I wadded up my napkin and tossed it on my plate. "You're right. I should go find some friends right now."
Trey tossed some parmesan on his slice, and I knew he wouldn't be happy until he put his two cents into the mix. "Zane brings up a good point. Why the hell didn't you knock or yell her name?"
"I told you I thought she was being strangled. She's a good actress. And she's cute," I added unnecessarily.
"And now, she's conveniently inside your apartment," Zane added. "Well played, my giant wrecking ball of a friend. Diane was telling me that new honey milk massage oil is awesome. You should take a bottle home tonight." Zane winked. "Give her a little five star treatment."
"Considering I haven't kissed her, or, for that matter, done anything more than gawk at her breasts displayed nicely under a t-shirt, I think the massage oil might be a bit of a jump. Especially after I scared her off with dildos on our first dinner date." I sat back. "Jane's different. I don't know the details, but I think she just came out of a bad relationship. I'm going to have to move slowly, if at all. I'm not even sure if she's interested. I did, after all, destroy her front door." I shook my head and rubbed my face. "I feel like such a fucking dimwit. But she was cool about it. She could have made a huge stink and screamed and cried and told me she was going to call the supervisor and get me evicted."
Trey sucked hard on his mostly empty soda. "That's what I would have done if I saw you lumbering through my door."
"Yeah, that's because you're a sensitive flower. Jane handled it all with grace and humor, and that's why I'm determined to woo her."
The word woo caused Chase to spit out his mouthful of soda. I flipped the top closed before he destroyed the rest of the pizza.
"Damn, you're fast when you're protecting food, Swift." Zane laughed. "Guess that's why your name is Swift."
Chase had recovered from his soda spit. "Did you all catch the big news of the day? Our giant boy is interested in wooing a woman. Looks like the biggest tree in the forest is about to fall."
"Sounds that way," Trey said.
"Just because you three saps follow your women around like lovesick puppies doesn't mean I'm following suit. Someone's got to keep the reputation going. And like I said, I don't know if she's even interested in me."
"But you're so fucking irresistible." Zane reached over to pinch my cheek, but I blocked him with my forearm.
"Someone's feeling extra invincible today," I said to Zane.
He leaned back and patted his chest. "Yep. Tried out that new sex wedge last night, and I thought Raini was going to lose her fucking mind."
Trey dropped the crust of his pizza on the plate. "That explains that fucking grin that's been plastered on your face all day."
I got up from the chair. "Well, lovely lunch but I've got to head back to the warehouse and do real work while the three of you sit around here and look pretty."
"How's Heath working out?" Chase asked as I walked to the door.
"He's an England. Need I say more?"
Chase looked at Trey and Zane, who looked just as confused as him. "Yeah you kind of do."
"The women keep bringing him donuts and cookies. They are all competing for his attention."
"Ah yes, the England family curse," Chase quipped.
I opened the door. "Yep, it's pretty fucking annoying." I walked out thinking that maybe if I hung out near Heath more, then some of that curse would rub off on me.
Chapter Eleven
Jane
I tasted a sliver of the roasted chicken and silently commended myself for a job well done. It would still need a good twenty minutes to get a nice crust. Aidan told me he'd be home around six, give or take fifteen minutes depending on traffic. I put the water on for potatoes and then returned to the script I'd left on the couch.
I'd taken a break from the overly dramatic movie script and opened up the script for the Murder Mystery weekend. I only hoped that I wouldn't mix the two up and start spouting the part of Kelly, the abused, murdering, two timing woman in the movie script. The writer and director were big names, but I wasn't all that impressed with the script. I found it melodramatic and not terribly plausible. That said, I'd still kill someone to get the part. Russell was trying to remain positive, but I found it hard to believe that they'd hire a no name actress to fill the part. From what Russell had heard through the very long movie grapevine, the director had all but begged Oscar winner Katrina Blake to take the part but she’d turned it down.
As I headed back to the kitchen, I heard the elevator ding. My stomach turned instantly to a mass of butterflies and my hands were just a little unsteady at the thought of Aidan walking in. What the hell was that about?
