“I just got out of the shower. I’m going to need more time.”
“So you’ve been naked while we were talking?” He’d switched to that low seductive tone.
“Well, duh.” I moved to the sink and started applying moisturizer to my face. “You don’t have to come up. I’ll hurry and be down. Just pull up out front.”
“Sure thing, boss.”
I wasn’t sure how to take that, or any of the last part of our conversation. His flirting had felt like nothing was wrong between us, but deep in my gut I knew there was something very amiss.
I clicked off and rushed through the process of getting ready. One thing about having short hair was that it really cut down on the drying time. I applied minimal make-up and moved to my closet. Heels were a must for tonight. They’d add to my newfound power.
I put on a pair of straight-cut black jeans and a black cashmere sweater that had been ungodly expensive, but once I’d felt it, I’d had to have it. It fell to my hips and was cut so that it would hang off of one shoulder. I put on my lacy purple bra to give the girls some shaping and support, plus it was supposed to be a power color. While I spritzed on what I considered my most sophisticated fragrance, Tom Ford’s Black Orchid, I checked myself out in the full length mirror. I looked different, more-confident. Perfect for a night when I was going to tell Tye that I wanted more than friendship. I wanted it all.
This confident stuff is hard, I admitted as we pulled into Tye’s driveway. So far, I didn’t think I was doing very well. The trouble started with our inability to decide on where to eat. Somehow, we ended up at his house and were going to order in. This would be a problem no matter what happened. I knew the chances of him driving me back downtown tonight were slim, but I really didn’t like the idea of sleeping in a room with all of those windows. Of course, the other option was that I stay in the guestroom by myself, and that didn’t make me any happier.
Enough woolgathering! I had to hurry to keep up with Tye as he took longer, faster strides into the house.
“I’m going to drop this stuff in my office, and then we’ll figure out dinner,” he said casually over his shoulder.
By following him, I figured he understood that I was in agreement.
In his office, I took off my new camel-colored swing coat. I loved the cut, and that it was warm. I folded it and laid it over the back of the sofa. I pulled the file I had hastily thought to bring out of my tote bag and headed to the kitchen where I knew he kept the menus.
The assorted flyers were in a drawer that was on the same side of the room as the sink and dishwasher. I didn’t quite understand the logistics of his kitchen setup, but I didn’t think now was the time to point out my concerns.
I’d just turned the corner entering the kitchen when Tye called, “Hey, wait up.”
“I know where you keep the menus,” I moved to the drawer.
“No, Billie, I’ll get them.” I heard him say, but at the same time I saw them.
In the sink stood two crystal wine glasses with the bottle sitting on the counter. I stared. It was like my eyes knew the two glasses meant something, but my brain couldn’t compute.
Tye crossed in front of me and opened the drawer to pull out the flyers. He used his body to block my view of the sink.
“I thought you said you went to bed as soon as you got home last night?” My voice sounded high and strained to my own ears. I moved around him to take another look at the glasses. Yup, there were definitely two, and one had a lipstick stain. I knew his dad didn’t drink wine ever, but I had a fleeting hope he’d been converted.
“It’s not what you think.” Tye rushed the words as he again tried to block me.
By doing that, I suddenly knew what to think. I moved a step to the side so that I could once again see into the sink. I couldn’t stop staring at the crystal and how the light caused them to reflect different colors. “I’m pretty sure what I’m thinking is right.” My inner voice said there was no way Tye and his dad would drink wine from those glasses. The flutes were for entertaining and neither wore lipstick. Tye had had a woman over last night. He’d had a date!
When I finally put it all together, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t tear my gaze away from the evidence of his activities. Then my flight instinct kicked in, and I had to get out of there. I needed my coat, because suddenly I was cold, freezing cold. How long would it take for a cab to get here? Did I want to take a cab? What was I thinking? This was the exact circumstance I should ask the Limited guys for a pick-up. This was a freakin’ emergency.
