by Nella Tyler
“You’re not gonna believe it,” he exclaimed and I couldn’t help my heart lurching forward in my chest with fear and anticipation. The way he said it, I couldn’t be sure whether he was pleased or so angry he was consumed in a seething haze of ire.
“What?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions from going too crazy.
“I fucking did it!” he screamed, and despite the expletive, he sounded like a child, now undeniably excited. “I locked the deal, Mazie!”
“Oh my God! Yes! I knew you could do it!” I replied, trying not to be too loud or give into the urge to jump up and down. “This is wonderful!” I added breathlessly, “Your father is going to be so proud of you!”
After I the last part, I felt the drop in the level of his elated emotion, and I knew I had said something wrong, at least to Dexter, but I wasn’t sure what it was. I hadn’t meant to bring up his father, but since my father and myself were so close, it seemed like a natural way to reassure him of his accomplishment.
Of course, now, I wasn’t so sure I had made the right decision.
I stopped talking abruptly, waiting for him to speak after realizing he didn’t have any kind of agreement after I spoke. Instead, it seemed as though his voice and attention trailed off.
“Yeah, maybe,” Dexter answered after a moment of silence. I could tell that he sounded hurt and therefore, I wanted to try to reaffirm that he should be proud of himself. After all, the small amount I had heard about his father was that he wasn’t the best at giving praise and perhaps the two weren’t all that close.
For the first time, I wondered if perhaps his father hired Dexter out of obligation but surely, if that were the case and he wasn’t actually good at his job, Laura would have told me.
Maybe nothing is good enough for his father, I wondered, knowing that was not an uncommon trait among the people in our parents’ social circles.
I knew I was lucky that my father was so supportive and growing up, it seemed that Mr. Myers was equally as supportive as of his son, if not of anyone else.
However, with the earnest reaction I received, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was wrong. I wanted to delve further into this, to assuage my own curiosity but instead, I remained silent.
Thankfully, Dexter changed the subject quickly after that, disallowing a lot of time to elapse, so that the conversation didn’t end up becoming overly awkward.
“Anyway, I am excited to come back and spend some time with you. I’ve been thinking about you ever since the moment I left your house,” he told me in a low, sensual voice that yet again reminded me of the previous night’s escapades.
This time, however, instead of being embarrassed, I was excited. I felt the grin creep widely over my face and I giggled as I told him, “Hurry back, Dexter, and then you won’t have to miss me.”
Chapter 19
Dexter
I was eager to return home, especially after the conversation I had with Mazie. Therefore, I took the first flight I could, which brought me home a little later than I thought I would be, which made me realize my father would have to wait a little longer to get the news. I wasn’t broken up about it in the least, but I did need to tell him soon, lest risk him trying to pull some crap about me not disclosing pertinent information to him.
However, since it was late, I figured if I woke him up instead of simply waiting until the morning he would be even less grateful than he was sure to be when I told him during business hours.
So, I decided to wait.
The next morning, I woke up in a great mood. My job was finished, as far as this deal was concerned, and I had pulled it off fantastically. Now, it wouldn’t matter much what my father had to say; I was going to be taken care of. The best part of it all was that it had nothing to do with my father. I had landed this big deal all by myself, and I hoped that my father would appreciate it.
I doubted it, but the hope was still there, and that hope made me increasingly eager to wake up the following morning.
I knew I would probably have to mentally prepare myself for my father’s reaction when I told him about the deal, but all my mental preparation was done while I prepared and ate my breakfast.
When I was finished, I headed out the door.
The whole way to the office, I thought about the implications of this deal, and thus, I grew to be more than moderately excited about it.
The more I contemplated how much of a win this was, not only for me but for the company as a whole, the more I realized that there was absolutely no way my father could deny being proud of me.
Therefore, by the time I reached the office, I was in a great mood. For once, I had done exactly as I was supposed to do and the outcome was exactly as I had expected. There was no surprise at the end and no bad news.
In fact, I had even received word by that point that Mr. Wilson had already returned the signed paperwork. The plan was progressing even quicker than I thought it would.
At best, I thought it would take a few days to narrow down the specifics, but they seemed to have no problem with anything. They were leaving it up to us, specifically up to me to take the vision they had of their company and market it into a reality.
Perhaps it was my own fault for thinking that my father was any kind of a decent human being. That tends to be a running assurance of failure and disappointment throughout my life, but by the time I made it within eyesight of my father’s office, I was looking forward to finally making him proud.
After what I had accomplished, literally against all odds, even my own father and the company that had raised me, I was feeling especially confident.
However, when I walked into his office, I was immediately shot down, simply by circumstance. I walked into the office and looked around, eyeing the empty chair, behind the colossal, overly burdened desk, as well as the empty corner, with two fresh scotch glasses tipped on their rims. The decanter of the expensive gentleman’s drink also remained untouched.
