Blackmailed By My Dad's Boss: A Forbidden Romance (Blackmail Fantasies Book 2)

by S. E. Law

  I hear the car door open, and Brick steps out of the car.

  “Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I’m sure we can talk about this.”

  “Talk about this!” My dad’s attention is now fully on Brick. My mom’s attention seems to be fully concentrated on the sobbing she’s doing. “We’re not going to talk about this! What you have done is immoral. It’s underhanded, it’s disgusting, and it’s perverted.”

  My dad is going on and on, listing everything he thinks is wrong with Brick. I knew they might be a little upset, but I didn’t think they were going to be this angry.

  “Dad!” I interrupt.

  “No! He has taken advantage of you. You’re trusting and sweet, and it is obvious Brick has no morals. I’ve never spoken about it at home, but I’ve seen some of the tabloids. All of those women you parade around!”

  “Dad! Please stop,” I’m pleading with him now. I don’t want to have this argument at all, but I definitely don’t want to have this argument in the street. I’m already embarrassed enough.

  “Tammy, we’re going home. Now.” My dad turns around, taking my mom with him. Brick looks over at me. I don’t want to leave things like this, but I have to go with my parents.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper before following my parents back to the house. I turn around one last time to see Brick driving off. This feels like the end of our relationship. After all that my dad said to him, I’m not sure if there is a way for us to come back from this. There was a lot of hate in my dad’s words.

  When we get back to the house, my parents haven’t calmed down at all. My mom is still crying, and my dad won’t stop saying what a pervert Brick must be.

  “I can’t believe he would do this. I thought he was a good person,” my mom says between sobs. “He’s always been good to us. I never thought he would prey on Tammy like that.”

  “I thought so, too. I thought so, too.” My dad keeps shaking his head like he’s made some horrible mistake. “I used to think the tabloids were treating him unfairly. A lot of what was printed seemed like rumors, and nothing was ever verified. I should have been more cautious. I should have protected my family.”

  I don’t want to be disrespectful, but everything my parents are saying is crazy. They’re really acting like Brick has traumatized me.

  “Guys! I’m fine! Brick didn’t do anything wrong. I know I should have told you, but I was worried about,” I start motioning with my hand, “all of this.”

  “No, Tammy. You didn’t know any better. How could you? You think people are all good; you trust. Brick saw that and pounced.”

  “That’s not what happened! Not even close! It was a mutual decision to see one another.”

  “Oh, baby.” My mom comes over to me and gently places her hands on my shoulders. “You’re too young to understand. What happened isn’t your fault. Your dad is going to take care of everything, and you’ll never have to see that horrible man again.” She pats me before letting go. Then she heads over to the coffee table and grabs a tissue to dab the tears in her eyes.

  My parents are acting like this is the biggest tragedy they’ve ever witnessed. They seriously still see me as their baby girl. I’ll always be their daughter – that’s true. But I can’t live my life with the two of them looking at me like I’m still a child.

  “Mom. Dad. I am twenty-five,” I kind of mumble this sentence, but I say it with all of my body because that’s how much I need it to be said.

  “What was that, honey?”

  “I. Am. Twenty-Five.”

  “Why are you bringing that up now?” my dad responds like he’s annoyed. “We know how old you are.”

  “Do you? Do you guys know that I am an adult? I am twenty-five, for crying out loud! And you guys are over here crying, about to have a heart attack because I’m dating Brick Barrister? He hasn’t done anything to hurt me. He treats me well, and I like him. The only thing we did wrong was lie about our relationship, and I apologize for that. But you two need to calm down. This is a gross overreaction.” For once, I hope they hear what I’m saying. They’ve always been such great parents, but allowing me to grow up has been their one blind spot.

  But nothing I’m saying is working. My parents are still up in arms about this whole situation, and Brick was scared away by it all – not that I blame him. At least this way, I’ve gotten my answer about–

  A knock at the door interrupts my thoughts. My parents actually stop their hysterics for a second, their rhythm thrown off by whomever is at our door. No one goes to answer it immediately; we’re all frozen.

  Whoever it is knocks again, setting me in motion. I open the door ever so slightly to find Brick standing on the doorstep.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask in surprise. I never thought he’d come back. He seemed so angry driving off in his car. I thought maybe he had just gone back home.

  “I’ve come to set things right,” he whispers to me, his finger stroking my cheek. That simple touch does wonders to calm me down. “Now, can I come in?”

  “Yes, of course,” I nod, stepping aside to let Brick into this crazy scene. Once he steps into the house, my parents are back to yelling and crying.

  “What are you doing here?” my dad shouts. He looks just about ready to punch Brick. I close the door and stand by the man who has brought so much joy and happiness into my life.

  “I’m here to tell you two that I am in love with your daughter.” He takes my hand while making his statement. “In fact, we love each other.”

  We do? I stare at him, digesting his words. All this time, I’ve been wondering, questioning my true feelings for Brick. Tonight was the night I was finally going to confront it all.

  “No, I won't accept that. I want you out of my house and away from my daughter. You're never going to see her again.” My dad motions for me to join him and my mom on the other side of the room, but I already left Brick's side once tonight.

