by Swan, T L
I walk into the bathroom. “I would suggest that you start watching those tutorials right now!” I call. “You better be fucking good in bed today. I want at least ten orgasms to make up for you being such an asshole.” I hear him chuckle. “Okay, I’m on it boss. I’ll give you fifteen.”
* * *
Nathan drives past the drop off bay at the airport. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“Parking the car.”
“You don’t need to come in.”
His eyes flicker to me in annoyance. “I’m coming in, Eliza.”
I roll my eyes.
“I’m just seeing my girlfriend off. There’s nothing wrong with that, is there?” He grips the steering wheel with two hands. “It’s what a caring supporting boyfriend would do.”
Oh great, this won’t be awkward at all. I’m meeting Henry in the check-in area.
I can almost feel the tension already. I begin to perspire.
After spending the afternoon in bed, Nathan has well and truly delivered on his promise, and with jelly legs, I’m leaving for my conference. It’s a miracle I can even walk. The man is an animal, and I hate to say it, but make-up sex is highly, highly recommended.
He parks the car and gets my bag out of the trunk. He sat on the bed and watched me pack like a hawk-eye. He knows every damn thing there is in my case.
He takes my hand in his. “What check-in?”
“American Airlines.”
“Okay.” He glances at his watch. “We have time for a drink.”
“Um.” I frown. “I’m meeting Henry in the foyer.”
“Oh, really,” he says, deadpan. “So, you’ll be having a drink with him before the flight, will you?”
“Yes. And don’t start.” I widen my eyes to remind him of his manners.
He marches toward the terminal, dragging me along by the hand, and I know he is holding in his tantrum with all of his strength.
“You call me every night,” he says.
“Yes.”
“And mornings.”
“All right.”
“And don’t accept drinks from anyone. They could drug you.”
I roll my eyes. “It’s a medical conference, Nathan, not Ibiza or a strip club. I wonder if there are any men I can snort cocaine off, though.”
He fakes a smile as he drags me along. “Hilarious, you should do stand-up.” He mutters dryly.
“I’ll consider it.”
“Where are you staying? I want the name of your hotel and your room number.”
“Will you stop?”
“No, I will fucking not. I don’t like this. I don’t want you to go. I don’t trust that fucker as far as I can throw him.”
I smirk because I knew he couldn’t help himself. “Well, that’s too bad, Nathan, because I have to.”
“I don’t want you to go with us fighting. The timing is all wrong. Call and tell him you’re sick.”
The truth is that I’m kind of looking forward to going away now. I need a week away by myself.
“We’re not fighting anymore,” I say.
He clenches his jaw as he narrows his eyes and we arrive at the terminal check-in.
Henry sees me, and he smiles and waves. He looks Nathan up and down, and Nathan does the same to him as they size each other up.
“Hello.” I smile.
“Hello, Eliza,” Henry says chirpily. His eyes flicker to Nathan, and he nods.
Nathan glares at him and pushes his hands into his pockets. “Hi,” he mumbles.
I look between them.
Oh jeez…..
Awkward.
“You ready to go?” Henry asks. “I’ve been looking forward to this conference.” Nathan’s jaw ticks as he fights to control his temper.
“Me, too.” I laugh, trying to compensate for my rude pig of a boyfriend. Ooh God, please earth swallow me up now.
“Okay, got to go.” I turn to Nathan. “I’ll see you on Friday?”
His mouth twists as he glares at me.
“Don’t worry, Mercer, I’ll look after her.” Henry gives Nathan a cocky wink.
The blood drains from my face. Oh no.
Nathan steps forward and stands an inch from Henry’s face. “You touch one hair on her fucking head, Morgan, and see what happens to you.”
19
Eliza
“Nathan!” I snap.
Henry smiles broadly as Nathan glares at him, as if he’s excited by the challenge, “Down boy.” He chuckles and bends to pick up his bag, totally unfazed by Nathan’s threat. “See you at the gate, Lize.” He turns and walks off, and I close my eyes in disgust. How embarrassing.
I turn to Nathan. “I cannot fucking believe you just did that,” I whisper angrily.
“He baited me.” He glares after Henry.
“No, he did not.” I snatch my bag from him, but he hangs onto the handle, not letting it go. “He said he was looking forward the to the conference, nothing more, nothing less.”
He rolls his eyes.
“You know what? I’m actually looking forward to a break away from you.”
“What’s that supposed to fucking mean?”
“It means the whole world doesn’t revolve around you. I’m on a work conference, Nathan. Grow the fuck up.” I move to snatch my bag, but he still holds the handle, not letting me go.
“How do I think the whole world revolves around me?”
I shake my head in disgust. “Why don’t you go and ask fucking Stephanie the answer to that question? Isn’t she the Google you go to when you need to know something? I’m sure she will be happy to unzip your pants and oblige you with an answer.”
He narrows his eyes. “How long are you going to throw that in my face, Eliza?” He growls.
