ChapterTwo
Wynter
Drip.Drip. Drip.
My dream tonight is so vivid. I’m in the middle of a beautiful tropical rainforest. Animals rustle and sound their little commands around me. I hear water running, so it’s either raining or I’m near a stream. A perfect sunny sky becomes covered with ominous clouds. At least it’s peaceful here, despite the rain.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
My brain tries computing the noise as it fuzzily comes to life. A cold drop of water lands on the tip of my nose and my eyes fly open. I’m not dreaming. My eyes lift upward to my ceiling and I notice the steady stream of water that’s been slowly condensing in a circular mark over my head.What in the…
“Wynter, we have a problem…” A knock at my bedroom door sounds and I hear Addison’s faint voice over the confusion swarming my brain.
“Uh, yeah…” I respond.
“I think the apartment above ours has a water leak. It’s dripping onto the floor in the kitchen. There’s a mini flood going on out here.”
I sigh.This is not happening to me right now.Happy Monday… I take a minute to compose myself, because inconvenience or not, I will not let it affect me. It’s not an enormous deal. Well, maybe it’s more than a little deal having my apartment doused with water, but I just need to get someone to fix it and let the morons upstairs know to turn it off.
“Okay, I will go up and let them know they’ve got a leak. Will you call maintenance while I’m gone?”
“I’m a step ahead of you. Hoy is already on his way.”
I pull myself out of bed, noticing that it’s a little damp from the water leak too. The carpet squishes under my feet as I stand up. Walking over to my dresser, I pull on sweats and a baggy sweatshirt – my lounging clothes. I have a strange feeling this morning will be a lengthy one. Throwing my red hair up into a messy bun, I forgo makeup too. Who in the world will see me, anyhow?
I pad out of my room to the hallway.
Squish, squish, squish.
The most disgusting feeling – having carpet mimic a sponge underneath your feet as you walk through three inches of water. Almost as cringe-worthy as when someone says the wordmoist. I throw open the door, water spilling out, and head toward the elevator.
I hit the silver button on the lift and wait for it to open on my floor and carry me exactly one level to the 20th floor. I’ll have no trouble finding the apartment I’m looking for because this floor layout is the same as mine.
I take a couple of seconds to calm the madness inside me over the flood and then knock twice on the door. Footsteps sound closer as whoever is on the other side nears the door. The doorknob turns, a familiar scent tickles my nose, and my jaw immediately drops when a very familiar face greets me.
Perfectly styled inky hair, the scruff of his jawline trimmed neatly, but sexy as all get out.
And those golden hazel eyes shine with a certain male masculinity that only he can pull off. He’s dressed for work and my eyes take in the slim black suit that hugs his body perfectly, displaying his sculpted arms and his trim waistline. For a minute, I ponder what the rest looks like, and then I remember who I’m dealing with here.
Weston Croix stands in front of me, a grin spreading across his gruff jawline. “And what do I owe this pleasant surprise, Chief?”
“You have got to be kidding me!” I yell at no one in particular. How is he everywhere? It's bad enough that I work with him, but now he’s here too. “What are you doing here?” A mask of indifference slides across my face. Or I hope it does.
“I live here. So, the question is what areyoudoing here?” His eyes widen with enlightenment as he puts the pieces together. “Wait, you live at The Gardens, too?”
His eyes roam down my body before meeting my own again and it immediately dawns on me what I’m wearing. I hadn’t bothered to even look in the mirror before I’d dashed out of my apartment thinking a string of explicit words.
Without even looking down, I know that I look like I’d crawled out of a gutter somewhere.
I’m less queen and more pauper for sure. Not even bothering to wear shoes, I stand in front of my nemesis in bare feet, sweats, my hair in a messy bun, and no makeup.
Sans fancy clothes and face battle paint, I feel utterly exposed.
“You look um…” The words are out before he can summon them back.
“I suggest you don’t finish that sentence, Croix.” I give him a droll look, arching an eyebrow.
“You own sweats? I mean, damn.” He chuckles and I glare at him. “I honestly don’t even understand what’s going on here. Why are you here other than to show off this sexy little number?”