Good Girl (4 page)

“Let’s get to the conductor car.”

The subway going into the city was
fairly empty this time of evening, while trains passing the other direction
were packed full. They passed through two more cars until they reached the
conductor’s box blocking the doorway at that end. There wasn’t a window on the
inside, but Hunter knew he could rap on the metal door to alert the conductor
if things went really crazy.

He took up position in front of the
door. Kali looked scared, and he took a moment to assure her, “It’ll be fine
now. They won’t do anything with the conductor right here.” He was stroking her
arm. “Now get behind me. If anything happens, bang on that door until he comes
out.”

He shifted her so she was standing
behind him, her hands trembling on his back. He was ready to do whatever it took
to keep them from getting to her.

The scattered people in the car knew
that something was wrong even before the homeboys arrived. Hunter’s adrenaline
was pumping. He would have backed away from any guy as hopped up as he was
right now.

It was a bad moment when the guys came
into the car. Hunter lifted his fist to pound on the door if they made another
move. They knew conductors, and this conductor had just seen three guys jump
the train.

They stayed at the back end of the car,
talking and cursing loudly, making arm motions to punctuate their words.
Everyone was watching them intently, with a few of those closest getting up and
moving away. At the next station, almost everyone poured off, and he could see
the passengers getting back onto cars on either side of them. Someone called
out a warning to the conductor that he better watch out, but nothing happened.
A couple of the passengers stayed, obviously eager to see a fight.

Hunter half-turned towards Kali, more to
try to defuse the situation than anything else. She looked up at him
imploringly. “Why are they doing this, Hunter?”

He felt a deep pang. It was his own
fault. But he couldn’t admit it. She would have been fine if she had walked to
the subway on her own. Oh, they probably would have made comments about the
“fine little mama” as she passed by, but that was par for the course out there.
He was the one who had caught their attention with all of his running back and
forth, frantically searching for her.

Then he had gotten all defensive over
her. He knew better than to come back at a gang like that. But from the first
moment, he had been ready to fight them all. He hadn’t felt this way since he
was a teenager confronting a friend who stole a girl away from him.

He let out his breath with a long sigh, realizing
this wasn’t going to stop until he let it go. He was reacting like a caveman
protecting his woman. And he didn’t even know her!

Hunter forced himself to calm down, to
take deep breaths and slow his pulse rate. He no longer wanted to look back at the
homeboys, and they jeered louder, feeling like they’d cowed him enough to claim
victory.

“My station is next,” Kali said. “What
if they follow us off?”

“Just do what I say.”

As the subway car began to slow down,
Hunter told her, “Don’t move,” as she started to shift. “I’ll tell you when.”

She stayed perfectly still as the car
squealed to a halt. The doors opened. He waited a couple seconds to time their
exit just before the doors closed, then grabbed her hand. “Come on.”

As soon as they hit the platform, Hunter
turned to finally look back at the guys who had chased them down. Then
pointedly he looked at the conductor’s window. Right beside him, the conductor
was in the window watching the stragglers board the train. Hunter hoped that if
the conductor saw a fight start, he would keep the train in the station and
call the cops.

The guys almost jumped off, but when
Hunter made no move to talk to the conductor, they contented themselves with
yelling curses at Hunter, pointing their fingers at him as if they were
weapons.

The doors of the subway pinged closed,
and Kali let out a relieved breath. Hunter waited until the train pulled away,
watching their moving mouths through the window.

“Oh, my God,” Kali murmured.

He almost admitted it was his fault. But
she was finally looking at him with breathless admiration, the way he wanted
her to look at him. It almost made it worthwhile.

He took her arm and walked out of the
subway with her. It wasn’t until she reached the top of the stairs that she
realized what he was doing. “You don’t have to walk me home, Hunter.”

“After
that?
Do you think any
red-blooded man could let you walk home alone right now? I’m getting you there
safely.”

She didn’t protest, and Hunter felt like
he’d said too much. He was just as confused as she had looked in his studio.
His defensive reaction was so intense and sudden. And he didn’t know why. He
could still feel her hand in his as they waited on the platform, staring down
the gang. He had felt invincible because he had to be, for her.

They walked in silence the two blocks to
her apartment building. She didn’t chatter nervously about what had just
happened, and he was glad about it. He needed time to get hold of himself.

