by J. L. Beck
“Sure.” I mumbled under my breath walking on wobbly legs towards the door. My hand rested on the cold metal of the handle. I gripped it angrily, wanting to give this woman a piece of my mind but knowing damn well that I shouldn’t, because honestly she wasn’t worth the breath or the effort it would take.
Instead I pushed the hostility down and opened the door walking out of the apartment with my head held high even if all I wanted to do was drown in my own tears, and slap myself for being so stupid.
“You uhhh…” The dumb bitches voice met my ears again, even as I was walking down the hall. I turned on my heels to see what it was she wanted. “You forgot these.” She flung the lacy pair of panties Ryan had ripped from my body last night with disgust.
I didn’t even care. I was past caring. He could have them, in fact they would be the only reminder he had of me aside from the memories we made last night.
Straightening my shoulders and lifting my head up high, I pushed the button for the elevator and waited for the ding. I refused to turn back around, I had no need to look at that bitch again and there was no way I would let her see the pain behind my eyes. I wouldn’t give her that satisfaction.
Was I really that dumb? Had I failed to see all along that he had a girlfriend? I asked myself those two questions over and over again as I stepped into the elevator and escaped yet another mistake in my life.
Chapter Seven
My blood boiled, and my fucking heart shattered when I found out what Scarlett had done to my Chloe. Why had the dumb bitch decided to make an appearance in my life right at that moment? Worse than that was the fact that she had gotten a key to my apartment from the front desk. The security officer played right into her hand eating up whatever story it was that she told him. I should have him fired for being such a gullible prick and thinking with his dick instead of doing his fucking job of securing my apartment instead of just letting in unwanted trash.
“What the hell did you say to her?” My voice boomed in the conference room, where I called a meeting between her, Cameron and I. She was an investor in our companies at one point in time, not anymore though. Not after this fucking stunt.
Scarlett rolled her eyes, clearly annoyed by my question. “Nothing Ry. I was simply showing up to discuss some business matters with you and she was there. I have no idea why she left.” The way she batted her eyelashes, and pouted told me there was more to this than she was letting on, and that this entire thing was probably her fucking fault.
I clenched my fists tightly, my nails digging into my palm as I digested the severity of all of this. Sadie had called me, chewing me a new asshole because Chloe had called her crying. My girl, the woman I had started to fall for, the woman I fucked into submission with my mind and body was hurt and it was all because of me, better yet Scarlett.
“You can do what you want with Cameron. Hell you can invest as much money into his company as you please, but the deal we had is done. I’m over you coming into my life and thinking you own me simply because we slept together once. Once Scarlet.” I couldn’t control the burning rage that festered just beneath my skin, all I could see was a broken hearted Chloe, with tear stained cheeks.
Fire formed in her eyes, “We had a deal Ryan!” Venom saturated her words, and I felt satisfaction because she was mad, still it wasn’t enough for me to forget about what she did to Chloe.
“Had.” I sneered. “We had a deal. That was until you decided to stick your stuck up nose into something that had nothing to do with you.” Cameron finally showed up a second later, shoving through the glass conference doors in a dismantled mess.
“Sorry I’m late. Traffic was shit and then Sadie wanted me to…” He stopped dead in his tracks looking between Scarlett and I with concern. I hadn’t told him that I was calling off my half of the deal with her, or that she would even be here for that matter. I just told him I needed to talk to him in person and that it was important.
“Good Morning, Handsome.” Scarlett purred taking a step in Cam’s direction. Pure disgust formed on Cameron’s face.
Yeah that’s how I feel about the dumb bitch, too bud.
“I’m a married man, Scarlett. Happily married in fact.” Cameron informed her taking a seat next to me, leaving her at the other end of the table.
Scarlet shook her head as if she couldn’t believe that Cameron and I didn’t want a damn thing to do with her.
“Whatever, just because you guys get a little unclaimed pussy in your life doesn’t mean your "quote un quote" happy.” The anger this woman stirred inside of me pounded in my ears. Who the fuck did she think she was? How dare she go around fucking up people's lives and then have the damn nerve to insult our women.
