What Happened After Vegas? (Unexpected Love #2) (7 page)

Cliff
left money on the table, stood up, and reached for Rachel's hand. He
opened the door for her and led her to his car. The driver was
immediately there with the door open and waiting. She got in, and
Cliff got in next to her. He let his driver know to take them back to
the office.

"I'm
not going in," she said, as she nodded her head.

"You
are," he said. "It's not negotiable. I'm not having this.
Look at me."

Rachel
quietly looked into his eyes.

"He
will not do this to you. I will not have you living in fear or being
uncomfortable. I need to know that you're safe. When I'm at work, I
need to know that everything is okay with you. I will worry about you
if I don't. I'll take care of you. Do you hear me?"

"He's
harmless. I know he's all talk. I can't let you put anything on the
line for me. You've done so much with your life."

"Stop,"
he demanded. "Don't say one more word. I care about you,
probably much more than I should for only a week and a half. That
fucker's done with his games. He will not hurt you. I will never give
him that chance. I want to take care of you. I want to be there for
you. Stop trying to do it all alone. You're worth so much more than
that asshole ever gave you. You.Are.Mine."

Cliff
took a deep breath.

"I
want to be here for you, Rachel. Stop pushing me away. Give us a damn
chance. I'm done with you finding reasons I shouldn't want you. They
are all bullshit. I want you, and there's nothing you can do to make
me feel different. I'm not going to hurt you. I will never cheat on
you. I'm not perfect, but I am here one hundred percent. Stop trying
to find a reason we don't work. Do you care about me?"

"Yes,"
she said. "More than I should."

"Then
let me deal with this. Let me protect and care for you. Can you do
that for me?"

Rachel
nodded, and he pulled her closer to him.

When
they pulled up in front of the building, he helped her out of the car
and looked into her eyes.

"Let's
show those ladies how lucky I am," he said with a laugh.

Rachel
felt her stomach begin to untwist. She let herself smile.

"As
long as you leave the jacket on," she joked.

Cliff
held the door open and walked in behind her. The guard nodded to
Cliff on his way by. When they got into the elevator, Cliff pushed
the button for the top floor.

"I
have several floors of the building, but my office is on the top
floor," he said.

The
elevator doors opened, and Rachel took a deep breath.

"Relax,"
he said. "You're with the boss. They will all love you. If they
don't, they'll never let it show. That's how it is with me."

He
laughed, and she laughed with him. How did he do it, she wondered?
How did he make her feel comfortable in the most uncomfortable
situations?

"Mr.
Martin," the woman just in front of the elevator spoke.

Cliff
nodded, as he walked by with Rachel's hand in his. Rachel looked
around her surroundings. Everything was decorated in contemporary
furnishings. There was art on each wall. It looked like a relaxed and
comfortable atmosphere. She was surprised. He looked over with a
smile.

"Did
you expect it to be all stuffy?" he asked.

"I
did," she answered. "Will you ever not surprise me?"

"I
hope not," he answered, as he opened a door and walked her
through it.

There
was a very nice reception area with a woman at a desk on one side.
There were seats and tables around the room. The woman looked up and
stood as soon as she saw Cliff.

"Mr.
Martin," she said. "How was lunch?"

"Very
nice," he answered. "This is Rachel. Rachel, this is
Carol."

"It's
nice to meet you Carol," Rachel said.

"It's
nice to meet you too, Rachel," Carol said with a grin.

"My
office is through here," Cliff said, as he opened a door.

Rachel
was again surprised at how comfortable his office was. He had a
couch, chairs, a television, a bathroom, bookshelves, a bar, and a
beautiful wooden desk. She was amazed at his view of the city. The
windows were floor to ceiling and the beautiful sun lit the entire
room.

"No
wonder you work so late," she joked. "It's the size of a
house in here. You even have a television. Is there a bed here
somewhere?"

"I've
used the couch a few times," he said with a laugh.

"This
is amazing, Cliff," she said. "I knew it would be
impressive, but I wasn't prepared for this."

They
sat down at his desk. Rachel gave him the number that had left the
message. She also remembered the name of the flower shop the flowers
had been delivered from earlier in the week. He made a few calls and
messed around on the internet. Within the hour, he had confirmed Jake
had sent the flowers and been the one to text her.

She
let him know that she didn't think Jake was dangerous and that she
wouldn't text him or answer any calls from that number. Rachel was
sure he would move on and not bother her again. Cliff wasn't as
convinced as she was, but he knew they couldn't get a restraining
order just from what he had done. He wanted to talk to Jake, but she
made him promise he wouldn't unless something else happened. Rachel
felt it would be worse if Jake knew they were talking. Cliff
confirmed with his sister that Jake had quit talking to her all
together.

