by Alexis Angel
She sits at the island and puts some pancakes on the plate I’ve set out then starts to scoop strawberries onto them. “What exactly do you do, Liam? I’ve never heard any mention of your actual job. I was under the impression you were just some playboy with family money.”
Because that’s exactly what I want people to believe. It’s part of my public playboy persona. But I find that I want to tell her. I want her to know even more about who I really am.
“I have a collection of charities that I run. Some of them are for veterans that suffer from PTSD, some are for families who’ve lost someone in combat, and there are a handful of others for various causes.” I stop when I notice that she’s just staring at me, her fork poised in midair as if what I’ve said has momentarily stunned her. I shrug. “It’s my way to honor my brother.”
Cara drops her fork and hops down from the stool, coming toward me and resting her palms on my bare chest, looking up at me with something uncomfortably close to awe in her eyes. I’m not sure how I feel about it. Part of me is strangely modest, but the other part likes the way she’s looking at me.
“I think that’s amazing, Liam. Seriously. I had no idea. You’re definitely not the man the world sees.” She pauses for a second, something I don’t recognize flitting across her expression, but then it’s gone and she’s shaking her head and smiling. “I would love to do something like that for my father one day.”
I find myself thinking that I’d love to help her with that. Instead of saying it, I just capture her lips in another kiss.
I can’t believe how easy it is to open up to her like this. How easy she is to talk to. And how good it feels to actually talk about things that matter to me with someone other than Connor. I keep so much of myself hidden that I never realized how much I crave this kind of intimacy with someone.
But I can see myself sharing everything with Cara. She feels like someone I could spend all my time with and never get tired of. Someone that I can actually be intimate with. I’ve opened up to her, and she seems to like what she sees.
Suddenly, I feel like I’ve been missing out on so much by keeping up my playboy persona. Missing having someone to share my life with. Share the things that actually matter. Things that mean something.
And I realize that I want that. With Cara.
Fuck, it hits me hard, and I don’t know how to handle it. A funny little feeling in my chest makes me pull back from our kiss. I just want to look at her for a minute. Capture the picture of her standing there in my shirt, her hair still mussed from last night. She looks good and thoroughly fucked—by me—and it’s a look that I love on her.
One I could get used to. Her in my house in the mornings.
Fuck, I don’t even know who I am anymore. I chuckle at the thought. This girl. She’s totally unraveled all my carefully constructed barriers. And in a matter of days.
“What?” she says, looking up at me with half-lidded eyes that make me want to spread her across my counter and bury myself deep inside her.
I sigh and shake my head. I really need to get to work. I have a video conference in less than thirty minutes.
I kiss her nose. “Just thinking about how much I want you right now. But it’ll have to wait for later. Make sure you save some of that whipped cream,” I remind her with a salacious grin.
I tell her she can stay as long as she wants, then I go get ready for the day. When I leave her there in my apartment with the breakfast I made for her, I can’t wipe the goofy-ass grin off my face. I’ve definitely been missing out on something, and I didn’t even know it.
Cara
Now this is how you start the day.
There’s nothing better than to wake up next to the most handsome man on Earth, and that after going through two rounds of the best sex ever. It’s as if wasn’t for the small fact that my whole relationship with Liam is built on lies, I’d be over the moon right now.
This is the most bittersweet experience of my life, that much is for sure. On one hand, everything seems to be going perfectly… But on the other hand, I can’t help but fear the incoming trainwreck that’s bound to happen sooner or later.
It’s not like I can keep this going forever, can I? I can’t sustain a relationship with Liam without coming clean about Lust Muscle and, of course, there’s also Misty. She’s hungry for blood, and she’s growing more and more impatient with each passing day. Soon enough I know she’ll just snap, and I don’t even want to think about what she’ll do then.
Ah, things were so much simpler before Misty came in with this job.