After a moment, first getting over the sheer absurdity, given the importance of the news I was certain he was expecting, I finally concluded that my father hadn’t graced his office with his presence today.
I huffed with disappointment as I wheeled around to face the rest of the office.
I rearranged my emotions so that the secretary I approached had no idea that I was let down.
“Hey, beautiful,” I offered with a wide, fake grin.
I hoped she didn’t notice.
Her blush indicated that I had gotten my wish.
“Good morning, handsome,” she replied in a manner that caused me to wonder if she knew something that I didn’t, or at least, something I had yet to reveal. Fortunately, she didn’t leave me in suspense all that long, “So, I heard about your big win yesterday.”
“Did you?” I asked, trying to only feign surprise, “How did you hear about it?”
“Oh, you know how this office is, Mr. Myer. Good news travels fast,” the older woman grinned easily and broadly, “Personally, I am so happy it was you that closed the deal.”
“Well, thank you! I appreciate that,” I replied, once again, trying not to show that there was a part of me that genuinely meant it, probably more than I should. “Hey, do you know where my father is today? He isn’t in his office?” I asked, attempting to be casual as I leaned in close to her, grinning in a friendly manner.
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I do. Your father and Mr. Lawson went to the driving range with some clients this morning. They won’t be back for a while. You know how your father likes to…ahem…entertain his clients when they're out on the golf course.”
Her knowing leer expressed that she knew far more about this company than she would ever admit and in some strange way, I felt honored that she was interested in discussing these thoughts with me. Genuine feelings were so hard to come by in this company. It was certainly a thing to be cherished.
However, her honesty did nothing to assuage my disappoint, so instead of staying and charming more information out of
her like I should have done, I simply ended the conversation as quickly as possible.
When I walked away, I was sure that I would have to wait, probably a whole day, to inform him of something the bastard probably already knew.
Well, fuck you too, I thought as I dropped into my office chair, shaking my head and hoping that somehow, things would get better for me. I shook my head and tried to concentrate on work, but my brain was fueled by rage instead of any kind of motivation.
All I wanted to do was leave.
I knew, somewhere in the dark crevices of my mind, that wasn’t the right way to handle my feelings, especially the day after such a major win, but I didn’t feel appreciated.
As nice as it was that the secretary was happy for me, it still didn’t garner much confidence.
This was the biggest deal of my career. I had completely rocked it, and my father didn’t even have the decency to tell me I did a good job.
The fact that he found out before I had a chance to tell him was only frustrating because he didn’t tell me himself that he knew.
I was well aware that Mr. Myers was constantly putting his ear to the wall when it came to the company. He had eyes and ears everywhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if he was surveilling the entire company without their knowledge. Knowing that, it was silly to think he wouldn’t find out, but the way he handled the situation irked me unmercifully.
After sitting in my office and stewing, I found myself going down a dark path. I remembered what Mr. Wilson’s partner had said to me, and I wondered if he was serious.
I thought about how it felt not to be the one getting bitch slapped and spoken down to, trying to decide if that was because I was a guest that they wanted to work with or if that would be the norm.
While considering an offer, especially one that was double what I was being paid already, which was quite a good sum, wasn’t exactly the devil’s handiwork, it was unfortunate for me to consider. After all, I was the owner’s son. If I were to jump ship, my father’s empire would likely crumble. His life’s work would be destroyed.
I grinned at the thought but knew that I couldn’t go through with it.
Besides still holding out hope that I would eventually be given the respect I deserved from my father one day, without underhandedly destroying his livelihood, I didn’t want to leave. Despite all the crap I put up with from my father, the company that he built was not a reflection of the dick that he so often was. This company was strong and solid. It had exponential potential and was almost completely self-sufficient. The people who had worked here forever knew their jobs and, as far as I knew, enjoyed them.
Therefore, if I were to pull the rug out from underneath my shit-head of a father, the good people who worked hard every day to keep my father’s company running smoothly would be collateral damage. I didn’t want that.
So, instead of continuing to plot my betrayal, I decided that it would be more productive to focus on something more positive.
Looking around to make sure that weasel, Brock, wasn’t lurking around, I typed in the information to research Bernville for the date I hoped to have with Mazie the following evening. I hadn’t squared the plans away with her yet, but once I retrieved the information I sought, I texted the necessary information to Mazie, and she responded almost immediately.
Reading her text, I felt warm and aroused but also intensely safe. I was excited to see her again. I could hardly wait, but once the plans were set, I knew I’d look desperate if I varied from them.
So, instead of trying to finagle a date tonight, around the plans I already had, I decided it would be best to simply chalk today up as being crappy and start again tomorrow. At least if I did that, I would be sure that no matter what happened during the day, I would get to end the night with Mazie.
Unfortunately for me and my self-assured bachelor lifestyle, spending time with Mazie seemed to be all that I wanted.
I pretended to work for the rest of the day, caught up on some emails, simply so that I would look busy and left as soon as the clock struck five so I could go to the gym with Garett.
