Free Choose Me (The Me Novellas) by Liz Appel

tossed my phone on the bed and hurried down the hallway. Knowing Yuri, he’d wait exactly five minutes before heading up the elevator himself.
    “Where are you going?” Lance asked. He was still perched in front of his computer, working on a second muffin.
    “Yuri’s downstairs.”
    Lance raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
    I left the apartment and walked down the hall to the elevator. I breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened to an empty elevator. I pressed the Lobby button and practiced taking deep breaths, trying to quell the irritation I felt with both Yuri and Andy.
    The door opened and Yuri was waiting in the lobby. He was dressed in black dress pants and a white polo that showcased his tanned skin. He smiled at me.
    “Hello, Meg.”
    I nodded in greeting.
    A woman holding a clipboard crossed the lobby. She looked like she’d just stepped off of Capitol Hill. Navy blue skirt and matching jacket, a tasteful pearl necklace around her neck. Her blond hair was pulled into an elegant chignon, loose wisps of hair offering a peak of the pearl drop earrings suspended from her ears.
    “You must be Meg,” she said, smiling. She extended her hand.
    Bewildered, I shook her hand and noticed a name tag pinned to the lapel of her jacket. Lydia Wells, Sales & Rentals.
    For Lance’s building.
    I turned to Yuri.
    He smiled again. “Lydia has an apartment open in the building. One bedroom, one level below your friend’s, I believe.”
    He looked to Lydia and she nodded her in head in agreement.
    “Almost directly underneath, actually,” she said. She handed me a brochure of the property. “However, we have excellent sound-proofing here. State-of-the-art, actually. One of the best compliments we receive from our tenants is the fact that you really cannot hear your neighbors. That and the location, of course. The vacancy I have was rather unexpected … a diplomat called back to Bolivia. We have quite a few appointments scheduled already today to show the property. Prospective clients. I imagine it will go quickly.” She smiled. “However, Yuri asked to have first dibs. And, so here we are.”
    “What is going on?” I asked, the brochure limp in my hands.
    Yuri folded his arms across his chest. “You will need a place to stay here in Washington, no? I thought it might be nice to be close to your friend.”
    The irritation I’d felt earlier disappeared. In its place was rage. Hot, unadulterated rage.
    “What the hell are you doing?” My voice was so loud that a couple exiting the building turned in our direction. I didn’t care.
    “Meg,” Yuri began.
    “Don’t ‘ Meg’ me,” I snapped. “I want to know what is going on. Now.”
    He reached out to touch my elbow, but I yanked my arm out of his grasp. “Now,” I repeated.
    Yuri looked apologetically at Lydia, who was watching us with a puzzled expression. “If you will give us a few minutes … ”
    Her expression cleared and she smiled. “Oh. Yes, of course. I’ll … I’ll be in my office.” She made a hasty retreat to the concierge counter and disappeared through a set of double doors.
    I watched her go and then whirled around.
    “I am only trying to help,” Yuri began, sincerity oozing from his voice. “I know it is hard to move to a strange city. I thought it might be helpful if you could live somewhere with friends nearby.”
    “Look,” I said, my voice tight. “You’re forgetting one huge thing. I haven’t accepted the offer. I’m not looking for a place to live right now. And I might never be.”
    Shock flitted through Yuri’s eyes. “You are considering turning it down?”
    “I don’t know,” I said. “I don’t know anything at the moment. But what I do know is this: I do not need someone taking control of my life and bullying me into making decisions. You did it earlier by shipping my art and buying me a plane ticket before I even said yes to coming. I’m not going to let you do it again. Not now. Not