Bewitched by the Businessman

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

She was half packed when her phone buzzed again. She groaned, hoping it wasn’t Jerry again. Her face immediately lit up when she saw it was Erin.

“Change your mind about those drinks?” Lillian joked.

She heard Erin’s hiccup cries and her stomach sank down to her toes. “Erin, sweetie, what is it?”

Erin took a deep breath. “My apartment flooded.”

“What?” She was so confused. “What do you mean your apartment flooded?”

“I came home and Mr. Shitaki was in front of my door waving me off, saying that the apartment above me, I guess, had a pipe burst and flooded my apartment and the one below me.”

“Geez, you just can’t catch a break today, can you? You’re heading straight here, right? Because you know I won’t take no for an answer.” Her tone didn’t broach for contradiction. She knew Erin was down on her luck and had few options. She was leaving in the morning, anyway, so Erin could have the run of the place.

“Yeah, I’m heading your way now. I should be there in 5 minutes.”

“I’ll wait for you downstairs. Our security guard takes his duties a little too serious sometimes.” She took a big gulp of wine.

Erin snickered. “Well, what’s not to take serious about duties?”

Lillian almost spit out her wine. “Erin Josephine Andrews, did you seriously just make a joke? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?” Granted, it wasn’t the funniest joke, but it was something.

“Don’t get too crazy; it just popped in my head. Let’s not start going to comedy clubs or anything.”

"No promises. Alright, I'm hanging up and getting in the elevator. I'll see you in a minute."

She headed toward the elevators; she knew it would take a while to get down from the forty-second floor.

Though the building had sixty floors, the entire top floor was the penthouse. It was where Mr. Mysterious lived.

She moved in a few years ago, once she started making the big bucks as a top PR. She had come from nothing and wanted to make a name for herself. She had achieved so much since dropping out of school and fleeing to San Francisco when she was sixteen. She got her G.E.D. and worked her butt off to be the best in the business.

After four years, she landed her biggest client and started earning a real paycheck. To celebrate, she bought her condo.

When she moved in, Mr. Mysterious was already living there; she had only ridden the elevator with him a handful of times. They never talked, only exchanged neighborly hellos.

What she did see of him, though, was jaw-dropping. His short black hair and dark blue eyes, and him dressed in a suit was panty dropping. Once, she saw him coming back from a run and never before had she been jealous of sweat. He wore black short-shorts and a red t-shirt that clung to his body like a second skin. It left very little to the imagination.

Unfortunately, he never said more than a polite hello before hurrying away. He rarely even made eye contact. He either thought he was better than the other people in the building, or he was just really shy. But when you look like that, you can’t really be too shy.

As soon as the doors opened to the lobby, Lillian saw Erin talking to Simon, the security guard. Erin looked like a half-drowned rat. Her suitcase was dripping on the marble floor; her coat was soaking wet. Lillian could see tears in Erin’s pantyhose and the light brown stains on the front of her dress, though Erin tried to hide it with her coat. Lillian suddenly felt like the world's worst friend. She should have been more insistent that Erin come over. She knew the move here would be hard on Erin, but she didn't think it would be this hard.

Neither person noticed her approach; they were so busy arguing.

"I'm sorry, Miss, but you are not on the approved list of guests to see Ms. Guthrie. You'll have to come back tomorrow."

"Look Simon, I've had a really crappy day. I just got off the phone with her, and she told me she'll be down any second. Could you maybe just call her?"

She could see Erin was losing her strive for patience.

Simon looked insulted at the suggestion. "I would never disturb a resident. If your friend, as you say, is coming down, then you'll just have to wait." He eyed her up and down, taking in her disheveled appearance. "Perhaps outside. You are getting the lobby floor wet."

Erin's eyes snapped fire; when she opened her mouth, Lillian hastened over.

"It's okay, Simon. Ms. Andrews is my guest, and I will handle all the necessary paperwork tomorrow."

Simon was barely placated. "This is highly irregular, Ms. Guthrie."

