by Falon Gold
I instantly loathe his syrupy tone that he uses with the women he finesses out of their underwear. I get queasy on top of a weird swirling low in my belly that shoots tendrils into my core, caressing it. I refuse to examine what that sensation means, clench my legs together, and hold firm to the nauseousness taking root within me.
Be nice, Amari.
“Hello, Mr. Powers. What do you want? I’m busy. You shouldn’t be here.” I pronounce the words slowly so he catches the underlying message that he’s not welcomed to darken my doorway again.
“I want you, Amari. Are you going to invite me in?” he asks casually.
“No, you don’t, and no, I won’t. Please leave.” I step back to close the door.
He slaps it with his palm. “Wait, Amari. You need your job, so come back to work, or did you forget I promised that you’d regret quitting? I meant it. You won’t work in this town again if you don’t.”
He smiles. It doesn’t reach his eyes, where his usual transparent arrogance is sitting.
He thinks he has you over a barrel.
I nod, then grin back. “I’m glad you meant it. You and your harem are soon to be a case for the Center for Disease Control to investigate. I don’t want to catch anything you’ve contracted that’ll probably spread throughout the city. Blackballing me will put a healthy distance between me and it, and you and I, so go right ahead. Do your worst. You’re good at it. No need in stopping now.”
His threats are a guarantee that we’ll never see each other again. What can he do to me besides blackball me with the other high-profile companies in this city? Though none will pay me as well as Powers Enterprise does, I’ve already applied with them all and rejected what amounts to a minimum wage offer to switch companies. Mr. Powers’ influence with the other business owners in Candleton will be just the push I need to move back home where the people who love me live. I’ll get to start my own business finally, doing what I’m passionate about; designing shoes. I’ll probably have to sell them online anonymously to evade Mr. Powers long reach and ruining of my business. Do I think he’ll sabotage it if he ever gets wind of who owns it? In a heartbeat. He’s as ruthless, maybe more so, as the next businessman.
My stomach tumbles around. I ignore that too. One day, I’ll ask myself why he affects that part of me so much. Today is not that day, because his smirk is transforming to pursed lips enveloped in sheer, quiet fury.
His Italian loafers step into my personal space. “You think you’re better than me, don’t you, Amari?” His low tone heaps an unnatural dose of intimidation on me.
I thought I was done with feeling like that after my first year of working for him.
“Mr. Powers, it’s you who thinks you’re better than me. Why don’t you go back to the women with the same frame of mind as you and leave me alone?”
“Amari, I couldn’t leave you alone even if I wanted to. For one, you keep my life running smoothly. For two, I don’t know if I can find someone who’ll do it as well as you. Now come do the job I pay you so well for and stop this.”
Is there a ‘for three?’
I confess that he just stroked the hell out of my ego, but it’s not enough.
“Mr. Powers, there is one person who can do my job better than me. You. It’s your life. Coming back to Powers Enterprises would be subjecting myself to Chinese water torture.” Wearing me down until my mind leaves for more peaceful pastures.
“Amari,” he summons softly, his dark pupils simmering with anger.
For once, it’s not me who’s frustrated when I can’t get what I need out of our working relationship.
The tables have turned at last.
I realize I’m giggling cheerfully under my breath when his chest begins to puff out in jerky movements only inches from my face. It’s sort of hypnotizing to watch his double-breasted, pinstriped suit breathe.
“Mr. Powers, you make it seem like it’s painful to realize you can’t have your way all the time. Most adults have figured that out by five years old, you know?”
“Amari, I’ll ask again. Please come to work right now or face the consequences.”
I let my breath out, tired of the dialog now. “You killed the point of saying ‘please’ with ‘face the consequences.’ You don’t ask. You demand. I have the God-given right by the God above you, not the one you think you are by the way, to say no. Goodbye, Mr. Powers.”
I try to shut the door again.
He pushes again. “I’m serious. Come back to work.”
“Or?”
“Or I’ll make your life a living hell.” His warnings are becoming dangerously close to ominous.
I’ve never seen him act out violently, but usually things go his way. I don’t know what he’ll will do if pushed far enough, especially since it seems he isn’t going to leave until he gets what he wants. Well, he can’t have me.
“Mr. Powers, I’m not asking you to leave. I’m telling you to, or I’ll call the cops. I don’t have to work for you. You should start making a list of things that don’t mesh with what you choose to believe so you can keep up. Here’s another one. Nor do I want to be the crowd you crave to watch you fondle women like the promiscuous teenager you are in a grown man’s body. Do yourself a favor. Seek professional help for that. It can’t be coming from any place good inside you.”
His eyes and mouth widen again.
The poor thing is shocked again.
Truly amazed that I find him lacking as well, I bet.
“Are you saying I have issues, Amari?”
“I’m saying you’re twisted. Issues would mean your way of thinking can be reversed. You’ve been carrying on like an arrogant prick for far too long for that, but maybe you could be reprogrammed into a much nicer, saner man.”
The fury in his face intensifies, ripples off him, and nearly suffocates me.
“No one speaks to me like that. I’m not crazy. What happened to giving respect to receive it?”
