Unwanted Heat

I swear I’ve never met anyone like her. Any other woman would jump at the chance to be invited into my apartment even if nothing else but to get their hands on something valuable that I own. Yet, here is Kenzie, with no place but a crummy motel to stay in, refusing to sleep in one of my spare bedrooms. The woman completely baffles me and that’s not something that happens often. Suddenly an idea dawns on me, one that might be the perfect answer to our situation.

“I’ll figure something out, Nicholas, it’s really nothing for you to worry about.”

“PFS owns several condos in the city that we use for employees who relocate to New York from out of state to work for us. Alex and Ella just moved out of one they had been staying in when they were waiting to close on their new place. It’s completely vacant and no one is scheduled to use it any time soon. Why don’t you stay there?”

“I can’t… ”

“The condo isn’t being used anyway-it’s fully furnished and within walking distance of the bakery for you.”

“That’s a very nice offer, but I could never afford something-”

“You don’t need to worry about money, the condo is paid for and all the bills are sent directly to PFS.”

“I can’t let you do that.”

“Kenzie, on the way over here I realized that once the press learns your identity they are going to figure out where you live very quickly. I don’t know why I didn’t realize it before, but you are going to need full time security-”

“What?”NôvelDrama.Org © 2024.

“I’m sorry, but we need to assume that this break in was tied to our relationship becoming public knowledge. You’re going to need security to help you if the press becomes too much and we must make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again.”

“I… I…” She just looks around the room probably trying to make sense of everything. “I don’t have anything worth stealing, Nicholas.

There’s nothing here… I don’t… ”

“They don’t know that, Kenzie. They probably see you as an easy target because as the press has pointed out, I am worth quite a bit of money. They probably assume you have jewelry, electronics and money laying around here.”

“I suppose.”

“Please, the condo is sitting empty and would be a safe place for you to live. The building has 24/7 security at all times plus the unit itself has a state of the art security system. You wouldn’t have to worry about someone breaking in.”

“I… I don’t know how I feel about this. I feel like I’m taking advantage of you.”

“Kenzie, it’s very likely you’re in this mess because of me. Please let me do this for you, let me protect you.”

I can’t remember the last time I said please so many times. I don’t beg for anything yet here I am begging Kenzie to let me keep her safe. Again, this is something most women wouldn’t even question: I am offering to put her up in a luxury condo, completely expense free and she is worried about taking advantage of me. This is the woman I first met on the sidewalk a few months ago who tried to refuse my offering to replace the clothes that I had ruined. It’s hard to reconcile this woman with the one who receives a paycheck for going on dates with me. Looking around her small apartment, I begin to see why she might have been tempted to agree to Bridget’s offer. If this is all she could afford working two jobs, what chance did she have to get out of here?

“Okay,” her voice is barely above a whisper but it’s there.

“Great, thank you. Please take only what you absolutely need; the apartment is fully furnished and I can replace anything you don’t want to bring. I’ll have Carter arrange for a member of my security team to wait here for the locksmith so that anything you don’t take tonight is safe. We’ll arrange for someone to get the rest of your items tomorrow.”

“Nicholas, I don’t have very much. They destroyed most of furniture, the jewelry is gone,” she looks sadly at her bed and television. “Just let me throw some things into a garbage bag.”

“Of course, whatever you want. I’m going to speak with Carter for a moment but I’ll be right outside the door.”

“Nicholas, he can come into the apartment, you know,” she chuckles before opening a drawer and pulling out a bag.

“I’ll let him know.”

I close the door as I leave the apartment, noting that it barely latches shut. It’s obvious someone kicked in the door to gain access. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding, relieved that I was able to convince her to move out tonight. I don’t know what I would have done if she continued to refuse to leave or had insisted on staying in some flea bag motel tonight. Even though no woman I’ve ever dated has ever been in my condo since I bought it, I find myself oddly disappointed that she didn’t take me up on the offer to stay in one of my guest rooms. After she moved out and I sold that condo, I vowed to never let a woman get that close to me again yet here I was offering Kenzie to essentially move in with me.

“Sir?” Carter pulls me from my thoughts before I can figure out why it bothers me that Kenzie said no.

“Kenzie has agreed to move into the vacated condo that Alex and Ella were in. Can you arrange for a locksmith to fix the door tonight and have Hunter wait here until they arrive?”

“I’ve already contacted someone and they will be here within the hour to fix the lock; Hunter should be here momentarily as well.”

“I would like Hunter assigned to Kenzie full time beginning, tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

“She is bagging up a few things to take with us but if there’s anything left that should be saved, can you arrange for it to be delivered tomorrow? She didn’t think there would be anything as most of the furniture was destroyed by whoever broke in.”

“I’ll arrange for someone to dispose of anything left behind.”

“Did the police have any leads?”