by ID Johnson
Finally acknowledging her presence, he said, "No, you did the right thing. Thank you for being honest with me."
"Of course," Eliza said quietly. "There's nothing more important than complete honesty."
***
"Well, that was odd," Cadence said after having received Aaron's cryptic message.
"What's that?" Christian asked. He could tell from her shifting expression that something was going on with he IAC, but he had no idea what it might be.
"Aaron wants to see me in his office at 1:00," she replied, her brow furrowed. "What in the world do you think that's about?"
"I have no idea," Christian said, a sickening feeling in his stomach. He suddenly realized that there was a distinct possibility that he had been duped.
Cadence shook her head and glanced at the time. "Well, it's past noon and I walked, so I think I should probably head that direction," she said, gathering her purse and phone as she slid out of the booth.
Christian stood as well. "Do you want a ride on my bike?" he asked.
"No, that's okay," she replied. "I think a walk might do me good, help clear my head," she explained.
"Okay," he stated, nodding his head. "Well, uh, hope everything is okay," he said, giving her a hug.
She gave him a quick hug as well. "I'm sure it will be," she replied. "I can't imagine what this is about. I haven't done anything." She honestly couldn't think of anything--anything at all--that she could have possibly done to upset Aaron.
Christian could think of something, however, but he wasn't about to tell her. "Be careful," he said, watching her walk away.
Cadence paused to toss her empty cup in the trash, and gave him a tiny wave before making her way out the door and back to LIGHTS.
While she was a bit concerned at Aaron's sharpness, she really didn't feel like there was anything to be worried about. As she made her way to his office, she was actually feeling a bit excited that she would get to see him sooner than she had originally thought. She did wish she had worn something a little nicer.
She had never been to his office before, so she checked the board next to the elevator to see exactly where she needed to go. She made her way to the top floor and exited the elevator. She was about ten minutes early, but that was fine; rather early than late. There was a short, older woman sitting behind a desk, visible through the glass doors. "Hi," she said smiling, the color beginning to fade from her cheeks as they warmed to room temperature. "Aaron asked me to be here at 1:00."
The woman smiled back at her. "Hi, you must be Cadence. Have a seat, dear, and I'll let him know you're here."
Cadence nodded and sat down as the woman, whose name tag identified her as Mrs. Carminati, disappeared into what must have been Aaron's office. She returned a second later and gave Cadence a small smile before walking back to her desk and what seemed to be important work. Cadence hesitated to ask anything because she didn't want to interrupt, but she also wondered what in the world was going on. "Excuse me, Mrs. Carminati," she said quietly, "but, do you know how long he's been back?"
Without pausing in her typing, she replied, "Not long, dear."
Cadence nodded, wondering what the word "dear" really meant. She hoped the older woman would elaborate but when she didn't, she attempted to ask a follow-up question. "Is he..."
"Mad?" Mrs. Carminati supplied.
"Yes," Cadence confirmed.
Mrs. Carminati stopped typing and peered at Cadence over the top of the rather high counter that surrounded her desk. "Did you have an orientation, dear?" she asked in an almost sickeningly sweet voice.
"Yes, ma'am," Cadence replied.
"With who, dear?"
"Jamie."
"Ah, yes, Jamie. He's been here a long time, dear," she responded thoughtfully. "And, did Jamie point out Aaron's office to you, darling?"
Cadence just nodded.
"And, do you remember what he said about visiting Aaron's office, dear?"
Cadence swallowed hard, remembering precisely what Jamie had said. "Yes... he said... he hoped I never had to be called in here."
Mrs. Carminati smiled. "There you go, dear."
Suddenly, Cadence was extremely worried. Her first instinct was to start sending out IAC messages to all of her friends to see if anyone had any idea why Aaron might be mad at her, but she thought better of it. Whatever it was, it had to be a misunderstanding. She hadn't done anything wrong.