“I called this meeting because I’m going back on my half of the agreement. I’ll pay whatever fines, and fees that I need to but I refuse to let some snotty bitch invest in my company or act as if she owns me when she has no hold on me or who I want to be with.” I slammed my fist down on the table drawing both of their attention to myself, making sure that Scarlett, especially heard what I was saying. I wanted to make damn well sure there was no confusion or misunderstanding here. One of the reasons I called Cameron here.
Cameron looked at me first with shock and confusion and then finally understanding dawned in his eyes. I'm sure he had heard from Sadie about the shit that happened between Chloe and Scarlett. And if I knew Cam as well as I think I do, Cameron cared about Chloe, too so he wouldn’t stand for someone like Scarlett coming in and messing with her.
Cameron folded his arms across his chest, “Then I guess that mean’s I’m pulling out, too. I went in with the idea that you would be partners with both of us and if Ryan feels the need to pull his half of the agreement then I do, too.” I was overly thrilled that he had sided with me within seconds of seeing her.
“You need me, I don’t need you!” Scarlett snarled shoving from the table, her chair scraping across the marble loudly.
“No sweetheart, you think to highly of yourself. We don't need you and we don’t want you. We did just fine long before you came along and we’ll manage just fine now that you’re gone.” Cameron took the words right out of my mouth before I could even speak them.
“Fine. But I will tell you this Ryan, you can take the poor girl out of the slums, but you can’t change her. No matter how much attention you give her, or how much stuff you buy her, she'll always just be the dirt poor girl who will never fit in with our crowd.” I shoved from my seat with so much force the chair fell backwards. I was seconds away from ripping her to fucking pieces and if it weren’t for Cameron, I probably would have. Cameron’s hand shot out gripping my arm and holding me in place.
“You’re a fucking bitch, Scarlett. Chloe might be poor, but the difference between the two of you is that even being poor she has more class and more character then you will ever have. She can change her social and financial status at any time. You however cannot change the fact that you are a cold, heartless bitch riding on the heels of everyone else's success.”
You could practically see the steam coming out of her ears. “Fuck you both. I don’t need this.” With that Cameron and I watched as she stormed out of my the conference room.
I wish I could say I was relieved but in reality I had only taken care of half the problem. Chloe was still refusing to answer my phone calls, and even though it had only been a few days without hearing her voice or feeling her touch I still felt lost without her.
“Thank God you called this meeting. Sadie has been on my ass to get rid of her forever… All I needed was a legit reason.” Cameron sighed, his hand moving from my arm and to my shoulder.
I wanted to be happy, and I was, I was so fucking happy to have gotten rid of the bitch but I wanted Chloe, and I wanted her right now. All I had to do was find a way to get her here and tell her exactly what happened.
“You look like you’re going to puke.” Cameron said, stating the obvious.
“Probably because I feel like it. My sto
mach has literally been rolling for the last few days. I never thought it would physically pain me to go without a woman, every fucking second I’m away from Chloe feels like an eternity.”
Cameron shook his head in disbelief, a grin pulling at his lips. “I never thought I’d see the day that Ryan Fucking Nelson got tamed by a woman. You're in fucking love, Dude. I know that feeling, the one where you feel like you might die if you can’t touch or talk to them in the next hour. The pain of it makes you sick and your heart beats loudly in your ears reminding you that they own that piece of you.”
My eyes drifted closed for a moment, my fingers gripping onto the chair in front of me. God, how I wish I would’ve stayed at the apartment with her instead of coming in to clean up Caroline’s mess. Fucking Caroline, she couldn't keep a ruler straight.
“I fucked up. Had I never screwed Scarlett back in the day, maybe none of this would be happening?” I couldn’t help but wonder how different my future would be had I made better fucking choices then. I guess I should have listened to my father instead of my dick.
