Home > Once She Dreamed Part Two (Once She Dreamed #2)(13)

Once She Dreamed Part Two (Once She Dreamed #2)(13)
Author: Abbi Glines

Chapter Eleven

The last thing Hale had said last night was “I’ll be back in fourteen days. We will then be attending a party and I expect you to behave like a lady. Not an inbred girl from the sticks.” And I said nothing in return. As if I deserved the command. I was to spend my time getting online and researching how to properly act. To work on my speech and pay attention to the way I pronounced my every word. It was a humiliating conversation.

When the door closed behind him I was relieved he’d only kissed my cheek. I wasn’t in the mood to be touched by the man after being informed a complete overhaul was how I would stay in New York. I knew I didn’t fit into Hale’s glitzy world, but I didn’t take this job and move to the city thinking someone would rubber stamp me and turn me into a talking robot. And what purpose did his control really serve? There was no affection between us. We didn’t have a chance at a future.

After a day with Ezra I knew what I wanted. Hale would remain my boss. But we’d never be anything more. Surely he could see that too. If he wasn’t concerned with attraction or connection between the people we ultimately were, maybe it was personal appearance? I didn’t know him at all.

For the moment I was glad he was gone. I had too much on my mind and the cleaning of the penthouse wasn’t enough to encourage me. Calling home wouldn’t be a good idea. Momma would recognize the frustration in my voice. She’d know something was wrong and question me until I admitted it. Going home to Moulton in the future kept me twisted in tangled knots. Staying here would only be possible if Hale kept me as an employee. I no longer wished to attend those parties and classy events I’d longed for. Hale was heartless and the way he treated other people was a thing I would never accept.

The next two days I spent time in the city doing what I wanted to do. In case my time was cut short and he fired me, for saying “ain’t” or “ya’ll” or “naw.” I visited the Empire State Building, went to Rockefeller Center and the September 11th Memorial. That made me cry and my stomach felt sick. All those senseless deaths. I will never get over that. From there I visited the Metropolitan Museum of Art and walked through “the park.” Central Park that is. I tried different food vendors and found that I enjoyed the hot dogs best of all.

Doing all of this alone wasn’t as much fun as it had been with Ezra as my guide. I returned to the penthouse at the end of day two intending to order Chinese. Ezra was standing outside my door as if he were expecting me. And yes, he was still perfect. He couldn’t make himself unattractive.

“Had a big day?” he asked smiling.

I nodded. “Yes. It was nice.” I held up my bag from the art museum. I’d bought my sisters some souvenirs.

“Good. I thought I’d see if you wanted to have dinner. There’s a Thai place you cannot miss. I go at least once a week.”

I wasn’t sure if I liked Thai or not, which meant I wanted to try it. I was lonely and spending the evening with Ezra sounded appealing to me.

“Sure, I’d like to eat Thai. I thought you’d be gone by now.” I wondered why Ezra was in town if Hale wasn’t in residence. He didn’t appear to be a city kind of guy.

“I left when he did. And I’ll leave in the morning. I came back for the Thai, my personal addiction, which keeps me away from others.”

The look on his face said something else. Like maybe he was back for me. The idea made my heart race. I tried not to read into it. We had only one day and the kiss. I wasn’t an expert at kissing, but it seemed like it was special.

“Okay, do I need to change?” I then walked to the door and pressed the code while waiting on his answer.

“You look perfect,” he replied. “I prefer your clothes, but this isn’t bad either, you make anything appear appealing.”

I was wearing one of the casual outfits Hale had purchased for me. My limited wardrobe felt out of place and I didn’t like looking unique. Especially while walking alone. Ezra’s comment felt nice. My skin became tingly and warm. I couldn’t keep from smiling at the man.

“Thank you. I’ll put this bag in my room and we can go.”

“Take your time. I’m in no rush.”

I was hungry from all the walking. The hotdog I’d eaten wasn’t enough. I needed more, but I didn’t tell him that. I didn’t want him to think I was ravenous, needed a trough or something.

“Where is it we’re going?” I asked when I came back into the room. I hadn’t taken the time to brush my hair or freshen up my face. I figured if I looked in the mirror I’d see a million little things I needed to fix and I was too hungry for that.

“It’s called Uncle Boons. Not a big tourist spot, which is always a win for me. Like I said the food is incredible. You can’t get Thai food as good as Uncle Boons anywhere else in the states. I’ve tried and failed and haven’t.”

Uncle Boons didn’t sound very Thai, but then how was I to know? I’d never eaten Thai in my life.

“Well, let’s go try this place out.”

“We’ll need to take a cab from here. Walking would take an hour.”

I hadn’t taken a cab in the city. Flagging down a cab sounded fun. “Okay, I’m good with that.”

“I don’t do the fancy chauffeured shit like Hale does with his vehicles.” It didn’t sound like an apology. It was a statement without regret.

“I want to experience a New York cab,” I honestly replied with excitement.

   
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