"Her apartment flooded tonight, Simon, and she turned to a friend. I'll take care of everything in the morning."

Simon finally relented with a curt nod. "Very well, Ms. Guthrie. I'll have someone bring down a mop and clean the floors. Don't want anyone taking a spill." He mumbled and turned to call to housekeeping.

Lillian grabbed Erin when it looked like she was going to lay into him again, and half dragged her to the elevator, before Erin could muster up a retort.

"What an-" Erin started to complain, but Lillian held up a hand.

"Erin, I get you've had a rough day, but please don't start in on the security guard. He takes duty very serious." She deadpanned.

She pressed the button for her floor, hearing Erin chuckle. It was such a great sound.

She nearly jumped when she noticed Mr. Penthouse standing in the doorway of the elevator, staring at Erin. At first, she thought he was checking Erin out, but it looked like her bag was taking up a lot of room in the elevator and he just couldn’t get in. Erin, however, was drinking him in, her mouth hanging open the slightest bit.

Lillian did a little victory dance inside. She knew these two would be great together; the chemistry bouncing off them was electric.

Jason O’Connell was s*x on a stick, but like her, he didn’t have forever stamped on him. He was a ‘roll around and get sweaty’ kind of guy. Not hearts and flowers.

Erin thought that was what she wanted, but look how well that turned out for her. What Erin needed was mindless s*x and a real man to get over Brad. Lillian didn’t believe in love and hearts and flowers. Love faded. She liked casual flings where emotions were never attached. No one ever got hurt.

Erin apologized, picked up her bag, and held it in front of her. Jason smiled sweetly down at her. Erin pressed closer to Lillian as Jason leaned in to key in his penthouse passcode. Erin met her eye and mouthed ‘oh my god!’ Lillian bit her lip to keep from laughing. Erin was already in deep lust; that was a good sign. Now it was time for the icebreaker.

“Hi, Mr. O'Connell.” She gave him a polite nod. Erin just stared straight ahead as if she wasn’t there.

“Good evening, Ms. Guthrie." Jason’s voice was deep and hypnotic. She loved the sound of it. By the feel of her shudder, Erin must like it too.

The elevator fell back to silence; she saw Erin rocking back and forth, almost in boredom.

Who could be bored around Jason? She tried to think of something else to say to Mr. O’Connell, a way to get the two to engage in conversation.

"Who is your friend?" Jason said out of nowhere.

She was speechless. Mr. Mysterious said something other than hello. It took her a moment to remember he asked her a question.

"Erin Andrews, meet Jason O'Connell."

Erin turned to shake his hand, but instead, dropped her suitcase on his foot. Lillian groaned and closed her eyes. This was going to be a harder than she thought.

"Oh my god, I am so sorry Mr. O'Connell." Erin moved to comfort him, but stepped back.

Probably afraid to hurt him further, Lillian thought, that plan sure sunk quicker than the Titanic.

But she wasn’t discouraged. She would find a different man for Erin. There was no salvaging the situation now. Jason would probably give Erin a wide berth now. It wasn’t the first time a guy had been interested in Erin, only to become one of her casualties.

"There is nothing to forgive, Ms. Andrews,” Jason said, smoothly, “no harm was done." Jason turned to look at Lillian. "Is she staying with you?"

The elevator pinged, and the doors opened. Erin rushed out so fast Lillian thought she saw a vapor trail. Lillian was a little slower to exit. They didn’t need to rush on his account. After all, she had nothing to be embarrassed about.

She beamed at Erin, though Erin was too embarrassed at the moment to return the smile.

"As a matter of fact, she is," Lillian boasted.

"In that case, I certainly hope your home is accident proof." Jason's words cut to the quick. She jumped back into her role as Erin’s champion as if she had never left it.

"On the contrary, Mr. O'Connell," her voice dripped acid, "Erin is one of the safest people I know. I am lucky she calls me friend. I apologize she hurt your precious Stemar's." Referring to his shoes. He owned a penthouse; she wasn’t surprised everything he owned had a designer tag.

