A Force of Nature

by Kara Liane

  “That simply means I see big things happening for you here. You are by far the brightest, most real, most talented, and prettiest writer we have on staff. You have to know this about yourself. Don’t get me wrong . . . Steve is a great guy and has been a great managing editor, but he’s been holding you back since the minute you walked in the door and got the job. You are capable of so much more. I can see you filling his position one day. And if I have it my way, which I always do, that day will be sooner than later. You just need someone to push you in the right direction,” he said sincerely as he took a slight step forward, letting his words, body heat, and eyes sear me in place.

  Okay, point for Stuart for throwing me off. For once I stood riveted to the spot, rendered 100 percent speechless. I think my head was still all jumbled from lack of sleep. I couldn’t even process the idea of Steve leaving or Stuart making him leave, so I wasn’t going to touch that one right now. I rubbed at my forehead and closed my eyes. I needed a minute to think.

  I also needed to get the hell out of there. I had to find Brent.

  When I opened my eyes, there Stuart was, a breath away from my lips. And my next thought was, Oh no! He’s going to kiss me!

  Brenneth

  I decided not to take the elevator up to Everly’s floor, opting for the stairs instead since I’m a fit guy and not lazy—just another opportunity to get some PT in since the military is big on fitness. I was anxious to see my girl and give her the new laptop. I kept thinking about having office sex with her, but I assumed she wouldn’t risk it. But then again, she’s a kinky woman, so who knew? As I bounded up the last set of steps, my face immediately fell, and I saw red in my vision.

  My heart was stabbed, and I was gutted in an instant. There, on the far side of the room, at one of the last desks in the row, stood Ev and the little prick. He was kissing her.

  MOTHERFUCKER!

  I saw all I needed to see. I had to get the hell out of there before I ended up going to prison. I wanted to tear Stuart’s nuts off and shove them down his throat. I wanted to scream at Everly and call her every name in the book. My mom had raised me better than that, but it was sure hard to keep it all in.

  I turned and hastily reached for the railing. I was having a hard time making it down the stairs. I was afraid I was going to fall. How ironic that I had been falling up the stairs last December when I met Ev, and now I was falling down at the end of “us.”

  I guessed she ran to Stuart and found someone to console her. Or she’d been lying to me and seeing him all along. It also could explain why she didn’t want kids. Was she just using me? Was I an experiment for her column? Or the other possibility was that she was fucking her boss, trying for that goddamn promotion he’d hinted at.

  No matter which reason it was, none was a good enough excuse. I’d never forgive her for this.

  The first woman I had actually loved, decided I wanted to finally spend the rest of my life with, and she’d just shit all over me and my heart. I felt sick to my stomach. Sweat was pouring down my face. I needed to get out into the night air and cool off.

  Fuck. Some things you just can’t un-see.

  Before I exited the building, I smashed the new laptop into pieces right on the tiled lobby floor. It took a few tries, but it was destroyed enough. The broken bits seemed to reflect what was going on with me internally. I thought that action would be effective in making me feel better by getting out some anger, but it didn’t. It was a poor substitute.

  I walked outside, gasping for breath. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. I also couldn’t believe I was falling apart again. Things had just been made abundantly clear that Ev had the power to heal me or completely destroy me—and the latter option won out. All my time overseas and all the pain I went through with my leg could not equal the hurt in my chest. She completely broke me. I would definitely need professional help now.

  Jesus, I hadn’t expected to ever find love. And when I finally did, I thought I was the luckiest son of a bitch. But I guess not everybody gets their happy ending. Sometimes life is an unfair bitch. I knew that from my time in the military. I just thought that for once life was going to be kind to me in the love department. But how wrong I was. Love delivered me a five foot nine blonde bomb—bomb, not bombshell.

  She obliterated me. That IED hurt less, now that I think about it. But she was going to get a dose of her own medicine. I’m normally not the vindictive type, but she had unleashed a storm in me the likes of which no one had ever seen. There would be no mercy for her feelings. I would move through this fucking place like a force of nature.

