by Nella Tyler
I tried to ignore the ache in my stomach, but I couldn’t.
It didn’t take long for me to be sure that there was no escaping it.
You have to tell him! I thought. The longer you wait, the worse it will be.
I swallowed hard, and I knew immediately that Dexter noticed. He turned toward me slightly, propping his head up on his elbow, showcasing his rich, tight, winding muscles.
“Hey…are you okay?”
“Yeah…” I lied, which only made me feel worse. So, I dropped my eyes and ran my finger along the sheet before I amended my statement, “Well, no. I’m not alright…”
“Please, God, don’t say you feel guilty,” Dexter replied urgently, in a manner that made me feel almost as if that was it. At least that, from his reaction, I had a good idea that I would find nothing but comfort from him.
With what was bothering me, I had a feeling I wouldn’t be so lucky.
“No…it’s not that,” I grinned in a nervous manner, trying to subconsciously prolong the sensation of intimacy and fervor that I currently felt, fearing what might come next.
“What’s wrong?” he inquired, sounding genuinely concerned. With his brow furrowed, he looked odd. Concern didn’t suit him, I decided, but I was sure I would prefer it to the reaction I was about to encounter.
“I…um…I accidentally told my father…about the deal.”
“Why would you do that?” he hissed curtly, letting me know that his anger was building. “What the hell?”
“Dex…I’m sorry…I didn’t mean to,” I insisted, “It slipped out, but I think I covered our bases.”
“Yeah, maybe for now. I thought we were supposed to be keeping this relationship under wraps?” His condemnation made me feel sick.
“I know, I’m sorry, but I lied. I didn’t tell him we were together!”
“Fine, but how long do you think it’s gonna be until he figures it out? You can’t keep knowing these kinds of things randomly and not expect someone to get curious,” he narrowed his eyes further and pushed himself away from me. “I mean, you suck at lying anyway. Apparently I can’t trust you to keep a secret for me either.”
As he scolded me, he thrust himself out of bed.
“Dexter, where are you going?” I demanded, trying to fight the tears I felt burning at the corners of my eyes.
“Home,” he grumbled as he yanked on his pants.
“You can trust me, Dex…I promise I won’t say anything else. Dexter, please, don’t go.”
However, instead of even contemplating negotiation, he continued to get dressed.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t care if you say anything else because you’ve already basically said the one thing we agreed we would keep a secret.”
“That’s not fair!” I exclaimed in outrage, now sitting all the way up and glowering at him.
“Yeah, well I don’t care what’s fair or not because I trusted you and you let me down.”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Dexter! Don’t you dare give me that!”
“Give you what? The truth?” he demanded brutally as he threw on his shirt. “You know what, I’m not even all that upset about that. I understand, things happen, but I’m upset because that was my news to tell. You know how important it is for me to try and salvage a relationship with my father. I figured this would be the chance I’ve been waiting for but instead, he can now talk to your father about the deal, bypassing me!”
“You’re the one who waited a couple of days to tell your father, I assumed my father already knew! You forget, word gets around fast in that office, Dexter and you know that if anyone in that office knew, your father knew…”
“That still wasn’t your news to tell. You don’t even work in the damn office! You’ve spent your entire life trying to convince people that you are different, that you are meant for greater things than becoming a paper pusher, but you’re always ready to spew some gossip.”
He huffed as his face flushed.
I had to admit, even though I didn’t intend to make him angry, it wasn’t an unpleasant sight. His skin was heated and his eyes were sharp, almost dangerous. Yet, there was nothing threatening about him; at least not to me.
Although, being that this was the first time I had ever seen him angry, I couldn’t be sure how he would maintain the composure that I felt he was keeping. Yet, I wasn’t concerned.
I remained silent for a long moment hoping that somehow, my reservation would show how truly contrite I was.
“I understand how you could feel that way,” I began, trying to keep the conversation at an even keel, but he immediately cut me off.
“Oh, you do?” he snapped, “I’m so glad.”
“Yes, I do understand, and I am very sorry,” I responded earnestly as he yanked on his pants and shoved his feet into his shoes.
“You know what?” he demanded, turning around briskly and glowering at me with ire-filled eyes, “I don’t care what you have to say right now. Just…just leave me alone.”
“Dexter, come on! You know it was an accident, and I understand that this was your news to tell, but I thought you had told it…considering how important it was…”
“Yeah, well I didn’t. Instead, I chose to tell you. I decided to entrust that news to you, but now, I can see that was a big mistake,” he scoffed before turning around and storming out of my room.
At first, I sat there, with the covers curled up around my naked form, glaring back at him in disbelief but when he finally stomped through the doorway, I called to him.
“Dex, come on! Let’s talk about this! I said I was sorry…Dexter, come back!”
Although I called for him, his footsteps never wavered, and after I mentally followed him through the house, I heard the front door open and slam shut almost immediately after.
“Shit…” I muttered, falling back onto the bed and trying not to let the tears start to stream down my face. I knew then that I had completely fucked up the perfect night and I had no idea what I could do to make it right.
Chapter 23
Dexter
The next morning, within moments of waking up, I realized that I was still thinking about the night before.
