by ANDREA SMITH
"God dammit, Bianca! I fucking love you and the thought of you still screwing him is fucking driving me crazy!"
"Oh, baby," she said soothingly, "Easton doesn't make love to me; he rough fucks. I only tolerate it because I've no choice at the moment. Do you know he's never, even said "I love you" to me? It's always "I adore you" just like he adores all of his fucking possessions! Anyway, does it help to know that I always pretend it's you I'm with while Easton fucks me?"
"No, not at all," Christopher said, clearly irritated. "He's a despicable bastard."
"Come baby, let's not waste time dwelling on it now. Come to bed and let me show you just how much I love you. Come sink yourself inside of me, Christopher. You're so gentle and caring."
Within moments from the next room I could hear the sounds of their love-making. Bianca was moaning his name over and over again. My heart was shredded; the sounds of him telling her how sweet her pussy tasted and how much he wanted to bury his cock inside of her reverberated in my ears. It took every ounce of restraint I could muster not to barge into that room and rip them both to pieces, just like my heart. I'd learned timing was everything.
Several minutes later I heard Bianca begging for his cock. I knew that he'd obliged when I heard the sound of the headboard hitting the wall in measured rhythm. I knew Bianca's vocals second nature. I could tell when she was approaching orgasm. I'd crept from the room and as her moans became more guttural, I knew the time was right. The door to the master suite was open; after all, they presumed they were alone. I walked through the entrance and stood at the side of the bed, as Christopher continued plunging his cock in and out of her, unaware he had an audience. Bianca's head was rolling back and forth on the pillow, her eyes closed getting ready to climax.
With one arm, I reached out, snatching Christopher up and out of her, flinging him over to the other side of the room. He landed with a loud thud, squealing a pathetic "Ummmph!" Bianca's eyes shot open and within two seconds the passion was replaced with pure terror. She grabbed the bedspread, clutching it up against her breasts as if it could shield her. Her hands were trembling.
I tossed the papers from the clinic onto her stomach, thoroughly sickened by my own poor judgment and idiocy. Christopher wasn't making a move; crouched down on the floor next to the dresser.
"Easton," she finally croaked, "I can explain everything, love."
"No explanation required, Bianca. I want you and your pimp out of this flat within ten minutes. I'm not going anywhere in order to make sure it happens. I've already contacted Colin and all of the locks to my various properties have been changed; all of my staff has been advised of your current status. You may contact Colin within the next couple of days and he'll arrange for your belongings to be shipped wherever you wish"
"My status? And just what is my status?" she snapped, some of her spirit now returning.
"You're a murderous whore who I regret ever having cared about. I'm happy you're gone from my life; I'll be even happier when you're gone from my house. Now get to it." I whirled around, focusing on Christopher. "You're to leave immediately, dressed or not, I want your scrawny, limp dick out of here. Now."
If I hadn't been so devastated, I might've found it comical the way Christopher had scooped his pants up from the floor, doing a one-legged hop out of the room as he tried to get them pulled up before he fled into the night. I was right behind him, tossing his jacket to him, as he fumbled with the door handle, finally getting it opened to flee.
Once gone, I'd turned my attention back to Bianca observing as she dressed quickly, grabbing everything she could manage and stuffing it into the designer luggage I'd bought for her. She was frantic to get away from me; I could only imagine how I looked to her at the moment, towering over her, not attempting to mask my fury.
"Really, Easton, how can you possibly not forgive me? I thought what we had together was stronger than that? I really wanted the baby! It was Christopher that talked me into the abortion, I swear! I was so confused; I thought you'd be angry, thinking I was trying to trap you by getting pregnant. I swear that wasn't it, baby! Christopher said you'd ruin me because of it. We just have to work this out, Easton; you're my life, I truly mean that!"
"Bianca!" I yelled, causing her to jump and stop chattering. She looked up at me with those incredibly blue eyes that now appeared very sad and penitent.
"Yes?" she said timidly, waiting for me to say something.
