by C. C. Brown
Light breathing filled the phone for a second before he asked, "What have you heard?"
I contemplated telling him everything that Chase had told me, but I wanted to test him and see just how forth coming he would be with me. "I just heard that you've been occupied with other things, so I was wondering how things were going there at Bradley."
He sighed. "Cara, I'm making some changes in my life, for the better, and I feel like they will ultimately make me a happier person. I don't want you to see me as a vindictive asshole, but where my dad is concerned, that’s kind of what I've turned into."
"What do you mean?" I asked, trying to get him to give more detail.
"My dad has dicked me around for too long, so I'm givin' it right back to him. I'm leaving the San Diego Bradley office in someone else's hands, and if it succeeds, then it succeeds. If it doesn't, then hey, fuck 'em."
I started to ask him exactly what all of that meant when I heard a man in the background say, "Mr. Bradley, you're up."
"Who was that? Where are you?" I blurted out, unsure of the voice I had just heard.
I heard Jason swallow hard before answering. "I'm at my anger management meeting."
"Anger management?" I asked.
"Yeah. It's been a long time coming." He paused. "Can I take you to lunch tomorrow? I really have to get in there."
"Yeah. Call me tomorrow and we'll figure it out."
"Alright. I love you, Gorgeous."
I swallowed and wanted oh so badly to reciprocate the love, but settled on, "See you tomorrow," before hanging up.
Jason was now in anger management. The thought pounded against my skull. I'd never believed in a million years that he would seek out help like that. We'd never discussed it, but the thought did cross my mind a few times. I just figured if he never sought out help to deal with his familial problems, then he certainly wouldn't seek out help to deal with himself. Dealing with yourself requires you to admit that there is a problem, and Jason had always seemed much too prideful to admit that.
The thought made me smile. I wasn't smiling because this angry man was now sitting down amongst other angry people, sharing his feelings. I was smiling because he did this on his own. At least I thought he did. Whatever the case, he was doing it. He was making changes to make himself a better person and that made me happy.
I lay down on the couch and turned on the TV, hoping to occupy my boredom. Chelsea was still out to dinner with Hunter, so I was left alone. When I got tired of watching whatever was on my television screen, I picked up my phone and dialed Mila's number since I hadn't spoken to her in a while.
"Hello?" Mila said.
"Hey, Mila," I greeted her, unable to hide my joy.
"Heeyyy, Pinks. What's up with you?" Her tone was guarded. Me, in such a jovial phone mood, was not the norm.
"I've got a question for you."
"Shoot."
"Did you know that Jason is in anger management?" I asked, fully expecting her to say yes.
"No. Since when?" she asked. She sounded just as surprised as I had when I'd found out.
"I just found out."
"Hold on Pinks…" she interrupted, then screamed, "Ryyyyaaannnn!" I had to pull the phone away from my ears to save my hearing. Shortly after, I could hear Ryan in the background. "Did you know Jason was in anger management?" she asked him.
"No. Who's on the phone?" he asked.
"It's your sister."
"Hey, sis. When did you hear that Jason was in anger management?"
"Hi, Ryan. I found out tonight. I called Jason and he couldn't talk long because he had to get into his meeting. I was wondering if you two knew about it, since you still talk and all."
Ryan laughed, which completely caught me off guard.
"So you and Jason are back on?" he asked.
"Not exactly. And why are you laughing? What's funny about this?"
He sighed.
"Cars, do you remember the night Jason blew up after his fight at Coyote Ugly, and I went after him outside the casino?"
"Yes," I replied, unsure of where this was going.
"Well, when I went to cool him down, I mentioned possible anger management class to him. He damn near punched me for suggesting it. He said Bradley men didn't do stuff like that."
"Sounds like he's making some changes, Pinks." Mila chimed in.
