Chapter 91. Insistence
Lilly Bradley
Monday morning...
I was late. My room looked like a tornado had hit it. Leah had left early, and my parents had too. I was the only one left at home and was late for the first time at the company. I had barely slept this weekend at Jackson's house; we were too demanding of each other, constantly touching, caressing, and having orgasms. It was a marathon weekend.
I grabbed my coat, my bag, and my phone. I reached the door, and when I opened it, I ran into the neighbor across the hall: Oliver.
"Good morning, Lilly." I suppressed a grimace of annoyance; this was the last straw.
"Good morning." I turned my back on him to close, lock the door, and leave. "He won't ruin my Monday," I quickly repeated that mantra to myself, closed the door, and started hurrying toward the stairs.
"Wait, wait," I heard his voice behind me. I couldn't stop right now; I usually wasn't late for work. "Lilly, please, wait." I didn't want to start the day like this, so I stopped halfway, ready to face him. I raised a hand to stop him from saying anything.
"No. Please, Oliver. I'm already late..." He was surprised.
"I can give you a ride; I'm going grocery shopping..." It was a tempting offer, but I preferred to keep my distance from him.
"No. Thanks. I'll look for you tonight to talk." I turned to continue down the stairs.
"But will you come home to sleep? Or will you sleep with your boss again?" he asked in a serious tone. I reached the building's double doors and stopped, gripping the stainless steel handle tightly. I turned back to him.
"I think when I saw you with another woman in that place, you lost many things, one of which was the right to know what I do and with whom. You have no rights with me anymore."
"Wait, wait, I didn't mean to sound like that. It's just that I've been trying to clear up what happened last time." He stopped halfway down the stairs. "I think I acted like a jerk, and yes, I deserved that punch your boss gave me."
"I'm late. Goodbye, Oliver."
"I'll give you a ride. If you think your boss will see you, I can drop you off a block away." A tempting offer, but I didn't want to risk any misunderstandings.
"Goodbye, Oliver." I pushed the door open and stepped out of the building, stopping abruptly when I saw Jackson leaning against his Bentley. My heart raced when he smiled, looking dapper in an elegant suit with his hair slicked back. It was getting long. His hands were in the pockets of his dress pants. Simply sexy.
"Good morning, Miss Bradley. Your chauffeur has arrived." I walked toward him, thinking, "Don't come out, Oliver, don't come out." It would be an awkward encounter, and undoubtedly one that would end in a fight.
"You didn't have to come for me. It's too far out of your way..." I stopped at a certain distance, and he lunged toward me to plant a kiss on my lips. When he pulled away, he smiled broadly.
"I wanted to come. I know you still don't have a car."
"Exactly, not yet. But I will soon. So you won't have to come for me." He pouted.
"I like coming for you."
"Well, I think we should go now because..."
"Good morning, Mr. Johnson." Jackson looked past me, his smile vanishing, and I noticed his jaw clench. He stepped away from the car to stand up straight.
"Get in the car," he ordered, not taking his eyes off Oliver.
"Let's get in, ignore Oliver."
"What are you doing here? Wasn't our last encounter enough for you?" Jackson referred to the punches.
"Relax, it's Monday, the start of the week, and it's not even eight in the morning. I'm not bothering Lilly. On the contrary, since she usually doesn't arrive late to work, I offered to give her a ride myself. But it seems she thinks she would have problems with you if you saw me dropping her off."
"Oliver, leave." I pulled Jackson's arm to stop him from paying attention.
"Did you come just for that? How do you know she's running late? Are you watching her?"
"Jackson." I used a warning tone, but he ignored me. He had his hand on my wrist.
"Oh, you don't know? Since I was looking for a place to live with my sister for an indefinite period... I found an apartment in the building."
"What a coincidence..." Jackson muttered through gritted teeth. "And in the same building?"
"And right across from her apartment. Don't you believe in destiny? I've been here for several days... a great place, no doubt." Oliver smiled when I turned my face toward him. "Well, have a good day," he looked at me. "We'll talk tonight like you said a moment ago." Then he left, got into a car, and drove off, disappearing from our sight.
"Get in." Jackson ordered. I knew he was holding back. He opened the door for me and then closed it, but much harder than usual, making me jump in my seat. He got in and started the car. A few minutes later, he stopped at a red light. "I don't want you to get close to him," he said suddenly, breaking the uncomfortable silence between us.
"Jackson..." I started to say, but he turned to me, angry—no, furious. I could see it in his eyes.
"No. I don't want you to go with him tonight. I don't want you to talk to him or even look at him."
"Calm down, Jackson." I furrowed my brow, the tone he was using starting to make me uncomfortable.
"I won't calm down until that man goes back to England." He turned his gaze forward, and we started moving in the traffic again.
"Regarding what he said before leaving, I told him I wanted to talk to him because I want to ask him to stay away from my family."
"I'll do it. I don't want you to have any contact with him."
"There's no need..." he interrupted me.
"There's no need for you to get close to him, period!" He hit the steering wheel, and I flinched, shrinking back for a moment. It was the first time I had seen him like this.
"Fine, but there's no need to shout at me," I said in a serious tone.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..." He reached for my hand in my lap and held it, kissing my knuckles repeatedly. His face softened, and the anger seemed to hide somewhere within him. "I didn't mean to act this way, but I'm worried that..." he stopped his sentence.
"You're worried he'll sweet-talk me and I'll go back to him?" He glanced at me quickly and then back at the city traffic.
"Am I that dumb?" he said with a smile.
"Jackson, you don't have to worry. You have to trust me."
"I do." He looked at me. "I do. But I don't trust him."
"Look," we continued moving in the traffic. "I know Oliver. I know he'll insist on getting my attention. I told him I wanted to talk to him to make a few things clear. I have an ace up my sleeve. So, leave it to me. If after our talk he insists, I'll speak directly with his father," I smiled. "He's quite afraid of him, so he'll be able to put him back on a plane with his sister, and they'll return to London."