"Lil, please let's just go," Erin whispered, deflated.

"Jerk," Lillian muttered as she followed Erin to her apartment.

“Well, Ms. Guthrie, I wish you all the luck in the world with that one," he called. "I wish even more luck to the Louboutin's you’re wearing."

She looked down at her thousand dollar shoes. Was it excessive? Absolutely. But she wouldn't give them up for anything. Shoes could be a lot more loyal than men. And they didn’t talk back. Which was why she owned so many pairs. She worked hard to earn everything she owned with a designer label. She was proud of all she accomplished; she came from nothing and made something of herself.

Lillian marched back over to Jason, showing off her shoes in question. They were the most comfortable shoes she had ever worn. The clicking sound of the heels on the marble was music to her ears. Screw him if he couldn’t appreciate a good woman like Erin. She didn’t stop until they were only inches apart. The six-inch heels helped place the top of her head at chin level, so she didn’t have to look up very far.

"Oh, Christian and I don't need luck. Erin is the safest, most caring person in the world. If you can’t see that, well, then to hell with you.” With that, she spun on her heels and strutted away, dragging Erin with her.

“Was that necessary?" Erin whispered, horrified.

“No, but I feel better. That prick needs to know he can't treat people that way.” She was irate. No one talked about her best friend that way.

Yes, Erin was accident prone. The first day they met, Erin had tripped her in gym class, then decked her in the head with a kickball later that same day. They had a good laugh about it afterward, and she had been standing up for Erin since.

She opened the door, turning back to look at Erin.

"He's not worth it. No one is ever worth the hurt they can cause you."

Never in the few times she had seen Jason O'Connell had she ever experienced him treat someone so rudely. Yeah, Erin had always been prone to accidents, but that wasn't her fault.

"Let's get you settled in and have a drink before bed. Lord knows I could use one."

"You know you don't have to baby me." Erin followed Lillian into the guest room, which was double the size Erin’s own apartment.

"I'm not. I call it being a friend. Hang your stuff up so it has a chance to dry out," she pointed at the adjoining bathroom. Erin had only ever seen its likeness in magazines.

Erin did as suggested and opened her suitcase to see all of her belongings now completely drenched. Her laptop, thankfully, was saved. Erin dropped to her knees, sobbing.

Lillian was at a loss. She hated tears, but understood this was a purge for Erin. She had done it herself a few times. It always made her feel better in the end, even with the blotchy eyes and headache. She just held onto Erin until her sniffles quieted.

She took Erin to the kitchen for a tall glass of wine, then brought Erin to her own closet. She may not be able to do much right now, but she could provide Erin with a roof over her head and some dry clothes.

"Lil, this is extreme, even for you." Erin turned in circles, trying to take everything in.

Lillian just shrugged. After buying the condo, she started buying shoes and clothes. Most of it she needed for PR functions, the rest was just indulgence. Her ‘screw you’ to her previous life in Portland, she supposed.

"Take whatever you want.” She shushed Erin’s protests. “Listen, I wasn’t going to tell you this until tomorrow, but before you called one of the companies I represent called me. A client got into some trouble. I need to go do damage control. I’m gonna be out of town for a couple days, maybe even a week. Take whatever you need or want.”

She could tell Erin was going to argue, but what choice did she have? The girl arrived with basically only the clothes on her back. The clothes in her bag didn’t look like they survived.

Lillian had more clothes than she could wear in a year, and she wasn’t going to need any of it anytime soon. Erin might as well just accept that and move on. She wasn’t going to take no for an answer.

“Thanks,” Erin hugged her. “You really are the best.”

“And don’t you forget it. Now go finish your wine, take that soak you wanted to, and go to bed.” She wanted to spend time with Erin, but Erin sounded beat and Lillian really needed to finish packing.

“How about we watch the Alien series instead?” Erin suggested.

Lillian’s eyes lit up. Movie marathon with her best friend?

“You get the popcorn. I’ll start it up the Blu-ray.” She raced out of the closet before she even finished her sentence. She sure did love her movies.