“As long as I fucking want.” I snatch the bag from him and storm off, adrenaline pumping through my veins. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. What must Henry think? Oh hell, the horror. My boyfriend gets in his face and warns him not to touch me on a work conference…. I cringe just thinking of it.
I get to the check-in gate, and Henry smiles as he waits for me. I smile, embarrassed as I approach him.
“I’m so sorry,” I splutter.
“That’s fine.” He smiles kindly. “If I had a girlfriend as hot as you, I’d be a pit bull too. Think nothing of it. It’s already forgotten.”
“Thanks.”
“Trouble in paradise?” He smirks.
I exhale heavily. “You could say that.”
“Next!” the girl on the desk calls.
Henry steps forward and hands over his ID. I glance back to see Nathan standing at the door watching us. His face is murderous. I turn back to the front and ignore him. I’m so mad at him, it isn’t funny.
Once cleared, we walk through the gates, and I don’t look back to Nathan. I don’t want to give him the satisfaction.
I wasn’t lying—I want to get away from him. He’s messing with my head.
* * *
The trip to Dallas was made in relative silence. Henry read and I watched a movie.
I’m still embarrassed by Nathan’s little caveman act, and my cheeks heat every time I think of it.
The car pulls up at our hotel, and Henry gets out with the driver. They retrieve our bags from the trunk. I get out of the car and look up at the signage.
The Ritz Carlton.
Well, at least that’s something. A week of luxury.
We check in and are given our keys. Thankfully, we are on different floors. We make our way to the elevator.
“Do you want to grab something to eat?” Henry asks.
I pause as I consider it. “I’m tired. I think I’m just going to grab some room service and have a hot bath.”
“Okay.” He smiles. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be in the bar, drinking my tax deduction.” He winks.
I laugh. “Okay.” We ride up in the elevator.
“We have to be in the conference room at 9:00 a.m.,” he says.
“Do you want to meet for breakfast?”
“Yeah, sure. Call me when you’re ready.”
Another man gets into the elevator. Henry knows him.
“Hey.” They both laugh when they see each other. “I was wondering if you were going to be here,” says Henry to the other man.
They chatter as we ride up. I watch the dial over the door. “Okay, this is me.” The elevator arrives on my floor and the doors open. “Have a good night.” I smile.
“Bye.” Henry smiles casually.
“Goodbye,” the other man says.
I walk down the hall and shake my head. I wasn’t lying to Nathan; Henry doesn’t have the slightest bit of attraction to me. I don’t feel threatened or weird around him at all now.
I arrive at my room and let myself in. I’m pleasantly surprised. The room is big and nice. It has an oversized bath, and a view of the city. I go to the window and smile as I look at all the twinkling lights below.
I peruse through the room service menu and call reception.
“Hello, can I order some room service, please?”
“Sure, what would you like?”
I scan the choices. Give me all the calories. “I’ll have the prawn and chilli fettuccine, a bottle of white wine and the chocolate fudge cake.”
“Okay, it won’t be long.”
“Thank you.”
I unzip my suitcase and take my toiletries bag out. I put it in the bathroom and put my laptop on the charger for tomorrow.
I look in the fridge for something to drink while I wait for my wine. There’s a selection of mini bottles of spirits. I go through them and decide on a scotch and Coke. “This will do, I guess.”
I pour myself a drink and look out over the beautiful view.
I smile and sit back in the silent room, and for the first time in a long time, I feel myself beginning to relax.
It’s been a hectic month. There’s been a new job, finding out about Nathan, going away, getting my brains fucked out, falling in love… moving. Hell, moving house was huge, and I haven’t stopped working like a dog for two weeks. Every second of every day, I’ve been busy. No wonder I’m stressed out.
I get up and find my phone in my handbag.
10 missed calls: Nathan
I roll my eyes and switch the phone off. I’m not in the mood for him tonight.
I drink my scotch and stare out of the window, and I don’t want to think about a thing.
I can’t, there is too much to think about.
I just need to relax.
I lie in the darkness and watch the movie on television. I had a two-hour hot bath while I talked to April on the phone. Well, I didn’t really talk. I vented and she listened, and then I drank a bottle of wine. Now I’m in a state of bliss—a carbohydrate coma.
The phone in my room rings and I jump, not expecting it. I reach over the bed to answer it. “Hello.”
“Hi,” Nathan’s deep voice says.
I roll my eyes and lie back down. “Hi.”
“Not turning your phone on?”
“I’ve nothing to say.”
Silence hangs between us.
“You know, when he winked at me—.”
“I don’t want to hear it,” I cut him off.
“Look, I feel shitty enough about it, okay?”
I shake my head in disgust. It’s always all about him. “Okay,” I reply flatly.
“I apologize; I should have kept quiet.”
“Yeah, you should have.”
We fall silent.
“That’s it?” he asks.
“What do you want me to say, Nathan?”
He exhales heavily, and we fall silent again.
“Is your room nice?” he asks to try and make conversation.
I roll my eyes. “Yep.”
“You’re not going to talk to me?”
“I told you, I have nothing to say.”