He left her waiting for what seemed like an eternity. In fact, it was about 1:15 when Mrs. Carminati finally said, "He'll see you now, dear," and gestured towards the door. The secretary didn't get up, and he didn't come out, so Cadence took a deep breath and approached his door, holding back the anxiety she felt fighting it's way up her throat.
When she opened the door, she had a long way to go to reach his desk. He wasn't looking at her, not at first, his chair turned away from the door. She couldn't tell if he was on the phone, on the IAC, or just ignoring her. So, without saying anything, she made her way across the great divide and found a seat in one of the chairs across from his desk. After what seemed like another eternity, she finally said, "You wanted to see me?"
Again, it took a while for him to acknowledge her. When he finally turned to face her, Cadence could tell he was not only angry, but he looked heartbroken as well. It looked like there was a possibility he had actually been crying. She had no idea what could possibly have made him so upset, but she was terrified to find out.
He looked at her for quite some time before he finally spoke. When he did, his voice was quiet, and it sounded as if he was fighting to stay calm. "How's Christian?" he asked, his expression as even as it could be.
A puzzled expression crossed her face, but Cadence answered. After all, she had told him numerous times before there was nothing going on between her and Christian, so there was no reason to deny being with him. "He's okay," she said shrugging. "I don't think he's happy," she added, "but he'll live."
Aaron nodded, not saying anything at first. "Good," he finally said. "I'm glad he's okay with this. Of course, he probably knew all along what was going on, so he's had some time to adjust."
Cadence's confusion was growing. "What are you talking about?" she asked quietly, leaning slightly forward. "I just had some coffee with him--not a big deal."
Aaron leaned back in his chair, slumping as he did so. "True," he said shrugging. "That's not a big deal. No... no, coffee is not a big deal."
"Aaron, you're scaring me," Cadence said, her voice guarded. "Do you want to tell me what the hell is going on?"
There was another long pause before he said, "That's fair. I do think you should definitely know what's going on. After all, you know how important honesty is to me, right?" She nodded, saying nothing. "How many times have we talked about that, Cadence? About how important it is to be completely honest?"
"Lots of times..."
"Right, lots of times," he agreed. "And how many times did I ask you if something was going on with Christian?"
"Also lots of times..."
"Yep, lots of times. Because something just didn't seem right, and, in my experience when something doesn't seem right, it isn't."
"Aaron, what the hell is going on? Are you accusing me of something?" Cadence asked, defensiveness growing in her voice.
"No, no," he replied. "I'm not accusing you of anything. Because, in order to accuse you, there'd have to be some doubt in my mind as to what is going on, but since I know exactly what's happening... well, it's really more of a confrontation than an accusation."
Cadence was shocked. "Aaron, there's nothing going on between me and Christian. I promise you," she replied emphatically.
"Really?"
"Really!"
"Okay, then," he replied tersely, "explain this to me." He flipped the switch on his wristband and projected the make-out footage where Cadence could see it.
She gasped in shock, her hands flying over her mouth. "Oh, my God!" she exclaimed. It was extremely unnerving seeing herself
from that angle, her eyes clearly puffy from crying over Aaron as Christian's hands and lips explored her body. "Turn it off!" she yelled, turning her head.
"What, you don't want to watch it either?" he replied, not looking at it himself, clearly becoming emotional again.
"Where did you get that?" she asked as he made it go away.
"Does it matter?" he replied, slamming his hands down on his desk.
She could tell by his expression that there was nothing she could say to explain the situation in a way that was going to make him understand. Clearly, he was about to yell or throw something, maybe both. She could no longer fight the tears herself and began to try and brush them off of her cheeks, barely holding herself together. He crossed his arms and spun his chair a bit, a sign that he no longer wanted to look at her. Finally, after several minutes she calmly said, "I can explain, if you'll listen."
"I'm done listening," he replied quietly.
"It only happened once, and it was right after you told me you didn't want to see me anymore..."
"If only I'd stuck to that..."