I sat on the phone quiet for a minute. Jason, Jacob, and Mr. Bradley were all rough and tough guys, so going to any sort of therapy where they teach you to get in touch with your feelings, would have seemed like something that would threaten their masculinity. As much as all of them could use the help, I could never see Mr. Bradley turning to such an outlet. The more I thought about it, the prouder I grew of Jason.
"Pinks… are you there?" Mila asked, breaking me from my pleasant thoughts.
"Sorry. I'm here."
"We'll have to get together sometime this week. We miss you," Mila said.
"Yeah. Mom and Dad miss you, too," Ryan threw in, probably to try and make me feel guilty about being so busy.
"I hear you guys. I'll be in touch."
"Alright," they said in unison. "Love you."
"I love you both, too."
My mood had been lifted by the two phone calls I had been on tonight. Chase had inadvertently sparked what turned into an informational night. I briefly thought about him and just how miserable he looked when speaking about work. Ironically, Jason being gone had caused him his misery. I never thought I would hear those words. While I felt bad for him, it was just an internship and not permanent work. Plus, Jason was finally breaking free from his dad, and I knew better than most people exactly how liberating that would be for him.
Jason was slowly, but surely, melting away the icy layers of my heart. I couldn't wait to see him the next day so that I could get some details on what was going on in his life. I knew all of this was being done for me, and in a way, I was flattered. I also knew that he had to be feeling the effects of the changes as well and that they were turning him into a much better person.
Like a young girl who had her first crush, I listened to his voicemail message a few times before finally closing my eyes and going to bed.
Chapter 13
Rolling over in my bed the next morning with the sun shining onto my face, I lazily wiped my eyes and glanced at my clock. When the time finally registered to me, I jumped out of bed in a panic. I had overslept and was going to be late getting to the sports arena for the team photo shoot.
I hurriedly ran into the bathroom and tried to make myself look presentable in what little time that was available. I kept reminding myself that my job was on the line and I had to make sure to do everything as it should be done.
There was no stirring around in Chelsea's room, so I assumed she was still sleeping. I tried hard not to wake her as I hastily grabbed my belongings and ran down the stairs. I skipped breakfast all together, made my way out to my car, and drove off. I wasn't too far away from our location, but with the morning traffic, this could turn into a nightmare.
Sure as shit, I sat in bumper to bumper traffic almost the entire way to the sports arena. By the time I pulled into the parking lot, I was sweating and my hands had burn marks from me gripping and twisting the cover of my steering wheel. I glanced at my clock and while I was only 10 minutes late, I was late, nonetheless.
Damian was standing with the photographer and I tried to sneak in, but he looked up and saw me. I stopped for a second, unsure of what he would do next. He went back to talking to the photographer, so I relaxed and sat my things down in a nearby chair. When I turned around, William was standing next them, staring me down with a look that could cut metal. Embarrassment and fear coursed through me, but I tried hard to maintain my composure. His eyes followed every step I took over to them, and when I smiled, he didn't return it.
"Good morning everyone," I said, hoping to thaw the icy air that had filled the arena.
Damian smiled meekly, but didn't say anything. William l
ooked down at his watch and then back to me.
"Does your clock not work, Cara?" he asked. The expression in his eyes was cold and cruel.
I smiled, hoping to defrost him a bit, but it was of no use. The more I tried, the more he frowned. I remembered the first day that I'd met him when his mantra about being punctual came back to mind. I didn't deliberately show up late, and I certainly wasn't expecting to get this treatment, but here it was, and the warning of working for a 'tyrant' came to mind.
"I'm sorry. I overslept. I'll make sure this doesn't happen again."
William nodded his head, but still gave no hint of a smile. I looked over to Damian who was watching us out of the corner of his eye. He grinned a bit, but said nothing to me.
Damian called the team members over and they huddled around, listening to the instructions that the photographer was giving. I was handed a clip-board and told to keep notes on certain shots, the players, numbers, and their personal information that would later be added to the team website. I had to admit that even with the glacial stares from William, and the smug looks from Damian, the shoot was quite entertaining. The players had so much personality that it was easy to get lost in their jokes and banter. I only wished that they could take some of it and rub it off on William.