“None of that bullshit man. The past is the past. It doesn’t define you. The person you were back then isn’t the person you are now. Chloe knows that. Nothing you could’ve done would have changed Scarlett showing up at your apartment and running Chloe off. Scarlett has wanted you for as long as I can remember. It shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that she would pull a stunt like this. Especially if she knew you actually liked someone. Scarlett is a conniving bitch after all.”
I had to agree with him there, if Scarlett could sabotage me in any way, she would do so with a vengeance. Still I wondered how she knew exactly when to show up. “I don’t care about anything but making things right with Chloe.” I shrugged his hand off my shoulder, I needed to pull my shit together so I could go win back the woman that I loved.
“Well that’s a good thing since her and Sadie are both down at the homeless shelter today, but…” Cameron scratched at the back of his head like he was trying to figure out if he should tell me something or not. “What?” I snapped much harsher than I meant to, breaking the brief moment of silence. “Well, Sadie and I were both waiting to say something but since I know you’re going to go down there and raise hell, I think I should tell you.” He was beating around the bush, and my annoyance was rising with every second he stood here stalling.
“Spit it the fuck out, Jefferson. I don't have all day.” I ordered. “Okay…” He stalled but then picked up right where he left off. Waves of anxiety rolled off of him and into me, hitting me with enough force to knock me off my feet. “Sadie is pregnant and I want you to take it easy on her okay? I know you want Chloe, and you love her, but Sadie is her friend and she’s going to be protective of her now that she knows what happened.”
I exhaled a breath, “Holy fuck, Dude. I’m…. that’s fucking awesome. You’re going to be a dad.” It was such a foreign thing to be saying. Cameron Jefferson was going to be a dad. It felt like just yesterday he was calling me to be the best man in his wedding. He nodded, “I know. I’m shocked and scared as hell, and that’s another reason I wanted to get rid of Scarlett. Sadie is going through some crazy insecurity issues. She’s all fucking worried about her weight, and if I’ll love her after she has the baby and it’s just like seriously?” I realized then that I was a piece of shit friend for not being there for him to vent when he needed it.
“I’m sorry for being a dick of a friend, Man. As soon as I get this shit with Chloe squared away we’re going out for beers.” I confessed.
“Oh don’t worry, Dude. You’ll understand soon enough. You're just in the beginning phases of love, but eventually Chloe will have weaseled her way so far under your skin you won’t be able to tell where your body starts or where hers ends.” Cameron was right, and while I had only known Chloe a short time I was certain I had no idea where she started, nor where I ended because when I looked at her all I saw was us.
Chapter Eight
No matter how hard I tried I couldn’t get Ryan out of my head or heart. I was struggling and Sadie knew it the moment she looked at me. Why had I made the decision to come down to the homeless shelter and volunteer today? I had huge bags under my eyes, and the eye drops I used to get rid of all the red, puffiness weren’t cutting it.
“Ryan’s been Cam’s best friend since forever, Chloe. If anyone can see through the bullshit front that he puts up, it’ll be Cam.” Sadie tried to reassure me but I was over it, past the events that had taken place. Now I was just trying to move on from the pain and let go of the memories.
Still my body could feel his touch and every time I moved I could still feel his brand on my pussy. He owned me and I allowed him to do so. Now I had to deal with the shit that I had caused myself.
“I don’t want him anymore.” I lied, slopping a scoop of corn onto a woman’s tray in the food line. I already knew Sadie wasn’t going to believe that, but maybe if I said it out loud I might start believing it myself. “Liar. Liar.” Sadie shook her head at me in disapproval. “Chloe listen to me, Ryan is a playboy. A man whore at best, but every good man whore has a weakness for a single woman in their life. Their soul mate, and I’m one hundred percent sure that you’re his, Hun.” I gripped the scooper harder than necessary and corn went flying onto the floor. I bent down to clean it up. “Well he ruined that, She ruined that.” Hatred and utter disgust for the woman that I now knew as Scarlett, seethed through me.