  I'm not doing that again.

  In a show of solidarity, I step closer to Brick and squeeze his hand to let him know that we are in this together.

  “With all due respect, Mr. and Mrs. Thompson, I don't think that's your decision to make.”

  My parents glare at Brick before turning to me.

  “Tammy.” My dad uses my name to beckon me, but it is clearly not a request. I don't move a muscle, not one step forward. My dad gets red in the face and starts huffing and puffing. My mother puts a gentle hand on his arms. That calms him down a little, but he is clearly still upset.

  “Tammy?” My mom sounds heartbroken. I feel bad that they are so distressed, but their reason for being so sad and angry doesn't make much sense, so my compassion can only go so far. “Is this really what you want?”

  “It is,” I say, holding my head up high.

  “I'll quit,” my dad threatens. “You'll never see me again.” I cringe because I know that's an empty threat. My dad means what he said, but it's not going to negatively affect Brick or the company if my dad leaves.

  “George, not to kick you while you're down, but I was planning on firing you anyway. Your work has been slipping lately. I know our relationship feels wrong to you because I'm your boss, but Tammy and I are both adults. We love each other, and at the end of the day, we haven't done anything wrong – except for lying. And I do apologize for that. But I won't apologize for falling in love with such a wonderful woman, and I most certainly will not give her up because you demand I do so.”

  I look up at Brick, feelings of love surging through me . This time, Brick squeezes my hand, reassuring me of his presence.

  “I can't take this. It's too much!” My dad is having a meltdown right in front of me, and there's nothing I can do about it. If me being with Brick is going to make him this way, that's his problem to deal with.

  My dad turns away from us. I think he may actually be crying, but he turned too quickly for me to know for sure.

  “Tammy, I think it's better if you leave for now,” my mom says to me. “You too,
Brick, obviously.” I'm shocked into speechlessness for a couple of seconds.

  “Mom,” I plead. I know they're upset, but upset enough to kick me out?

  “Not now, Tammy. Please, just go.”

  My parents are making it clear to me that they won't accept any type of relationship between me and Brick, and I won't leave him, so I guess the best course of action is for me to leave.

  “Yeah, okay. I'll be out in a minute.” I try to let go of Brick's hand so that I can go upstairs and grab a few things. He doesn't let me leave, though. “I need to get a few things from upstairs,” I whisper to him.

  “I'm going with you then.”

  I would argue if I had any spirit left in me, but I also don't want to be away from him for too long.

  “Okay, let's go then.” I lead Brick to my room, closing the door behind us. I place my duffle bag on my bed and start grabbing whatever I think I'll need.

  “If this were a happier occasion,” Brick states, looking around my room, “I'd be a lot more excited to be in your childhood room.” I stop what I'm doing to give him a look.

  “Really? Even now?”

  “Always. You make my heart race, baby.”

  I sigh and sit down on my bed. I'm feeling physically tired after everything that just happened.

  “I'm sorry about everything my parents said. I didn't expect them to get this angry.”

  “I don't think either one of us expected that.”

  I nod. I want to keep feeling bad for myself, but there isn't much time. My parents want me out, so I need to get out.

  “Why are you packing so much? I can have one of my staff pick you up whatever you need.”

  “No, I don't want to inconvenience you, and it would be ridiculous to have someone go all the way to Mamie's just to deliver me a toothbrush.”

  “What are you talking about?” Brick furrows his brow.

  “Oh, I'm going to see if Mamie will let me stay with her. I know she'll say yes.”

  “You're not staying with Mamie. You're going home with me.”

  “What?”

  “You're going home with me, no questions.” Of course, I want to ask a lot of questions. “Finish packing so we can get out of here. Your parents already hate me enough.”

  I give a half-hearted chuckle before throwing a few more things into my bag. Brick carries it for me once it's all packed.

  “Everything is going to be okay, I promise.” Brick gives me a quick peck on the cheek before we head downstairs. I expect to see my parents; I don't know why. Maybe to say goodbye? But they're nowhere in sight when Brick and I get back to the living room.

  I look around the room, holding out for a few seconds, but neither one of them appears.

  “Are you ready to go?” Brick asks, placing his hand on the small of my back.

  “Yeah, it's time to go.”

  I let Brick lead me out of the house and over to his car. We hop in, and he immediately starts the car and pulls out onto the road. I watch as my home and my parents who are holed up in there fade away into the distance. I want to believe this isn't how I'm going to leave things with my mom and dad, but we've never had a blowout this big before, so I don't know.

  I don't know.

  21

  Brick

  Shit really hit the fan tonight. Robert was right about being more vigilant. I can't believe I didn't see Tammy's parents before it was too late. They were RIGHT THERE!

  But I don't feel guilty. There was nothing wrong with what Tammy and I were doing.

  What I do feel bad about is how this has blown up in our faces. The Thompsons kicked Tammy out. I know she was surprised by that. I certainly was. George and Margie never seemed like that type of parents, but I guess I miscalculated.

  I wish I knew the right words to say to her right now. The words that would make everything better. The words that would bring a beautiful smile back to Tammy's face.