Thankfully, I didn't have to deal with William for the entire day. Shortly before breaking for lunch, he left to go and meet with the guys from finance to crunch numbers concerning billboards that were going up around San Diego. I breathed a sigh of relief at his exit. In the short amount of time that I had been working for William, I'd never seen this side of him. But then again, he'd damn near threatened my job, so I guess I should have seen it coming.
Watching the impossibly tall basketball players pose in playful poses with one another finally brought the smile to my face that seemed unlikely earlier in the morning. A pizza delivery guy strolled in with mounds of pizza, turning the players' attention. The photographer decided to take a break and the players bounded over to the lunch table, devouring the pizza as if it were their last meal.
I felt my stomach roll and heard it groan as I stood there watching the players eat. I was hungry because--I had skipped breakfast this morning--then I suddenly remembered that I was supposed to be having lunch with Jason today. Patting my back pockets, I realized that my phone was tucked away in my purse. I speed walked over to it, catching Damian's eye in the process. When I checked the phone, it showed two missed calls from Jason.
I felt bad for missing the calls. I knew he really wanted to talk to me, and I really wanted to know more about his outreach for help with that disastrous temper of his. There was a voicemail, but I skipped it and dialed his number back instead.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey, Gorgeous. Where have you been? I've been trying to call you to make plans for lunch."
"I know. We've got this photo shoot for the team and it's been quite the day. I over slept and was late getting here. My boss damn near sliced me in half with his glares."
Jason laughed a little. It was oddly relaxing to hear laughter coming from him. I hadn't heard it much when we had first started dating.
"Well, did you tell him to piss off?"
"No. I can't do that."
"Well then tell him to take the proverbial stick out of his ass."
I laughed at that. It was funny hearing Jason quote Chelsea. After all, there was no secret that they both pretty much loathed one another.
"You're a mess. When do you want to meet up?" I looked up to find Damian walking over in my direction.
"Whenever you're done with the shoot."
"Well, we shouldn't be more than another hour or so." Damian was almost standing directly in front of me. "I'll call you when we're done."
"Sounds good. I love you, Cara."
I still had no idea how to respond to that so I politely replied, "I'll talk to you soon," and hung up the phone.
Damian was hovering when I turned around. Calculation shrouded his face, like he was trying to figure out what I was planning.
"Are you going to have lunch?" I could tell that wasn't the question he truly wanted ask.
"Yeah. I just needed to make a call."
He walked me over to the lunch table and I helped myself to a few slices of pizza. I must have been hungrier than I had realized because I practically inhaled my food, and could definitely go for another slice, but I refrained. Damian flashed inquisitive glances my way throughout the meal, but we only made small talk. I wasn't going to fill him in on anything that he didn't particularly have any right to know.
"So we'll be out in about an hour, right?" I asked, trying not to come across as eager and impatient on the job.
"That's the plan," he replied, still tossing questioning glances my way.
"Okay. Thanks."
I gathered up the team to hand them another set of uniforms and asked them to meet with the photographer for their next set of instructions. Damian remained silent in the background, but kept flashing suspicious glances in my direction, making me completely uncomfortable. I would have rather he came out and said whatever was on his mind. Having to play mind reader was beginning to piss me off.
For the next hour or so, I remained focused on my job. I didn't stop to think about the perplexities of Damian. More than ever, I wanted to forget about him. Things with him weren't sitting right with me, especially having the encounter I'd had with William. When the shoot finally came to a close, I eagerly took the uniforms from the players and turned over a copy of my notes to the photographer. Damian addressed the team as I helped to load things into the photographer's van. When we were done, I took out my phone and called Jason.
"Hey… we're done. Where do you want to go?"
"Good. I don't care. I'll leave that up to you."
