Page 9 of Dax
“Oh,” she says, stepping out of her office, a scowl instantly forming on her beautiful face. “It’s you.”
She folds her arms across her chest. I hold out a coffee towards her. It’s from Cupids Coffee. A double chocolate chip frappuccino white mocha with mini marshmallows, extra sprinkles, and chocolate sauce. Just the way she likes it. “A peace offering.”
She tentatively steps towards me and takes the drink. Opening the lid she inspects its contents like she thinks it might be full of rat poison.
“This doesn’t change anything,” she says, putting the drink down on a nearby table. “I told you I never want to see you again.”
“I know.” I take a step closer. Her back's to me and all I can think about is what it would feel like to press my body against her. To feel her luscious curves meld against my groin. “I’ve come to make things right,” I say. “How about you give me an hour? After that, if you never want to see me again, then fine. I’ll respect your wishes.”
“Yeah, right,” she turns on me fast like a tiger. “People like you don’t know the meaning of respect. All you care about is money.”
Maybe it’s the look on my face, or maybe it’s just because she’s a good person in a desperate situation, but her eyes soften, and she lets out a long, deep sigh. “I guess I could spare an hour,” she says. “I mean, it’s not like my world’s falling apart and I have a million and one to get done.”
“Good,” I smile, purposefully ignoring her hostility. If everything goes to plan, I’ll have turned that frown upside down by the time the hour's over.
We walk out to my car and I open the door for her. The whole drive over she doesn’t say a word. Doesn’t even ask me where we’re going.
I try and make small talk. I try and explain my behavior, but it’s hard talking to a stone wall, so I decide it’s best to let my actions speak for themselves.
We pull up around the back of a row of shops in the center of town. “Here we are,” I say, jumping out of the car and opening her door for her. Doing my best valet impression.
She looks around the place with scornful disinterest. “Great,” she says. “A parking lot. The answer to all my problems.”
“Come on.” I guide her up a set of metal stairs and push open the heavy double doors.
Kate’s high heels click loudly on the hardwood floor. Her mouth drops open as she looks around the huge loft area. The crisp smell of fresh paint fills the air and glaring natural light floods the room through the huge windows which cover the whole front of the room.
It’s the perfect place for Prints Charming. And I should know. I’ve spent all week searching every available building in town.
“Welcome to the new home of Prints Charming,” I say, unable to keep the smile from my face.
For a few minutes, she walks around the place. Running her hand over the large, oak wooden desks I had installed just yesterday. She checks the light switches, looks in the toilets and the office, and the meeting rooms, and eventually, she looks at me. “I can’t afford this.”
“Yes,” I say, “you can… let’s just say I know the landlord.”
“Look, Dax,” she taps her foot on the ground and bites her bottom lip. I can tell she’s tempted. That this is the answer to all her problems, but her pride and her hurt feelings are holding her back from accepting my offer. “I’m not some charity case. You can’t just come along and throw your money at me and expect me to pretend like everything’s okay. You lied to me. I thought we had something… special. But the whole time you were playing games.”
“I wasn’t playing games.” I take her by the hand and look down into her big, round, brown eyes. Sun shines through her hair, making it glisten like gold. “I messed up,” I say. “I know I messed up. But I thought I could fix things… I mean, at first, I didn’t know you didn’t know who I am. And then, when I realized I couldn’t stop the development project, I thought I could find you somewhere else. Somewhere better. And that if I did all that you wouldn’t hate me like you hate the rest of my family.
“I should have come clean. Straight off the bat. But I was scared of losing you.” I press her hand against my lips. “I’ve never met anyone like you, Kate. All these years I’ve been alone. Surrounded by people, but alone. All the women I’ve met are only after one thing… my money. But you're different. You like me for who I am.
“I can see us building a family together. I can see us growing old together. I can see beautiful little kids running around between our feet with bright happy smiles, just like yours, and soft, caring hearts.. just like yours.
“But if you don’t want to see me again, then that’s fine.” I bite my bottom lip and hold down the anger building up inside me at the mere thought of not being with her. “I mean… it’s not fine. But I’ll respect your decision. Even if it kills me.
"You can have this place for a year. No rent. No questions asked. And I’ll have someone else take care of it all, so you never have to see me.”
“I don’t know.” She takes a step closer, and even though her breasts aren’t touching my chest, I can all but feel them pressing against me. My heart beats faster. My breath becomes ragged. It’s like I’m in a war zone all over again. But this time I’m not in control. It takes all the energy I can muster not to invade her boundaries, pull her to me and claim her body with my hands. “You’ve got a lot of making up to do.”
"I know,” I say, “and it’s okay… I’d do anything for you."
7
Kate
“This place is amazing!” Megan walks around the new space admiring every inch of it. “How the hell did you find it?”
“It’s good, isn’t it?” I say, deftly avoiding the topic of Dax.