“He loves you. He fucked you in his bed. He’s never fucked anyone in his bed. It mean’s something. For as long as I’ve known him and as much as Cam has told me he has never even allowed a woman that wasn’t family to step foot into his home.” Sadie is saying this with so much certainty and force that it’s hard for me not to believe it. Perhaps if I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes I could fully believe her, but I did. If he didn’t invite women into his house then how on earth could Scarlett have gotten in there?
“Just because he fucked me in a place he hasn’t anyone else, doesn’t mean shit. I realized I was nothing but another notch in his belt the moment that bitch showed up.” I slammed down another scoop of corn on a passing tray and tried to smile through my pain. I needed to calm down and get myself under control. This wasn’t the place to have a melt down, these people had it so much worse than I did and they didn’t deserve my piss poor attitude.
“Scarlett is, should I say was, an investor for both Cameron and Ryan’s companies. She’s nothing now, Ryan doesn’t want her anymore today than he did yesterday, or even last month.” Sadie seemed so convinced but I wasn’t, the look of distaste in that evil woman’s eyes would forever be burned in my mind. The way she looked down at me like I was nothing made me sick to my stomach. “I thought he loved me Sadie.” I confessed heartbroken. I didn’t know what to do with all the pain. Sadie pulled me away from the serving line, nodding her head to a few other volunteers so they would take our places.
Once we they came over, she gripped my hand and led me towards the back of the building and away from the other people. When we were finally alone, her small hands grabbed me by the shoulders, forcing me to face her. I looked at her, really looked at her, for the first time in forever. She was glowing, and flawlessly beautiful without even a smidge of makeup on. She was too perfect to be my friend.
“Do not let that bitch think she gets the last say, go into Ryan’s office and show him who owns him, make him beg and plead and just when he’s ready to give up, take him by the balls and make him yours. Put Scarlett in her place, and show them all who’s boss.” Sadie spoke fiercely, with power, and understanding.
“You act like you’ve been through this before?” I questioned, not forgetting the speech that she just gave me. She snickered under her breath, “That’s because I have. Once upon a time I was in a similar situation and had I just taken things into my own hands I wouldn’t have had to deal with as much heartache as I did.” The far away look in her eyes told me she was reliving the past, and the mistakes she
had made. It was then, as I looked at Sadie, that a question of my own formed in my mind. How had Scarlett determined the perfect time to show up at Ryan’s apartment? And how did she know that I would be there alone?
“I….” I shook my head, the answer finally coming to me. “What? What is it?” Sadie questioned as I took another step away from her and in the direction of the door. I knew what I needed to do now, yes, I was going to take Sadie’s advice and own my man. I was also going to reveal Caroline, the bitch of an Assistant he still has, for the cunt that she truly was.
“I know who told Scarlett that I was at the apartment alone.” Sadie smiled at me and maybe it was because she knew what I was about to do or maybe it was because she was proud of me. Who knows, but she didn’t try to stop me from leaving. I hustled out the front doors of the homeless shelter with an agenda. I was going to take back my man, but first I was going to inform Ryan about his scandalous Assistant.
****
I slipped the Uber driver a twenty and opened the car door, escaping the confines of the tiny vehicle. I needed to make things right with Ryan and every second away from him was like a stab to the heart. It didn’t matter if you knew someone for a day, or an entire lifetime love was love, and the body and soul always knew what it needed.
I hurried through the lobby making my way to the elevators. I pressed a finger to the up key and sighed with relief as the doors opened almost immediately. A group of business men followed in behind me, and we made our way up to the tenth floor. Nervousness ticked away inside of me like a bomb counting down to an explosion. When the doors finally opened to the floor Ryan’s office was on, I inhaled a deep breath. I was going to do this, I was going to confront Caroline, and then tell Ryan exactly how I knew it was her and how I felt. I marched across the office sticking out like a sore thumb. I was dressed in blue jeans and t-shirt instead of my normal skirt and blouse. I looked out of place but I didn’t care, I was here for one reason and it wasn’t a fashion show.