I leaned down to catch my reflection in the glass on the microwave. I brushed a piece of onion peel off my shoulder, deciding it wasn't the sexiest thing to wear. Whoa, and now I was thinking about looking sexy. Well, Aidan was a rather extraordinary guy.
I expected a noise in the hallway to be followed by keys in the door. Instead, I heard a familiar voice yell my name. The earlier butterflies turned to stone and dropped dead in my stomach. I opened the door and looked out into the hallway.
The two strips of wood maintenance had nailed across my open doorway were still in place, but I could hear Brock inside my apartment, frantically calling my name. His face suddenly appeared over the top piece of wood.
"Jane? What the fuck happened? You scared the shit out of me." He ducked under the wood and looked past me into Aidan's apartment. "Who lives here?"
"I do." The deep voice caused Brock to spin around fast.
Brock was not a small guy but Aidan stood a good three inches over him. And his shoulders and arms made Brock look positively dainty.
Brock turned back to me. "Would you like to explain this," he sneered.
I tapped my chin. "Let me think about it. Nope. I don't have to explain anything to you."
"We need to talk, baby." Obviously forgetting about the giant looming in the hall behind him, Brock grabbed my hand. As he attempted to drag me along with him, he found himself blocked by my new friend, the man wall.
"Sorry, buddy, this is between me and the lady. It's none of your business." I had to give Brock credit. Aidan looked menacing with his crossed arms and glower. But then Brock never was very smart.
"First of all, you and I are not buddies. And secondly, let go of the lady's hand."
Brock turned back to me. "Are you coming with me or not?"
"Not." I pulled my hand from his grasp. "We are done. How often do I have to tell you that? Please leave me alone and don't come back."
Brock turned and laughed dryly at Aidan. "You oversized motherfuckers think you're so tough, but I'll bet you're all bark. You probably move like a slow motion sloth."
Aidan shrugged. "Could be. I'm willing to test out your theory anytime you like."
For a second, it seemed Brock might just take him up on it.
"Never mind. She's not worth it. She's not even a great fuck."
I hadn't even seen Aidan move, but in the next second, he had Brock pushed up face first against the wall, his arm wrenched behind his back. Brock groaned in pain.
"How's that theory about the sloth holding up?" Aidan lowered his voice. "Next time I see you around here, I will do to you what I did to that splintered door across the way." He released him.
Brock rubbed his shoulder as he stumbled toward the elevator.
It took a moment before Aidan could look at me and then he fell back into apology mode. "I'm sorry, Jane. I tend to act before I think. It's sort of a survival technique I learned as a kid."
I walked over to him and took his hand in mine. It had more of an effect on him than I expected. There was a flicker of something in his eyes that I couldn't quite read, but his fingers closed around my hand.
"That's twice you stepped in to help me. Thank you. And, I might add, you look a bit like a superhero when you're taking out bad guys, real or invisible." My last comment lifted the worry from his face.
We walked into his apartment. "Maybe I need some kind of cape." He stopped and turned to me. His serious expression had returned. "I don't want to make things harder for you, Jane. Although, considering what I did to your apartment that ship has pretty much already sailed. But do I need to worry about that guy hurting you?"
The question nearly melted my heart. I couldn't remember the last time any man worried for my safety. Actually, yes I could. My dad. He was the only other man and he didn't count because that was part of his dad job. But Aidan was just a neighbor, a neighbor I found myself growing more fond of each day.
"Brock is just a blowhard. For the most part, he's harmless. He'd never hurt me, physically." I walked into the kitchen to check on the potatoes. It felt so natural making dinner and chatting with Aidan as if we'd known each other for a long time. He was remarkably easy to talk to for a man, especially one who owned a multimillion dollar company and who, according to the gossip, was a notorious playboy. "If Brock had ever shown abusive tendencies, I would have left him long ago. We were together for a few years, but things were growing stale fast. At least from my point of view. Apparently not so much from his."
"Can't fault him for that. I don't think I'd give up on someone like you either."