“We’re done. So just shut the fuck up and leave.” I wasn’t angry anymore, truthfully. I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t disappointed. I just wanted revenge against the last woman who would ever make the mistake of fucking me over.
I didn't like when dark memories surfaced like that out of nowhere. It wasn't as if it happened daily. There were occasional triggers that caused them to come floating back to me. Darcy was a trigger; perhaps one that my instincts told me to avoid. I wanted to avoid her, but something else was at play here and I realised it was my fascination with her. Her resemblance to Bianca had definitely initiated it; even Lacee remarked about it in her usual accusatory tone. It was if I had some unfinished business with Bianca that somehow Darcy might fulfill. It was crazy yet being drawn to her was potent.
If I possessed any decency, I'd let it go. I'd simply put her out of my mind; along with the things I fantasized doing to her. But, I'd never proclaimed to be a decent man.
It had been several weeks since I'd last seen Easton Matthews. I'd heard nothing from him since that phone call during the painful and blush-worthy afternoon, the day after he basically rocked my fucking world. And I was beginning to wonder if that was just a courtesy-call that guys tend to make after hooking up. You know the one; where they’re afraid to hurt your feelings, so they just kind of tell you that you’re great and hint at seeing you again? Seriously, why even call at all? Not to get all annoying or anything, but I was trying and failing to understand that maybe this was all part of the game? And that maybe I was just one of the many Easton Matthews was playing with. Dudes are just plain freakin’ from another planet; I wasn't thinking Mars either, more like Ur-Anus!!
I'd been a little mopey, not to mention snappy over the past week or two. Trust me,it didn't go unnoticed by Eli. He crept up behind me at work just this morning, seeing my new scrolling marquis screen-saver inBroadwayfont that read, "Men are Dirt!"
"Hmm, someone has a case of the hard ass," he commented with a grin, looking over my shoulder.
"Is there something you need?" I asked curtly.
"Just wanted to remind you about the All Employee Meeting in ten minutes; thought maybe we could walk to the conferencing center together."
"Oh shit," I replied, "I forgot about that; what's this meeting about anyway?"
"How should I know, babe? You're the owner's daughter; I figured you'd be in the know."
"I haven't really thought about it to tell you the truth; besides my dad's been hard to pin down lately. I think he's still ticked off at me for whatever reason."
"Well I guess we'll find out soon enough," he replied, "Helen in Purchasing said she heard from Marsha in Accounting it's a hostile takeover of some sort."
"Eli, I didn't realize you were such a gossip queen. Is that a gay thing?"
"Darcy, I love you, but bite me."
Eli and I, along with a horde of other employees traipsed upstairs to the large conferencing center. It reminded me of the large theater-style lecture rooms we had at college. We found seats and waited patiently for my father to take the podium.
Several minutes later he came out, dressed in a dark suit and tie, a bit different than his usual business casual at the office. My dad was not pretentious so I had a sinking suspicion perhaps Eli's tidbit of gossip was on target.
"Fellow employees, you know me well enough by now to realize I'm not one for long and drawn-out speeches. I'm a cut-to-the-chase individual, but I want to make my message to all of you today very clear from the beginning. Today there's good news for Sheridan & Associates that include
s opportunities for each and every employee here. This is a major announcement that I'm very pleased to share with all of you. Several months ago I was approached by a well-respected, global company interested in buying Sheridan & Associates. At the time, I wasn't interested in entertaining any proposals for the sale of my company. I felt there was more to be done prior to my retirement."
Oh geez! Daddy, what have you done?
"Several weeks ago I was again approached by the same CEO of this corporation and a new proposal was submitted. I'm pleased to announce that a merger between Sheridan & Associates, a privately-owned business and Baronton Holdings, L.L.C. has been concluded. This will bring many more jobs to the D.C. area as Baronton moves a segment of their business from the U.K. to right here in D.C. A transition team will be on site next Monday and remain here to ensure a smooth merger with the most important resources we have, our employees. I'll be retained in a consulting position for the Sheridan segment of the business indefinitely."
