I Am the Wild (The Night Firm #1)- Karpov Kinrade Page 0,17
financial structure, never imagining that one year of medical expenses could wipe it all out so quickly.
Cancer kills in more ways than one.
It destroys everything about a person's life.
I shake my head, unwilling to dwell on that now. I'm turning things around. Making progress with my life. I think.
I hope.
I close my eyes and let myself try to doze until I feel the limo slowing.
"Are we there already?" I ask, surprised the drive went by so fast.
"Not exactly," Lily says. "We have one more passenger to pick up." She says this sheepishly, and I realize why when the door opens and Sebastian slides into the back, newspaper in hand.
The look of irritation doesn't appear on his face until he sees me.
Naturally.
Seriously though, what did I do to piss this guy off?
The Drive
We grow accustomed to the Dark—
When Light is put away—
~ Emily Dickinson
I sigh as he picks a seat as far from me as he possibly can. Fortunately, there's plenty of room back here, and we don't have to sit too close to each other.
Not that my body isn't craving being just a little bit closer to this insanely attractive man. But my brain knows better, and I'm sticking with my brain for now.
He gives me a curt nod. "I hope you do not mind, since we are both going to the same location."
"It's fine," I say. "I mean, obviously. This is your car and driver. I just appreciate the ride. And the job." I add, almost as an afterthought.
He grunts and opens his newspaper to begin reading.
"You don't find it tedious to read the news that way?" I ask, as Lily starts the limo and gets us back on the road.
"No. I do not."
"You can find all that and more online," I say, holding up my smart phone.
He sighs in exasperation and lowers the paper to glare at me. "I prefer analogue to digital. Call me old-fashioned."
Lily giggles at that and doesn't seem the least bit intimidated when Sebastian casts his standard glare at her. She just laughs harder. "Oh, Uncle Seb, stop being such a brat."
I'm surprised to hear her teasing him like that, but not as surprised as I am when his face lights up in a smile and he laughs in return. It's the first time I've heard him laugh, and it's deep and husky, and makes his face even more handsome. Damn him.
The moment passes, however, and when he returns his focus to me, his energy shifts.
And not for the better.
"Look," I say, ready to settle this between us once and for all. "I know you think I'm not serious about this job because of what I told you on the subway, but I am. I don't even think I'd want to do art for my career. If I had to worry about drawing for others, for money, I might not get the joy from it I do now. I meant what I said during the interview: I'm smart, educated and resourceful. Granted, I'm still not entirely clear what my job is, or how your law firm even operates effectively if it's only open at night, but I can promise you I will learn everything I need to, and quickly. I work hard, study hard, and always excel at what I do. Always. So, if you'll just give me a chance, you'll find that I'm an excellent employee."
I say this all in one breath, and when I'm done I slump back into my seat, emotionally spent.
He stares for a moment and then says, “Do not presume to know my thoughts, Miss Oliver.” And with that he finds the next page of his newspaper and turns away from me once more.
I’ve clearly been dismissed.
Determined to make some use out of what is proving to be a long car ride with an unpleasant companion, I pull out my sketchbook and close my eyes. I take a deep breath and mentally count backwards from ten. As I do, I follow a staircase in my mind down, down, down until I’m standing before a large red door. Opening it, I step through into a secret garden where I instantly connect to my muse. She glows within a swaying willow tree, her form moving through the bark and branches, her hair falling around her in waves of green. Her voice echoes in the wind and the rustling of leaves.
She sings to me a song. I catch it and smile. Then open my eyes and draw.