  We get to my apartment, and the two of us head upstairs. At this point, Tammy is just following behind me. She doesn't seem too aware of what's going on around her.

  “We're here,” I announce. We're actually inside my place now. She still hasn't said anything yet, and I'm worried about her.

  “Mm-hmm,” she mumbles in response before heading to the bathroom. I hear the door lock behind her and then the sink running. I stand by the front door for a few moments before realizing that Tammy might be in the bathroom for a little while.

  I put her bag down in my room before changing out of the clothes I have on. I decide to go wait for Tammy in the living room. Hopefully, we can talk about what’s going on in her head. There are actually a few things I’d like to get off my chest.

  I knew what I was saying when I admitted I loved her. I wasn’t just saying it for her parents’ sake; it was something I had only realized recently. Not when I was saying it, but outside when Tammy walked away with her parents. For a second, I’d thought that she was walking away from me, but then I realized that she had her parents to worry about. Both of them were freaking out. A lot more than I had expected them to.

  I didn’t think the reveal of our relationship was going to be so dramatic. I almost didn’t go back to the Thompsons’ house tonight, but then my feelings for Tammy hit me like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t leave her there to deal with her parents all on her own, and there was no way I was going to let her feel abandoned by me.

  I hear the bathroom door open and turn to see Tammy exiting. I expect her to come over to the couch, but instead, she walks right past me into my bedroom. I hear some moving around, and then it goes quiet.

  When I walk into the bedroom, I find Tammy lying in the bed. She has the covers pulled all the way up to her neck.

  “Tammy?”

  She mumbles a reply, but I can’t quite catch what she’s saying. She probably wants to sleep, so I’ll let her do just that. We can talk tomorrow.

  I’ll just get myself ready for bed.

  I wake up the next morning at my usual time, which is rather early. Tammy is still asleep, so I quietly go about my morning routine, trying not to wake her up.

  I check on her once again right before I leave for work. She still hasn’t moved from her spot on the bed. I leave a note on the nightstand letting her know I’ve gone to work and to call me when she wakes up.

  I don’t want to just leave her like this, but there’s something I have to take care of in the office today. I plan on making it a short day, though.

  I get to the studio and go straight to Robert’s office.

  “Hey,” he says cheerfully. I close the door behind me, and when he sees my face, Robert changes his tune. “Is everything okay?”

  “Did George come in? George Thompson?”

  “Uh, I’m not sure. I haven’t seen him, but I also haven’t been down to the editing suite.”

  “Okay. Can you let me know when he gets in? If he gets in?”

  “Did something happen, Brick?”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you need to tell me about it?”

  “Just be ready to tell HR we might need to start looking for a new editor. I’ll explain later, okay?”

  Robert gives me a look, and I’m worried he’s going to ask me more questions. I ready myself for the onslaught, but he just nods, and I leave his office. If George quits now, the company’s not going to suffer. We’d actually started putting out feelers for candidates before but had halted those after we decided to keep George on. Well, I guess it was more my decision.

  Now, it looks like we’re going to have to start up that search again. I can’t see George coming back to work here, not after everything that happened last night.

  Talking to Robert was really the only thing I needed to do today. I take a quick trip to my office to look around. There’s nothing I need to grab, so I let my secretary know I’m leaving.

  “Nancy, I’m heading home early. Please let Robert know if he needs anything just to call me, but only if it’s an emergency. There’s some stuff I�
��m taking care of at home, so I’m going to be disconnected for the most part.”

  “No problem. If the people from the Clark group call, should I let you know?”

  “You can just forward all of that stuff to Robert. He can take care of it.”

  “No problem. Will I be seeing you tomorrow, Brick?”

  I take a second to think.

  “I’m actually not sure. I’ll make sure to check in every morning if I’m not going to be here.” I’m about to leave when I hear Nancy clear her throat.

  “Is everything okay?” She seems genuinely worried. I’ve never called out of work like this before. Sure, I have taken days off before, but they were always planned well in advance. Nancy probably thinks this must be some kind of an emergency, which it kind of is.

  “It will be. Thank you, Nancy. For all of your hard work.”

  “Of course. It’s my job. I hope everything works out.”

  I say goodbye and head home. Tammy hasn’t called me yet, so I’m guessing she’s either still asleep or didn’t see my note. Either way, I’m sure she’s okay.

  I get back to my apartment and find it just as silent as it was when I left. Quietly, I walk through the apartment, looking to see if Tammy is doing anything, but I find her in the bedroom, lying in the bed just like I left her.

  “Tammy, baby. Are you okay?” I kneel by the side of the bed. Her eyes are open, and she looks at me.

  “I’m fine, Brick,” she sighs.

  “Have you gotten out of bed at all?”

  “I did before you got here, but I’m tired. I don’t really want to do anything, if that’s okay.”

  “That’s fine. Take all the time you need.” I leave Tammy to process things the way she wants.

  Over the next week, we get into a routine of her doing the basics while I make sure everything else is taken care of. I’ve never had to watch after someone’s wellbeing so thoroughly before, and it’s a lot of work, but I do it for the woman I love.