He raised an eyebrow. "No. Good point."
I sighed.
"What would you do if your head of department screamed at you in the hallway?"
"Probably nothing," I murmured without thinking. Gathering from Will's extremely shocked expression, I realized I said the wrong thing. "Well, uh-obviously, that's a really unprofessional thing to-"
"Wow, that says a lot about you," he chuckled.
Heat flushed my face. This was really unfair. He gave me no time to prepare. "You really blind-sided me with this interview. I don't know what you expected. I don't even know what the job is!" I slammed my fist on the table, making our glasses rattle.
He coughed. "I guess that answers that for how easily you can be provoked."
I simmered as he gave me another grin. This couldn't possibly be real.
"I'm getting the feeling that this entire thing is your idea of a sick joke." I threw my napkin on the table and grabbed my purse, feeling close to tears as I got up and stormed out of the restaurant.
Everyone's always laughing at me-I won't take it anymore. I won't deal with this. All I wanted was to eat my meal in peace, to have a nice evening with him.
Half-crying, I walked forward blindly on the rain-soaked streets, not caring where the hell I was going.
"Hey!"
Heavy footsteps jogged next to me and I didn't need to look to see who it was.
"Natalie, hold on for a second!"
Rough fingers encircled my arm and stopped my rapid escape to my car. William stood under a streetlight, his normally handsome features harsh under the glare.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to insult you. This definitely isn't a joke." He spoke in a slow, clear voice. "I have an unorthodox way of interviewing people to see if they'll be a good fit. It was just a stress interview."
I nodded and pressed my lips firmly together. Suddenly, I felt a lump in my throat and my eyes were stinging. Well, I guess I failed his test spectacularly.
"Ah, shit. Don't be upset."
I heard him lean forward and then his fingers were at my throat, sweeping upward until they gently clasped my chin and tilted it up. My first instinct was to pull away, to shout, because it was such an invasion of my boundaries. Instead, I melted into his hand. The need to be touched overwhelmed my pride. I couldn't look at him because I knew I would see pity in his eyes and that would be enough to shove me over the edge.
Dark, self-critical thoughts raged inside me, most of them with the voices of my parents. You'll never find someone.
"I'm really sorry. Please don't be upset."
Don't let go of me. I shook my head. My face felt like it was about to burst. "It's not you. I'm just having a hard time." I'm just lonely as hell and overly emotional these days.
"Natalie," he began in a gentle voice. "You'll get over this. I promise."
I finally looked at him, my hands clinging to his hands, which were still wrapped around my face. His gaze was warm and I knew that he felt for me; he understood the darkness swirling inside my head and knew that it wasn't about him. I choked a bit from the strength blazing in his eyes and a single tear rolled down my face, but his thumb caught it and stroked my cheek, almost as if he adored me.
No, he was just being kind to the strange, sad girl he had been interested in.
"Take care of yourself."
His body heat left me abruptly as he backed away, his hands dropping from my face. I couldn't even utter a goodbye. I just stared at this magnificent, strange man and I felt my heart ripped out when he turned around and walked away.
Wait! COME BACK!
My body screamed for him. I felt myself shaking in the cold with the absence of his heat, but I lacked the courage to run after him.
Chapter 3
Natalie,
I've been thinking about you these last few weeks. I still can't believe it's been eight months since-
The lid of my laptop snapped shut before I read the rest of the email. I hunched over my desk and bit my nails into my palms.
Ben reached out to me. I couldn't believe it. At first, I felt a wild happiness, but a tidal wave of nerves quickly drowned it. I'm just starting to move on. I flicked away a crumb from my desk. Then came the rage. He decides to email me now? After he's dated how many women?
I didn't want to read the rest of it. Not yet.
Laughter sounded from the living room. A pair of voices talked loudly as they walked into our apartment. They must be back from dinner.
Resigning myself to an evening of watching Luke and Jessica fawn over each other, I got up from my chair and joined them.
"Hey!"
