A Lot

Chapter Six

The Muse~

I have a stalker. Realization makes me taste bile inside my mouth. I haven't spent even a week properly in New York and I already have a stalker. 

What the hell in the world are you even doing, Mimi Volkov?!

No, this is not what should concern me. Why the hell is that stalker stalking me? Yes, I have a lot of money, but stalkers usually don't stalk people for money, right? Zade didn't stalk Adeline for money. He loved her. Because, well, Addie was a hell of a woman. What am I? Do I even have the proper traits to attract men, let alone a stalker? My stalker must be out of his mind to stalk me. 

Apparently Mimi, he is out of his mind this is why he is a stalker. 

Right.

"You are going to be late if you don't set out now." Ana's matter-of-fact voice stings my earbuds through the phone, "We are not in Germany that you will be able to drive that Lexus ES car the way you want to." 

"And I never asked you to be my personal secretary, An." My phone is on speaker on my dresser as I struggle to tie my hair, "My hair is too long. Can't tie them properly." 

"You should cut them." She says cryptically. 

I pause, before tying my hair into a messy bun, "But I like them. So no."

"Sounds like your problem." I grab my phone and cut the call. Ana isn't the proper person to have a tea talk at this hour of the morning. She is always about business. 

I grab my keys and get out of the car. Today is my first day at my job. Ana helped me to get this job. She introduced me there. I am indebted to her for that. I will treat her to dinner later. 

I reach out and grab the door handle of my car. When I am about to pull it open, every hair on my nape raises to the end and a chill runs down my spine. I instinctively look around, rubbing my nape. 

Guess, my stalker is back to his job. 

I sigh and prepare to have goosebumps throughout the day once again. It has become my schedule now. I know it is dangerous to let the stalker be at a loss like this. But I doubt the police will do anything about it. And I don't even have a solid proof. I think I will just install additional cameras in the house, just for the records. I am highly doubtful that my stalker will get close to me, let alone hurt me. As long as he is only just watching, we are fine. 

***

I am lazy, but I hate lazing around. I hate to work, but I love to be active. This is as confusing as it is. When I was in school, I had to take a week off after one hour of studying. Now that I am working, I will take the next day off to recover from the exhaustion that I caused myself. 

I have dinner with Ana and Kristine at my villa at 7:30. Hopefully Dylan won't be there to sprout his protective nature. My own older brother isn't protective of me as much as he is. No… Charlie doesn't really care enough for me to be protective. It's only 6, so I have a bit of time before I go out to the biting cold of November. The coffee shop is much warmer than that. 

This is the nearest coffee shop from my workplace. I thought this was a nice place, so here I am, checking it out all by myself. I am pretty tired of trying to ignore the lurking presence that is following me everywhere I go. At this point, I am afraid to even use the bathroom. 

The receptionist smiles at me as he hands me my order and I pay him back. I shouldn't be getting iced americano at this time of the year if I don't want to get a fever tomorrow. But it doesn't hold me back from my coffee addiction. 

I return the smile with a warmer one and pay my bill. It's cold outside so I decide to take a seat inside. I pull out my phone and check for any new texts or phone calls. I am quite surprised not to find anything from my mother or that pain in the ass Jesper. Not that I care but it is weird that they haven't called me yet. 

I shrug and slide my phone back into my pocket. I look around for any empty place. There is one, by the window. But someone is sitting there. All by himself. His head is tilted down as he scribbles something in his notebook. 

He seems familiar… 

Then he lifts his head from his notebook and takes a sip of his tea. I relax as my eyes meet with his brown eyes. For a moment they seem so cold and mysterious to me but the moment his eyes fall on me they turn warm, just the way I remember them to be. For a moment I don't recognize them but the next moment, they are the eyes that I see every night in my dreams. 

I flash a smile and wave at Kyler. He waves back, a small smile forming on his lips. It seems like he doesn't really smile all that much. 

When he returned the money four days ago that I gave him eight years ago, I didn't take it. I used it to tip the bartender and waiters at that bar. I don't help people in the hope that they will return the favor. 

I approach the table Kyler is sitting at. He flip shuts his notebook and tucks it into a backpack next to him. 

"What a pleasant surprise to see you here, Mr. Ashford." I want to call him by his first name. 'Kyler' has a nice ring to it when it rolls off my tongue. 

"You can call me just Kyler, Miss Volkov." It is as if he read my mind. Hope he doesn't because to me his lips look really tempting. 

I chuckle, "Just Mimi." I glance at the seat across from him and point there, "Can I take the seat if you don't mind?" 

"Sure." Kyler nods his head, "It isn't occupied." The smile on his face lingers. 

"Am I disturbing somehow?" I put my coat and bag down on the seat beside me and set my americano on the table.

"Not really." He shakes his head. "I am free right now." He relaxes in his seat and leans forward. 

You better be because I want to talk to you. A lot. You ain't going nowhere in the next one hour.