Maybe if she saw him protecting her, she would become aware of how perfect they were for each other. He glanced around his man cave and drummed his fingers on the leather couch. He needed to show her quickly, while he had freedom from work, how he could be all she needed. Already new ideas for technology innovations were crowding his mind, but he wanted to finish things with Emilie first.
Maybe if he went to the office for a couple hours first, then he could focus on her and show her how he protected her.
He grabbed the keys to his sports car and then froze.
Wait. He didn’t have an office anymore.
He needed someone to help him enjoy the riches he had earned.
He needed Emilie.
Just as she needed him. Today she would start to understand.
How best to show her?
A note on her car? That sounded so junior high, but he also liked the mystery of it. Would she?
Yes, the idea grew on him. She needed him. He could help her see that. It would be easy to do with his resources. And once she’d benefited from all he had to offer, there would be no going back.
Quickly he pulled together what he needed and grabbed the addresses his investigator had provided. Amazing how money could obtain the impossible so readily. He drove through the back roads across the bridge into Arlington and then wove through Rosslyn, Courthouse, into Clarendon, and across to King Street. Then past the high school and the George Washington Masonic Temple into Old Town. He circled the block around her office, looking for her car. It wasn’t as flashy as the one he would give her, but her George Mason Law School bumper sticker confirmed he’d found the right one. He drove down a block and parked. She would have no reason to know what he drove, but he didn’t want to take chances.
He grabbed the gift bag and got out of the car. After locking his BMW, he walked the block back to the Haven. What a ridiculous name. Like a location could give anyone security and peace. Still, he supposed they did good work, and if it mattered to her then he’d make it matter to him.
His check to the Haven showed how much he wanted to support what she valued.
Had she noticed?
It didn’t matter. She wouldn’t be able to miss this. Women liked cute things.
He double-checked the parking lot. No one was around, so he walked in, careful to keep his back to the light that looked like it hid a security camera. He wanted her to discover that the gift came from him without cheating by looking at a video. This was a slow wooing. A drawing her attention to him in a way that would bind her to him.
The driver’s door of her car was locked. He sighed in frustration, even as he knew it was the smart action for a beautiful young woman who worked at a place like this. He’d have to talk to her about allowing herself to be in danger by working with women who had crazy husbands and boyfriends. There were other ways she could use her talents to help people.
He placed his gift on her hood against the windshield, then slipped into the shadow of the bushes to wait for her to appear.