Right now, I’m in the elevator of my apartment building, looking for the keys inside my purse. It’s 10 am and I’m already late for work, but screw it - I’m the boss after all, and there’s no way I’d show up at the office without changing clothes first. And so, after leaving Liam’s apartment, I grabbed an Uber and came straight here.
Stepping out of the elevator, I open the door to my apartment and then slam it shut with my heel. I head straight to my bedroom and, taking my phone out of the purse, I grab the charger sitting on my bedstand and plug it in. I spent the whole night with a drained battery, and I expect a barrage of missed calls, texts, and e-mails, the moment I turn the damn thing on.
Taking a deep breath, I almost decide to not turn my phone on, but my sanest side prevails. After all, I can’t run away from the real world. Even if that sounds like the best idea I ever had. And so, I press the Power button and hold it for a few seconds.
See? I was right.
The moment the screen lights up and I type my PIN code, the phone starts vibrating furiously against my fingers, an army of red icons popping on the screen.
17 voicemails.
29 text messages.
33 missed calls.
Oh, and these are all Misty’s. Sweet, huh? There goes my perfect morning. Fighting against the urge to simply ignore all this, I sigh heavily and click the voicemail icon. Pressing the phone against my ear, I wince as Misty’s shrill voice claws at my eardrums.
“Why are ya not picking up? Why?” I hear Misty say, the alcohol in her system making her slur her speech. Jesus, this girl really needs to sober up. “CARA! WE NEED TO TALK!” She continues, and all her other voice mails are simple variations of the same theme, except that it seems she’s getting angrier and angrier (and probably drunker as well). The same goes for her text messages, each one of them a barrage of misspelled insecurity and rage. I mean, I only had my battery drained for twelve hours or so! It’s not like I signed up to be her 24/7 nanny.
Ah, God, I really need to quit this job.
And, really, even though Misty is my craziest client yet, it has nothing to do with that. After getting to know Liam, there’s no way I’ll be able to break his heart. Well, I can do it - I just can’t bring myself to do it. There’s a difference there, and that difference arises from my feelings for him.
Yup, I have feelings for him. Even though I thought my heart was made of ice, Liam melted all that away. And now I feel exposed, vulnerable, and confused… And still, above all that, I feel happy. It’s weird, I know, but all these moments I spent with Liam have been some of the happiest ones in my life.
But quitting isn’t going to be easy. Being that Misty is a complete lunatic, it’s a given that she’ll go berserk the moment I tell her I’m quitting the job. And if there’s something I’m not looking forward to, that’s dealing with a drunk hysterical B-list celebrity. Sure, it might be fun to see a celebrity freakout on live TV, but I can guarantee you that it stops being fun when you’re the target.
Now scrolling through my missing calls list, I spot Renee’s name in there. Without even thinking twice about it, I press down on her name and make the call - right now, all I want is to hear a familiar voice. This time, though, she doesn’t pick on the first one. I’m almost ready to give up when I hear her voice coming from the other side of the line.
“What’s up, girl? Everything okay?” She asks me, and I have to focus to understand w
hat she’s saying. Wherever she is, there’s loud music and chatter.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m good… Where are you? I can barely hear you.”
“POOL PARTY!” She shouts happily. “It’s sunny and warm! Wanna join me?”
“I can’t right now. I gotta head to work,” I tell her, even though an alcohol-fueled party might be exactly what I need to clear my head - or, at least, to forget about this trainwreck of a situation for a few hours. “But what do you say about lunch?”
“Lunch it is then,” she chirps in that excited tone of hers. “I’ll swing by your office at noon.”
“Done. See ya then,” I say, and then throw the phone onto the bed. I fall back, sprawling myself over the mattress, and stare at the ceiling for a long, long time. My mind drifts back to the way my naked body and Liam’s seemed so perfect for each other and, before I know it, there’s a smile on my face.
Oh course, that smile dies quickly as I remember how close I am to ruining everything. I have a few options to consider, sure, but all of them seem to end in heartbreak.
Ah, how the hell am I going to solve this situation?
