aren't a fortune, that would be a good idea. I would offer mine and Braxton's couch, but that wouldn't be very comfortable for you."
"No worries. I could crash at Wes and Sloan's, but I feel like they are still enjoying being newlyweds, and I really don't want to be subjected to their nightly fucks." I laugh and know I have to tell Quinn and Sloan what's going on before they hear it from someone else. I just really want a plan together first because they'll both try to save the day.
Parker's words keep running on repeat. Av, there is no rush to find something.
"So where did you stay last night? Is that your plan for tonight, until you figure it out?"
Shit, I knew this was coming.
"Well…you see, Parker insisted on sharing a ride from the airport, so he was with me when?—"
"Shut up! You stayed with Parker?" she practically shouts.
"Damn, woman, tell all of SoHo while you're at it," I whisper-shout back at her.
"Details, now…" She points her finger in my direction like it"s a threat.
"Nothing to tell. He's still an asshole, just not a total one. Maybe like 50/50, or I guess I'll give him 60/40 because he did wake up to my cat on his face."
"Excuse me?" Olivia's eyes are bulging out, her eyelashes blinking fast.
Oh… ohhh. I laugh. "Get your mind out of the gutter, Liv. I'm talking about my actual cat, Binx. The cutest little feline you'll ever meet."
She bends at the waist laughing, tears coming to her eyes. "I swear I thought…" She laughs harder. "Not going to lie, I was def picturing you sitting on the boss's face."
Yet you've let me eat your cunt. I must have done something right.
Now I'm thinking about it. Abort. Abort.
"Just go ahead and erase that image from your head. I'm on the complete opposite side of his penthouse and the only man in my bed will be my Binx."
I just have to keep reminding myself of that.
"Uh huh," she says, eyeing me suspiciously. "So you're staying there tonight too?"
I search the shampoo aisle as I respond, "Yeah, he has been gracious enough to let me stay until I get something figured out."
"Gracious, my ass. More like ulterior motives," she mumbles under her breath, and I don't even try to argue that, because then that would require me to fill her in on our last Masqued encounter and the speech he afforded me with at the end of the night.
"Honestly, I think because he was with me last night, he probably feels sorry for me, and it turns out, he is a halfway decent human being with a massive place. He will barely know I'm there."
"Yeah, okay…let me know how that goes for you," she teases with an eye roll to sell it.
"Speaking of the boss. I need to kick it into high gear so we can get back to the office."
Mondays are normallymy night that I reserve one of the studios for myself and I am extra thankful for the reprieve tonight. Group dance is always full of laughs and comradery, but after the last twenty-four hours, I've been in desperate need of some me-time.
"Calm Down" by Rema and Selena filters through the speakers. I try my best not to think about all things cluttering my brain… My apartment, my living situation, Parker, Logan, Quinn, my parents, my apartment (on repeat), my grandparents…Parker.
Slowly, they dissipate… Except one who isn't so easily forgotten, no matter how hard I try.
The room has wall-to-wall reflection. Near the glass door entrance, there is a section for viewing that is a one-way mirror, so that the dancers don't get distracted. As I move from the pole to the floor, my heart stutters. My mind must be playing tricks on me. Parker.
I stop dancing and walk over to peek out the door, only to see the hallway empty, everyone else in the dance class across the hall. I swore I saw Parker's reflection through the door. The man is constantly invading my thoughts, but the fact I'm conjuring him up while I'm dancing is concerning. I'm sure it was just someone running in late to class.
Shaking off thoughts of him, I go back to my routine, running it through a few more times before losing myself in my freestyle playlist. I dance until the alarm on my phone blares through the speaker, letting me know my allotted time is up.
By the time I walk out of The Dance Hub, the sun is starting to go down. The weather is ideal tonight, not too hot, not too humid. I suppress the giddiness I feel as I walk toward Tribeca on my way to Parker's penthouse.
With the hecticness of yesterday, I didn't even have time to feel nervous about staying at Parker's. I don't think it really hit me until I laid my head down on the pillow in his guest room and the thoughts crept in. But this excited anticipation is a dangerous thing when it comes to the broody bastard.
