Maybe all he needed to do was stop thinking about it to feel better. Whenever I had a clear mind, I stopped focusing on the bad and started focusing on the good. Maybe last night was a distraction for him. Maybe I was a distraction for him.
Monday arrived quicker than either of us was ready for. I got up and got ready for work, and he did the same, both of us in a terrible mood. I didn’t want to go to the office and work until five. What I’d rather have been doing was staying home with Calloway—particularly in bed.
Judging by his sour mood, he felt the same way. He sipped his coffee in silence and read the paper as he finished his eggs. His phone was on the table, and his suit made him look more like the powerhouse he already was.
Then there was a knock at the door.
“Who would stop by at this time of day?”
He set the paper down and rose from the table. “Grab your stuff, Vanilla.”
“Why?”
He walked to the entryway without giving me an answer.
I grabbed my purse and followed him, unsure what was waiting behind the door.
A man in a black suit stood there, a town car parked at the curb. “Ms. Moretti, are you ready to go?”
I eyed Calloway, unsure what this was about. “Go where?”
“To work,” the man answered. “I’ll drop you off and pick you up.”
My eyes narrowed on Calloway. “What’s this about?”
He didn’t give any kind of look of apology. “I don’t want you taking the subway anymore.”
“What’s wrong with the subway?” I’d been riding the rail for years. I usually got a seat next to someone relatively normal, and when I read my paper and minded my own business, it was just fine.
“Nothing. I just don’t want you on it.”
I felt awkward having this conversation in front of a stranger. “Excuse us for a second.” I shut the door in his face even though it made me look rude as hell. “Calloway, what the hell is this about?”
“I don’t want you riding the subway.” He kept his tone the same, but his eyes darkened. “He’ll drive you to work and pick you up. If there’s somewhere else you need to go, he’ll take you.”
“Calloway, I don’t need a butler.”
“He’s not a butler. He’s a driver.”
“Whatever.” I was losing my temper and losing it fast. “I don’t need that either. I’ve been taking the subway since I’ve lived here, and I like it. I’m more likely to take a cab than a private chauffeur if you really want to press your argument.”
“You aren’t taking a cab either.” In his suit and tie, he looked absolutely terrifying. He had all the power and control, and he wasn’t afraid to use both. Like a wall, he loomed over me and threatened me with his silence.
“I’m doing whatever the hell I want. You aren’t the boss of me.”
“Wrong.”
My hands immediately balled into fists. “Excuse me? We just had a pretty incredible weekend, and you’re going to ruin it with this bullshit?”
“It’s not bullshit.” He stepped forward and cornered me into the wall, his palms locking me in place as they created barriers on either side of me. “The subway isn’t safe for a beautiful woman like you. Neither is a cab. You’re going to get into that car whether you walk your ass inside or I put you in there. What’s it gonna be?”
I crossed my arms over my chest, threatening him with my own fire. “The subway is perfectly fine. I’ve been riding it for years.”
“Those days are long gone.”
“Calloway, no.”
This time, he grabbed both of my arms and pinned them over my head. I wasn’t fighting him, but he restrained me anyway. “This is a fight you can’t win. This is a fight you’ll never win. I’m taking care of you. I’m protecting you. This is my job, so just accept it and be grateful.”
“Be grateful that I’m being controlled?”
“Not controlled. Just taken care of. Frankly, if I had it my way, you wouldn’t even have a job.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So I would sit at home all day and wait for you?”
“Exactly.”
“What the hell has gotten into you?”
His eyes shifted back and forth as he stared into my gaze. His thoughts were unreadable, but his mood was unmistakable. “I don’t know, Vanilla. But I know I’m not letting you take the subway or a cab. That’s final.”
20
Calloway
“Thanks for calling me back.” Jackson was in my face the second I walked inside Ruin. “Oh wait, that’s right. You never did.” He trailed behind me as I made my way to the back office.