Chapter 88 88

Chapter 88 88
Raymond took his seat, adjusted his chair and sat close to me, like someone who was ready to deliver a lecture.

"Relationships built on rescue fantasies," Raymond stated. "The damsel in distress and her knight in shining armor. It's romantic in theory, but in reality, it's not a healthy foundation for anything real."

I wanted to argue. I really wanted to tell Raymond that he was being ridiculous and overprotective again, but a small part of me wondered if he had a point. Was I being too trusting of Wilson? Was I letting my gratitude cloud my judgment?

"Look," I said, trying to find a middle ground. "I appreciate your concern, both of you. And you're right that I need to be careful, but Wilson has been nothing but helpful and respectful. He hasn't asked for anything in return, hasn't pushed for anything more than just... helping. I'm not going to shut him out just because you guys are paranoid."

"We're not paranoid," Sophia replied. "We're cautious. There's a difference."

"Fine, you're cautious," I conceded. "And I'll be cautious too. I promise. But I'm not going to treat Wilson like he's some kind of threat when he's been nothing but kind to me."

Raymond sighed heavily. "Just... be smart about this, okay? Don't let your guard down completely. And for God's sake, don't give him access to any sensitive information about the company or your personal life until you really know who he is."

"Of I won't," I promised. “I'm not gullible.”

"And please, Claire, talk to him," Sophia added. "Make it clear that you're not looking for a relationship. Set boundaries. Don't let things get ambiguous or confusing. Don't let things get out of hand because it can get really messy."

I sighed. "I’ve heard you guys. And I will do as you have said." I said, though the thought of having that conversation with Wilson made me inexplicably uncomfortable.

“Though If he doesn't say anything about taking things further than friendship, I won’t bring such conversation up. Because I'm not about to make a fool out of myself.” I quickly chipped in.

“Fine.” They both said in unison, giving up.

We sat in silence for a moment, the weight of the conversation finally settling over us. I knew Raymond and Sophia meant well, and I knew they were just trying to protect me, but their warnings had planted seeds of doubt in my mind that I wasn't sure I wanted to acknowledge.

"You know what's funny though?" Sophia said, breaking the tension with a small smile. "The fact that he keeps showing up at exactly the right time. It's like he has some kind of sixth sense for when you're in trouble."

"It is pretty uncanny," I admitted. "What are the odds of running into the same person twice in a city as big as New York, both times during some kind of crisis?"

"Pretty slim," Raymond said, and I could see the gears turning in his head. "Which is either incredibly lucky or incredibly suspicious."

"Oh, here we go again," I muttered, rolling my eyes.

"I'm just saying," Raymond continued, "that level of coincidence is worth questioning. How did he know you'd be at that restaurant today? How did he just happen to be there at exactly the right time to help you with Clara?"

"He said he was meeting a friend nearby," I explained. "And he saw me from afar." I added, shrugging.

"How convenient," Raymond said skeptically.

"You're being ridiculous," I told him. "Not everything is a conspiracy, Raymond. Sometimes things just happen."

"Sometimes," Raymond agreed. "But sometimes they don't."

Before I could respond, or defend Wilson again or even tell Raymond that he was being paranoid, my phone rang.

I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. Wilson's name flashed across it.

"Speak of the devil," Sophia said with a knowing look.

Raymond leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Are you going to answer it?"

I looked between them both, suddenly feeling like I was being put on trial. "Of course I'm going to answer it. Why wouldn't I?"

"Just remember what we talked about," Raymond said. "Boundaries, Claire. Set boundaries."

“Shut up.” I said jokingly as I rolled my eyes at him.

But I felt my heart beating faster as I swiped to answer the call. "Hello?"

"Claire, hi," Wilson's voice came through, warm and familiar. "I hope I'm not calling at a bad time."

"No, not at all," I said, very aware of Raymond and Sophia watching me like hawks. "What's up?"

"I just wanted to check in and make sure you got home okay," Wilson said. "And to see how you're doing after everything that happened this morning. Running into your ex-friend like that couldn't have been easy."

The concern in his voice was genuine, and I felt my earlier defensiveness melting away. "I'm okay, thanks for asking. It was... intense, but I'm dealing with it."

"Good, I'm glad," Wilson said. "Listen, I also wanted to apologize for having to take those calls during the property viewings. I know it was distracting."

"Don't worry about it," I assured him. "You have your own life and responsibilities. I was just grateful you were willing to spend the day helping me at all."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and when Wilson spoke again, his voice had a different quality to it. "About that, actually. There's something I wanted to talk to you about."

My stomach tightened inexplicably. "Okay, what is it?"

"Not over the phone," Wilson said quickly. "Would you be free for coffee sometime? Maybe tomorrow or the day after?"

I looked up and found both Raymond and Sophia staring at me intensely, clearly trying to hear both sides of the conversation. "Um, let me check my schedule and get back to you?"

"Of course," Wilson said. "No rush. Just let me know what time works best for you."

"I will," I promised. "Thanks again for today, Wilson. I really appreciate."

"Anytime, Claire," he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice. "Talk to you soon."

As I ended the call, I looked up to find Raymond and Sophia still watching me with identical expressions of concern mixed with curiosity.

"So?" Raymond prompted. "What did he want?"

"He just called to check in and make sure I got home okay," I said, my eyes darting from side to side.

"And?" Sophia pressed.

"And he wants to meet for coffee," I admitted. "He said there's something he wants to talk to me about."

Raymond and Sophia exchanged a significant look.

"Don't," I warned them, wagging a disapproving finger at them both. "Don't read into it."

"We're not reading into anything," Sophia said innocently. "We're just... observing."

"Observing what?"

"Observing that this man seems very interested in spending time with you," Raymond said loudly. "Which brings us back to what we were saying before. You need to set boundaries, Claire. You need to make your intentions clear."

"I know," I said, suddenly feeling exhausted. "I will. I promise."

But even as I said it, I wasn't entirely sure what my intentions were. Or more accurately, I wasn't sure I wanted to examine them too closely, because the truth was, despite all my protests to Raymond and Sophia, and my insistence that I wasn't interested in a relationship, there was something about Wilson that drew me in.

Yes, I wasn't interested in any romantic relationship, but something about his calm presence, his protective instincts, and the way he seemed to understand things without me having to explain them just made me want to have someone like him in my corner.

And that terrified me more than I was willing to admit.

“Claire!” Raymond's voice snapped me out of my thoughts.