I had to get away from this kitchen, this house, and this man before I lost it. I could feel the storm building in my head and my heart. I needed to be by myself. My freak-outs were ugly, and I wasn’t sure what I would do to Tye if he was around, because right now I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to run my nails down his cheeks and make him bleed. I wanted to do some real damage to him.
I turned to go.
Tye grabbed my arm, but I shook him off roughly as I shoved him with my free arm.
As I neared his huge front door, the doorbell chimed. I skidded to a stop and opened the door. I don’t know why. I wasn’t being rational. I just responded to the sound. I was deep into flat-out crazy.
I pulled back the door and in walked a woman I’d never seen before. She was tall and thin with fake boobs. I know that because she was wearing some kind of bustier thing and low riding jeans with her leather jacket unzipped. Totally not age appropriate, my inner voice critiqued.
Marching into the house, she spotted Tye immediately and lifted her hands in front of the previously mentioned breasts, holding two bottles of wine. “Tonight, I’ll supply the good, and you can be all bad,” she invited, her voice deep and seductive.
She hadn’t seen me in her eagerness to get to him. My body was partially shielded by the door. I watched the scene play out, and I had to admit the look on Tye’s face was not welcoming. He seemed….dismayed. Maybe he hadn’t had time to cancel their plans or change the time to later.
“What are you doing here?” he rumbled as she approached him, smiling and with her hips rolling sexily.
“Darling, I know we both wanted more last night, and I saw your Range Rover. So, I thought I’d come over.” She stopped in front of him and looked up expectantly, like she wanted a kiss.
That I couldn’t watch. I slammed the door.
The woman screeched, “Who’s that?”
But I was moving quickly toward the office. I didn’t slow down to hear his reply.
I grabbed my tote. I was hunting for my phone, but I couldn’t find it. I upended my bag and dumped everything on the sofa cushion. At last, I found it and started my text asking for a ride—immediately.
After I finished, I began throwing everything back into the bag. My shaking hands weren’t making it easy.
I sensed Tye’s arrival before I saw him. I straightened as he rushed into the room.
“Billie...”
I picked up my coat, keeping my gaze on my phone. I couldn’t look at him. It would hurt too much.
He made a beeline toward me. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t,” I began, but clamped my mouth shut.
“Don’t.” He pulled the arm of my coat off as I was trying to stick my arm into it. “Let me get rid of Veronica, and then we’ll talk.”
I twisted away from him and moved three steps away. “Stop it, Tye.”
“Baby, it’s not what you think.” He moved closer.
“Stop!” My voice was so fierce he froze. Taking advantage of his pause, I grabbed my coat from his hand and put it on. “I think your friend’s arrival proves this is exactly what I thought.” I laughed harshly.
“Billie...” This time, my name sounded like a plea.
“I can’t, okay? I know we’ve never discussed your... hell, I don’t know what to call them.” I moved back to the sofa and grabbed my bag. When I straightened, I gave him a steady glare. “Your needs.” I jerked the zipper across the to
p to close the bag. “I’m so stupid. I just assumed that because you—” I started to choke up, paused, and swallowed. “Because you slept with me that …” I couldn’t finish.
“Billie, please wait,” Tye beseeched.
My phone beeped, and I read the screen.
Osi: eta 7 mins. Extraction or curbside?
I didn’t want to consider the damage Osi could do extracting me. I replied: Curbside
Osi: 6 mins
I thrust my phone in my coat pocket and looked at Tye. “Got to go.” I strode toward the door.
“What the fuck, Billie? You can’t just leave.” He was right behind me, but he didn’t try to physically stop me. If he had, in this state I was so irrational and out of control I would have punched him.
I noticed that Veronica had moved to the opening to the hallway that led to Tye’s suite of rooms.
“Just who are you?” She stood with one hand on her hip blocking me.
I paused and answered, “I’m Billie.”
I could tell by her expression that my answer didn’t go over well. “Yeah, I got that. What I mean is, what are you doing here with Tye?”
