for nothing. She didn’t like any of my ideas. She might as well just write me a script to follow for tomorrows show or tie strings to my hands and control me like a puppet. With a tired groan, I rub my eyes then frown when my front door beeps. I look up as it starts to open, and my adrenalin spikes as I watch someone step inside, their features blocked by the shadows. I attempt to scoot under the coffee table but can barely get my head underneath it, so I settle with lying as still as I can while holding my breath.
“Dakota, I can see you.”
Braxton.
I sit up quickly and curse myself when I accidentally bump my almost full glass of red wine, watching it tip over and fall on the white plush carpet. “Shit.” I jump up and rush to the kitchen, dropping the glass in the sink. I grab a small towel and wet the edge of it then go back to the rug and attempt to use it to blot the stain away, but it doesn’t work. If anything, I seem to be spreading it farther. “Great.” I glare at the man now standing over me. “This rug probably cost thousands of dollars, and now I have to replace it because of you.”
“It didn’t cost thousands of dollars.” His brow pulls together. “Or I don’t think it did.” He bends over and takes the rag from my hand. “And you don’t need to replace it. I’ll have the building manager take care of it.”
Right. I roll my eyes. How could I forget he owns this building, and IMG, and he just walked right into my home like he owns it—because he kind of does? “How did you get in here?”
“You wear glasses?” he asks, ignoring my question, and I push my blue light glasses up the bridge of my nose then touch my hair, which is piled on top of my head in a messy bun.
I’m sure I look like a wreck, but I honestly didn’t think I’d see him. My plan if he did show up tonight was to ignore him until he went away. So much for that.
I take off my glasses and toss them to the top of the coffee table then cross my arms over my chest. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“I told you I’d be here.”
“I didn’t ask you why you’re here. I asked you how you got into my place without a key, Braxton,” I snap, and he sighs, taking a seat on the couch.
“If I tell you the truth, are you going to freak out?”
“Probably.” I tap my foot, waiting for him to come clean.
“I linked your digital information with mine.”
My nose scrunches. “And what does that mean?”
“It means all the information you have on your phone is now linked with mine, including the app to get into your apartment.”
I fall to the couch, my ass on the edge of the seat, and rub my forehead. “I slept with an insane person.”
“Dakota.” His hand lands on my shoulder, and I pull away from his touch and turn on him.
“God, you’re crazy.” I hold up my hand when it looks like he’s going to speak. “You need to go.”
“Dakota.”
“Why does everything with you have to be so over the top? Why can’t you just be a normal guy?” I shake my head. “Who breaks into someone’s apartment?”
“I didn’t break in.”
“No, you just used my information—information I didn’t even give to you—to let yourself in.” I fall back against the couch and groan. “I can’t believe that when I met you, I thought you might be the perfect man. God, I suck at reading men.”
“If I knocked on your door tonight, would you have answered?”
“Probably not.” I turn my head toward him. “But it would have been my choice if I did. Just like it would have been my choice to stand up the guy I was supposed to go out with. That’s the thing, Braxton; you can’t just make decisions for people. You can’t make decisions for me, just because you want to get your way.”
“I like getting my way.”
“Yeah, I know.” I shake my head then watch him lean forward and pick up Kathy’s notes from the coffee table.
“What’s this?”
“I would say none of your business, but since it’s your company, I can’t, and I want to just let you know that’s also really annoying.”
He smiles, and I hate that my heart beats a little harder seeing it.