While my intentions for going to the gym hadn’t changed, I was pleased to get out of that office and away from all those peering eyes.
“Well, all hail the conquering hero!” Garrett teased as I walked into the gym, causing everyone to look up until they realized who had spoken and who he was talking to.
Although I didn’t mind his jeering remark, I was pleased that the comment didn’t garner any attention from the rest of the gym.
“Yeah, something like that,” I replied, rolling my eyes, “If you knew my father, you wouldn’t know it though.”
“Aww, your old man could suck the fun out of everything,” he answered, his tone now slightly more understanding.
“Don’t I know it,” I lamented as I started my workout routine and Garrett returned to his.
“So, you got the deal locked and loaded, though?”
“How did you know I got the deal?” I asked, now seriously wondering if someone was blatantly spreading my good news in an effort to steal my thunder.
“The fact that you showed up and, as far as I can tell, you’re not hammered, tells me that. Jesus Christ, Dex, I’m your best friend! I should know you, at least a little by now,” He rolled his eyes, giving me the feeling that he was slightly annoyed. However, he got over it quickly, his expression changing to a more serious and understanding tone as he spoke, “So, how did your father take the news? He was either stoic or pissed, I would imagine,” he insisted.
I grinned, trying to hide the fact that I knew he was probably right and hated it.
“I don’t know yet, believe it or not,” I told him as we continued with our workout reps.
“You haven’t told him?”
“It’s sure as hell not for a lack of trying. I went right to his office this morning, but the bastard had decided to go golfing,” I shook my head as Garrett mirrored my show of aggravation, “According to his secretary, he already knows.”
“Who told him?” he seemed agitated that I wasn’t able to share the news. Garrett knew how much I wanted to please my father and his concern was appreciated, but it didn’t help much. For whatever reason, his approval was not something I cared to achieve.
Mazie on the other hand… I thought but had the idea to stop thinking about it. However, that didn’t work all that well, considering the very next thing out of my mouth was about Mazie.
“So, I’m thinking about taking Mazie to Bernville.” I knew I probably shouldn’t have said it the second I spoke, but since it was on my mind, it flowed out before I could stop myself.
Instead of even attempting to give me a good reaction, he burst out laughing loudly.
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“What?”
“You just won the biggest deal of your life, and you’re worried about taking some chick to Bernville?” he shook his head, “She musta fucked you silly.”
I scoffed at his judgment, trying not to be as insulted as I felt.
“I enjoy Bernville…I always have, and Mazie said she has never been.”
“You’re going soft for this girl, Dex,” he informed in no uncertain terms, rolling his eyes again.
“Dude, I’m happy. I like her. What the hell is so wrong with that?”
“I’ll tell you what the hell is wrong with that: you have a good life. You’re a confirmed bachelor, and you don’t have to answer to anyone. Why would you want to fuck that up?”
“I’m not going to propose to her. I’m just taking her to Bernville,” I replied, trying not to be too hostile, considering I was sure part of his indignant attitude was due to Garett being jealous that he didn’t have anyone.
After all, he was ever the ladies’ man that the ladies couldn’t stand.
He might have the looks but his attitude eventually, inevitably, gave every woman who dated him pause.
I was certain that he didn’t want to continue down the bachelor lifestyle al
one, but it was my life, and I wasn’t about to squander it to save Garrett’s feelings.
“Yeah, sure dude: that’s how it starts,” he retorted, and I almost said something back to him but decided it wasn’t worth the argument. After all, I wasn’t going to win anyway, and at the moment, I needed all the friends I could get.
Chapter 20
Mazie
I woke up early, after not sleeping all that much. I was too excited.
I hadn’t had this feeling since I was a kid and regardless of who it was I was going out with, it was hard for me to imagine a guy would give me such a giddy feeling.
All night, I was impatiently counting the seconds until it was an appropriate time to get up so that I could do something to distract myself.
When the clock finally struck seven in the morning, I was up and heading toward the shower before Mittens even had time to realize I was out of bed.
While taking a shower, I deliberated about what I should do and concluded that I should visit my parents.
Not only would it be nice because I hadn’t seen them in a few days, but I would have to find something else to think about while I was with them because I couldn’t tell them about Dex. It would be perfect!
Or, so I hoped.
When I pulled up to my parents’ house, I was eager to start my day. I had already finished my coffee, but I was certain that my sense of being extremely awake and alert had more to do with excitement than caffeine.
Part of me hoped my parents wouldn’t notice my overly-excited good mood, but part of me hoped they did. After all, I knew they worried about me and as supportive as they were, they wanted me to be happy, and with their lifestyle being so drastically different, I knew that they were never sure. I was always so different from them with my talents and dreams that I was sure they didn’t understand half of why I did what I did, even though they were supportive.
Therefore, when I was particularly happy, that helped them to relax a little bit. It gave them the assurance that I was truly doing what I wanted and succeeding at it.