Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (64 page)

     
He chuckled
softly. "I take it you had fun."

     
"I'm going
back sometime soon, I think. At night. After the ocean, my next favorite sight
is looking at all the city lights from up above. The view from our living room
is alright, but it's only a small portion."

     
"...I had
no idea. You didn't get scared from being up so high?"

     
I lifted my
legs up onto the arms of the chair to get more comfortable. "A little. But
it's kinda romantic, yeah? Like being closer to the heavens. And so long as
there isn't a fire, it feels like one of the safest places to be. No baddies
can get up there without first having to go through levels of security."

     
"I'm not
sure the Space Needle actually works like that." I could almost hear him
smirk.

     
"No, but
my tower does."

     
"You have
a tower?"

     
"I do
now."

     
"Can I
visit?"

     
"I'm
afraid it only exists in my mind. You're welcome to delve, though."

     
"Tell me
then, how tall is this tower?" Gone was the weariness in his voice. I had
successfully distracted him.

     
"It's high
enough that when standing out on the top, the world below is completely
silent."

     
"…You're
very peculiar, did you know?"

     
"I really
hope you aren't just now figuring that out…"

     
We continued
talking about nothing in particular for the next twenty minutes or so. Before
we hung up, he asked me if I would stay with him tomorrow night, to which I
said yes.

     
The rest of the
night passed very slowly and very quietly as I sorted through all the pictures
I had taken. In reality, it was a completely normal night for me. It only
seemed to be going slow because of Jillian's sudden absence. When she was
around, time somehow sped up and everything became louder - sounds, people, colors…

     
It was almost
funny to think about just how different she, Dale, and myself were. Truthfully,
I don't think our friendship was something I could ever understand. It was
simply beyond us.

     
Eventually,
Jillian let us know that she arrived home in one piece. After a late dinner, we
called it a night and headed to bed. For whatever reason, I felt exhausted and
fell asleep almost immediately.

When
I woke up the following morning, I felt a bit out of sorts. It couldn't be
helped, really. It had been a full five days since I'd last went in to 'work.'
Not
too
long, but it still felt odd returning to a schedule. If I
planned on getting anything done, I was going to have to dress in a way that
was sure to brighten my mood. Once I was sure that Coops was gone, I put on
some music to try and jump-start the day. I forced myself to dance around the
kitchen while getting my breakfast smoothie ready. By the time I was done
drinking it all, I felt a little better.

     
I ended up
wearing a mint-colored A-line dress with a thin white belt at the waist - a
belt which held an adorable little golden buckle in the shape of a bow for
added cuteness. There was white scalloped lining around the collar, cap
sleeves, and the skirt had an under layer for extra length in the same color as
both the belt and the lining. As soon as it was on my body, I began to feel the
effects. I ripped open a new pair of nude stockings and chose white Mary Janes
to complete the ensemble. After I fixed my hair, I added the small but necessary
makeup requirements. After all, one didn't dress this nicely and leave their
face plain and boring.

     
I felt pretty.
Definitely too pretty for the work I was going to be doing, but at least I felt
significantly better. I moved everything from the mini-backpack I'd been using
into a matching handbag and eagerly put on a cream-colored princess coat that I
hadn't had a chance to wear yet.

     
Originally I
had planned to call a cab, but now that I felt energized, I wanted to try and
enjoy the fresh air before I ended up locked away in the windowless room that
was my work area.

     
I was only
about ten minutes into my walk when a familiar black car pulled up beside me. I
removed my headphones as the driver's window began rolling down. Douglas leaned
out and smiled.

     
"Good
morning, Miss Myers. Perhaps you might like a ride?"

     
"Good
morning. You weren't sent, were you?" Was it wrong of me to be suspicious?
But when Ethan could track me using both my phone and the necklace, little
coincidences like this only added to my paranoia.

     
"I was on
an errand and just happened to pass you by. I'm headed back to the Luxadigm
now." After a momentary pause, he then began regarding me with actual
interest rather than simple politeness. "You're looking very well this
morning. I'm sure it would ease his mind to know that I brought you to work
myself."

     
"…In that
case, I might as well." Smiling, I opened the back door and got inside.

     
I wasn't
stupid. Of course Douglas knew how to put on a poker face. I really liked the
man - more than that, I trusted him. But I had to be weary of him. He worked
for Ethan, so he would lie to me if the situation called for it.

     
Now that
Jillian was gone, it was back to the real world, and no amount of pretty
clothes could distract me from the truth...I was still worried about last
night. I had learned to rely on my instincts, and my instincts told me that
Ethan hadn't called me because he was worried about work. He wouldn't call me
three times in a row over a job he excelled at, even if it did stress him out.
No. He called because he was worried about me. Why else would he ask if I was
alright?

     
Why
…that
was the question, and the answer was only too obvious. I had succeeded in
keeping it off of my mind for a while, but I couldn't push it aside any longer.
Maybe I really
had
seen Noel the other night. Maybe he was here in
Seattle and Ethan had become aware of it.

