Catch Me Mr Stalker

Rayon

Have you ever seen something you didn’t know you needed until it smacked you hard right across the face?

It happened to me on a Thursday afternoon, it was supposed to be a regular type of day that was easily forgotten. New York was humid, and a little crowded, everyone had somewhere to be in a rush. I’d just gotten back from a business meeting in Milan, four hours of boardroom nonsense, flirty secretaries that gave me sleazy looks, eight hours of pretending to care, and twelve long terrible hours without anything that made me feel satisfied.

Until her.

JFK airport, Arrivals. I stood by the escalator, waiting for my driver while scrolling through pointless emails and even more pointless texts from women I had no interest in replying to. I was half a second from checking out completely when I saw her.

Small frame, curves, tanned skin and that stride of hers.

D*mn.

 It was confident and sharp, like a lioness in all her regal glory. She walked like someone who was used to doing things with her own hands and didn’t have time for anyone’s nonsense.

Her curly brown hair was tied up in a messy bun that made her look like she would rather be somewhere other than here. There was nothing flashy about her. No designer labels, no fake lashes, no obvious attempt to get male attention. She wore a black pencil skirt and a flowery pink top that had no reason being that snug on her skin.

She didn’t need to try. She shone even without all the needless attachments.

She walked further away as if she had this raging storm inside her, burning and waiting to crack open the sky.

And me? I was struck there like a fool.

I took a small step closer to her direction, trying not to stare like a creep, a pervert will be more fitting but failing miserably. She was too eye catching not to stare, I just couldn’t help myself. She dragged a small black suitcase behind her with her phone pressed between her shoulder and ear, talking to it.

“I said I’m fine, Derrick! Why do you want to drive all the way down here? No! Jesus! I’ll take a cab, okay? I’m not a child, I can find my way back.”

Her voice… Oh God. That voice … could ruin me. Willingly.

It was low and velvety, clipped like she’d spent all day biting back her tongue and had finally run out of patience to care about who would be at the receiving end of her anger.

I didn’t know who the f*ck Derrick was, but I sure as hell already hated him. How dare he scold my goddess?

I stopped by the cab line behind her, close enough to get a better look at what she was doing, like a deranged stalker. It was hard not to. Her skirt hugged her hips like it had been sewn on. Her figure could make a man rethink his whole d*mn life.

I was that man.

I cleared my throat, trying to play it casual. You know? Like a smooth player.

“Long flight?”

She turned her head slowly, like I was a bug crawling up her neck. Her eyes, emerald green were peircing and enchanting. She glared at me unamused as her eyes locked steely with mine. And just like that, I felt it.

That electric feeling that struck at your whole being. 

“Do I know you?” she asked, her voice dry and clearly uninterested.

I smiled at her expression, feeling excited all of a sudden. “Not yet. But I’m hoping to fix that.” I said with a wink.

It must have been a creepy cringe-worthy wink because her expression didn’t change. She looked at me from head to toe with the same indifference that a person would show to a bird covered in filth on the street.

“That’s your line? Is that what works these days?”

I chuckled. “Only on rare occasions.”

She faced forward again. Her lashes didn’t flutter, there were no giggles, no sideways glances or lips biting. 

Nothing. She wasn’t buying my flirting. At all.

She wasn’t playing my game and for the first time, I didn’t feel like Rayon Night, CEO and global thirst trap. I felt like a boy way out of his league.

Which only made me want her more.

“Name’s Rayon,” I said.

She didn’t even turn around. “Good for you.”

“Rayon Night,” I added. “In case you want to Google me later.”

That got me a reaction. A half-snort. “Why? So I can block you on everything all at once?”

God. She was sassy.

And I was hooked.

Line and sinker.

She was next in line. The cab rolled up and the driver popped his trunk. She moved fast, tossing her suitcase in like it weighed nothing. Before she got in, she gave me a look one last time.

“Nice suit,” she said. “Shame it’s wasted on someone like you.”

