Page 36 of I Accidentally Hired a Shadow Walker
“I think it does.” He grabbed my arm and pulled, flipping me onto my back.
“Why?” I looked up at him when he released what could have been an easy pin.
“If you’re tense, you’ll make mistakes. That’s dangerous,” he fussed.
“And you care?” I scrunched my brows.
“Of course I do.” He looked down at me with those green eyes, and, for a moment, I lost my senses.
I grabbed his face and pulled him to me, slamming my lips against his. At first, he responded as I thought he would—lowering his weight onto me—but then something shifted, and Raymond pulled away.
“What are you doing?” I huffed, accidentally showing my frustration.
“I thought you would want to run away again.” He glanced at the door. “Now is your chance.”
“Funny.” I sat up just as he moved to his knees in front of me.
He leaned in close, voice low, with a dark edge to it as he spoke.
“Jericha, if you cross this line with me again, there is no going back. I will not be the nice office boy you can order around. I’m not someone you can toy with. Trust me, I know the kind of weak men you’re used to dealing with. I’m not them. Don’t mistakeme for one.”
He got up slowly, holding eye contact for a moment, then turned and left me alone on the floor.
10
Rooftops and Shadows
Isaw little of Raymond after that. He went from an eager office boy showing up every morning with coffee in hand to keeping his distance. Every time I came into work, Natalie reported how I’d just missed him. Each time, she would have coffee, and I wouldn’t. I never mentioned it. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing I wanted the damn stuff.
But he got his point across, and after the first two days of his conditioned absence, I realized he was right. I’d never been the type to go back and forth on a decision, especially when it came to men. It shouldn’t have been any different with Raymond. Yes, I found him attractive, and yes, I wanted more of him, but I knew the best course of action was to steer clear.
“That man had the nerve to ask me to wait for him while he was in prison!” Natalie burst into my office, eyes red, as if she had been crying. If I asked, she would blame it on allergies.
“What?” I looked up from my phone and stared at Natalie, who stood by the couch beneath the window. She peered through it as if waiting for someone.
“You haven’t heard a word I’ve said, have you?” She turned to me and put her hands on her hips. “I’ve just been wasting my breath, haven’t I?”
“Sorry, distracted.” I frowned; I could have sworn she’d only just come into my office. “Who's going to jail?”
“Caleb. The guy I was talking to. Our third date, and he ended it by asking if I would wait for him.‘It’s only four years.’That’s what he said to me. As if I would give up four years of my life waiting for a guy I’ve known for less than a month!”
“How do you keep finding these men?” I stood from my desk and walked over to her. “We need to reevaluate your process.”
“Dating apps.” She pulled the phone from her pocket and waved it at me. “I’m on seven of them.”
“Natalie. I say this with love: it’s time to log off!” I laughed. “You’ve encountered the worst men on those apps.”
“How else am I going to meet someone?” She rolled her neck. “You don’t know how hard it is out there.”
“Why are you so concerned with men?” I asked.
“I don’t want to be alone. I want someone who chooses me every day like I choose them,” she said. “The problem is being chosen by the right one.”
“That’s your problem right there. You need to change your way of thinking.” I sighed and gently lifted her chin with a hooked finger until she looked me in the eye. “Girl, ain’t nothing special about a man! You’re the one who chooses! Look at you! You’re beautiful, intelligent, and successful. You’ve given them the power. They’re animals. They can smell it on you. You wanting them so much smells like desperation, and that only attracts mama’s boys and jailbirds—neither of which deserve any of your time.”
“I just need to be more like you. You have guys so worked up over you, they’ll drink bath water to prove how much they want to be with you!”
“Ugh, don’t remind me.” I rolled my eyes. “Besides, what you’re describing isn’t what I have. The men I deal with are here for a good time, not a long time. They aren’t the kind you marry. That’s the problem with comparing yourself to someone else. You only see what is presented, not what’s behind the curtain. I choose men I can dispose of because I don’t want a long-term commitment.”