Cara
“I told you, Misty is batshit crazy,” Renee tells me with an all-knowing air, swirling her martini glass. Even though it’s still 1 pm, she couldn’t resist when the handsome (and definitely very cocky) bartender offered her a drink. He tried the same with me, but I’m not in the habit of getting drunk during a workday. Although, I gotta admit, it’s pretty tempting to do so. Especially when my work gets in the way of a normal love life.
“Definitely…” I nod, thinking back to how Misty managed to make my phone overheat with all her damned messages. “I’ll probably have to drop her,” I continue, looking straight into Renee’s eyes to try and gauge her reaction.
“Drop Misty?” She whistles, arching one eyebrow as she processes my words. “You do that and her craziness levels will definitely go through the roof. She isn’t the kind of girl that knows how to deal with rejection.”
“Yeah, well… That’s exactly why I’m in this situation right now, isn’t it? She couldn’t handle being rejected by Liam.”
“True. But it’s not like you can escape now, huh? But if you’re seriously thinking of dropping her, prepare for major drama.”
“Like what?”
“Well, you know. When the studio cancelled her show, Misty kinda went into the CEO’s office and proceeded to throw everything she could get her hands on at his head. Lucky for him, she was too drunk to aim properly.”
“Ah, crap,” I sigh, already imagining the kind of stunts Misty will pull once I give her the news. I hope she doesn’t try and thrash my office or come after me with an axe, although all these things seem likely.
“Yeah. She also stole the CEO’s car and drove it straight into a lake,” Renee nods wisely, almost as if she admires the sheer level of insanity Misty is capable of achieving. “That girl is an hurricane.”
“I can see that,” I sigh, leaning back against my seat and rubbing my temples, already feeling a headache brewing inside my head.
“Hey, another martini!” Renee shouts out suddenly, waving her empty glass at the bartender. I look at him over my shoulder, and I notice a smile creeping up on his face as he looks at Renee.
“Order me one,” I tell her, sighing. All this talk of Misty going on a rampage has made me change my mind on the benefits of getting wasted right after lunch.
“And another one for my friend!” She adds in a hurry, and the bartender salutes her discretely. Yeah, there’s something going on between these two.
“What?” I ask her, not bothering to beat around the bush. “Don’t tell me you’re interested.”
“Interested?” She responds, cocking one eyebrow as if she expected more of me. “Please, Cara, I’m not interested. I’ve been sleeping with that guy for the past week. And, let me tell you, he knows how to get his freak on between the sheets. For instance, he --”
“Okay, okay!” I cry out with a laugh. “I get it, I don’t need the details.”
“Are you sure? Because they’re the good kind of details, if you know what I mean.”
“I know exactly what you mean,” I continue, turning around on my seat to take a better look at the bartender. “What’s his name?” I ask her as I watch him prepare our drinks. He seems to be in his early twenties, but his youthful face seems to have a hint of danger hidden in there; he’s wearing a white button up shirt, and it’s tight enough for me to see that he’s the kind of guy that loves to spend time at the gym. Renee knows how to choose guys, that’s for sure; even though she’s isn’t exactly picky, she always seems to go for the hottest guy in the room.
“Michael… Or John. I’m not entirely sure.”
“You’re crazy,” I laugh, trying to act discreetly as Michael/John brings us our martinis. This time, I notice him brushing his fingers against Renee’s hands as he gives her the martini.
“No, you’re the one dealing with a crazy person,” she nods, taking a sip out of her martini. I do the same, allowing the alcohol to burn its way down my throat. “But, really… Why do you want to drop Misty? This is the first time I hear you talking of dropping a major client.”
“Liam isn’t the kind of guy I was expecting, Renee. Despite what the whole world seems to think of him, he’s actually a nice guy, you know? He doesn’t deserve to have his heart broken just because Misty’s bitter.”
