by TN King
“Oh,” she said, trying to keep the dejection from her tone. She looked around the room to try and buy herself some time to get her facial expression under control. “Well,” she said finally, feigning nonchalance. “When will you be back?”
“Um,” he paused, seemingly deliberating, even if it seemed to be half-assed. “Not sure,” he replied in a distracted tone, sitting down on the chair in the corner and pulling his socks on. He didn’t even glance up at her as he moved to pulling his shoes on, tying them in a quick and efficient manner. “I’ve really been neglecting things lately,” he continued, with just enough inflection for her to catch that he meant because of her.
Ellie furrowed her brows, trying to ignore the lancing hurt from the comment. Maybe he didn’t mean it the way that it sounded, or maybe he was just too tired to have thought it through. “Okay, well, should I expect you sometime this week?” she asked while forcing a slight smile. Ellie had forgotten that he actually lived and worked in New York. Of course, that was going to mean travel time. She just hadn’t considered the fact that this would end up being a long distance relationship, which would of course mean compromise.
He hesitated, his body stilling for too long of a moment after her question. “Um,” he hedged again, his return movements quick and jerky. “Not really sure about that, “he finally answered, completely and obviously avoiding eye contact by that point.
Had she gotten last night all wrong? She knew that she had been intending on going into it with the knowledge that it might be no more than just the one night… but he had easily altered her consideration of that after only a few short hours. He had made it seem like it was more than just that, he had even spoken of his feelings for her, and hers for him, candidly… She sat more upright, pulling the sheets around her naked form and frowning. She gave him a few more moments to elaborate and when he didn’t she crossed her arms even more tightly about herself in an attempt to hold her emotions physically in check. “I don’t understand,” she finally admitted in a small voice.
Morgan stood with a shrug, adjusting his suit, and grabbed his wristwatch from the dresser. “Ellie, you can stay here as long as you like,” he said, his voice overly formal and kind. Nothing like she’d become used to hearing from him. Almost as if he were talking to an employee or an unruly child. “Treat yourself to a day at the spa even. It will all be billed to my account. There’s no need for you to leave right away.” He still didn’t look at her, fixing his watch to his wrist and keeping his tone impassive.
She couldn’t even speak for a moment, struggling just to breathe normally as she stared incredulously at him. The man standing in front of her now was nothing like the Morgan she’d come to know over the past week. “I don’t need a day at the spa,” she said, tension lining every note of her voice.
Morgan hesitated again, pausing before approaching her on the bed and folding his body down to sit next to her. Next to her, but still separate. His body was held at an angle away from hers, gaze still staring off into the distance rather than even glancing off of her. “Look, last night was great,” he said again, this time obviously patronizing. “But I’ve got to get back to work, okay?” It was more of a statement than a question, no matter how it was phrased.
Ellie’s stomach lurched sickeningly, the rank emotion leaching out from the pit of her stomach and through all of her limbs at once. She knew that this was going to be a possibility, really she had. So why did she feel like this? Reality was an ever looming, vindictive bitch. One that had managed to be incredibly sneaky this time as well.
Just keep yourself together in front of him, Ellie. You have that left, defense is the best offense. She drew in a too shaky breath, moving her eyes off of him and off to the side in order to fight the welling moisture behind them. She wouldn’t to cry in front of him, she refused. She just wanted him to leave finally. Leave her in peace so she could yell and scream until she got it out of her system and was able to carry herself normally once more.
Morgan took a deep breath, sitting there for another few seconds before gathering himself as well. He sighed heavily as he stood, bending to kiss her on the forehead as some kind of afterthought rather than genuine response. Without so much as even one of his signature, award winning smiles, he walked away, leaving Ellie behind with nothing but his broad back to watch as he left the suite.
Leaving her confused, hurt, and all alone.
Not one tear fell until after that door closed behind him though, only she was too upset to take pleasure in such a small victory, all things considered.
Morgan
The traffic on the highway was dense, cars fighting to switch between lanes and horns going off every few minutes. It was a tense, sobering drive, much different than the trip down to Philly had been. His mind was no longer occupied with thoughts of how to woo and tempt Ellie White into his bed. His mind wasn’t as completely free of her as he had thought it would have been either though. The night before had been like what he imagined a good ecstasy trip would be—he had completely given in to all of his deepest desires and Ellie had been only too willing to fill them. It’d been more even, than what he’d been capable of imagining. Yet, come morning he had still shattered her self-confidence and broken her spirit… He grimaced, his fingers tightening convulsively about the steering wheel.
He couldn’t even remember his reasoning for thinking that how he handled this morning would be the best way to end things. He’d had it planned out, surely, but the steps he had taken to get there were suddenly foggy and far away. Sure, Ellie had been occupying more of his time than he was comfortable with, but ending things in the manner that he had hadn’t suddenly alleviated him of that. He was thinking about her even now, and he knew that he would continue to do so now too. Why? He’d thought once he bedded her and sated himself that would be the end of it. He’d thought that leaving it this morning as he had would cleanly sever all of the ties that he had so carefully crafted. Mess free and simple. Only it wasn’t. Why was he so upset over having done things the way that he had? He’d done it a million times before...