"Aaron, please! I didn't tell you because I didn't think it mattered!"
He spun around then and looked at her. "I asked you, Cadence! I asked you specifically! And you lied to me!"
"I didn't lie!" she insisted, slamming her hand down on her leg. "I just... omitted that part. Because it doesn't matter!"
"It matters to me," he replied.
"Why? We weren't together, and it's not like you haven't ever..."
"This isn't about me!" he interjected. "I didn't lie to you! I'm not accusing you of cheating on me, although I'm not convinced that you haven't because I don't believe anything you've ever said to me now; it's about the fact that I asked you repeatedly what was going on with Christian and you lied to me. YOU LIED TO ME!"
Again, she sat in silence, not sure how to respond. After a very long pause, she finally said, "I'm sorry. I didn't think it mattered. It didn't matter to me."
"It matters to me," he replied, re-crossing his arms and leaning back as far as he could, as if trying to escape her.
The tears were still streaming down her face, and even though there was a full box of tissues on his desk, she didn't ask for one, and he didn't offer. Swiping them away again, she finally asked, "So that's it then? We're done?"
He nodded, his eyes looking beyond her.
"I guess it doesn't matter, then, that I told him to stop and kicked him out? That I've barely spoken to him sense? That what you are really seeing is Christian taking advantage of me when I was heartbroken over you?" He said nothing, and so she knew his answer. After a moment, she finally stood, absently smoothing out her jeans. "Fine," she said. "If there's nothing I can say then so be it." He still wouldn't meet her eyes, and she took one more glance in his direction before turning to walk to the door. Once she had crossed the expanse, she turned again. "I hope you know you're making one hell of a mistake," she added before pulling the door open, flying through, and slamming it behind her so hard the pictures on the wall all tumbled to the floor, the sound of shattering glass filling the office space.
"Have a nice day, Mrs. Carminati," Cadence said as she passed the trembling human, her hand clutched to her heart.
Cadence decided to take the stairs rather than the elevator. Though she was heartbroken and overwhelmed with despair, she was also extremely pissed and flying down each flight, she felt more and more rage welling up insider of her. By the time she reached the bottom floor, she was ready to take her frustration out on the appropriate party--just as soon as she found him.
Luckily, she wouldn't have to look too far. She flung open the exterior door to see Christian leaning against his motorcycle nearby. "You son of a bitch!" she yelled, as she flew at him.
He threw up his arms in a defensive stance. "Cadence, wait, please! I can explain!"
She stopped short of punching him in the face, though it was all she could do to control her anger. "Start talking!" she demanded.
"Okay, okay," he replied, his hands still up. He knew she could do some real damage if she wanted to. "First of all, I'm so sorry. I should have never recorded that. I didn't mean for anyone to ever see it!"
"Well, someone did," she replied, her fist still in the air.
"I know, I know," he agreed, backing a few steps away from her. She followed. "And I should have never showed it to anyone either, but I thought she could help. I forgot--I forgot about her power of persuasion, and I didn't realize she was tricking me."
"What? Who the hell are you talking about?" Cadence asked. She was certain that Christian must have given the recording to Aaron in an attempt to get Cadence to come back to him. Although, now that she stopped to consider, that really didn't make much sense. Obviously, that would only make her mad at Christian. So, it wasn't him who had given the recording to Aaron. It had to be... "Eliza!" she shouted, the realization hitting her all at once.
"Cadence, I'm so sorry!" Christian said, pleadingly. "Please, forgive me."
But by the time he finished, she was off, sprinting at full speed towards the apartment buildings. She pushed the door open with such force, it bent back against the wall and left an indentation in the drywall. Not bothering to wait for the elevator, she flew up the few flights of stairs to Eliza's floor and bounded down the hallway to her apartment. Though it was tempting to rip the door off of the hinges, she decided to try the old-fashioned way first and banged her first against the wood hard enough to shake the entire hallway. "Eliza!" she screamed at the top of her lungs.