“You’ve never respected me, and I’m surely not about to give you any more without getting some back first.”
He looks away, swallows deeply, and then puts me back in his crosshairs. “Look, I’m sorry for whatever you’ve had to endure while working for me. I was wrong. What if I make certain promises to you like I won’t date at the office anymore? I’ve stopped doing that by the way, months ago, but you didn’t notice it. And I respect you. You have to come back to work for me to prove it.”
He can’t pay me to believe that, even when he sounds sincere.
But you want to after that apology.
Shut up, conscience.
“Too late, Mr. Powers. Besides, I wouldn’t do my best as your PA anymore and your life would not run smoothly again. Lucky for you, I’m already gone. I’m staying that way. No need to change who you are for me now.”
“Too late,” he whispers.
His cryptic statement catches me off guard. I almost ask what does he mean by it, except I suspect he’s just saying what he thinks I want to hear.
You do want to hear it.
I said shut up, conscience.
“Look. You have to go, so do I.” I’m not talking about just getting going to Winchester either, but possibly moving to another apartment after this meeting.
There’s memories of him infecting my doorway now. I wouldn’t enter it again without remembering him standing here. Yeah, no I don’t want to know why I would be doing that either.
“I’m not going, Amari, until you come back to me.”
Come back to him? Did he not hear me?
“Yes, you are going, or… I’ll… scream this building down,” I warn, with every intention of doing it.
His hand slides down the door as a leer crosses his lips. “You have no idea who I am, do you?” There he is, the old Mr. Powers.
“Oh, I know exactly who and what you are.”
“Then you know exactly what I’m capable of.”
I wouldn’t be amazed if he makes damn sure I don’t work anywhere in
any of the states now.
Always wanted to go to Canada.
I’m determined to find a silver lining in the thunderclouds that Mr. Powers will rain down on my head with. So, I’ll get wet. That’s better than working for him.
“Fine. Make me pay for doing absolutely nothing to you and everything for you except the one thing that matters the most.”
He cocks his head. “And what’s that?”
“Make you human. It’s not possible. You’re a goddamn animal through and through.” I stand up on my tiptoes to peer over his shoulder at the door behind him. “Mrs. Harrison, please call the cops! I’m being bothered by a man who likes to harass and fondle women!”
I don’t know my neighbor’s name or if a Mrs. Harrison actually lives on my floor, but I don’t have to, to show him I mean business. I’m not his prey or anybody’s victim. However, I did screw up when I didn’t speak up sooner about his behavior in the office and didn’t leave before things got this far gone. Now, he’s riding me to resume my position as third party to the games he plays, or wants to play. Either way, it’s not fair to me.
He glances back at the apartment across the hall, then spears through me with hard eyes meant to inflict the maximum amount of damage. He’s five years late and a dollar short on that too.
So, you admit he hurt you when he brought the first woman to his office?
No, he didn’t.
Liar!
“You’ll pay for that, Amari.”
“You’ve hinted that I’ll be doing that already. Starting to repeat yourself. I think that’s a sign of dementia onset. You should call a psychiatrist now. Psychologists can’t write prescriptions.” And he needs a shitload of them.
He glares at me harder, then steps even closer until I almost inhale the paisley tie adorning his navy-blue dress shirt. I have to crook my neck back to look him directly in the face. I think I’m supposed to be intimidated by his nearness. The time has passed for that, and I just don’t see him physically attacking me.
“You haven’t seen the last of me, Amari.”
His face dips, lips set down on my cheek. Then they’re gone. Flames blast through me. I shudder… from fear, or at least that’s what I’m going to convince myself is invading my spine and licking at my insides.
You’re just going to lie to yourself, huh?
Yep, and shit, he needs to go now before I want to come.
Too late.
“Mrs. Harrison, are the cops coming yet? If not, call them again! This man refuses to leave! He’s threatening to make me pay for quitting my job! His name is Camron Powers! If anything happens to me, he’s the culprit!” Then I smile. “You should leave now. If I so much as trip down the steps leading into my living room, you’ll get blamed for it.”
He snorts ungentlemanly in my face, before his gaze lands on my mouth. One side of his lifts. He turns and walks away. I stare at his back side, having gotten the last word in again with the almighty Camron Powers. I should feel like a damn champ after facing the devil in battle and winning. It’s more like I’ve been buried under six feet of dirt while watching him retreat. A victory in battle doesn’t guarantee a triumph in war. Mr. Powers isn’t going to let these defeats go. He doesn’t work that way.
********
~Camron~
Walking away from Amari dressed in less than half the material she wears to work is damn near impossible. I can hardly squash the urge to look back at her.
And I thought giving up on my parents showing me they at least cared about me was hard.
With Amari, it’s impossible. But nothing is harder than I am right now, or compares to how much I ache in my chest when leaving her behind before she gets me arrested. I should be angry with her about it. The old Camron would be. She has the upper hand. Feels more like foreplay to the new me emerging, albeit gradually. The more she struggles against me, the more I need to know what makes her tick after I get her in my arms for life. I’m going to find out why she’s different from every other woman, and no one will stop me. Not even Amari.
