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I make the fifteen-minute walk in seven minutes, lightly jogging the last three to shorten the time and warm myself up. When I’m in my building and riding the elevator to my floor, I peek my head out of the elevator door to see if he’s in the hall waiting on me. Relief washes over me when my hall is empty.
I open my door and quickly step into my apartment, closing the door and locking it like Michael Myers is chasing me. I double-check the dead bolt and slide the lock in the hole for extra protection from Jimmy and whoever is out there trying to get me in my father’s mind. My apartment was dark from when I left earlier, so I turn on the lights and step into the kitchen. My stomach rumbles, and I’m instantly reminded just how hungry I am.
I could cook something, but I don’t feel like washing the dishes… I’ll just order takeout and make them deliver it.
I pull open the drawer that contains the take-out menu to the Chinese restaurant and scan the items. Once I've decided on the chicken lo mein and egg rolls, I start to dial their number when, out of nowhere, I hear a deep voice from across the room.
“I’ll take the beef and broccoli with a side of steamed carrots, please.”
I scream and jump in place at the suddenness of the voice. My heart begins to quicken and nearly beat out of my chest, and my knees buckle at the fear.Who the fuck is that?
As if he’s in a movie, Jimmy Maxwell steps out of the darkness of my living room and into the light of the kitchen.
“What the hell, Jimmy? You scared the living shit out of me!”
He chuckles and takes a seat at my counter.
“Sorry, love. It was either now or let you turn on the light to see me. Either way, you were going to be startled.”
“How the fuck did you get in here?” I yell, trying to calm down.
My knees feel like Jell-O, and my breathing is still ragged.
“The key.” He holds up a brass key that looks like a safety pin in his massive hands. “Your father had one made for me.” He smiles.
“Myfathershouldn’t have a key to my apartment to begin with.”
“How he made the key is none of my concern. I have the right copy, and that’s all that matters.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath, partly to calm down my breathing, but also to try and not lose my shit at the man whom I hate more than my annual gynecological exam.
“I’m going to say this as nicely as I can, and I’m only going to say it once,” I say in the best calm and collected manner I can muster right now. “Get out of my apartment and stay at least a thousand yards away from me.”
Jimmy pretends to think this over. He taps his chin with his finger and looks up at the ceiling before shrugging his shoulders. “Can’t do that, princess. I’m under strict orders.”
“Ugh!” I fist my hair and begin to pace back and forth in the kitchen. “Why does my father treat me like such a child!”
“Maybe because you act like one?” Jimmy says sarcastically.
I turn on my heel to face him and point a finger in his face. “You don’t know athingabout me, so don’t pretend like you do.”
Jimmy lightly grabs my finger and pushes it out of his face. “Hate to break it to you, kitten, but I know you better than you think. And you can’t tell me what to do. I hate this just as much, if not more than you do. I’ve got better things to do than follow your spoiled ass all day.”
“Then don’t do it.” I’m so angry, I overlook his insult.
He shakes his head once. “Can’t. I’ve got a job to do.”
“Why don’t you lie and pretend to do your job? I won’t tell if you don’t.”
Jimmy chuckles and leans back in the stool, crossing his arms over his broad chest. My eyes skim over his body in his white T-shirt. His muscles completely fill out the sleeves, making it look like they're about to bust through the seams. I remember his body and how attracted to it I was the first time I met him and, honestly, still am. Jimmy is built like a romance novel guy—cut abs, bulging muscles, rock-hard body, and a pretty face. But all of that means nothing with the shit personality that he has.
I had to learn that the hard way.
“See something you like, princess?”
His words draw me back to reality, and I’m forced to look at the smirk he’s giving me. He caught me looking at him in the way I didn’t want him to see.
“Or better yet, see something youwantagain?”