Goddammit! His hand landed hard against the steering wheel, almost jerking the car out of its lane from the force of it. He was emotionally attached. He was intensely attracted to her, sure, but it wasn’t just physical at all. How had he missed that before? Why had he thought he could just slake his lust and be done when things were so much more complicated with her than that? If anything, last night only made him want her more.
“Fuck!” He exploded, nearly hitting the steering wheel again, and only just stopping himself in time. He was in no state to continue this drive.
He jerked the wheel to a cacophony of horns, pulling over on the side of the highway and slamming the back of his head into his headrest. He was a damned idiot. His fingers lifted, pinching the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger as he fought to calm his breath. The realization of what an ass he’d been to Ellie this morning just kept washing over him, like harsh waves during high tide, dragging him over and under again and again. He needed to make it right, and he knew it, he just had to figure out how to do so… and hope that Ellie would even hear his apology out.
His tense fingers worked his cell phone out of the space he kept it in near his dash, pulling it out and speed dialing his assistant back in New York. The ringer rang twice before the tone sounded for her answering, and he didn’t even wait for her greeting before speaking. He pulled his cell phone out and called his assistant back in New York. “Yeah. It’s me. Cancel my appointments,” he said, fighting to keep his words from a bark.
“But sir,” she answered, sounding the most flustered he thought he had ever heard her, the obvious sound of paper shuffling heard in the background. “You have an important meeting today with the Helix Group,” she tried advising, shuffling paper turning to rapid keyboard typing. No doubt, she was trying to find a way to edit his schedule for whatever reason he had for wanting to cancel his appointments.
Morgan just k
new that there was no use, he wouldn’t be making it back to New York today. “Cancel it,” he said rashly, common sense catching up with him by the time the words had actually left his lips. “Better yet, get Chance to cover for me. He’s been dying for the opportunity.” And had been eying the Helix Group since before Morgan had even begun negotiations. Chance was more than capable of handling them as Morgan would, in fact, he was the only one Morgan would trust with such a large project. “And…” he hesitated, weighing how to proceed. “I’m going to need you to do some research for me today. I’ll need a listing of available apartments in the area and local universities within Philadelphia itself. Send me the current status of the Hunt Industries Scholarship Fund as well. I’ll need to you be on call for me today. I have a very important project in mind.” He ticked them off on his fingers to make sure that he was getting everything at once, the rapid typing in the background all the evidence he needed to know she was taking notes as he spoke.
“Yes sir, Mr. Hunt. Is there anything else I can do for you?” she asked after a moment, poised and professional on the other end of the line despite the hefty workload he had just dumped upon her.
“No, that’s more than enough. And thank you,” he added as an afterthought, pausing to make sure she didn’t have any other questions. “I’ll get back with you,” he assured, already setting his car back into gear.
“Of course sir, have a good day,” she ended, the dial done sounding on the other end as she hung up.
He didn’t even have to be on the phone still to know that she was hurriedly dialing Chance up to get him in line- as well as multitasking herself to set up all of the other appointments for the day and handle it from her end. She’d been a godsend from the beginning, but he was going to test her endurance today.
He shifted the gears once more, peeling the nose out into traffic and executing an entirely illegal U-turn in order to get back into the opposite flow of traffic. He just needed to find a good place in Philadelphia to purchase cars now, and he only knew of a few reputable dealers. He may not be able to convince Ellie to accept his apology in full and give him another chance, but he would at least see to it that she had everything she needed in order to be successful in his place. It was the least he could do after his abhorrent behavior this morning.
Ellie
This morning had been harrowing, an emotional rollercoaster that left her drained and wrecked. She hadn’t screamed and yelled like she’d imagined doing at all, she’d just cried herself out in that giant bed of his until she felt strong enough to lift herself up from the bed and detangle herself from the sheets trapping her. Her trip home had been a haze of ashamedly leaving the hotel to catch her bus home. The home she’d barely been in for a few moments before throwing herself into her own bed to indulge in a few hours of self-pity and loathing. How could she have been so naive to think that a guy like Morgan would want anything more than a night of sex? She was flattered that he was attracted to her at all, but sickened at how she’d just given herself over so completely to him.
She’d allowed him into parts of herself that she’d never even explored by herself, convincing herself all the while that it would be fine no matter how it ended- fully aware that it could be only that one night. She’d reminded herself mentally often enough that it could end up being just that. So, why did she react like this now? She knew better, or at least she’d told herself she did. Worst of all, her chest burned, because despite knowing all of this, she had still allowed herself to develop feelings for Morgan. She sighed, sinking back into her mattress and only just fighting off tears that wanted to resurface.
Ellie dreaded going into work tonight. Dreaded the thought of getting out of her blanket of solitude at all, but work was much more daunting. Joanna would be just as good naturedly nosey as before, peppering her with more questions about her date with Morgan and Morgan himself. Forcing Ellie to think about him ‒ and explain that the guy she had said was genuinely nice ‒ had turned into a total jerk after getting what he wanted. She felt so stupid. Like a weak, brainless thing of a female.