However, I wasn’t reveling in the bliss that the passionate evening Mazie and I had shared together. I wasn’t pleased and content with having opened up to her, and I certainly wasn’t happy with Mazie.
Instead, I was reeling with ire. The only thought in my mind was that of the knowledge I had lost my opportunity to tell my father about the deal.
“Fuck!” I grumbled as I looked at the clock and instantly tore myself out of bed.
As if today wasn’t already shitty enough, my alarm had decided not to go off, which left me with only minutes before getting to the office.
If I was able to stroll in with news that was pivotal to my career, the misdemeanor of tardiness could be forgiven. However, when I was already coming in with news only I was supposed to know, yet somehow got spilled to the whole damn company, I had nothing to shield me from being read the riot act.
Sure, I wasn’t going to lose my job. After winning such a deal, I was now far too valuable to the company, despite my father’s best efforts. Yet, that didn’t mean I wouldn’t have to catch a load of shit from him because I was essentially entering my father’s battlefield arena unarmed.
Going in there late today was going to ultimately draw defeat, with brokering the deal being the only voice vying for me to keep my professional head. Granted, it was a loud, influential voice, but it still wouldn’t save me from getting my ass handed to me.
Thus, I hastily decided that I didn’t even want to go into work today. It would be easier to take the day off than to show up late.
So, I called the secretary, and gave her a daily dose of sweet talk and bullshit before informing her that I wouldn’t be coming in today.
Once I hung up, I flopped back onto the bed, finding some solace in the knowledge that my father wouldn’t even bother to call to see where I was
, or whether I was still alive. Therefore, I would be awarded the day to cool off without having to talk to the bastard.
With my newfound freedom, I tried to go back to sleep but only tossed and turned until I was too fed up and decided to get up.
I thought about calling Garrett but figured he wouldn’t get up anyway, so I decided to go wake him up.
I needed to vent, and he was the only person I had left that would listen to me. Sure, I would probably be called a pussy, or whatever uninventive insult of the week Garrett could concoct, but at least I would be able to let off some steam.
After taking a shower and getting ready, taking on more of a casual look than normal and grabbing my gym bag, knowing we were going to end up there, I drove to Garrett’s house.
He lived in a good neighborhood but on the other side of town than I did. His prior arrest record and uncanny ability to get into trouble had never helped his social status. Yet, he was happy, and for the most part, I didn’t give a crap where he lived.
I was his friend, not his fucking keeper.
The only issue that I had, that I now shamelessly used to my benefit, was that the dumbass never locked his doors. While he didn’t live in the slums, he also didn’t live in the Ritz, and thus, he wasn’t impervious to the occasional burglar.
However, Garrett welcomed a fight. He figured if anyone broke into his house, he would be able to take care of them himself. I thought it was stupid but again, it wasn’t my call.
Still, I had to chuckle as I walked into his bedroom and caught a glimpse of him sleeping soundly, completely unaware that anyone was there. If I was there to do him harm, his usually daunting figure was lessened by his current oblivion.
“Dude! Wake up!” I yelled, throwing a squishy basketball at him, jarring him awake instantly.
“Who the…” he screamed, his eyes popping open as he sat up instantly in bed. He stopped, halfway through his statement though, seeing it was me. Immediately, his eyes narrowed, and he snarled angrily. “Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? I could’ve killed you!”
“I highly fucking doubt that, first of all, and secondly, you should lock your doors if you don’t want people to waltz right in.”
Squinting at me in disbelief, he shook his head.
“What do you want? And why are you in my house?”
“I want to talk,” I offered, dropping myself in the chair across from his bed.
Garrett still looked confused and angry, but he had lost the urge to punch me in the face, so that was a plus. He shook his head again, as though trying to figure out whether I was sitting in front of him or if he was still asleep.
“Uh…okay. That’s not weird or anything…but, can I take a piss and get some breakfast before I become your fucking head shrink?”
“Sure!” I offered, “I’d love some breakfast.”
He scowled at me as he got up, “Dude, just get the hell out of my room.”
“Sure. Yeah. Good idea,” I replied, getting out of the chair and heading for the kitchen.
A few minutes later, I had helped myself to some cereal, and Garrett came down the hallway, still in his pajamas but looking far more alert and slightly less pissed.
“Okay, so I have come up with two options as to why you are in my house this goddamn early, waking my ass up. Either, your father is dead and you inherited a company you decided you don’t actually want or you are contemplating suicide because you have to be some kind of crazy to do what you did.”
“No, neither,” I replied after pretending to seriously consider the options before immediately returning to my cereal.
“Oh, cool,” he replied as he grabbed the eggs out of the refrigerator and started to put them in a blender. “So, why are you here?”
“I told you, I need to talk.”
“Should I kill you? Is that what you want? Because I really don’t like you right now and if you ask me to kill you, I would take solace in the fact that you came to me to off you.”
“You’re not going to kill me, nor do I want you to, but…fucking women.”
“You woke me up over not getting any pussy?” he demanded, his eyes wide.
“Oh no…I got it, but it’s what happened after that I want to talk to you about,” I replied before drinking the cereal milk straight from the bowl.