Kali lived in an old tenement building
with three floors, and he knew from experience there would be two railroad
apartments on each floor. This neighborhood was mixed industrial and apartment
buildings, so it wasn’t as bleak as his own neighborhood. Plus the main drag of
Williamsburg where the subway station let out was always crowded with people.
Her apartment was probably half the size and cost more than his studio. But she
had restaurants and boutique shopping right around the corner, just like
Manhattan used to be before it got too expensive for anything but chain stores
and luxury brands.

Kali took a step up her stoop. “This is
me.”

She had separated herself from him, so
he didn’t have a chance to touch her again. After all he had done, she still
couldn’t trust him because he had messed with her.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have
asked first.”

She tilted her head, not understanding.
“Before I got kinky with you. I shouldn’t have said those things to you without
asking first.”

Now she got it, and she flushed so hard
she had to look away. She took two more steps up. “That’s all right.” Even
though it wasn’t.

“I didn’t mean to drive you away,” he
said honestly. “I feel bad. I don’t know why I did it. I know better than
that.”

She hesitated, looking back down at him.
She didn’t understand; it was true, she really hadn’t explored her
submissiveness. But she could tell he meant his apology.

“That’s okay,” she said, this time
meaning it.

Hunter suddenly felt better, like a
weight had been lifted. His pseudo-fight with the homeboys seemed stupid now.
He should have just made it up with Kali the second they were alone. None of
this would have happened.

“Put it down to the stupendous stress
I’m under,” he admitted, running a hand through his hair.

She smiled, like the sun coming out. “I
understand completely. This project is a big thing.”

“It is for me.”

Kali nodded, turning away. “Thanks for
walking me home, Hunter.”

He waited until she was inside the heavy
front door, protected by iron over the glass. “I’ll ask next time,” he murmured
under his breath, making sure she couldn’t hear him.

For some reason, he waited until she was
through the inner door with a wave of her hand, before he turned away and left.

Chapter 4

In a daze, Kali went up the two flights of
stairs to her apartment. She wandered around her place for a while until she
realized she was sitting on her bed with her hands clasped together to keep
them from shaking. They had been trembling as she rested them against his back,
as Hunter faced off with those men on the subway. As he stood between her and
them.

It made her weak in the knees to think
about it. Feeling how ready he was to protect her was almost worth being so
scared. Even then, somehow she never doubted that he would do whatever it took
to keep them away from her. Whatever it took.

He had been perfectly calm the whole
time, assuring her in low, even tones and never once making her feel like he
wasn’t in complete control. In such wild situation! When he told her to do
exactly what he said as they got off the subway, standing there exposed on the
platform with those angry men just steps away, with only his hand to hold her
there…

She suddenly realized what complete
trust she put in him. She had stayed there with him when every part of her
wanted to run away.

And the way Hunter had looked down at
her as he insisted on walking her home. Like he wasn’t going to put down his
sword until he knew she was completely safe.

Kali didn’t think she had ever met a
more manly man in her life.

What would happen when he got back to
his station? Would that gang be waiting for him? What if they hurt him?

She felt so guilty for walking off alone
to the subway. All of this wouldn’t have happened if she had just been sensible
and waited for the car to come. But he never said a word of blame.

Instead, he had apologized for saying
those things to her. Now when she thought about it, she felt embarrassed for
making such a big deal about it. It was just teasing. But it still made her
flustered to think about it, even more than remembering how long he had flirted
with Selina.

Finally, Kali couldn’t stand it anymore;
she was thrumming with nerves and too much adrenaline coursing through her
body. She went outside and walked. New York was made for walking, and the night
was really fine with a nice breeze off the river ruffling her hair. Everywhere
she looked there was something new and interesting to see.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about
Hunter, the way his back felt under his T-shirt as her hands rested on him, and
the way his hand enveloped hers, firm yet careful not to squeeze too hard.

She tried to tell herself to stop. He
was off-limits for a lot of reasons. She was sure Selina would try, at some
point, to cash the check he was writing. And watching Selina date Hunter would
be excruciating if she kept remembering the feel of his hands on her.

Kali couldn’t let Selina know that she
had the hots for Hunter, especially if they chose his design. Her boss would
have no qualms telling Hunter that Kali was mooning around after him. Then
Selina would smile as she watched Kali squirm.

That was
not
that going to
happen.
No way.

