Alliance – Chapter 8

I didn’t feel quite like myself after I left Michael’s office this afternoon, so I drove around until the sun started to fade behind the fluffy grey clouds scattered across the sky.  Like that was a surprise. I hadn’t felt like myself in two years, but lying to Michael…it just felt wrong on so many levels. At the very least, my involvement should still take some of the details off his plate. The white lie about my true motives didn’t have to matter.

Did it?

While parking my coupe, I wondered what I was getting myself into with Parker Ramsey. I know what he’s after, but how’s he planning to get it? Is there more to his agenda than I know? Probably. At this point, I didn’t even know how I’d let him know about the fundraising gala.

As soon as I got home, I went straight into my closet to change into my college sweatshirt and a pair of faded jeans – an outfit which always comforted me.  It wasn’t until I was pulling my hair back into a ponytail at the base of my neck that I realized I was not alone in my bedroom.  A shadowy figure sat on the window seat, reading the book I left on my nightstand last night.

“I was wondering if you were ever coming home, Skylar.” Parker didn’t bother to look up from the book.

“What the hell are you doing in my bedroom?” I snapped. “How do you even know where I live?”

“I was waiting for you to come home,” he replied, still without looking up. “And I have my ways.”

“How did you get in here?”

“I let myself in.”

“My security system was armed.”

Parker glanced up at me.  My anger must have been evident because he put the book down before speaking.  “That thing is a joke.  You might as well put out a welcome mat for burglars.”

I placed my hands on my hips, fuming.  “I’ll have you know, that system is top of the line.”

“You forget who you’re talking to, Skylar.”  He stood up to meet my glare and advanced on me until he was so close I could smell his cologne. He had to be at least half a foot taller than me.  “I’m the best at what I do.”

“Fine.  What do you want?” I wanted to step away from him, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how off kilter it threw me to be standing this close to him in my bedroom.

“I told you I’d be in touch.”

“I assumed you meant by phone.”

A smile played at his lips.  “Assumptions are dangerous things, Skylar.  Besides, I don’t like to talk about these sorts of things over the phone or in public.  I hardly figured you would be comfortable coming to my hotel, so here I am.”

Though I was not pleased to have Parker in my bedroom, at least this solved my problem of letting him know about the fundraiser.

“Did you have anything specific to tell me or are you just here to annoy me in general?” I asked, finally letting myself step away from him and retreat to my kitchen.

“Annoy you in general and, yes, I’d love a drink.”

Was he really accepting a drink I hadn’t offered and making himself at home on my couch?

“I have bottled water and soda.  Take your pick,” I called to him, still trying to figure out how the hell he got into my house.

“Water works.”

I handed him a bottle before I sat down on the far side of my sectional sofa from him.  “Should I be expecting you to just let yourself in here whenever you like?”

Parker took a sip and shrugged.  “If you expect it, then you will most certainly be disappointed, but it is a definite possibility as long as you have that particular alarm system.”

I set my can of diet soda on the edge of the coffee table and rubbed my temples with my hands.  Parker had the annoying habit of answering a question with a lot of words that told me nothing at all.  “Well, as annoying as you are to me, it’s a good thing you’re here.  I’ve been busy today and I think I have a way in.”

I filled him in on my conversations with Chill and Michael.  Parker appeared thoughtful as I spoke, but remained quiet.  I suppose I expected him to have some sort of reaction to what I was telling him, so I finally asked, “Well?”

After a moment he nodded and said, “I think it just might work.  From what I gathered during our conversations, I always figured him as the high-society type.  This just might work.”  He paused and the gleam in his eyes brightened.  “I’ll surface at the gala.”

“Is that really such a good idea, Parker?  Michael knows who you are.  You would be taking a huge risk to expose yourself to a man who would like to see you behind bars.”

He dismissed my concern with a wave of his hand.  “I never spent much time with Michael and he probably hasn’t given Parker Ramsey a thought since I turned up dead.”

“Even still…you can’t just walk into a fundraiser, uninvited, and introduce yourself to everyone as Parker…”

“You have this all wrong, sweetheart.  First off, you’re going to invite me as your guest.  Second, you’ll introduce me as Jonathan Price, antiques dealer.”

“And why, pray tell, would I invite an antiques dealer to be my guest?”

“Because I’m your new boyfriend,” he said as though it was an obvious fact.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

“Think about it for a minute before you completely dismiss it.  What if Raptor tips his hand at the gala and we need to formulate a new plan.  No one would think twice about your boyfriend pulling you off into a deserted corner and talking to you in hushed tones.”

“You sound pretty confident.”

“I sound that way because I am confident. I always am.”

I relented.  “Fine, but I do not mix business with pleasure, so don’t get any ideas.  I’ll play along, but if you lay a hand on me the wrong way, I assure you I’ll break it off.”

“Promises, promises…” Parker replied as he stood up.

I also rose to my feet.  “I’m not joking.”

“I’m sure you’re not, but you don’t have to worry about anything from me.  Don’t misunderstand, you’re a beautiful woman and I know I’m easy on the eyes, but I don’t need that particular distraction as long as we’re dealing with Raptor.  After this is all over, well, we’ll just have to see what happens.”

His arrogance infuriated me, but I did not give him the satisfaction of response.  I watched in silence as he left through my front door without another word to me.  It was unnerving to me that my mind failed to provide me with a snappy comeback whenever I was around him. I was normally so quick with those.

I shook my head as I locked the door behind him and rearmed the perimeter.  My life was quickly becoming complicated and I knew what was coming next would just further aggravate the situation.  Too bad that it was unavoidable at this point.

How was it even possible for me to have the hots for a man I hated? When all this was over, I needed to see a shrink.

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