I stood quiet for a second, trying to figure out exactly what I was hungry for.
"How about Italiano's. I could really go for their manicotti."
"Sounds good. Do you want me to come get you?"
"No." I blurted out. I didn't want this to feel like a date. "I'll meet you there in about an hour."
"Okay. Sounds good."
When I hung up and turned around, Damian was standing not too far away from me with a smug, suggestive grin on his face. Before, it had spiked my body temperature a bit, but now, it was starting to annoy me.
"You've got plans?" he asked, moving closer to me.
I backed up a couple of steps.
"Yes."
"Sorry. You're going to have to cancel them. We have a meeting with the web designer that we need to get to."
I looked at him with narrowed eyes. I could feel the hair on my arms begin to stand.
"You never mentioned a meeting. When did this come about?"
"I just confirmed it today. Things like this happen in this business, Cara. You have to make yourself available. If you can't, then this probably isn't the job for you." His lips curved as he spoke, and the wicked gleam in his eyes told me something more was behind this.
"Do you think maybe I can get a little notice next time? I just made plans that I now have to cancel."
He gave me an impassive stare as he nonchalantly shrugged his shoulders. I bit down on my bottom lip to keep myself from saying something that I was sure I'd regret. Fire seared through me the longer I looked at his smug face, so I marched back into the sports arena to grab my things.
"Head to The Wine Cellar, Cara. I'll see you there!" Damian yelled after me. I'd heard him, but I didn't turn around to acknowledge him. I knew his little game and I wasn't about to play it.
When I was far enough away from him, I called Jason back, hating that I would have to cancel on him.
"Hey, Gorgeous," he answered, sounding much too chipper.
"Hey. Look, I can't meet up with you. I have to do more work this afternoon. Can you meet me later?"
I heard him sigh before he answered. "Damn. No. I have another meeting this afternoon, and then I have to do a shit ton of paperwork wi
th these realtors. How about tomorrow?"
"We have the second half of our photo shoot tomorrow. It should be a quick morning shoot, so how about the afternoon? I'll take my lunch away from the venue."
"Sounds good. See you tomorrow. I love you."
"See you tomorrow."
I ended the call wanting to tell him that I loved him too, but I couldn't fix my mouth to say it. I chucked my phone into my bag and stormed off to my car. I didn't want to meet with the web designer today. That was nowhere in the plans and, I knew it was Damian playing interference, but I couldn't blow it off. I was already on thin ice where William was concerned, so I jumped into my car and drove off, blasting angry music and picturing Damian's face as I screamed out the lyrics at the top of my lungs.
<>
When I stepped into The Wine Cellar, the place was damn near empty. Somehow I had managed to beat Damian here and that pissed me off because he made it seem like the appointment was urgent. A lanky hostess asked if I wanted to be seated. I turned it down, and when she asked if I would like anything to drink, I stupidly declined that, too. I really felt the need to have a bottle of wine to dilute my anger, but because this was a work meeting, I settled on water instead.
About fifteen minutes later, Damian casually strolled in without a care in the world. He reeked of hypocrisy as he came walking in late for a business meeting. My skin had been damn near seared off by William for showing up late earlier in the day. He stopped by the same hostess and whispered something into her ear, which made her laugh as she held on to his forearm. The sight made me frown, but once they turned and motioned for me to follow, I quickly put it away.
Damian and I were seated near the back, just before a patio overlooking the ocean. He waited until I was seated before taking his seat, making sure to watch me the entire time. I looked back to the entrance, expecting someone to walk through and look for us at any moment, but there was no one there. Shortly after, a middle-aged waitress came by and Damian ordered a couple of glasses of white wine and bruschetta, never leaving me the opportunity to order anything for myself. I almost turned away the wine, trying to make a point that this was a business meeting, and therefore, we shouldn't be drinking, but with the way that I was feeling, and the things that were clawing their way to come out of my mouth, I figured the liquid courage would be needed.