She shrugged and started to walk to her car. Val's heart thumped hard in her chest as she made a gamble with her future. Every part of her just hoped he would tell her to wait, but she knew he wouldn't. She felt so much suspicion and irritation from him, it was amazing they were able to hire anyone here.
When she made it to her car, she turned to look at him. He stood just a few feet away, looking even more irritated than before.
"Two weeks and two thousand dollars," she said and slipped into the car. "You have my number. When you're ready to talk, you know where to reach me."
She started the car and slipped her shades down over her eyes. This could be a major mistake. She could almost feel her only chance to meet Sol slipping between her fingers.
For a second, she even wondered if she should have tried to flirt with Apollo more or something. She'd felt his strong attraction, but that just really wasn't the way she wanted to do things.
The gravel crunched as she pulled away, and Val wondered if she was making the worst mistake of her life. She glanced back in the mirror at Apollo's lone figure and groaned. Either way she was going to be screwed in all this.
Stay and never meet him or go and risk the chance of a lifetime.
Chapter Four
Val looked up at the ticking clock on the wall and turned back to scrubbing her floor with all her might. She wasn't even sure why she was doing it. The white tile was already so clean it gleamed. Maybe she just needed something to occupy her time and get her mind off the job, or really, the lack of the job.
Three fucking days and still no word. Not even a note to say that they were talking about it or would get back with her soon. To say it pissed her off would be putting it mildly. She didn't have time to sit and wait forever. How was she going to get in to see Sol if they didn't hire her? If they weren't interested, they should just let her know.
She leaned back on her heels and sighed. Getting rejected wasn't what she wanted though. What she wanted to do was the job. It was her only chance to get in there. All she needed was a few minutes alone with him, and he'd see the truth. Then, she could achieve what she truly wanted.
A knock at the door cut into her thoughts, and she frowned. She hoped it wasn't the freak across the hall again. There was always some reason he would find to come bother her, and today she wasn't in the mood.
Val stood and stomped to the door, ready to do battle. She pulled it opened hard and glared at a very hard chest.
She blinked several times, trying to regain her wits.
"Do you still want the job?" Apollo asked gruffly.
She stared at the tight black t-shirt that stretched across his chest.
"Aren't you cold?" The words were out of her mouth before she could even stop them. Whatever had possessed her to say them, she couldn't say.
"What?" Apollo seemed even more put off by her comment. His confusion radiated into her pretty easily.
She looked up to his eyes, only to find him wearing very dark sunglasses. The frown that formed only seemed to match the one he was wearing.
"I didn't come to talk about my clothes," he said, his voice slightly louder than before.
The door across the hall popped open, and her neighbor peered out through the crack. Just the sight of him made her shudder, and when it came to people like that, she tended to trust the feelings she got. He hadn't tried anything, but there was always the strong feeling that he might. And Val just wasn't sure what that would bring. That was the problem with her feelings. They might tell her what a person was feeling, but the intent was sometimes just as important.
A sudden plan popped into her mind.
Without bothering to ask, she reached out and pulled a very surprised Apollo through the door.
She smiled seductively at him.
"What are you-"
She quickly cut him off and kept her eyes fixed on his still covered eyes.
"Let's get you in and warm you up." She winked.
Val hated to use him like that, but he was about the only man she'd had over in ages, and if she didn't do something, the creep across the hall was going to get ideas. It was better for all involved if the slime ball just kept to himself, and she didn't have to beat the shit out of him.
Her neighbor slammed his door loudly, and she sighed. Dropping the smile, she closed her door as well. Given her neighbor's reaction, her planned seemed to have worked.
"What the fuck was that?" Apollo stood close behind her. His spicy smell filled the air, and a mixture of his confusion and irritation settled over her. There was something else there, more than a hint of attraction.