“Uh-oh. You know what that sounds like, don’t you?” She asks me, and I just sigh. Yeah, I know exactly what it sounds like. “You’re falling for him, aren’t you?”
“I.... Oh, screw it. Yes, I am. But it’s not like things can work out between the two of us, you know? Our relationship started because Misty wanted me to break his heart, and I seriously doubt things will be the same after he finds out,” I tell her, that familiar desperation creeping in once more: I can’t imagine how it’ll be like without having Liam in my life. God, I sound just like a teenager, don’t I?
“You think too much, Cara,” Renee whispers softly. “That’s your problem. You should try and follow your heart on this one.”
“That’s how people end up on my client list,” I scoff, feeling more miserable than I have ever felt, and that’s when I feel my phone vibrating. I pick it up from the table, and there’s a text from my assistant in there: Come ASAP, it reads, Misty’s here.
“Oh, crap, Misty’s at the office,” I tell Renee, finishing my martini and then standing up. I grab my wallet to pay, but Renee just waves me down.
“I got this,” she says, and I stuff my wallet inside my purse again. “Just… go do what you have to do.”
“And what’s that?”
“You’ll figure it out,” she replies, looking into my eyes and smiling softly. “You always figure it out.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, even though this time I’m not sure if I can find a solution for this mess.
Either way, it’s time to face Misty.
Cara
“She’s already inside,” my assistant says, pointing at my office’s door and shrugging. “I tried to stop her, but…” She shrugs again, and I just nod at her, fully knowing that there’s no stopping a maniac like Misty.
“Alright, I’ll handle her,” I say, more to myself than to my assistant. I walk toward the door, place my hand on the handle, and take a deep breath before turning it.
“Misty?” I call her as I step inside the office, carefully closing the door behind me. The office’s lights are turned off, and I go for the switch and flick it up. The moment the light floods the room, my eyes find Misty immediately - she’s sitting in my chair, her legs up on my desk, and her small Yorkie, Cupcake, is sitting on her lap with a bored expression. Her lips are a straight line of contempt, desperation, and rage… and all that at the same time.
“Why haven’t you answered my calls?” She asks me right away, her voice soft but already cracking. She’s seconds away from crying or screaming - or probably these two at the
same time.
“I’ve been busy with --”
“Why did you ignore me?” She continues, almost as if she hadn’t heard me, and takes her legs off my desk. Jumping up to her feet, she closes the distance between me and her, and I feel the scent of alcohol hanging in the air. Yeah, more than just angry, she’s also drunk. But that was to be expected, right? “WHY DOES EVERYONE IGNORE ME?!” She shouts out loud, throwing both her hands up in the air and closing her eyes for a long moment. “THIS ISN’T FAIR!”
“Misty, calm down. Why don’t you --”
“CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN?! My heart is broken, Cara! I demand retribution!” She continues hysterically, waving one fist into the air. She gestures wildly as she speaks, clutching Cupcake against her chest and almost suffocating him with her huge breasts.
Pacing around my office, her heels clicking ominously against the floor, she looks like a tiger looking for a way out of his cage.
“Please, Misty, sit down,” I try, waving at the couch at the end of the room, but that just makes her pace faster now.
“I can’t! I can’t sit down… I can’t eat or sleep! I can’t do anything until Liam’s crushed!” She continues, talking so fast that I can barely understand anything she’s saying.
I need to do something before she goes berserk.
Walking up to my desk, I grab her purse and open it. I rummage through it, and it doesn’t take me more than two seconds to find her flask of vodka. Grabbing it, I then walk up to Misty and grab her arm; I force her to sit down on the couch, and then I open the flask and shove it into her hands.
Still ranting about the fire and brimstone that’s her daily life, she finally quiets down as she brings the flask to her lips, drinking heartily. Just like a baby - if babies drank vodka, that is.
Cupcake has slipped out from her embrace and has already fallen asleep next to her, curled into a tiny ball of fur. I have no idea how the dog does it - I’d go insane if I had to be around Misty 24/7.