This morning, he almost looked—dare I say, disappointed, when I mentioned I was searching for Airbnbs. But why? Shouldn't this be, like, the ultimate step too far into the fortress he has built to keep me at arm's length?
I convince myself not to overanalyze his reaction, because it seems like any time I get a flicker of hope about Parker, he snuffs it out just as quickly.
My stomach grumblesa few blocks into my walk, and I really hope Parker made it home by now with the food. When we spoke on the phone this afternoon, he said it wouldn't be a late night for him, and since I had dance, he offered to pick up the takeout for us, promising I could treat him soon. Of course, he also inquired about how things went with Logan, and I could tell he was happy to hear that I didn't end up giving him much of my time.
His building comes into view, and the doorman must see me coming because he greets me with an open door and a smile as I walk up.
"Hi, Stuart, thank you!"
"Hello, Miss Pierce. It's a pleasure to see you again." According to Parker, he is the second shift doorman and his personal favorite. I can only imagine the disarray I must have looked like last night when we arrived.
"Same to you, and thank you again for your help with our things last night."
"No problem at all. Parker got in not too long ago with dinner. Even brought me a treat since he knows it"s my favorite."
"Yum, I'm starving. Are you a Thai food fanatic too?" I ask as he walks us over, scanning me into the private elevator.
"Yes, and SoHo Thai has my favorite sweet chili tossed calamari."
Interesting.I expected him to grab it from one of the Thai places in Tribeca, but instead he walked the opposite way from the office to the one near my dance studio. Maybe my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. But why wouldn't he have said hello?
"Sounds delicious. Enjoy and have a great night!" I wave as the elevator doors to the penthouse close.
The shaft opens, and I inhale the flavorful scent of herbs and spices, causing my stomach to clench in hunger.
"Smells amazing and looks like you got one of everything," I say, dropping my purse on the entryway table and picking up a purring Binx.
"Well, I didn't think to get your order, and I didn't want to bother you during dance. I figured whatever we don't eat, we can take into the office tomorrow," Parker says from where he is setting everything up on the huge kitchen island.
I nod, and his mention of dance has the curiosity from what Stuart mentioned flittering back in. "That's perfect. I would love to try some dishes I haven't before. Where did you end up getting it from?"
"Thai place, not far from the office. It's one of my favorites," he rushes out, offering me a glass of wine.
Uh huh. Not a liar, but an avoider. Now I'm almost certain I saw him.
I smirk, eyeing him, and I swear I see a slight blush creep up his jawline. It has my stomach fluttering, and I want to push him a little more.
"Does it happen to be near my dance studio, Sir?" I say it in a teasing manner, but the way his eyes darken, I realize my mistake immediately.
He stops pouring the wine and turns fully to where I am standing against the counter. Two steps, and he is caging me in with one hand on either side of the granite behind me. My breath catches at how close he is, his cologne surrounding me.
"Careful, little brat," he whispers right above my mouth, and I could melt right here at his feet. Binx lets out a meow in between us, and a light chuckle escapes Parker"s lips, but he doesn't move away. Instead, his eyes bore into mine as he asks, "You want the truth?"
I nod, not taking my eyes off his.
"About six months ago, I went there to get Thai food because Stuart told me it was the best around here, and I happened to see the sexiest pair of legs walking inside the dance studio next door. I knew them the minute I caught a glimpse, and like a kid in a candy store, I couldn't stop myself."
I blink rapidly, trying to process the timeline of what he is saying.
Everything falls into place. "On the plane… That's how you knew I was going to choose ‘Calm Down' as my favorite song."
He nods and pushes my surprised jaw up with his tattooed hand. When he takes a step back, I set Binx on the ground, staring as he saunters off, still trying to make sense of all of this.
"And today?"
He nods again.
"I see your brain working, but I have no answers. I've been trying to understand it myself for six months—actually, longer than that—and I still can't." He pulls one of the chairs out at the kitchen island, motioning me to come sit down. "Don't overthink it, Av. Now, let's eat before it gets cold."
Yeah, that's easier said than done.
And by the way he avoids me after dinner, retreating to his cave to read a book, I know he's overthinking it too.