How could she not have seen right through him all along? There had to have been signs that she had missed. He had told her that night that he knew that she would end up in his bed, after all. Which meant that he had planned to fuck and leave her all along. Like some sort of conquest. She fought a war within herself, trying to keep from allowing her emotions to take over. She really shouldn’t be as hurt as she was over it, she’d been aware of the possibility. He had just put all of her fears to rest, and she kept circling back to that. And the sex? He’d even said that they complimented one another perfectly.
He’d been right too. They had been totally in sync, totally connected. It had been mind blowing. Like another experience entirely.
He’d been so good, kind, and caring in every deed before this morning. And he’d been wonderful in bed. That’s why she felt the loss of him so deeply, despite how she’d tried to go into all of it with her eyes open. Stupid, stupid girl. Even after finding out he only intended to have sex with her, she found it hard to admit that she felt regret over sleeping with him. She didn’t feel any regret at all about that part of things. He’d been amazing and managed to unlock her deepest desires so easily. He’d taught her things about herself and her preferences that she’d never even kind of imagined.
“God!” she yelled out in exasperation to the empty apartment, flinging her arms out to either side in frustration.
She grabbed the pillow next to her angrily, scrunching it up so that she could hug it to her chest. If, at least, he had been awful in bed it would have been easier. She wouldn’t be feeling so bad, but he hadn’t been. He’d been the epitome of everything she had ever wanted wrapped up in one entirely too sexy package. Demanding and dominant… and yet allowing her to take the lead after he’d built up her confidence to do so. It was like he opened a window up inside of her and allowed her to see herself more clearly than she ever had in her life. This went deeper than just the sex. It was as deep as she had ever gone with anyone period.
“Stop it, Ellie!” She hollered out loud, beating the pillow, she had been hugging. “No more of this nonsense, okay?” She lectured, attempting a no-nonsense tone to pull herself back up. “You have work to do! You have a life to get back to!” Even if it wasn’t as exciting as it had been the past week, it had suited her just fine before Morgan Hunt showed up and turned her world upside down.
She bolted out of the bed, jumping from the blankets and the pillow both as if they suddenly burned. She couldn’t afford this any longer, she couldn’t sink any further into that type of depression. She was right. Enough was enough. It was after noon already and she still had a tone of things to accomplish before facing work. Something she needed to do with a clear head as it were. She wasn’t going to allow herself to mope around all day long over a man. A man wasn’t worth all of that, even an angel-man who’d saved her from a fire. Only he’d plunged her into a different sort of fire entirely right after. She was going to learn from that mistake. No charmer would catch her off guard again, even if they were as well kept and handsome as he had been.
It was a vow that would be easy to keep, she imagined, seeing how little such opportunities arose. So she would focus on her work. Maybe she would even focus on saving up enough to continue to pay off bills and start saving for a small, smart car. She wasn’t about to be knocked down. She knew that she would continue to hurt over it for a while, that was inevitable. But she wouldn’t allow it to defeat her.
It was all she thought of through her chores and shower, along with getting ready for her day. She just had to strengthen her resolve.
Something she was grateful for having tried doing as soon as she did get into work that evening. Joanna was ready and waiting to ask her how it went, her kind eyes alight with excitement. And after her mentioning again that he was the diner’s benefactor, Ellie realized that she didn’t particularly want to go into specifics or let her down. So, she only
told Joanna that it had been a nice dinner. Of course, such sparse information only made Joanna want to pry more, so Ellie had given her great detail concerning the food and how lovely it had been- only to be saved going any further by the dinner rush starting, providing her an escape from Joanna’s well intentioned questioning.
It also provided her distraction from her own thoughts, allowing her to throw herself into work and ignore her own intrusive thoughts of Morgan. At least until he actually showed up physically.
Morgan
Morgan’s day had been busy, more than a little bit, and he found himself caught up in planning things once more for the better part of it. Only this time he wasn’t planning an elaborate seduction for him to fuck up in the end. He was planning an apology to end all other apologies. As he should. He just happened to not be so very good at the whole thing given his lack of experience. He didn’t know the boundaries or how to include everything that he wanted to say in it, so he did the best that he could. Which meant that he spent more hours than he had been planning on spending getting it together, which put him outside of Ellie’s diner later than he had anticipated.
He knew, showing up to Ellie’s work, not to expect the best reception from her. In fact, he was willing and prepared to accept the worst kind of reception from her. He just needed to make things right, like he’d been trying to accomplish all day, to let her know that he was wrong and that he knew it. And to acknowledge, to her and himself, that he did have some sort of romantic feeling regarding her. He was a fool for not acknowledging it sooner. Now, no matter what she threw at him, it was going to be deserved- and he would take it because of that. He knew, now, just how unwilling he was to go back to not knowing her if he didn’t have to. He’d been so amazed at the sex that they had, the power she made him feel—that he had been overwhelmed.