The Eleventh Hour

Chapter 12

“I’ll see you back at the apartment.” He said to his two main men, who nodded but didn’t move. Nathaniel didn’t get in the car, either – it’s as if the three were waiting for me.

“I was once told never to trust a man in an expensive suit.” I said in a small voice, but I couldn’t fathom any humour in my words.

A ghost of a smile touched his lips as his eyes flashed. The sight of it stabbed painfully at my insides, he looked too damn good.

He continued to stand there by his car, eyeing me intently. I sighed quietly and got in the front seat. He followed suit, getting behind the wheel.

He started the engine, but didn’t move the car. I cleared my throat. “You know, this really wasn’t necessary.”

I refused to look at him, so I didn’t know whether he was looking at me or not. He ignored my words. “I need to know which hotel you’re staying in.”

I found humour in his words. I was used to him knowing pretty much everything. I kept my eyes in front of me as I responded flatly. “Astoria.”

We started moving.

We drove for a good minute in silence. There were a million things running through my head right now, but I couldn’t find the will to say them. That, and his intoxicating scent that was so unique to him had my stomach in knots. Fresh, fragrant, and addictive. It was making my head whirl.

“I didn’t know you could play the piano.”

He broke the silence so casually. I turned to look at him.

He had one hand on the wheel, his gaze intense as he watched the road. I turned back to the windscreen. “I didn’t know you saw that.”

“It’s a powerful song.”

Silence.

“You know,” he said quietly after a long moment. “I went through a stage of playing that song on repeat a couple months back.” He snorted, and I saw him shake his head briefly from the corner of my eye. “Out of the seven billion people on this earth, I look up to the stage from the bar to see you playing that song.” He shook his head again.

“I’m not even gonna bother asking what that’s supposed to mean,” I mumbled, crossing my arms over my chest and looking out the window at the bright, flashing lights as we sped past.

There was a pause. “It means fate’s toying with me.”

I leant my head back against the headrest and turned to him. He shot me a quick look for the first time with the hint of a smirk.

“I still don’t follow.” I said.

“Forget about that,” he dismissed. “It isn’t why I wanted to talk to you.”

I sighed heavily and looked ahead. My stomach was still in knots.

This silence was the longest yet. Eventually, he spoke. “The trespasser was caught a while ago.”

My eyebrows shot up. He didn’t need to elaborate. “Oh. Well that’s nice to know.”

“They weren’t anyone of importance. Not that anyone would be able to get near you now anyway, I see you’ve got a pretty good security team keeping you safe from inebriated dick-wads.”

My face heated. I rolled my eyes and sighed. “Point made, Nathaniel.”

“I don’t think so,” he shot back. “Given your current status, you need at least a bodyguard to protect you when you go out in public, especially to a place which serves alcohol. That’s the price you pay when you choose fame.”