I didn't hear the rest of what my father was saying. My head was spinning; I felt like a statue sitting next to Eli as he continued jabbing me with his elbow.
I finally turned to look at Eli, the shock apparent on my face.
"I know, right?" he whispered to me, taking my hand.
My father was now introducing the new majority owner of Sheridan & Associates, Mr. Easton Matthews. I instinctively squeezed my legs tighter together; Eli noticed and let out an audible smirk. The employees clapped like the suck-ups they were as Easton came up to the podium from the door behind the stage. Naturally, he was impeccably dressed, looking sexy, hot, and gorgeous in his double-breasted Armani suit. I heard Lynda from Payroll gasp behind me.
"Dear God, he's beautiful," she whispered loudly, to Pam McCain sitting next to her. I turned around, shooting her daggers and shushing her abruptly.
"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen," Easton said his rich voice music to my ears once again. "I'm Easton and the first thing I'd like to do is to put everyone's mind at ease relative to this merger."
"He's got a bit of a British accent; that's sooo hot," I heard Lynda whisper again.
"First of all, I realise a move such as this tends to make employees uneasy, fearful for their jobs. Let me assure you straightaway, there's no need for worry. The transition team Baronton has in place will make this transition smooth and seamless. You’re all very valuable assets to this company, and will continue to be valuable assets to Baronton-Sheridan, the new name of this organisation."
I watched in awe as the employees in front of me suddenly relaxed, smiled, and whispered amongst each other. Easton had won them over with his charm and charisma. I looked back up to where he stood, talking to my father and as they finished, he turned and his piercing gray eyes were on me in an instant.
"Oh God," Eli whispered, "He's staring right at you, Darce."
"I can see that, Eli," I murmured under my breath without moving my lips. Our eyes locked and I was tempted to get into a stare down with him just for the hell of it, but the whispers behind me were extremely distracting.
"I wonder if he's married," Lynda said. "Fifty bucks says Shelly jumps ship from old man Sheridan and puts in to be ‘Hottie's’ executive assistant?"
I was boiling now. I turned around and none too quietly hissed, “Umm? Excuse me. Ladies? See, that’s my father there. You know - the carrier of my DNA and all? So if you guys would just… Shut. Up. That’d be great. ‘Kay, thanks." I caught glares from both of them.
As if on cue, Easton stepped back to the podium to speak once again. "At this time, I'd like to introduce the leader of our transition team to all of you. She'll be available for any questions or concerns you may have starting tomorrow."
The whole breathing thing got a little hard as Lacee stepped out onto the stage and joined Easton at the podium. "Everyone, this is my executive assistant and newly appointed team leader of the Baronton-Sheridan Group, Lacee Fitzgerald. Again, the minions gave a round of applause to the blond bitch who was flashing a smile right along with her cleavage.
"Wanna bet she's banged the boss more than once?" I heard Lynda comment behind me. I was ready to go off on her when I felt Eli's hand on my arm, shaking his head as if saying "Leave it alone." Now Lacee came up to the microphone, having to adjust it downward to accommodate her short stature.
"Welcome everyone," she greeted, "to your new family Baronton-Sheridan Group. I'm looking forward to meeting with each of you in some one-on-one sessions I'll be scheduling to get basic information as to your job description, scope of responsibilities and future growth plans. This transition team is dedicated to grooming all of the employees so everyone's successful in meeting their growth potential. We're going to have a lot of fun, so relax, and let us help you become the very best at what you do. Thank you."
I think I just vomited a little in my mouth.
The meeting ended up with a few more words of assurance from my father which I totally tuned out. I was floored he would do this to me! I was in fact, ready to cut loose with some tears of anguish, but there was no way in hell I’d give Easton that satisfaction! Why the hell would he be interested in a small company like Sheridan & Associates, anyway? It made no sense to me. The more I saw how he operated, the more convinced I was he was shady.