  Get ready, Ev, because it’s coming.

  Chapter 25: Stranger Danger

  Everly

  For a split second, I let Stuart kiss me. More because I couldn’t believe he was doing it, not so much because I wanted him to. Again, there was attraction there, I’m not going to lie, but I would never go there with him, and I would never do that to the man I love. I lurched back, practically giving myself whiplash. Then I slapped Stuart across the face. Damn him for doing that to me, and consequences be damned if it led to my firing. Hell, it would be worth it because it was not welcome, asked for, or reciprocated lust or desire.

  Stuart rubbed at his cheek and jaw. The crack by my hand had made a satisfying echo through the empty office area. I was boiling with anger. I balled my hands into fists. This was the last thing I needed to deal with. Here just when I thought I could get to like Stuart, really started to think he was a genuine guy, he goes and pulls this crap on me. He didn’t really seem surprised by my reaction, but I could also tell he was disappointed. Well, too bad, buddy! When I’d told him a while back that he shouldn’t go sniffing around my bush, I should have pulled out my holiday nutcracker and made my point more clearly.

  “How dare you! I have a boyfriend. We fucking work together, for God’s sake! You have no right to touch me in any way. That was such a dickhead move. So was that all just a bunch of shit that you fed me a minute ago? Was the end goal all along to get me into bed? Huh, Stuart?” I goaded him.

  I kept shaking my head. I crossed my arms protectively over my chest. He had about two seconds to explain himself. Now I wished the upgrades to security had already been installed because I’d have his ass on camera. I guess it would be pointless since he was the boss anyway, but I wondered how his daddy would feel about sexual harassment in the workplace. Not that I’d use that angle to advance my career; it would be more to expose Stuart for the snake he was. If his father condoned that type of behavior, then I think others would also need to know about it.

  As I had vowed to do, I’d already looked into the deal about his father buying the publication. Everything was legit. I was partly disappointed there was no story to unearth, but I was also relieved that everything was kosher. I really wanted to believe the best about Stuart, to believe he wasn’t a slimeball. I was still having a hard time figuring him out, evidently.

  Stuart held his hands up in front of him in a gesture of surrender. He was trying to placate me, and I’m sure he was damn worried about my reaction and the potential consequences. Let him try and fire me—see what would happen. I shouldn’t have slapped him, but technically he put his hands on me first, so that knee-jerk reaction was more than warranted.

  “Okay, Everly. I’m sorry, all right?” he asked.

  I was shooting daggers at him and clearly making it known that it was in fact not all right. He sighed and put his hands in his jeans pockets.

  Wise move, asshole. That’s right; keep your grubby hands to yourself.

  “I was out of line,” he admitted.

  “Ya think?” I asked in a vicious tone.

  “Yes, I was. I have no excuse. Well, yes, I do, actually. I’m not sorry I did it. I’m sorry about your reaction, but try and look at it from my end. Before you go kicking me in the nuts, just hear me out. Please . . .” Stuart asked, pleadingly and sincerely.

  I nodded for him to go on. I wanted to hear this epic excuse
.

  He cleared his throat. “Look, I’ve liked you since I started working here. Well, more than liked you. I did mean all those things I said. And no, my goal was not to get you into bed. Of course I want you in that way, but you really are talented and an amazing woman. Don’t you see? Haven’t you ever wanted something so badly, but it was out of your reach? Haven’t you wanted to be with someone so badly it hurt? Everly . . . I just had to know. I just had to know if I had a chance here. I thought I could eventually win you over, but then you got that boyfriend. I guess things are serious. I didn’t realize that until just now.”

  He had a sad look on his face, and he seemed to be trying to accept the situation we now found ourselves in.

  He took a deep breath and sighed in defeat. “Like I said, I’m not sorry I did it, but it was the wrong way to go about it. What I am sorry for, though, are the text messages. I hope I didn’t interfere in your relationship. I realize now that was also the wrong way to go about approaching you. Whether you believe this or not, I was trying to sweep you off your feet, but I guess it backfired. I really do want to see you happy, even if that means you and I will never have a romantic relationship—only a professional one.”