     
Or maybe
you're just finally losing your mind.

     
"Thank you
very much for the ride, Douglas," I said as brightly as I could manage
when he pulled up in front of the building.

     
"My
pleasure, Miss."

     
We entered
together, and after only a few steps into the front lobby, I began to feel
Ethan's presence. He was standing to the far left of the area with three other
people, all with very familiar faces. I realized now that they were the same
people he'd been talking to on the day that I had come waltzing in like a
Disney princess. Next to him stood Karina, his aunt Clara, and Pierre.

     
For a moment it
felt as though both my heart and my lungs had fallen into the pit of my
stomach. The last time I saw him with Karina, we weren't involved. We hadn't
consummated our relationship yet and he wasn't mine. I didn't have the right to
question why he was still working with the woman he used to sleep with. And as
if that weren't bad enough, his own aunt was rooting for the two of them.

     
But it wasn't
quite jealousy that I was feeling…it was more of an overwhelming sadness. When
standing beside one another, they looked like a perfect pair. She was
everything that I would never be. Aside from her flawless looks, she gave off
an air of maturity. She was poised. Tall. She carried herself with such
confidence - one would have to think that she really
did
belong at his
side.

     
One look at the
two of them and I felt completely and entirely out of place in regards to his
world. It didn't matter how much time he and I had spent together. In the end,
I didn't know his world like she did. I knew that it shouldn't have mattered
since it was likely that I knew more about the man
behind
the business
mask…But this other world that was so far beyond me
was
, in fact, a very
important part of his life.

     
I felt a hand
at the small of my back, gently guiding me towards the turnstiles. Because it
was only Douglas, the simple touch didn't make me feel uneasy. But I couldn't
help but wonder if he thought he needed to keep a hold on me so I wouldn't go
running off to Ethan while he was busy talking to those people. Not that I
would - like I'd ever subject myself to
that
. Avoiding awkward
situations had become my life. It's how I managed to live this long without
actually living much. The hand had distracted me though, for which I was
grateful.

     
I peeked up at
Douglas and smiled. "Are you headed up to his office to wait for
him?"

     
"That's
right." He gazed down at me with gentle eyes. Once again, I was reminded
of Coops.

     
"...Douglas, can I ask you something?"

     
"Of
course."

     
"Do you
like ice cream?"

     
"I don't
know anyone who
doesn't
like ice cream," he replied fondly.

     
"What's
your favorite flavor?"

     
"Hmm." He considered his options as we made our way to the
elevator. Both of us said hello to Zach before walking through the opening
doors. "Well," he began as he pressed the button for the top floor.
"Call me old fashioned, but there's nothing quite like vanilla to ease my
mind from the harsh realities of the world. What are your preferences?"

     
What a
curious answer.
"Rocky Road, usually. But on extremely rare occasions,
I sometimes turn to strawberry. No one knows that, though. Not that anyone
would ask, but keep it a secret, please?"

     
He held up
three fingers and smiled amusedly. "Scout's honor."

     
We said goodbye
when we reached Patricia's desk and I headed off to paint. Once in the confines
of my safe haven, I exhaled and took a minute to inspect the work I had
completed so far. I just wanted to finish and be done with the mural so I could
move on to other things.

     
I ended up
working non-stop for six hours straight. It took a good half-hour to get back
into the hang of things, but the time that followed was both peaceful and
relaxing. I only made a few mistakes and my arms didn't hurt quite as much as
they had the previous week - or at least, they were able to go numb before the
aching could get too bad.

     
Once I had
climbed down from the top of the scaffold, I made a sorry attempt at massaging
my stiff spine. Then, after a quick visit to the bathroom, I headed into the
break room for lunch. As I began eating my sandwich, I quickly checked my
phone. Ethan had sent me a text about an hour before:
I have a meeting later
this evening. Douglas will drive you to my place. He'll be waiting in my office
at five. Take your time, I probably won't be home until late.

     
It must've been
either far away or especially important if he planned on being gone for the
rest of the day. It was rare that he continued working so late. Perhaps I
really was just being paranoid by thinking it had anything to do with Noel.

     
Part of me
wanted to ask him if there was even a point in my going to his place today, but
I didn't want to text him back on the chance that he might be busy. I checked
the time. Five o'clock was only an hour away from now, so I ate as quickly as I
could, not wanting to waste a single minute. As much as I would have liked to
continue working until late, I wasn't alright with having Douglas wait for me.

     
Somehow, I
still ended up losing track of time. It was half-past five when I stopped for
the day. I rushed to get everything cleaned up before heading into Ethan's
office. True to his word, Douglas was patiently waiting for me.

     
"Sorry, I
lost track of time," I huffed.

     
He looked up
from the book he was reading and grinned. "It's quite alright, Miss
Myers."

     
When I looked
out the window as we made our way towards the elevator, I noticed that it had
begun raining. "Douglas, is it alright if we stop at my place first? There
are some things I need to pick up." If I was going to be without Ethan, I
would need something besides television to keep me busy.