Page 10 of The Stalker

“I’m going to need to see the whole apartment,” she told him as she walked back into the room.

“Sure. Might as well start with my room.” He smiled at her.

Hayden led her into his bedroom. It was similar to hers, but it was larger, had two closets, and the room had a very masculine feeling to it. The sitting area by the window had a two-seater sofa, as well as the two armchairs. She looked in the bathroom, and it had the same features as hers.

When she walked back into his room, Hayden was hovering by the bed and waiting for her. He was wearing a t-shirt that showed off his muscles and Tatiana felt bad because she couldn’t stop herself from wondering if he slept in that bed naked. He was looking at her intensely, and she felt that same weird tension that she’d felt when they were in the conference room. She could hear his breathing, could hear hers as well, and it seemed far too loud.

He is a client. He has a boyfriend. This is not a thing that can happen. Get yourself in check.

She forced her features into a professional smile and knew she needed to say something, had to get the fuck out of his bedroom.

“All good, next room?”

It was a relief when they stopped looking through rooms with beds in them, and Tatiana was frustrated with herself. She never usually had this much trouble keeping things professional with a client. It was their first day together, and she kept thinking about him inappropriately.

He took her through all of the other rooms, including a soundproofed rehearsal room, a games room with a bookcase filled with board games, a pool table, and a dart board. There was also an office with two computers, and a separate sitting room.

Something was bothering Tatiana as she walked from the main living area into the kitchen, but she couldn’t put her finger on what it was. They sat down across from each other at the dining table to talk.

“Sorry, do you want me next to you?” Hayden asked her.

Tatiana smiled at him because she liked having a client who was willing to work with her by following her rules. “No, this is fine for now. So, there are a couple of practical matters to discuss. I’ve been notified that your deposit was placed in escrow. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiled as he said it.

“Some clients want me to organize my own food and eat separately from them, which I’m fine with. Others share meals with me, and I’m happy to pay for my share of food in that case.”

“Oh, god, of course you can eat with me. Don’t worry about paying me anything, either. People really make you buy your own food?” Hayden looked aghast.

Tatiana laughed, “Yeah, one didn’t even want me to use their fridge. I made them buy me one, as well as a microwave to put in my room, then lived off microwavable food for two and a half months.”

“Hey, they kind of asked for it,” Hayden grinned.

Tatiana couldn’t stop herself from smiling back at him, amused by him inadvertently mimicking what her friend Mark had said to her at the time.

“Yup. So, next thing, how do you get your groceries?”

“I buy them?” Hayden said, looking confused.

“From the store? Do you go and get your own groceries? That’s what I’m asking.”

“Oh, yeah. Jesse goes with me, though.”

Tatiana was surprised by this. Most of her clients had staff and certainly didn’t go get their own groceries. Cruise Control was the biggest rock band in the world, and yet, Hayden apparently didn’t see himself as being above doing something like grocery shopping.

It was a nice change of pace from her last client, who was a spoiled princess who had never seen the inside of a grocery store in her entire lifetime.

She shook her head at him. “Not anymore. We’ll order groceries online, and they’ll be delivered. You won’t go near the elevator. Ever. Not even if we know who is here. I very much dislike that the elevator opens straight into your apartment. Luckily the tour starts soon, or you’d have to move.”

“You’d make me move?” He asked, sounding surprised.

She didn’t like to do it, but safety was paramount. If a client’s place of abode wasn’t safe enough, she had no qualms about making them move for the duration of her contract.

“Yes. As I’ve said before, I don’t play games. There’s a reason I’m the best. Because of the elevator, we can’t be too far apart in this apartment. I’m going to have a locksmith come out immediately to add a lock to your bedroom door. You will lock yourself in there when you sleep and when I need to shower.”

She thought about what other specific instructions she might need to give him and realized that he shouldn’t trust the voices of his friends.

“You will keep your phone on you at all times. In the unlikely event that someone is trying to enter your bedroom while you’re alone in there, you will call me right away. I don’t care if you know who it is. I don’t care if you recognize their voice. You will not open the door, do you understand?”

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