Annihilate Me (Vol. 1) (The Annihilate Me Series) (17 page)

I
was startled by the question.
 
I
thought for certain we were leaving.
 
When I didn’t immediately respond, he said, “Today, you said that it had
been a long time since you danced.
 
I’d like to dance with you.
 
Would you consider that?”

We
stopped beside the staircase.

“Are
you angry with me?”

“I’m
asking if you’d like to dance.
 
It
was part of our agreement.
 
You said
that a dance was permissible.
 
I’d
like to have that dance.”

“I
haven’t danced in years.
 
I don’t
want to embarrass you.”

“You’re
quick on your feet.
 
You just proved
that.
 
All you need to do is follow
me.”

He
was looking at me with an intensity that burned.
 
The offer to dance wasn’t a
question.
 
It was a deal breaker if
I declined.

“Of
course.
 
I’d love to dance with
you,” I said.

“Then
let’s do it.”

He
led me to the dance floor where we moved into the swirling crowd.
 
He put his right hand in the middle of
my back, lifted my right hand with his left, pulled me close to him, and we
began to waltz.
 

Only
this was no ordinary waltz.
 

Alex
took charge at once and began to aggressively twirl me to the point that it was
dizzying.
 
People cleared the way
for us, and others along the sidelines gathered to watch as Alex led me across
the dance floor in fluid steps that were so quick and precise, I needed to put
my full trust in him in order to keep up, look elegant, and make certain that I
didn’t make a fool of us.
 

For
whatever reason, he was challenging me.
 
If I stumbled, he’d make a fool of me.
 
I didn’t know why he was doing this, but
he was, and I was damned if he was going to best me.
 
When I was young and my mother was
sober, she made sure I had years of dance lessons, which she herself enjoyed as
a child.
 

What
I remembered about the waltz was that to fully succeed at it, I needed to give
myself over to my partner, which I did now.
 
I leaned into Alex, turned about the
floor with him, and dropped my head back as he spun me around and around and
around while the crowd began to engage with interest.
 
I made two missteps, which I secretly
cursed, but when he went for the throwaway, I was prepared for it.
 
I stretched my left leg back as far as I
could, and he reached his right leg behind him in a similar fashion.
 
We paused for a dramatic, romantic
moment with our faces turned away from each other, and then he scooped me into
his arms again, and we completed the dance to a rush of applause.

Alex
took my hand.
 
He bowed while I
curtsied.
 
I heard people call out
his name, and then, with a pissed off look on his face, he started to leave the
floor just as the orchestra started up again, this time to a slower waltz.
 

I
pulled him back to me.

“We’re
not finished yet,” I said to him.

“Yes,
we are.”

I
put my arms around him, and gave him no choice but to dance.
 
Too many people were watching us for him
to leave now.
 
He saw it, and knew
it.
 
Our bodies again became
one.
 
We started to move.
 
I looked up at him, and saw a mixture of
emotions on his face that I couldn’t read.

“What’s
the problem?” I asked.

“I
don’t have a problem.”

“You
just tried to make a fool of me, and you lost.
 
I may have come from nothing, Alex, but
that doesn’t mean I don’t know how to waltz.
 
My mother made sure of that.”

“Apparently,
there’s nothing you can’t do.”

“What
the hell does that mean?”

He
didn’t answer.”

“Why
would you want to sabotage me like that?” I asked.

“Don’t
be dramatic.”

And
then, without a trace of irony on his face, he looked me in the eyes and dipped
me dramatically.
 
The move was so
aggressive and it hurt my arm so much, I nearly fell, but I was able to right
myself before I went down.
 
He
lifted me back up.

“What
the hell was that?” I said in his ear.
 
“You hurt me.
 
What’s your
problem?
 
Be a man about it.
 
What’s the issue?”

“I
didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Well,
you did.
 
You just hurt my arm.”

“I
thought we were together tonight.”

“We
have a business arrangement.
 
By all
accounts, we are together.
 
A moment
ago, everyone in this room thought we were the happiest couple on Earth.”

“Including
the ones who sent you drinks?”

“And
that’s my fault?”

“And
Cyrus, who obviously would take you home tonight if you let him?

“That’s
his issue, not mine.
 
I never once
engaged him.
 
I deflected every
compliment that came my way.”

“If
we were a couple, you never would have said that you found Cyrus attractive.”

I
tried to keep my voice low.
 
“I’m
sorry, but we are not a couple.
 
You’re my employer.
 
Today,
we came to an agreement, which I have stuck to.
 
And then there’s Blackwell.
 
Blackwell told me to remove myself
emotionally from you.
 
She said I’d
only ever be an object to you.
 
She
warned me against you.”

“She
did what?”

“Ask
her.
 
And by the way, Alex, Cyrus
is
attractive, at least physically.
 
Otherwise, I find him risible.
 
I couldn’t stand his eyes on me.
 
Good luck to him.
 
He’s a fucking creep.
 