  I felt slightly better. I think I actually felt sorry for the guy. My face changed from one of murderous to understanding. I did know how it felt to want something that badly. But then I finally got what I wanted: I finally got the family I’d always desired. I finally got the acceptance I’d always needed. And I finally got the love I’d always yearned for. I got that with Brent. It would take a while, but I would eventually forgive Stuart for this—as long as he never did it again.

  “It doesn’t make what you did okay, but I guess I do understand. And you’re right—it is serious. He’s the man I’m going to marry. I’ve never said that out loud to anyone, but there it is. But so help me, Stuart, if you ever put your hands on me again without my permission, I will gladly go to prison over what I’d do to you. Boss or no boss. Got it?” I gave him that scolding, motherly look and tone.

  He smiled boyishly again, and I relaxed. I really believe I could chock this all up to him being young and stupid. He was such a conundrum. One second he was Mr. CEO in a suit and giving orders, and the next he was back to acting like a dumb kid.

  But I couldn’t think about Stuart any longer. I had to think about my man. Now that the words were out there about a serious future with him, I needed to find Brent. We needed to hash things out and make up. I missed him terribly. It goes to show that even with only one day apart, I felt empty, incomplete, and broken. I couldn’t wait to find him.

  I said a clipped goodbye to Stuart, and he walked off to his office. I figured he was going off in private to lick his wounds. I didn’t waste any time packing up my borrowed laptop and notes and stuffing everything into my tote bag. Then I headed for the stairs. Brent was rubbing off on me with the health crap. Not only did he make me eat more veggies and fruits, but he also encouraged me to exercise. I chuckled at his persuasive ways as I went down the stairs instead of the elevator. Man, that airman had an effect on me.

  When I made it to the lobby, I noticed there was some sort of a mess on the floor. As I got closer, I saw that it appeared to be pieces of electronics. No, it was pieces of a laptop. I could clearly read the brand, especially since the top and base were mostly intact. The top and bottom had come apart, but I could tell what it once had been. Basically, the keyboard keys and pieces of the screen had flown off. Hmm. Well, it isn’t my mess to clean up. It made me concerned, though. Why would there be a laptop broken down here?

  Then I got a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I prayed I was wrong. I scrambled to get my purse off my shoulder and quickly pulled out my cell phone. There were no missed calls and no texts, sadly. But I wouldn’t be discouraged from reaching out to Brent. So I frantically pushed his name under my list of favorite contacts. It rang four times and then went to voice mail. I texted him just in case he couldn’t talk—wherever he was.

  Hey. I tried to call. Where are you? Can we please talk? I really want to see you.

  There was no point in asking about the destroyed laptop if it had nothing to do with him or us. So it was a waiting game. If for some reason I didn’t get a response, I’d go into panic mode and assume the worst. If I did get a response, that clearly meant he was still talking to me, so that would be a good sign.

  I tapped my foot impatiently, wishing a reply would come. Suddenly my sweater felt a little too hot; it was making me perspire. I closed my eyes and bit my lip, hoping against hope that he hadn’t come to my office at the exact moment when Stuart kissed me.

  Finally, after pacing in the lobby for an hour, my phone buzzed in my hand and made the chime indicating I had a text. I opened my eyes and unlocked the screen. I let out a blessed sigh of relief.

  Yes. I agree we need to talk. I’m at my parents’ place. They went to Caylan’s for a visit. If you can come here, we’ll talk.

  I hurriedly typed out my reply: Yes.

  I added a kiss emoticon, so I hoped he would get the message that I was coming in peace. I never use emoticons, but in this case it felt necessary. I walked to my car and drove off toward his parents’ condo, feeling like we would surely work everything out.

  I truly meant what I said to Stuart. I really did want to marry Brent. The moment he asked me, even if it had been right that second, I’d say yes. There was no point in holding back—we knew we were it for each other. I knew last night had been petty and stupid, and in the grand scheme of things, such a small blip on the big radar of our love. I couldn’t wait to fix things between us.

