Page 16 of Flirtatious

Or more correctly, I can’t. Actually, it’s I won’t because I don’t want to. I have no valid reason for wanting him to stay, but as I stand here staring up at him and he stares down at me, I think I’d miss having him around. It makes no sense. He’s only been here for a little over a week, and he hasn’t been nice to me a day of the time he’s spent in my house.

Still, he’s the only person in my world who refuses to back down. That intrigues me. I might be a masochist, but I like this standoff thing we’re doing. It makes me feel more alive than I’ve felt since I stopped touring six months ago. Nothing has ever felt as invigorating as performing in front of a crowd.

Nothing until this thing with him.

When he sighs and looks away, a sense of victory washes over me. That round went to me. But I hope Liam doesn’t give in that easily from now on.

Keep challenging me, Mr. Big and Serious. I don’t know why, but I like it.

Next time, maybe I’ll be the one to give in first. Wouldn’t that be a change?

CHAPTERSIX

Liam

Alone in myroom on the opposite side of the house away from my client, I hear a noise that sounds like people laughing. Since no one seems to do much of that in this place, I dismiss it, sure it’s the sound from someone’s TV.

When the laughter gets louder and then the sounds of what I think might be people dropping heavy things on the floor drowns out the fun, I head to the hallway to check on what’s happening without putting on more clothes than the black basketball shorts and old T-shirt I’m wearing. If someone’s breaking into the house, there isn’t time for pants and shoes.

I barely make it out of my room before I see a hoard of people coming toward me. Five women and a man all around my age come strolling down the hallway with enough bags and luggage like they plan to stay for the rest of their lives. That explains the sounds I heard.

“Hey, who’s the new guy?” a tall blond with legs that look to be almost as long as mine asks.

The six of them stop and stare at me while I wonder if I’ve been dropped into some way off Broadway production of a bad play Mia’s decided to put on at the house here. When I don’t answer after a few seconds, they appear to lose interest in who I am and keep walking down the hallway with what looks to be everything they own.

I watch as each of them walks into a room, except for two women who may be sisters or may just look very similar because of their short black hair and bright red lipstick. None of them close their doors, and for the next few minutes as I look on in shock, they float in and out of the rooms, laughing and singing, with the one who asked about me doing some kind of dance as she moves from one doorway to the next.

Since I’m sure I’m awake and not having some terrible nightmare, I decide to leave the cast of whatever shitty production this is and take a walk outside. It would have been nice if Andrea had told me to expect a cavalcade of boisterous people tonight.

As the minutes go by, they get louder and louder until I can’t hear myself think. Who the hell are these people? I know they’re with Mia, but are they friends or people who work for her? I had assumed there would be a bigger staff to handle all her needs, but since they never appeared over the past couple weeks, I guess I just forgot about them.

Now I don’t think I’ll ever be able to forget or even ignore them since they all seem to live at a decibel level akin to the sound of a jet taking off.

I stop at the pool and suddenly realize I can’t hear them as much from here. Or maybe they’ve all been muzzled by security. That would be nice. Hell, that would be more than nice. It would be heavenly. I’d buy Javier and his guys a round of drinks for that.

But it only lasts for a few precious seconds before they start up again and sound like a pack of wild animals up there. Christ, how am I supposed to sleep with that racket right down the hall from me every night?

Taking a seat on the pool deck, I dangle my feet in the water and close my eyes as I cover my ears, desperate for a moment’s peace. Now on top of a client who’s two steps away from driving me nuts and her mother who’s just a step behind her, there’s this troupe of nonsense.

Unable to focus on anything, I hang my head and wish I could remember how much extra money I’m being paid for this assignment. The fact that I have to focus on that instead of the job is a clear indication this is not where I should be. I don’t even need the goddamned money.

Why didn’t I tell Jonah Bradley no instead of caving in after listening to my mother and her Pollyanna talk? I love the woman, but I swear to God in her world there are unicorns jumping over rainbows every day.

While I question nearly everything I’ve done since I said yes to this nightmare job, I hear someone say my name. Looking up, I see Mia standing next to me in jean shorts and a pink T-shirt. She says something, but between the noise and my hands over my ears, I can’t hear her.

“Sorry, the circus came to town and set up shop in my hallway. Any chance you can get that to stop for the night and every night after that?” I yell up to her.

She doesn’t answer but gives me a smile that tells me she thinks I’m making a big deal out of nothing. When she turns around and walks away, I figure I’m going to be stuck with this madness for the rest of my time here, which may not be long since a security chief who hasn’t gotten any sleep night after night isn’t much use to anyone. A minute later, though, everything falls silent.

Mia returns shortly after and sits down next to me on the pool deck, dangling her feet in the water like I do. Smiling again, she says, “I figured you for someone who insists on being asleep by ten. Sorry the crew woke you up.”

“Yeah,” I say, leaning back on my palms as the landscaping lights nearby throw shadows across the water in front of me.

“Is that yeah you prefer to go to sleep early or yeah for something else?” she asks with a chuckle.

When I don’t answer since I’m not really in the mood for talking after dealing with her crew, she quietly says, “You don’t think much of my lifestyle, do you?”

Tired of holding my tongue at this house, I turn to look at her and shake my head. “To be honest, no. Who are all those people and why do they act like that when they come to someone’s home?”

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