Cadence could hear her coming before she got there, despite the repercussions of the wall rattling around her. Eliza left the chain on the door. "Cadence," she said, a slight smirk on her face. "Whatever brings you here, friend?"
"I'm going to kill you!" Cadence growled, her eyes piercing through the small space between the door and the wall.
"Is something the matter?" Eliza asked, a lilt of sarcasm in her voice.
"Don't pretend that you don't know."
"Are you accusing me of something?"
"Open the goddamn door."
"I don't think you're in any state to have a discussion right now," Eliza replied. "Are you upset? Did Aaron break up with you again?"
"I know you did this," Cadence said, holding back the temptation to knock the door in.
"What? You think I'm the one who made out with another guy and lied to Aaron about it?" Eliza asked, the false sweetness dripping off of her voice like honey. "No, sweetheart, I would never do that. I know better than to cheat on Aaron."
"You know that's not what happened!" Cadence countered, her voice as even as she could make it.
"It's all in the eye of the beholder, friend," Eliza replied, a curt smile on her face.
Though Cadence was aware that Eliza was using that word--friend--sarcastically, each time she said it, Cadence felt the knife jab deeper into her back. "We were friends, Eliza. I thought we were friends. Why the hell would you do this to me?"
Cadence expected these questions to draw upon her compassion, but they didn't seem to. "Look, sweetheart, I am your friend. But I'm Aaron's friend, too. I'm not saying I did anything, but if you did something you shouldn't have and he found out, then you get what you deserve."
Feeling the tears stinging her eyes again, Cadence realized she was either going to have to leave--or she would end up crying in front of Eliza, something she wasn't willing to do. "You are going to regret this one day," she said quietly.
"Maybe," Eliza admitted. Then, with a sly smile pulling at the corner of her mouth she added, "but not today."
Cadence turned to walk away, but before she got too far, she turned back and added. "We are done. You and I are no longer friends. I don't work with you anymore. Nothing, got it?"
"Merry Christmas, Cadence," Eliza replied, slamming the door.
Chapter 10
Back in her apartment, Cadence oscillated between rage and uncontrollable crying. Christian had tried to contact her
several times on the IAC, but she ignored him. He was the last person she wanted to talk to. Well, second to last.
As the time that she was supposed to go on her date with Aaron came and went, the tears became even more overwhelming, and she wished she had gone home. At least if she were home the traditional Christmas Eve routine would do something to distract her. In the solace of her own quiet apartment, she had nothing to occupy her mind.
She knew she could procure a car--possibly a plane--and make her way back to Shenandoah. But there she'd have to face her mother, who would try her best not to say how she had been right all along, but it would be hard for her to do so. As much as going home might help, there was really only one other thing she could think of that would keep her mind off of the events that had transpired. Finally, at about 8:00, she decided to see exactly how fast rumors could fly and contacted Elliott. "Hey, you got room for one more on that hunt tonight?"
"Always," he replied. "But don't you have plans tonight, kid?"
So he didn't know. "Not anymore," she responded. "Can I come with you?"
"Of course. But what happened?"
"I don't want to tell you," she replied, afraid he might get mad.
"Cadence....if you don't tell me, he will. Whose side do you want me to hear first?"
She pondered his position. "Meet me somewhere?"
"Bar downstairs?"
"I'm only 19."
"I'm not."
Elliott was already seated at the bar when she entered. There was no one standing at the door checking IDs, which made her feel a bit better. She sat down on the barstool next to him and ordered a Dr. Pepper. He finished off whatever was in his glass, clearly not soda, and gestured for the bartender to bring him another. "What's up, kid?" he asked, not really turning to face her.
Cadence let out a deep sigh and buried her head in her arms, which were folded on the bar. The bartender brought their drinks before she actually answered. "I screwed up, I guess," she admitted.
"Whatcha do?"
"I kissed Christian," she replied.