Good Lord, he could pick them. She was a total bitch.
I gave her a look that communicated, He’s all yours lady, and good freakin’ luck, but all I said was, “I work with him.”
“So?” She took an aggressive step towards me.
I felt Tye’s heat against my back as his arm tried to encircle my waist. Before it closed, I moved out of his grasp. “I was just bringing him some files.” I tapped my tote, and then continued to the front door. Truthfully, I rushed. I couldn’t stand being there one second longer.
Once I pulled the door shut behind me, I ran down his driveway. At the end, I turned right and went a few steps, but there was less light, so I reversed and walked back in the other direction.
I saw an SUV turn down the street, and I took one step out into the roadway. Headlights blinked once. I let out a sigh of relief. My ride was here.
I decided that the best thing about Osi was that he didn’t talk much. When I got into his pristine ride, he demanded, “Where?”
So, as he drove me back downtown, I tried to figure out how many times Tye could have met with other women. I paged through my mental calendar and started to think that unless he had quickies on his way to or from court, it couldn’t be happening during the day. I doubted he used regular gym workouts for assignations. He took his fitness seriously.
“You okay?”
I jumped at the sound of Osi’s gravelly voice.
“He hit you? Scare you?” He glanced at me as he sped through a yellow light.
“Nooo. Tye would never do that,” I said hotly. I knew there was tension between the two men, but I didn’t like it at all that he thought Tye would hurt me.
Nothing more was said for a few blocks. I kept threading the strap of my tote through my fingers, trying to slow down my brain.
Osi cleared his throat. “Do you know what my specialty is?”
I slowly turned to look at his profile. “No,” I answered warily. Why was he bringing this up?
“And you’ve never asked.” It was an assertion not a question.
“I figured that if you wanted or if I needed to know, somebody would’ve told me.” Secretly, I’d thought it had to be something gruesome since nobody said much. Osi was a little scary. No, he was very scary. He didn’t show a lot of emotion. I always triple-checked any work I did regarding his accounts. I worried about repercussions, not from Forde, but from Osi. This was a man you did not mess with.
“I’m a killer. A sniper, I can kill up close or from far, far away.”
I think I missed a breath, and I know my heart skipped a beat or two. “How’d you learn to do that?” My words came out a little slow. I wanted to know, but I didn’t want to seem intrusive. A guy like Osi wouldn’t like that.
“If I told you, then I’d have to kill you.”
I know I jumped and then moved farther away from him.
Then he laughed, and surprisingly it was a pleasing sound. “Oh, B, you’re such a sweet girl.” He flashed a smile at me. “The military.”
That made sense. I relaxed a little, now that he seemed a little friendlier. “Thanks for picking me up.” I should have said it as soon as I got in, but I was frazzled.
“Just remember, the guy cares about you. Deeply.”
“We’re just friends. Nothing more,” I hurried to correct him.
“I bet he told you that.” Osi’s white teeth sparkled against his dark skin.
“We told each other,” I insisted wanting to make the record clear.
“Then you’re both fucked up.”
I didn’t want to argue with Osi. I was hurting so much that I felt numb.
“I pick on the guy, but Golden Boy and I are a lot alike.”
I was all ears, because I didn’t see the similarities.
“I bet he can’t turn his brain off.” Osi glanced my way to see if I was paying attention. “Me, I walk into a place, and I’m constantly evaluating the risk, the shots I would take, the placement and angles. Will there be collateral damage? It goes on all the time. ”
I leaned back in the seat and thought about what he was saying. I wanted to know more. I’d never heard Osi talk about himself before.
“We overthink things, and because we do that, we miss other things.”
“That makes sense,” I said, although I wasn’t too sure Osi missed anything.
“And because we’re men, we don’t talk a lot about the shit that’s important to us.”
I waited, because for Osi, this had to be like baring his soul.
“Golden Boy’s into you.”
I started to deny, but he silenced me with a look.