  I arrived at his parents’ place feeling optimistic. I parked and made my way up to their condo. The building was gorgeous. I was so happy Fred and Milly had such a nice place to live. They really were the nicest people and deserved the best. If I was lucky enough to get to be their daughter-in-law one day, well I’d certainly never take them for granted.

  I knocked on the door and smiled, thinking I would ambush him first with kisses, and then we’d work everything out. Well, actually, scratch that. We’d fuck everything out. I missed him so damn much. Not only did my heart ache for him, my body did too. We could do the apologies later. I so desperately just wanted to be close to him again.

  It took a minute, but he finally opened the door. I was grinning from ear to ear, so happy at the sight of him. He was buttoning up a flannel shirt as he stood there in the doorway. Hmm, maybe he just showered or got out of bed. I was surprised Maverick wasn’t there to greet me, but it was quite possible he was hiding under the bed from the Big Bad Witch I was. God, I had to make it up to the poor fella.

  “Did I catch you at a bad time?” I teased. I moved in to give him a kiss on the cheek, but he dodged away at the last second.

  Odd. I was confused. I frowned, but walked past him on my way into the living room. I guess he wasn’t ready to literally kiss and make up. I headed toward the couch, ready to sit down and get comfy so we could talk. But then I noticed there was a purse on the table. I looked up at him as if to ask whose it was. I was just about to ask him out loud when, from down the hall, I heard a feminine voice. As the sound got closer, I could make out what she said.

  “Thanks again for letting me come over. I really needed that. You sure know how to make a girl feel better,” the woman said in Brent’s direction.

  What the hell is going on?

  It appeared she had either come from the bathroom or the guest bedroom. She was noticeably straightening her shirt as she made her entrance. My quick perusal of her made me realize she was pretty enough. She had short brown hair and seemed to be fit. I wondered if she was one of his old fuck buddies from the base. I kept looking back and forth, from her to Brent. Each of us just stayed silent and unmoving, all caught in the web of an awkward situation. But which one of us was the fly, the spider, or the toad?

  Brent stood casually at the entryway, still holding the door open. I was so confused. And then it all b
ecame clear in an instant. What I was witnessing was the final end of “us.” Pain and devastation rocketed through my body. My heart didn’t even register it yet, but I knew any moment that it would crumble to dust like a dried leaf blowing in the desert sky. I doubled over in pain. I had to sit down on the couch.

  “I . . . uh . . . err . . . I should get going, Brent. Thanks again. I’ll talk to you later,” the home-wrecker remarked.

  I couldn’t even watch her leave. She grabbed her purse off the table and made her escape. Hell, I couldn’t even look at him. I just sat there holding my stomach, willing my insides not to fall out. I had to think for a minute. I had to not hyperventilate, for one thing. This all had to be some kind of a mistake—or a sick and twisted joke. Surely what just seemed to have happened did not actually happen. Surely they did not just fuck in a place I wouldn’t even dare fuck him in. I wouldn’t do that to his parents—and I would never do that to him.

  I still hadn’t looked up, but I heard him close the door at last. He hadn’t said anything, and I wasn’t brave enough to start the conversation. Suddenly I was a little girl again. I retreated into my mind, back to a place where I cowered and made myself small. I wanted to be Strong Everly. Strong Everly would grip his nuts and twist them until they came off. Strong Everly would yell the place down, be able to stand up to him and put him in his place. Weak Everly couldn’t do anything. Any second now, I knew I’d need a brown paper bag to breathe into to try and keep from losing consciousness.

  “I guess there’s nothing left to say,” he said solemnly.

  He was right: there was nothing to say. He’d just confirmed it. He didn’t deny it or try to hide it. So I guess he really had fucked her. What the absolute hell? He knew damn well I was coming over. He was the one who invited me over, for Christ’s sake.

  Jesus, he knew he’d get caught. Shit. He wanted to get caught.