Chapter 2 - Adrian Offered Me the Job I Lost—Then He Told Me Someone Had Been Watching Me Before His Mother CollapsedThe next morning, a black SUV was waiting outside my apartment.
I stared at it through the blinds.
It had been there for twenty minutes.
No one got out.
I called Adrian.
He answered on the second ring.
“Good morning.”
“There's a car outside.”
“Yes.”
“You're watching me?”
“I'm protecting you.”
“I didn't ask for protection.”
“No.”
His voice remained calm.
“You didn't.”
“Then remove them.”
“I can't.”
My frustration rose.
“Why?”
“Because someone followed you home last night.”
I froze.
“What?”
“I'll explain when you get downstairs.”
I didn't want to go downstairs.
But I did.
A man in a black suit opened the SUV door.
“Ms. Callahan.”
“I can walk.”
“I know.”
He stepped aside.
“I was instructed not to touch you.”
That almost made me laugh.
“Wonderful.”
I got inside.
Adrian was waiting at the other end.
He wasn't what I expected.
I'd seen photographs.
But photographs didn't capture presence.
He was younger than I imagined.
Late thirties.
Dark hair.
Gray eyes.
Perfectly tailored charcoal suit.
No visible weapon.
No entourage inside the vehicle.
He looked almost ordinary.
Almost.
“Good morning.”
I sat opposite him.
“Why am I here?”
“Because you're in danger.”
“I've heard that.”
“You haven't heard the whole story.”
He handed me a folder.
I opened it.
Photographs.
Me leaving work.
Me entering my apartment.
Me at a grocery store.
Me standing outside the hospital.
My stomach turned.
“How long?”
“Four months.”
I looked up.
“Four months?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“We don't know.”
“You've been watching me for four months?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
“Someone else.”
He slid another photograph toward me.
A man standing across the street from my apartment.
“Do you recognize him?”
“No.”
“Neither do we.”
I stared at the image.
“Why would anyone watch me?”
“That's what we're investigating.”
I closed the folder.
“I don't want any part of this.”
“I know.”
“Then let me go.”
He leaned back.
“I can.”
I stood.
“Good.”
“But I won't pretend you're safe.”
I looked at him.
“You're controlling.”
“Yes.”
At least he admitted it.
He stood.
“My mother asked me to offer you something.”
“What?”
“The position you lost.”
I laughed.
It wasn't funny.
“You're offering me a job?”
“Yes.”
“At Hargrove?”
“At Hargrove Health Group.”
I stared.
“I was rejected.”
“I know.”
“You're changing the decision?”
“I am.”
“I don't want charity.”
“It isn't charity.”
“Then what is it?”
“You earned the position.”
I shook my head.
“I missed the interview.”
“Because you saved my mother.”
“So?”
“So I would rather employ the person who saves lives when nobody is watching than someone who knows how to impress an interview panel.”
I didn't know what to say.
He continued.
“The position pays well.”
“How well?”
He named a salary.
I nearly choked.
“That can't be real.”
“It is.”
“Health insurance?”
“Full.”
“Retirement?”
“Yes.”
“Weekends?”
“Yes.”
I stared.
“You really are serious.”
“Very.”
I looked away.
“I can't work for you.”
“Why?”
“Because everyone says you're dangerous.”
He smiled faintly.
“Everyone is usually right.”
That should have frightened me.
Instead, I laughed.
“You're impossible.”
“I've been called worse.”
He handed me a card.
“Think about it.”
I took it.
Then he said:
“One condition.”
I frowned.
“What?”
“If you accept, you report directly to me.”
“That isn't normal.”
“My company isn't normal.”
I looked at the card.
“Neither am I.”
He studied me.
“No.”
His voice softened.
“That's why I chose you.”
May you like
I didn't understand what he meant.
Not yet.
Related Stories