“He’s probably thought about it so much he doesn’t know what he’s said or hasn’t. He’s lost in contingency plans. Emotions confuse me. Sometimes, I get reality, and the reality I’ve imagined, confused.”
“Nothing. He’s said nothing,” I told him sulkily.
“Then he’s scared.”
I started to roll my eyes, when, suddenly, I felt the tears behind them. Fuck, I didn’t want to cry here with Osi. Something told me he might not be good with that.
“With all the shit you’ve been through, he’s going to want to take care, to go slow and be gentle. That’s hard for men like us. We see, we want, we take.”
My throat hurt as I tried to swallow down my emotions. If what he was saying was true, Christ, we’d made a mess of things.
Osi said no more as he stopped in front of my building. “Need me to come in and check things?”
“No.” I unhooked my seatbelt, checked the sidewalk, and then opened the door. “Thank you for the ride and for your insights.” I stood on the curb.
“It’s always the smart ones who do the dumbest shit,” he said, nodding sagely.
I started to laugh as I entered the building. I would have bet Osi was plenty smart about everything.
By the time I got to my apartment, I had voice mails from Zoe and Rick. I should have thought ahead about the fallout from my text. My phone rang, and it was Forde.
“Hey,” my voice was shaky.
“You all right?”
How to answer? “I’m not sure.”
“I’m coming to you.” The phone went dead.
There was a single knock on the door as if he knew I was standing beside it. “Open up, Billie. It’s Forde.”
I did, and he entered the room.
I closed the door and then rested against it.
The big man’s eyes swept over me. “Tye?” he growled.
I rolled my lips over my teeth and bit down hard. I wasn’t going to say anything bad about Tye to his brother. “He doesn’t want me.” I felt the tremor roll through my body.
“Did he tell you that?” Forde still held my eyes. “Did he say those words to you?”
“No, he never said those words.” His dark gaze was so inten
se, I shivered.
“Lay says you love him.”
I could only nod. I was trying not to give into another crying jag.
“Don’t give up on him.”
I couldn’t speak. I was too busy blinking back the tears.
“I’ll keep everybody off your back. Give you some time.”
“Thanks,” I answered, relieved.
I stepped out of his way as he moved to the door. Then he turned to face me. “Promise me that if you need anything, you’ll ask.”
I nodded again.
His eyes narrowed as he continued studying me. “I mean it, Billie,” he said, his tone more insistent. “No matter the time, somebody will come. Promise me. Say the words.”
I could only manage a whisper, “I promise.”
“If you don’t, I will be very unhappy.”
I never wanted to make Lucas Forde unhappy. “I’ll call.”
He patted my arm and then left.
After I rearmed the alarm, I wandered around the living room. I didn’t know what to do with myself. I turned off my phone and left it on the kitchen counter. I took my Kindle from my nightstand, grabbed a pillow from the bed, and headed to the living room. I knew I wouldn’t sleep tonight.
I searched through my library of stored books. This seemed like the ideal time for Jane Austen.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Billie
I think I fell asleep around four and woke at seven. I clicked the TV on and watched the local news. Then I watched a home shopping channel. By noon, I had purchased a new mixer and a set of stone bakeware. I quickly changed channels before I decided I should buy a new Christmas tree and a variety of wreaths.
I needed to keep busy. I figured that if I kept my mind occupied, I wouldn’t think about Tye. Plus, if I wore out my body, maybe I would sleep tonight. So I cleaned and sorted and organized. I made an omelet mid-afternoon and turned on my phone.
There were texts from Layla and Zoe. Jenn sent a funny meme. However, there were no texts or calls from Tye. I turned my phone off and tossed it back on the counter. I slid to the floor, ignoring one of the cabinet handles bruising my back. Settling on the tiles, I pulled my knees to my chest and I cried. I sobbed so hard that my stomach muscles hurt. After I don’t know how long, I stopped. My throat was raw, and my eyes were swollen. I rolled until I lay on my side, folding my hands under my cheek. I started to make a plan for tomorrow.
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