As Eli and I walked back out through the hallway to our respective departments, I remained speechless. Finally Eli broke the silence.
"So, what are you thinking?"
"I'm thinking that I need to look for another job and revise my career path. I can't believe my father did that."
"Maybe he had reasons of his own. Maybe he wants to semi-retire. I mean you can't necessarily blame the guy for wanting to improve his golf game."
"But he always talked as if I'd take over, what about that?"
"I think you need to discuss that with him off premises. That's the mature thing to do. But right now, I'm more interested in how much interaction Easton Matthews plans on having here."
"Well I can tell you this: he'll be having no interaction with me outside of work. Bringing his blond blow-up doll here with him like that, having her head up the transition team, what a joke!"
"Well for now, babe, you just have to dig in and be professional about it. It's all you have."
"Yeah, well I meant what I said. I'm going to look for another job in the meantime."
I watched as Eli frowned, genuinely disturbed by my current attitude.
"Is there something you want to say to me, Eli?"
"Maybe there is," he replied, "You know, sometimes you need to take a moment and consider the fact that it's not always about you. I get that you've got that "only child" thing going on, but it's time for you to realize that just because something pisses you off, you can't simply pick your marbles up and go home. Sometimes, it's about thinking things through and making the best of them. I mean who knows? This might be a good thing when it's all said and done. Let your folks off the hook, Darcy; that's really what you need to do. This is about you making it on your own."
With that, Eli turned right and headed down the hallway leading to his department, leaving me feeling chastised for the first time ever. Maybe he knew what I needed more than I did. Friends are funny that way.
I sulked that evening alone in my room, taking comfort in my flannel nightgown, eating microwave mac and cheese while sitting cross-legged on my bed watching trash television. I could hear Eli puttering around on the ground floor of our townhouse. He wasn't going to budge on anything he said earlier today. And why should he? He was right and I knew it.
Who was I kidding acting as if I could find a career anywhere I chose? I'd no experience whatsoever. I was basically what companies refer to as "unskilled labor" at the moment. My only choice was to do exactly what Eli said: suck it up, be professional and along the way my reward would be experience and knowledge.
I'd licked the last of the runny cheese sauce from my lips when there was a tap on my bedroom door.
"Can I come in
?" Eli asked from the hallway.
"It's open," I called back. The door opened slowly and Eli's face was hidden by a large bouquet of purple roses in a crystal vase as he sauntered into the room.
"Gee, Eli, no better way to say you're sorry I guess than with purple roses."
"Ha, ha, smart-ass. They're not from me. Some chauffeur just dropped them off with this. He handed an envelope to me but I didn't have to open it to know who they were from.
I've been very pleased with your behaviour these past few weeks. I'd like to spend some time with you this evening. My driver will pick up you up at 8:00 p.m. sharp. We'll have dinner together and then play it by ear. Please pack nightwear. - EASTON
"He's got to be fucking kidding," I managed to say, to no one in particular. Eli hurriedly put the roses on my nightstand holding his hand out so he could read the note.
"Wow, better get waxed girlie. You only have about an hour and ten minutes before our bell rings again."
"Yeah, as if," I huffed, curling back up on my bed. "I've no intention of going out with him or fucking him or anything tonight - or ever! What a pompous ass!"
"Whoa, now wait a minute here. Why the sudden change of attitude?"
“Eli,” I deadpanned. “Seriously?”
"Apparently so," he replied, sitting down on the edge of the bed, crossing his legs. "Clue me in because the last I looked, dude rang your bell good."
"Yeah, alright," I conceded, "But that was then and this is now."
"How poetic."
"Bite me, bitch," I said, smacking at him playfully. "No, really a lot's changed since then. First of all, he hasn't called me which I find offensive, but then I rationalized why should he call? I mean we both knew what that night was about: a sexathon with no strings. So I get over it, right? Then he friggin' buys the company, or the majority of the company, where I work so he's the boss of me."