“What?” he sighed, realizing that I didn’t care in the least that I had broken into his house, scared the shit out of him, and woke him up.
But, why should he? Isn’t that what friends are for?
“You know how I told you that I didn’t tell my father but I told Mazie about the deal?” I didn’t give him time to answer before I continued, my aggravation rising as I thought about the situation more, “Well, she went and told her father about it, which totally screws up my chances of seeing my father’s face when I tell him. I can’t believe she would do that!” I stated indignantly. “I mean, besides you, she’s the only one who really knows how shitty my father is and how badly I want to take every opportunity to give him a big fat fuck you, and this was my biggest ever! He didn’t want me to get the accolades because it would prove to everyone that I’m not a screw-up. Hell, it might even raise a few eyebrows as to why his crusty old ass is still hanging around when I am perfectly capable of bringing in next-gen innovation.”
Garrett instantly made a face.
“Dex, first of all, do not talk about your dad’s crusty old ass…ever, but especially not over breakfast. And two, what if her dad didn’t tell your dad?”
“Yeah, right!” I immediately shut him down. I was on a roll now, and there was no stopping me. “The two of them tell one another everything when it pertains to the business. I think Brent is the only person my father tells anything to on a consistent basis. Trust me, if it’s about the business and you tell one, you’ve told them both, so that isn’t even an issue. Besides, I think you’re missing the fucking point. I don’t give a shit that my father knows. It’s good news for me either way. I’m pissed because I didn’t get to see his face when I told him the news. I waited for a reason. I wanted that son of a bitch to know that I am not his little errand boy. I wanted to make him wait for something. I hoped the thought that I failed and he lost a major deal kept his sorry ass up at night and I hoped not knowing the outcome hurt like hell…’cause I knew he wasn’t going to follow up with me. He expected me to run back to him, like I did when I was a kid, telling him what a good job I did the first chance I got, only for him to shoot me down and make me feel worthless. This way, though, he would be caught off guard. If I avoided him, he would inevitably think I failed, so he would have a million potshots lined up for me and probably my pink slip displayed on the desk. He would be pining to make an example out of me, that the new blood failed and that he was supreme, but then I would come in and get to rip that bitch up in his face, because I won.”
By now, Garrett had stopped preparing his breakfast and was simply staring at me in disbelief. The more I spoke, the more concerned he seemed, and when I took a breath, he took the time to speak.
“Dude, are you sure you’re feeling okay? I was only kidding about the suicide thing, but now, I think you’re a little manic.”
“I’m not manic; I’m pissed!” I screamed, my anger raging. Slamming my fist down on the table, I huffed loudly. “I just wanted the chance to show him that he’s not the most important thing to me anymore and Mazie took that from me.”
“I get that,” he replied after a pause, “Maybe after breakfast, we should go to the gym. You seem a little tense.”
“Sure, whatever,” I hissed, flailing my arm up in a dismissive manner, “I’ve got my bag in the car. We can go as soon as you’re ready.”
I did think it was a little odd that Garrett didn’t have any retorts or jeers throughout this whole conversation, and when everything finally grew silent, I wondered whether I had gone too far. However, I was still angry, and therefore, I couldn’t think clearly.
Thus, we spent the remainder of breakfast in
silence.
That didn’t bother me, though. I’d had my temper tantrum, and at the gym, I would be able to physically relieve the tension I felt. This would be good.
Knowing this allowed my anger to settle into a slow simmer.
We still weren’t talking all that much when we arrived at the gym, which still didn’t bother me. I was mentally preparing to run and weight-lift the anger out of myself anyway.
However, about a half hour into our rotation, Garett finally started a conversation.
Immediately, I didn’t think I wanted to hear what he had to say.
“I have to say something, Dex, but I want you to listen before you react,” he offered.
I had a few smart retorts, but I kept them to myself.
“Alright…” I replied, showing that I wasn’t pleased with the start of the conversation.
Garrett either didn’t notice or didn’t care to acknowledge my reaction.
“So, I’ve been thinking about everything you said, and even though I understand you’re mad that you didn’t get to tell your father about the deal, I don’t think she meant to betray you. I think it was probably an accident. You and I know full-well that Mazie is close with her father and that they talk about the business, even though she isn’t a part of it herself. More than likely, she thought you had already told your father and her father, since you had told her. It was probably an accident,” he shrugged, “And not for nothing, it was probably because she’s proud of you.”
“Can I talk now?” I spat gruffly.
“Sure.”
“It doesn’t matter to me why she did it! The fact is, she told her father, which is the same as telling my father, and whether she was being spiteful, proud, or plain stupid, it wasn’t her place. And why the hell are you defending her? Aren’t you the one who told me I was going soft on the girl? Aren’t you the one who swore I was making a mistake?”
“I was wrong, Dexter.”
“Oh, don’t give me that shit. Give me a real answer.”
“I am. I thought about it, and I was wrong,” he snarled, this time loud and serious enough to warrant my full attention. “I still think that you are going soft on her, but I thought about it, and I don’t think that’s necessarily a bad thing.”