Then she disappeared into the cab and was gone.

I stood there dazed and mouth hanging like a lovestruck fool.

Yes, love struck because tell me why I, Rayon Night would be left feeling like this in front of a woman?

My mouth curled into a disbelieving smirk, my palm covering my lips.

I lost before I could even start.

 My phone buzzed in my pocket, asking for my attention but I ignored it. I didn’t even know who she was, but I knew one thing for sure. I wasn’t letting her disappear that easily.

Back in the car, Jasper–my assistant, was already talking before I even got in.

“Your mother called again. She said it’s urgent.”

I didn’t respond to him. My mind was deep in thought.

“Also,” he continued, glancing down at his tablet, “you’re scheduled to meet with the Halyard Enterprises board on Monday. They’re bleeding cash, and if they don’t fix their internal–”

“Find her.”

He blinked. “Uh… I’m sorry?”

I leaned back in my seat, loosening my tie as a face splitting grin morph on my face “The woman I met at the airport, Find her. Brown hair, green eyes, maybe five-two. New York local. Probably works in finance or corporate.”

Jasper raised an eyebrow. “You want me to do a facial trace? I don’t even know who you want me to find.”

“Start with JFK’s arrival records. Cameras. Hell, pull Uber pickups if you have to.”

“Do you even know her name?”

I smirked. “I don’t need her name to find her. I just need time.”

He sighed but tapped into his device like I hadn’t just asked him to break several privacy laws. He’d done worse for me before.

As the city blurred past my window, I leaned my head back and let my mind replay every second. The curve of her mouth. The defiance in her eyes. That strut, like the ground, didn't deserve her heels.

This wasn’t about s*xual tension but I’ll be damned if I lied to myself that I didn’t want her. 

If I really wanted that, I had options, half of Manhattan was already begging to be next. This was just something else.

This was curiosity with captivating green eyes.

I wanted to know what made her tick. What made her look at a man like me like I was beneath her. Who was Derrick anyway? Who does she call when her world caves? What show did she watch at midnight when the house was quiet and she thought no one was looking?

Yeah, it was unhealthy…my growing obsession.

But so was I.

That night, I walked into my penthouse and ignored the half-naked woman on my couch. I didn’t even remember her name. She pouted at my dismissiveness and exposed herself. She said something flirty, but I walked past her like she didn’t exist. There were more important things for me to do.

Like finding a spitfire.

I went into my room and stripped off my suit. I stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Manhattan. The city was alive. Lights, sounds and the noise I usually found exhilarating sounded static.

All I could think about was her.

No woman had ever told me off like that. No woman had looked through me like I didn’t matter. Not one. Ever.

And the sick part?

I didn’t hate it.

I wanted more of it. I wanted her to insult me again, to push me, challenge me… look me in the eye and make me want to prove myself, if only to her.

I opened my laptop. Searched JFK surveillance logs Jasper had sent me. Watched the moment she turned back and told me off. 

Rewatched it. 

Zoomed in. 

Froze the frame.

Still no name.

But something told me it wouldn’t stay that way for long.

“Who are you, firecracker?” I murmured to myself, tracing her face with my eyes.

Then I smiled.

“I’m going to find you.”

Stacy

I’d been home less than ten minutes, and my phone was already on my last nerve.

Three missed calls.

Same number.

Unknown.

I tossed it on the kitchen counter and took a deep breath. I was this close, this close to screaming out my fucking head off but I held it in.

Don’t lose it, girl. You’ve got a child watching!

Sad, I know, but this pep talk works.

Most of the time.

Micheal was upstairs unpacking the “treasures” he’d collected from my stepbrother Derrick’s house. I didn’t even want to think about what that meant. Probably wrappers and plastic figurines he’d sworn were gold. Still, I was just glad he was home safe with me.

Me, though?

I was falling apart.

It had started the moment I stepped off that plane. No, scratch that. It started when that tall, annoyingly sexy man in a tailored suit tried to flirt with me like I was some backup