No matter how much she kept thinking
about his tanned arms, and the way his muscles strained the T-shirt over his
shoulders. No matter how much she thought about his blue eyes looking into
hers, she couldn’t let herself believe anything would come of it.

***

On Monday, Kali was at her desk
listening as Selina called Hunter to congratulate him on winning the contest.
Kali emailed him the contract to sign. Hunter replied that he would drop it off
at the office the next day so they could open the escrow account to pay for the
materials and subcontractors. He would be managing the entire project,
reporting directly to Selina and the Chief Operating Officer.

On Tuesday, Kali wore a skirt and heels
as she usually did when a meeting was scheduled, so Selina wouldn’t think it
was odd. But she did pick her best hip-hugging skirt and a button-up shirt that
could go down an extra button for a nice sexy effect. As sexy as a librarian
could look, but she felt motivated to try.

When Lindy buzzed that Hunter had
arrived, Selina told Lindy, “Give us five minutes, then take him to the
conference room.” To Kali, she ordered, “Let Harold know that Hunter is here.”

Harold was their Chief Financial Officer
and he had papers for the checking account that he needed Hunter to sign. Kali
had coordinated the paperwork with his assistant to be sure they had everything
set.

Selina took those five minutes to
examine her face in a mirror, applying makeup and slicking down her fly-away
blond hairs.

“Look at you! You act like you’re going
on a date,” Debby said from her computer. “I’m going to have to get a look at
this guy, if he’s all
that
.”

Selina didn’t like being poked, and
Debby knew it. But she had been at SunTech longer than both of them, and was
enough of a fixture to get away with things that Kali never would have tried
with their boss.

“If this guy knows what’s good for him,
he’ll fall right in line,” Selina bragged.

Kali expected Hunter to be distantly
polite with her after what had happened in the subway. It made sense that
Hunter would underscore their new working relationship by being civil, nothing
more.

But from the first moment he saw her,
his eyes lit up and his voice lowered slightly as he said hello. As if he felt
it, too. Like they had gone from strangers to connected somehow.

She focused on her iPad, checking off
the items as Selina and Harold went through them with him. It was a complex
job, and she hadn’t realized how much Hunter would have to do to make sure it
was a success. Any overruns would come out of his commission, so he would be
motivated to make sure the project came in on budget.

While they were meeting, a steady flow
of office staff filed by the glass walls of the conference room. It was funny,
especially when Debby and a few others sashayed by a couple times before they
got their fill. Harold didn’t notice with his back to the glass and his figures
in front of him, but Selina did, and she didn’t like it. Kali was fairly
certain Hunter also noticed the unusually heavy traffic in the hallway.

When they were done, Harold packed up
everything, including Hunter’s signed copy of the contract, and congratulated
their new coworker before he left the conference room.

Selina thoughtfully tapped her pen on
the folder in front of her. “We need to get some publicity stills first thing
for our announcement. I’m thinking we can use that model you made of the
sundial. And the model of the bench. The light through your window was quite
nice and it should make for some interesting shots. No more black and white
portraits.” She leaned forward. “It doesn’t do justice to your beautiful eyes.”

Kali had to look away. Selina couldn’t
be serious, not with Kali sitting right there listening! Selina was just trying
to get control of the situation, as she always did with the people she worked
with. But her cougar-like approach was not a flattering look.

Hunter didn’t smile back. “Whatever you
say, Boss.”

Selina hesitated. He had just barely
emphasized the word “Boss.” He was pointing out the fact that he worked for
her.

Selina sat back. “I’ll come by tomorrow
with our photographer.”

Now Hunter did smile. “I’m busy
tomorrow. But I could do it tonight.”

“I’m busy tonight. And I don’t think the
photographer would be free on such short notice.”

Kali decided to help Hunter out, if he
was going to fight back. “I’ll text Fran to find out.”

Selina and Hunter kept looking at each
other, and Kali was reminded of the way he had squared off with those guys in
the subway. The tension was not as deadly, but it did fill the room.  

After only a few seconds their freelance
photographer responded by text. “He’s free this evening. He asks how about
5:30?”

“Fine by me,” Hunter said easily.

“I’ll send him your address,” Kali said.

Selina was smiling tightly. “Good, I’m
glad that worked out. I’ll handle the interviews and give the media a couple of
nice quotes from you. I’ll pass them by you tomorrow.” She stood up abruptly,
holding out her hand. “Welcome to SunTech, Hunter. I’m sure you know your way
out by now.”

