“David. I have everything set up for you in the conference room you requested.”
He peeled his gaze off my cheek and temple and turned, holding out an arm. “Thank you, Stephanie. Stephanie, this is Lilly Huntington. Lilly, this is my assistant, Stephanie. She’s a lifesaver and I wouldn’t be half the success I am without her.”
Stephanie rolled her eyes and stepped forward, a polite but friendly smile kicking up the corners of her mouth. “It’s nice to meet you, Lilly.”
She held out her hand and I shook it. How strange to shake hands and be looked at like that. Like I was someone important, someone worth knowing. A soft warmth filtered from her silky smooth palm to my hand, up my arm, landing in my chest.
It was probably because she didn’t know who I was, where I came from, that allowed her this ease.
“And David is full of it. I just get him coffee and maintain his calendar.”
“A man cannot live disorganized and uncaffeinated,” David joked.
Stephanie was close to David’s age, if the small laugh lines were any indication. My guess was she dyed her hair to keep it hiding the grays, but even most likely twenty years older than me, she was gorgeous. And she had hair to die for.
Her fingers were expertly painted, heels shiny and high quality but she was still casually dressed in a lightweight skirt and simple cream blouse with a thick bow, tied off at the center of her throat.
She moved effortlessly on her heels, guiding us toward the conference room and it was then I realized I was grinning at their friendly banter.
“You’ll find, Lilly, David prepared for your visit, or had me do it, if I’m being honest. But there’s a notepad and pens on the table for you along with files requested. Would you care for anything to drink? I can get some tea or pop?”
“Water. Please.” My throat was parched and scratchy.
“For me as well, please, Stephanie. And let me know if anyone stops by?”
“Will do. Is Hudson coming?”
“I’m not sure.” David checked his watch as my heart thrummed an alien rhythm.
The silly muscle and organ seemed to have a mind of its own these days. So I had a burgeoning schoolgirl crush on a handsome man. Big deal.
“Very well.” Stephanie smiled in my direction again. “I’ll be just a few moments.”
She left, leaving me alone with David. He brushed his hand over his chin. “I’d very much like to know how you were injured since Hudson told me this morning he saw you last night and didn’t mention this.”
I stayed still, hands curling into fists. I could still smell Manny’s breath on my cheeks and feel him in other places. The three showers I took to scrub the remnants of him off me did nothing to my memory.
When I didn’t say anything, David sighed. “You sure you won’t tell me?”
“No.”
What good would it do? I wasn’t pressing charges. It’d be my word against Manny’s and while I had no doubt he’d had his run-ins with the law, my history wouldn’t make me a reliable witness.
“If you change your mind—”
“I won’t.”
Another pause, his well-aged features tightened around his eyes and mouth before he pushed his lips out and gave a quick shake of his head.
“Very well. Would you like to see what I had Stephanie prepare for you?”
“Sure.” I took my seat where Stephanie suggested earlier and like I did every time I sat down for class, scribbled the date in the upper right-hand corner of the first page of the notepad.
David sat across from me with his own file, but he didn’t open it. He clasped his hands together on top of it. “Can I ask what changed your mind? Not that I wasn’t thrilled to hear from you earlier, but prior to that, Hudson told me he still wasn’t certain what you’d do.”
I tapped pen to paper, my skin tightening. “I haven’t had a lot of goodness in my life and I don’t trust easily. Hudson told me about your family, the foster kids. I’m still not sure why you want to help me, but I don’t think it’s wise to turn my back on this opportunity.”
A soft smile stretched his lips. That pleased him. For some reason, I was quick to wipe it away.
“That doesn’t mean I’m going to take this, but I think it’s worth considering. That’s why I’m here.”
“And I’m glad you are.”
Stephanie returned with our water glasses and set them on coasters near us along with a small bowl of cut lemons that reminded me of the creamer bowls at Judith’s.
“I’d have to give Judith notice,” I said. “So if I agreed to anything, or even got a job here, I wouldn’t be able to start immediately.”
“I would expect nothing else from you,” David said, in a way his approval warmed me to my bones.
He took a lemon and squeezed it into his water.
“Take some time and glance at the jobs we have in that file. If anything sparks your interest, we can discuss. Or alternatively, you can tell me more about your schooling. What would you do if you could do anything?”
I hated the bubble of hope his words brought. If I could do anything? Be anyone? I didn’t have that luxury. The dream of if I could do anything slammed closed when handcuffs clicked around my wrists.
“The door closed on my opportunities to dream of anything years ago. Now I’m more reasonable.”
“What if that door was opened?”
“I don’t play the what-if game, Mr. Valentine. Not anymore.”
“David.” He grinned. “I understand. What are you doing at school then?”
I opened the folder. “Office administration. Some kind of assistant, I guess.” I scanned the first three pages he’d had printed out. All entry-level positions. All with minimum hourly wages that would be at least double the amount I made at Judith’s.
All paying much too high for their requirements. Enough I could shop at Target, buy cupcakes when I felt like it, and more than the occasional Chipotle tucked away in a one-bedroom apartment.
The only dream I had.
It also had to be way too high and Hudson had told me no special treatment. I slapped the folder closed.
“Why did you look into me?” I’d been dying to know ever since Hudson spoke the words We know.
David didn’t flinch. “Because I could and before I extend my help I like to know who I’m offering it to. At least the basics.”
“And you still wanted that, even after knowing?”
His sad, sad eyes warmed with an emotion that made me sit up straight in an effort to put distance between us. It was heavy and warm, almost loving, and I hated it.
“You were a child, Lilly. You made a mistake. And you’re still young. Don’t you think you’ve been punished enough?”
Pain and guilt and grief slashed through me like a whip.
“I’ll be punished every day for the rest of my life.” Because Josh was gone. And I might not have been driving the truck. But I made the phone call.
“Then that’s your penance, if you wish to carry it. Why bear more?” He voice turned to gravel, like he hated the thought of what I’d been through.
A fierce, wicked sting sliced through my chest and went straight to my gut. He meant this, which made saying no to him virtually impossible.