Chapter Six
823 Words
Watching From the Window
REN
The minute the car stops in front of her house, she gets out without a word and slams the door so hard my brain shakes inside my skull.
She's mad. Of course she's mad.
And I'm unapologetic. Because I know I did the right thing. I still can't put my finger on it, but something was off about that guy. The way he looked at her. The way he held her hand. Too eager. Too smooth.
What I did was right.
I don't watch her storm inside. I just put the car in drive and head to my own building. Park in the garage. Sit there for a moment with the engine off.
Aside from that off feeling, there's another feeling crawling up my chest. Trying to surface. I don't want it to.
I've never—in my entire life—been this pissed. And I know this has nothing to do with Adam's request. This is something else. Something foreign. But yet...
I have no words for it.
Jealous.
That's the word.
Why?
I don't like her. If anything, I hate her. But the thought of her about to kiss him—the sight of her leaning in, her eyes closing—made something snap. Something I didn't even know was there.
I exhale. Get out of the car. Take the elevator up. My penthouse is quiet. Familiar. It usually calms me.
It doesn't tonight.
The quiet just makes my mind wander. Wander to her.
The way she was mad. The way she hit my chest. Her palm flat against me. Her face flushed. Her eyes burning.
I pour myself a drink. Whiskey. Two fingers. I stand by the window and lift the glass.
My eyes catch movement. Through my periphery. Her window. Across the street.
She's there. Moving around her room. Pacing.
I watch. I shouldn't watch. But I do.
RUE
I'm pacing my room, phone on speaker, Maisie and Amanda both on the line.
"—and then he just walks in. Doesn't even look at Cole. Just tells me to get up and follow him like I'm a dog." I kick my bedroom door shut. "I can't wrap my head around it. Why would he do that?"
Maisie's voice comes through first. "Maybe he's jealous."
I stop pacing. "Jealous? Of what? We hate each other. There's no possible way he'd be jealous of anything. He's being an ass. As usual."
I start pacing again. Faster this time. The anger is hot in my chest.
"And you know who's really to blame? Adam. My wonderful, overprotective brother." I grab a pillow and throw it at the wall. "He's the one who put Ren on watch duty. He's the one who gave him a keycard. He's the one who trusted that cold-hearted jerk to 'look after me.' I should curse Adam out. I should call him right now and—"
"Okay, okay," Amanda cuts in. Calm. Always calm. "But Ren said he had a bad feeling, right? And you said you felt something off too. You both sensed something."
I stop again. Think about it. "I'm one hundred percent sure what I sensed was him stalking me. Because how the f**k did he know where I went and who I was with?"
Maisie laughs. "Maybe he has a tracker on you. Or maybe he's secretly a spy. Do you even know what he does?"
I freeze.
What does he do?
I think about it. The office he mentioned before. The way he said it so casually. The penthouse. The black SUV. The money.
"Actually..." I sit on the edge of my bed. "I don't know."
Amanda chimes in. "He's always been rich, so that's a given. But what does he do these days anyway?"
I try to remember. "I only know up till seventeen. When he left for Japan after his parents divorced." I run a hand through my hair. "I could ask Adam. But that's beside the point. I'm pissed. I want to slap him."
"Or kiss him," Maisie says.
Amanda laughs.
I open my mouth to snap back—then my eyes catch movement through the window.
Across the street. His penthouse. The lights are on.
Ren is standing there. Shirtless. Drinking something. Focused on his phone.
Jesus.
"What's wrong?" Maisie asks.
I realize I said that out loud. "Nothing. Just a cockroach."
"A cockroach?"
"The flying kind." I stare at him. His chest. His shoulders. The way the light hits his skin. "I'll take care of it."
I walk to the window. Close the curtains.
Maisie says, "You better. Those things are nasty."
He's hot. Even from here.
I slap myself. Lightly. On the cheek.
Amanda's voice: "What was that?"
"Taking care of the roach." I sit back on my bed. "Anyway. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Rue."
They hang up.
I stare at the ceiling.
I'm officially crazy. For finding him attractive.
- Writer