Kali was still gathering up her stuff as
Selina opened the door. “Come on, Kali. We have a lot of work to do.”

When Selina’s back was turned, Hunter
gave Kali a grin and a thumbs up. He looked so boyish suddenly, like they were
kids conspiring behind their mom’s back. She almost laughed, but Selina would
have jumped all over her.

The last thing they heard was Hunter
whistling as he came out of the conference room behind them. Selina picked up
her steps, as he walked the other direction toward reception.

“Arrogant asshole,” Selina muttered.
“They’re all like that. So sweet at first, until they get what they want. Then
you see their true colors.”

Kali was afraid to say anything and have
Selina’s anger backlash on her. After all, she had just helped Hunter get the
better of Selina. But Selina was so focused on the fact that he had dropped her
in a deep freeze the second the contract was signed, that she couldn’t see
beyond that right now.

“At least Fran knows what I need. You’ll
have to be my eyes and ears, Kali. Make sure he gets a shot through the sundial
with Hunter’s face behind it. You know like the Vessey Davis kind of angle? And
try to position the bench so the light shines through it. I know the real ones
won’t look like that, but it will be sharp in the photos if you can get it
right.”

“I’m going?” Kali asked.

“Yes, what do you
not
get, Kali?
I’m counting on you to make sure I have the shots I need. I’m not breaking my
date tonight. And I’m not trekking all the way out there to no-where’s-ville
just for work.”

Selina didn’t bother to ask if Kali had
plans. But Kali didn’t have much of a life outside of work. Leaving her friends
and family behind had been hard, and it was tough to make new friends in the
city. She had considered getting a roommate, but she had never had a roommate
before. She had lived at home while she got her degree.

Kali felt lucky that she had managed to
befriend the two women who lived on the ground floor of her building. Pam and
Karen were a really sweet couple, in their early thirties. They asked her to go
for drinks at some of the local bars every now and again. They were fun to hang
out with, but usually Kali went for her morning pancakes alone or read in the
used book store on Saturday afternoons. She met a lot of guys in Williamsburg,
and had gone on a surprising number of dates. But none of them had clicked with
her. Too young, too old, too weird, too pushy… she got to the point she could
tell an unemployed actor from an unemployed musician at a single glance. After
a couple of dates and her refusals to have casual sex, they usually stopped
calling.

Now she would have to go back to
Hunter’s studio. The scene of the crime, so to speak. At least she would have
Fran there for protection.

But the more she thought about it, the
more she wondered if it would be necessary. She didn’t think Hunter would make
a move on her. He was a coworker now, and he had very neatly put Selina in her
place when she tried to flirt with him. But then again, that could be his
latest tactic in their dance. It had certainly made Selina sit up and notice,
and she might even treat him with more respect now that he had proven he wasn’t
her lap dog.

There was no reason to think Hunter was
really interested in Selina. But when Kali ran into the Human Rights Director
in the bathroom, she blurted out, “What’s the company policy on dating
coworkers?”

Mrs. Chapel didn’t seem surprised by the
question. “As long as he or she isn’t in your direct chain of command, it’s
fine. So if you want to date Selina, she’s off limits. As is Ted, and of
course, Mr. Ryan. You’re not thinking about dating Mr. Ryan, are you, Kali?”

“No!” She hadn’t considered that Mrs.
Chapel would think she was asking for herself. But she was relieved to find out
that Selina couldn’t date Hunter under the terms of her contract with SunTech.

“Now if you and Debby wanted to date,
you could since you’re coworkers. It’s not anyone’s business. In fact, it’s
better if you can keep your behavior private during business hours. The less
talk the better for everyone involved.”

Kali laughed at the idea of dating
Debby. “I won’t need the info, but thank you.”
“It’s always good to know what you’re getting into before you take a big leap.”

As Kali returned to her desk, she
thought that was the kind of advice her own mom would give her. Too bad she
couldn’t tell her mom what had happened in the subway with Hunter. Her parents
would flip out if they thought she was in danger in the city. Her mom wasn’t
shy about telling Kali how bad the city was. Her mom wanted her to move back
upstate—she kept offering up Syracuse as only an hour away, and Albany not much
further. As long as Kali could come home for dinner once a week, her mom would
have been satisfied.