I excavate my phone being jabbed by the pointed edge of the tent in my slacks that’s been constant for months. I’d rather torture myself with the pain my erection causes then allow a woman other than Amari to satisfy me. Second best just isn’t going to cut it for me anymore. Second best is what all the other women who have passed through my world have been for me since saw Amari, which was long before I hired her.
Dredging up my call list, I find the last number I dialed.
My top computer analyst picks up his extension. “Yeah, boss.”
At the lift, I press the button for the ground floor of Amari’s building. “Deon, hack the system.”
“Shit… uh, sorry about the curse word, boss, but I was hoping you were joking when you called me this morning about that. You’re sure you want me to do this?” Damn right.
“You want to get paid the extra five grand, Deon?”
He sighs heavily. “Alright. Give me two minutes. I’ll text you when it’s done.”
Money, the ultimate motivator, works damn near every time.
“Thank you.”
“Ah… you’re… welcome,” he stammers. He has a bad habit of tugging on his tie when he’s nervous, too.
God, I hope he’s not getting cold feet now.
“What’s the problem, Deon?” I stride inside the elevator.
“You’ve never said ‘thank you’ before to me… and I probably shouldn’t be mentioning that to you. Idiot!”
What does everyone consider me as? A Neanderthal? Probably.
“Everyone can change, Deon.”
I can imagine him wiping sweat from his forehead, wondering if his job is at risk and if he’ll have to go back to the rough streets he was born on just because he spoke openly to me. He knows me well. Any other time, he would be fired.
“Most people don’t choose to change though, boss.”
“I’m not most people. Don’t forget to cover your tracks. Bye.”
The elevator’s doors spread wide, letting me out. I might as well call Blake now. He’s going to be highly ticked off when I tell him that I reverted to my old self, threatening Amari when I didn’t get my way and going through with my promise to make her come back to me by any means necessary. I’ll need to calm the storm that’ll kick up inside him when he finds out what I’ve done. It’ll be much worse and unmanageable if he finds out from Amari.
I can’t put it pass her to tell him as soon as she sees him. It doesn’t help me that he’s a former sheriff out of Colorado, his soon-to-be-wife filling in the position. As of now, the steps I’ve taken to bring Amari to me are unlawful. I highly doubt that Blake won’t go through with his plan to arrest me for any one of them either.
His line rings three times, possibly on the other, completing business for the resort. When he finally picks up, I pass by Amari’s doorman who tips his hat to me for the generous tip I left him to make sure no one leaves a parking ticket on my car.
“Camron,” he says in a monotone.
“Are you sitting down?”
I cross the sidewalk, approaching the car double-parked in front of the building, with the sun beating down on my head. I feel it’s weight, not the heat. I’ll stay chilled until Amari is mine.
“What did you do?”
“What I said I would—get her back by any means necessary. The stakes are higher now, though. If you want the details, get your ass to Candleton.”
The line goes dead silent. I expect him to be hollering at me, at the top of his lungs after that indirect admission of my bad acts. Since he isn’t, he’s stroking his jaw, considering my actions. I wait for him to recover, while I start the engine of the black Ashton Martin.
“Camron, I’m not even going to get mad with you for doing whatever you’ve done. You’re about to learn that you catch more flies with honey than the vinegar you’ve been serving up to women. When it comes to those who make men better versions of themselves, you’re going to fai
l… epically.”
“Are you calling me sour, Blake?” I prefer his yelling much more than his insults.
“So is everyone else that you treat badly, Camron.”
“I didn’t treat her badly. I just visited her place and asked her to come back to work. I told her I’d change for her.”
“And she didn’t believe you.” That is not a question.
“Which is why I had to do what I had to.”
“You didn’t have to, Camron. You chose to, which is why whatever you’ve done is going to backfire in your face.”
“We’ll see about that.”
“You certainly will. I might as well continue your lessons in learning to deal with the public who’s not star struck by you. Step Four; you don’t forget special days such as birthdays or anniversaries… ever.”
“Fuck!” I yell like Blake should have.
When the soundproof interior of the car tosses my shout back at me, I lower my voice. “Now, you tell me, Blake. Amari’s birthday was two days ago. I told her to celebrate it yesterday, since she was obviously pissed at me about making her forget it, and be back at work today. When she didn’t show up for work or call in, I went to her place to bring her back. I’m learning it’s bad for me when she’s angry. She basically screamed I was a pervert to everyone on her floor.”
Blake snickers. “Damn straight, it’s bad for you. Did you at least wish her happy belated birthday while you were there?”
“No,” I answer reluctantly, guessing that was the wrong thing to do. “She wouldn’t even let me in.”
A hail of laughter breaks from Blake. “Because you’re an idiot, Camron.”
I grind my teeth. “You may not remember but Powers don’t celebrate birthdays.”
His mirth cools. “I did forget some of things the Powers don’t do, just to get out of making someone happier than themselves, like showing affections. I’m more concerned with what they will do. Sorry about that. Okay, you make it up to her. It won’t be the same as doing something on her actual birthday, but she won’t forget the effort. Might not do you any good at this point, but she’ll definitely remember you tried.”
“Is this where I find something to put in a box with a pretty bow on top?”