“This is about the Stephanie thing, isn’t it?”
I shrug, is it…I don’t even know. “Maybe.”
“But we talked about it and you said you understood.”
“I didn’t say I understood. I acknowledged what happened. I also acknowledged that she’s your friend and you’ve been spending time with her since it happened.”
“Stop it.”
“Those are the facts, Nathan, are they not? Do you or do you not spend time with her?”
“At work, Eliza. I can’t help seeing her there.”
“At a ball, two meters from me, while you laugh at your secret jokes with her is not fucking work, Nathan. Stop insulting my intelligence.”
“But we spent all afternoon in bed. How can you still be going on about this?”
“I’m not going on about it.”
“You are.”
We fall silent again. He’s right, I know I need to let this go. But for some reason, I can’t control it.
“I don’t like you there without me, feeling like this.”
“You think I want to feel like this?” I snap. “You think I like feeling betrayed?”
“Lize.” He sighs sadly. “I didn’t betray you, babe, and I know how this sounds. I would be angry, too, if I were you. But I swear to God, there is nothing between Stephanie and me. I’m in love with you, and this all happened before we started. It’s purely platonic between her and me. I would never betray you.”
I hate sounding insecure and whiny, and I know I do. My eyes well with tears. What’s wrong with me? This isn’t who I am.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” I sigh sadly.
“I love you.”
I frown through my tears. “Goodnight, Nathe.”
He stays on the line, unable to hang up.
“I love you,” he whispers again.
“I love you, too.” I sigh sadly. Before he can reply, I hang up the phone.
I exhale heavily and switch the television off. I can’t even stay mad at him.
Sleep, I need some sleep.
* * *
I walk into the breakfast restaurant, feeling a lot better with some sleep under my belt.
A new day and all that. “Morning.” I smile at Henry as I take a seat beside him.
“Hello,” He says as he butters his toast. “I should have gone to bed when you did last night,” He mutters dryly. “I’m suffering this morning.”
I giggle. “Sucked in. I feel great.”
He rolls his eyes.
“So, what’s today’s agenda?” I ask.
“God, do we have to go?” He sighs.
I giggle and pour myself a coffee from the pot. I look around the restaurant and notice a heap of men in business suits. Many have women with them that are in work clothes, too. “Are these people all from the plastic’s industry?”
He sips his coffee as he looks around the restaurant. “Pretty much.”
“Do you know everyone?” I ask as I serve myself breakfast from the platters.
“Yes, but if I don’t know them personally, I know who they are.”
“You come to conferences often?”
“There’s so many new developments in the industry that we have to constantly attend to be able to keep up.”
“Like products and things?”
“Yeah, and techniques. Take this afternoon, for example. It’s a surgical tutorial on a new method of lower rhytidectomy.”
“Neck lift?” I frown.
“Yeah. When someone is using a new method in surgery and getting good results, they are asked to give a class at one of these things. I imagine Nathan is always teaching at these. He’s very respected in his field.”
“He is,” I agree.
Nathan didn’t call me this morning like I thought he would, but he had his rounds so...
“Anyway, you have the afternoon off,” Henry says.
“I do?”
He smiles. “You do. Get a massage or whatever it is that women do in their spare time. But we have a dinner on tonight.”
“Where’s that?”
“Okay.”
“There’s a black-tie ball on Friday night for closing of the conference, but I said we wouldn’t be attending. We both want to get home as soon as possible. These things are long enough, I’m happy when they’re over.”
I smile. “Okay, great. Sounds good.”
* * *
I take a look at myself in the mirror, I’m wearing black pants and a cream silk shirt. I didn’t feel right putting on a dress to go for drinks tonight. My hair is down and full, and my makeup is natural.
I had a wonderful afternoon. I had a massage and went shopping. It felt good to just be me for a while, with nothing to do. I put my phone into my bag and roll my eyes. Nathan still hasn’t called and I know he is waiting for me to call him.
I’ll get it over with. I dial his number, and he answers on the first ring.
“Hi, there,” he purrs, and I can tell that he’s smiling.
“Hi.” I smile at the sound of his deep voice.
“How was your day?”
“Good, I only had to be there in the morning. I had the afternoon off, so I had a massage and went shopping.”
“Ah, working hard, I see,” he teases.
“Yes.”
“What’s on tonight?” he asks.
See…. this is normal…..this is a normal conversation, why can’t he be so chill all the time?
“A welcome dinner.”
“Where is it?”
“Just here at the hotel.”
“Okay.”
I smile. It makes me miss him when he’s like this. “I’ll call you when I get home.”
“Okay, babe. Love you.”
“Love you, too.”
I hang up feeling happier, and I make my way down to the bar. It’s packed with people from the conference. Henry waves when he sees me. He’s standing with a group of people near the bar. I smile as I approach them.
“Hello, Eliza,” Henry says in a husky voice. Boy, is he tipsy already? How long have they been here? He turns to the men he is standing with. “This is my wonderful office manager, Eliza.”