And he sure as hell isn’t my type.”

“What
is your type?”

“Why
does it matter?
 
Why don’t we just
leave?”

“Because
we’re mid-song.
 
You wanted this
dance, so we finish it.
 
What’s your
type?”

If
I didn’t stay, I’d lose a day’s worth of pay that I couldn’t afford to
lose.
 
After buying the Prada suit
and the shoes I wore to my interview with him, I needed that money more than
ever, even if the pay was just under a thousand dollars.
 
A thousand dollars was a lot to me.
 
It would help keep my own wolves at
bay.
 
So, we danced.
 

“I
asked you a question.”

“Does
it really matter?”

“Why
are you being so hostile?”

“I
could ask the same of you.
 
You
wanted to make a laughingstock out of me on this floor, but you failed.”

“The
dance isn’t over yet.”

“What
the hell does that mean?
 
If you try
anything with me, I swear to God I’ll trip us both up.
 
Both of us will go down.
 
I’ll make certain of that, Alex.”

“I
wouldn’t do that.”

I
leaned close to his ear.
 
“Really?
 
Because you don’t
tell me what to do.
 
What’s worse is
that you knew exactly what you were doing to me during our last dance, but you
came up empty.
 
Sorry about
that—someone had to lose, and that was you.
 
And by the way, Alex, yes, I know you
have a lot of money—obviously—but do you really think that means
shit to me?
 
Because if you do, I’m
here to tell you it doesn’t.
 
If you
think it does, then you truly know nothing about Maine or its people, who you
claim to know because you spent a few summers there and mingled with the
commoners.
 
You know—people
like me.
 
How nice for you.
 
How humbling that must have been for
you.
 
Too bad you didn’t learn from
it.”

He
turned me around, but I went right back to his ear.
 
“Here’s the deal.
 
It’s not about the money for us.
 
It’s about the relationships.
 
I could walk back to Cyrus right now,
charm the pants off him, and pocket his money for a good year or more.
 
But that’s not going to happen for two
reasons.
 
First, I respect
myself.
 
Second, he’s not the one
for me.
 
I’ve never been in a
relationship with anyone.
 
That’s
by
choice
, and it’s for a good
reason.
 
I’m waiting for a
gentleman.
 
Rich or poor, doesn’t
matter.
 
At some point, I’ll find
him.
 
And I’ll be happy when that
happens because money won’t define us.
 
Money just ruins things.
 
You’d be different without money.
 
Do you know that?
 
I don’t
think you do.
 
After what you just
pulled, I’m no longer interested in this job, so I’m declining it now.”

The
song ended.

I
stepped away from him, heard him fall in line behind me, but I didn’t
care.
 
I was finished.
 
I discreetly walked to the rear of the
room, where I let down my hair, and shook it out.
 
I then removed the necklace, the ring,
the bracelet and the earrings, and handed them to him.
 
“Keep your jewels,” I said.
 
“I don’t want them, or the dress or the
shoes.
 
But you will pay me for
today because my time is worth something.
 
I also helped to seal a deal for you, but I won’t ask for a cut of that,
even though I damned well earned it.
 
Consider it my gift to you.
 
I left Blackwell’s clutch in your car.
 
Make sure you return it to her.
 
You’ll have the dress and the shoes back
tomorrow.”

“Why
are you doing this?”

“Are
you serious?
 
I’ve had enough abuse
in my life.
 
No man will ever treat
me the way you just did.”

“What
do you mean you’ve had enough abuse?”

“What
the hell do you care?
 
Just stay
away from me.”

I
walked past him.

“Jennifer.”

How
was I going to get home?
 
I had no
money for a cab, and there was no way I could walk home at night looking like
this.
 
Anything could happen to me
if I did.
 
I looked around the room,
and saw the bar ahead of me.
 
Once
again, it was surrounded by men—no women.
 
Whatever.
 
I went over to it.
 
Two older men parted for me, and I
leaned toward the bartender.
 
“I
need to use your phone.”

“Alex,”
one of the men said.
 
“Good to see
you.”

“Jennifer.”

The
bartender handed me a cordless phone.
 
I tried to remember the number to Lisa’s cell.
 
I left my own cell at home.
 
Whenever I called her, I just selected
her name from my list of contacts.
 
I couldn’t remember the last time I actually dialed her number.
 
What was her damned number?
 
Why was I drawing a blank?

“Please
turn around.”

“Those
are a lot of diamonds you’re holding, Alex.
 
If the young lady doesn’t want them, I
know my wife certainly would.”
 

The
man laughed.

I
heard the tinkling of jewels being passed behind me.
 
“Please give these to her for me.”

“Alex,
I was only joking.”

“They’re
a gift.
 
I don’t need them,
Jon.
 
Really, it’s fine.
 
It’s my pleasure.”

The
man at my left was staring intently at me.
 
He was older, probably late sixties and he had a kind face.
 
I couldn’t remember Lisa’s number for
the life of me.
 
I turned to him.