Rachel
asked Cliff about his meeting in Detroit to try and change the
subject. Before long, she had him looking up things for them to do
while they were there. She found herself getting more excited about
the weekend. The more she thought about things, she was sure the only
reason Cliff was letting her drop the subject of the text was that
they were going out of town the next night and she wouldn't be
around.

"I
should get home and start packing," she said. "We're
leaving tomorrow."

Cliff
laughed and shook his head.

"Make
sure you pack a bikini. We're definitely going to relax by the pool.
You have no idea how happy I am about our weekend. I've got most of
my work caught up, so I shouldn't have to much to do beside the
meeting on Friday."

Rachel
stood up and grabbed her purse. She took money out without him
noticing.

"I'll
show you around on our way back downstairs," he said.

"You're
going to show me around the building?" she asked.

He
shook his head as he reached out and took her hand. She quickly put
the money right next to his keyboard as he walked toward the door.
They walked back into the reception area where Carol sat. She had a
huge smile on her face that Rachel couldn't miss. Cliff took her to
the different floors his firm occupied and walked her through the
whole company. Rachel was self-conscious the entire time. People
stopped to say hello and shook her hand. She met more lawyers than
she had wanted to. There was no way she was going to be able to
remember all of their names. She saw a group picture as they walked
down one of the hallways and stopped when she noticed Jake in it.
Cliff leaned in, as he kissed her cheek and squeezed her hand. She
quickly began to walk with him. He was definitely a wonderful man.

He
walked her out and opened the car door for her. She leaned back and
looked him over again with a smile. He nodded and winked at her
before kissing her softly on the lips. Their kiss deepened, and she
pulled back catching her breath.

"Save
those kisses for tomorrow," she said. "Another one of
those, and you won't be able to get me to go home."

Rachel
got in the car. She looked back to see him watch the car until it was
out of sight.

As
soon as she got home, she went right to packing. She wanted to make
sure to take everything she could possibly need. Her gigantic
suitcase was packed, and she was ready to go. She got on her computer
and did some more research on things to do around Detroit. They were
going to be about forty minutes outside of the city. She found
museums, restaurants, and parks. Cliff told her the name of the hotel
they were staying at before she left his office. She looked to see
what the pool area looked like. It was rather impressive. She even
went to bed early so time would pass and she could see him again.

His
driver showed up at her house right on time. When they pulled up in
front of his office, he came out with only his laptop bag. As soon as
he got in the car, she leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't
you need a suitcase?" she asked.

"It's
already in the trunk. I brought it with me this morning."

Rachel
leaned in next to Cliff. She couldn't stop herself from touching him.

They
got through security and waited for their flight in the airlines VIP
club. When they boarded the plane, she got comfortable quickly.

"You
know you're spoiling me," she said. "What am I going to do
when I have to fly alone? Thank you for everything, Cliff. You have
been too good to me."

"Oh
yeah," he said. "I forgot to mention some money I found on
my desk yesterday when I went back to my office. Do you know anything
about that?"

"I
was supposed to pay for lunch. It was part of the deal. I wasn't
thinking when we left the restaurant so quickly. I thought about it
once we calmed down and were looking up things on the computer. You
agreed to let me pay."

"You
are definitely one of a kind. Do you know that?"

"I'll
take that as a compliment," she said.

"You
should," he said.

The
flight wasn't bad at all. She felt much safer with him there. He
worked on his laptop while she read on her digital reader.

When
they landed, they collected their luggage and rented a car. He wanted
to be able to drive around with Rachel wherever they wanted. If he
used a service, he would have to call them constantly. He wanted it
to be just the two of them. She was so excited to see a beautiful,
red Corvette waiting for them and looked over with a huge smile on
her face. Cliff laughed as he handed her the keys. The ride to the
hotel was about thirty minutes, but it only felt like five to Rachel.
Cliff checked in and the bellboy grabbed their luggage. Rachel walked
into the room and her mouth fell open.

"It's
beautiful," she said.

She
had never been in a hotel suite that big. His room in Vegas was
gorgeous, but it was tiny in comparison. It looked like they were in
the living room of a home. There was a large table off to the side.
She walked through the door into the next room. It was a nice size
kitchen. She walked back through the original room. There was a small
hall that led to a large bedroom with a jacuzzi tub in it. The bed
was huge in the center of it all. The bathroom that led off of the
bedroom had an even larger tub with a television and a standup
shower. There were two sinks and a very large mirror. The place was
spotless. When she walked back out, Cliff had just finished with the
bellboy.

"I've
never stayed in a room this nice," she said.

"I
usually stay in rooms like the one I had in Vegas. When I go to
conferences or meetings, I normally get there, attend whatever it is
I'm there for, and leave the next morning. Since we're staying a few
days, I wanted to have a bigger room in case we decide to stay in and
relax. The pool area here is very nice. I think you'll like it."