Jessica's blonde ponytail whipped around. Luke stood in the kitchen, uncorking some wine. I always wondered what he thought when he visited our apartment. I wondered if he couldn't wait to get away. To return to his mansion. Maybe he found our peasant life charming.
"Hello, Luke."
"How was your date?" Jessica grinned at me.
Let me see. After I calmed down, I realized how embarrassing it had been. It was a complete disaster. A date with a stranger turned into an interview with Will, and somehow I had a complete meltdown. I burst into laughter as I thought of Charlie pounding the ATM machine when it spat back the counterfeit bills.
"Um, well-the date was interrupted by Will."
"Will who?"
"Your cousin."
Luke's face darkened. "What?"
"He showed up and paid Charlie to leave the table." Another burst of laughter left my throat at both of their expressions. I summoned the energy to walk to the kitchen table and clutched one of the chairs, weakened by laughter. Even the fact that I left the date in tears seemed kind of hilarious.
Jessica made a wordless "wow," but Luke looked like his temple was about to explode.
"I don't know how he found me," I shrugged, looking at Luke pointedly.
For a moment I thought he was going to smash the wine bottle. "I'm sorry, Natalie," he apologized, red-faced. "He kept hassling me for your number at work and I told him you were going on a date with someone else."
The fact that he had the nerve to harass Luke at work made me smile. "Don't apologize," I said, sobering immediately. "It wasn't so bad."
I didn't tell them about the job offer or the interview. I wanted to take that secret to my grave, but I couldn't forget how he made me feel, how he seemed to understand what I was going through.
"He seems like a really nice person. Sort of."
But Luke was shaking his head, looking furious with himself. "Natalie, there are a lot of things you don't know about him. He's not a nice guy. He's a huge mess. A couple years ago, he-" He colored and suddenly fell silent.
"He what?" I prompted.
"I really shouldn't say. It's not for me to tell you. But, just believe me-he has a host of issues that you really don't want to deal with."
My lungs froze. What did it matter, really? I'll probably never see him again. I scared him off. The thought that Will was somehow harboring a terrible secret made me feel intrigued instead of cautious.
I sat down at the kitchen table, Luke avoiding my eyes.
"So?" Jessica said aggressively. "I had-still have-a ton of issues myself. Why shouldn't she give him a chance?"
Our eyes met and I felt a rush of affection for my friend. That's true.
His eyes darted to the women united against him. A nervous chuckle left his mouth, knowing he was overruled. "Don't-it's not the same at all."
But his girlfriend wasn't going to let him off that easily. "How is it not the same?"
A pin could have dropped in the kitchen and I would have heard it clearly. Luke's mouth faltered.
"I can't. It's not my place. I'm sure he'll tell you eventually."
Well, now I just have to know.
"And when he does, Natalie can decide for herself if she wants to date him."
Feeling bad for Luke, I leaned over and patted his shoulder. "I'm sure Luke just thinks he's trying to help. Anyway, don't worry about it. It didn't really end well so I doubt I'll see him again."
He blew out his cheeks, looking relieved. "Don't Google his name, Natalie. I'm serious. Even if it's unlikely you'll see him again."
Jessica swatted his arm. "Well now how is she supposed to stop herself from doing that? Stop putting ideas in her head."
She squealed as he suddenly pulled her onto his lap and kissed her cheek. A flutter of awkwardness swept my insides. I always felt like I was walking in on something private around them. I wonder if she felt like that around Ben and me. Probably.
I was reminded of something William mentioned. "Luke, how is it with that side of the family? He mentioned that he was in the race to be CEO."
With Jessica in his arms, he gave a derisive laugh. "I will be really, really surprised if he gets it. He's a bit of a loose cannon."
Considering how disrespectful Will was when he talked about Luke, I couldn't exactly muster the energy to be angry on Will's behalf. I could detect a faint note of bitterness coming from Luke's voice. Was he upset that his father's death ruled him out of the hierarchy of the company?