by Parker, Ali
"Bethany, go talk to him. I can't solve this for you guys."
"I wasn't asking you to." She paused by the door and glanced over her shoulder. "What would you do for love? Would you give up your rights and become whatever your lover wanted you to?"
"Is he asking that of you or are you forcing yourself to believe a lie to stay protected from possibly the greatest thing you might experience in this life." His gaze darkened. He was pushing at her, and she knew it.
"Would you change everything, Kendal? That was the question."
He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced down as his expression changed.
"Yes. I would change everything for the kind of love that promised to sustain me through loss and death, through fear and loneliness. There isn't anything I wouldn't give up for that."
"Not even your rules?" Her eyebrow lifted. She had him.
"Perhaps that's the only thing." He smirked and shook his head. "Get out of here and go mend what you've almost let get broken. It's not worth all that, and if I stand correct, neither you nor Damon have rules."
"Thank God for that." She patted the door and mumbled her thanks before walking out. Jake turned the corner and waved as he moved into the auditorium.
Good. Kendal needed someone with him. He was struggling with something that he wasn’t going to talk about obviously.
Bethany glanced down the hall to her left after holding the door for Jake. Someone that looked a lot like Damon walked toward the exit at the far end of the building. The guy hit the door hard as he walked out into the mid-day sunlight.
"Damon?" she whispered but stood frozen in place. It took a minute, but before she could stop herself, she was jogging after him. It had to be him. No one looked that good from behind in a pair of slacks. Was he spying on her or coming to see Kendal?
She paused as a large group of students walked toward her, forcing her to turn to the side to slip through them. By the time she made it outside, he was nowhere to be found. She pulled her phone from her pocket and glanced down at it expectantly as if he were going to call. He hadn't called for weeks.
After taking a few more minutes to ensure that he wasn't close, she walked around the accounting building toward the parking lot. Kendal stood beside his car with a dark-haired girl. Something was wrong, but it wasn't Bethany's place to interrupt whatever it was.
Was Kendal seeing the girl? The passion on his handsome face said that he was. There was something else there too... Fear. Loss. Terror.
"What the hell?" Bethany walked toward her car and tried to ignore the burning need to turn around and help him. She dialed Damon's number, not wanting to bother him, but needing to inform him that something was up with Kendal. It was his place to check on his friend, not hers.
"Beth?" Damon's voice was raspy as if he'd been yelling all night. Her first thought was that maybe he'd gone to a ballgame and had a good time, but that quickly morphed into him groaning and moaning with Delilah instead.
"Something is wrong with Kendal."
"Yeah, he's interested in the wrong woman," Damon barked into the phone, his voice gaining strength.
"I didn't know he was seeing anyone." She glanced over her shoulder to see the woman crying. "Something is wrong. Like, really wrong. I don't know what it is, but you need to call him."
"You go comfort him, Beth. You seem to be comfortable doing that already." The phone clicked, and Bethany pulled it away from her ear, surprised by his accusation.
Did he think something was up with her and Kendal? No fucking way.
"What?" She growled and got into her car. After buckling up and starting the engine, she called Matt and explained the situation. He promised to call Kendal and deal with Damon. Whatever was going on, Kendal needed Damon with him. He looked like he'd seen a ghost.
"And why the hell would he run out of class when it was just about to start?" She pulled away from the curb before pausing. If Kendal left and his class walked, he'd be in trouble. Was he leaving?
She pulled back up, put the car in park and got out. The phone buzzed, and she checked it, almost expecting it to be Damon.
"Philip. What's going on?" She got out of the car and jogged back toward the school, trying not to sound like she was out of breath. Her worry over Kendal mixed with the concern that Damon thought something was up with her and his best friend left her heart racing.
"Just calling to see if you want to grab coffee later. I had fun last night. I want to see you again."
"Uh, yeah. Sure. I'll call you when I get out of class."
"It's Wednesday. You don't teach on Wednesday do you?"
"No, but something came up. I'll call you later." She dropped the call and walked back into the building, almost plowing into Jake.
“Hey. Kendal needs someone to take over his class. I was going to tell the dean.” Jake shook his head as if he were upset.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll do it.” She smiled and opened the door. “Come give me some moral support.”
“Always.” He chuckled.
The sound of the class having a good time reached her as she pushed open the doors and walked up to the podium.
"Good morning, everyone. Dr. Tarrington is dealing with something at the moment, so I'll start us off, and he can take over when he joins us."
There was a soft cheer around the room as Bethany forced a chuckle and turned on the computer. "Get out your accounting books and turn to page twenty-eight. Just-in-time inventory is our topic today. Get excited. This is riveting stuff."
Another chuckle.
She smiled and forced her worry and angst deep down inside of her. "What? You know you love it. Let's get started."
Chapter 85
Damon
“Unbelievable." Damon tossed his cell phone into the seat beside him. Never in a million years had he seen Kendal Tarrington look at a woman so tenderly. The way he held Beth's hands in his teaching auditorium left no doubt in Damon's mind. They were sleeping together. If nothing else, Kendal had feelings for the girl.
The agony of thinking that Beth would turn to someone else for affection was enough to cripple him, but it being his closest friend? Kendal was like a fucking brother.
Sweat gathered at the edge of his brow as memories crowded into his mind, one after one, each more fucked up than the last.
"Stop," he whispered and closed his eyes tightly as the sound of his mother's infidelities filled up his mind. How long would he have to carry the burden of knowing what she did? She was gone, and he still carried it around. The dark circle it created on the center of his heart was only growing.
Pressing his hand to his chest, he reached up angrily and pulled down the rearview mirror.
"They're not together. Neither of them would do that to you. Kendal would sooner die than hurt you." Damon dropped back in his seat and took a few shallow breaths. How quickly life could unravel him. He hadn't been emotionally wrecked this badly since the night he found his mom. He'd promised himself that he'd never again let anyone into his heart like he had his mother.
And now Bethany was there, and fuck if Kendal wasn't too.
After calming himself enough to stop shaking, he pulled out of the parking lot at UT and headed to the office. Whatever was going on with Kendal would surface soon. Bethany sounded panicked, but she also had feelings for the guy.
"No she doesn't," Damon barked loudly in the car and pressed the gas, scaring the poor guys walking on the street beside him. The battle raged within him the whole way downtown.
He forced himself to calm down as he parked at the office and walked in languidly. He nodded at the attendant and smiled at a few colleagues as they passed him. He didn't have all of the facts on Bethany and Kendal, and until he did, he was going to give them the benefit of the doubt. Not that Beth would grant him the same treatment, but it was irrelevant. He didn't have to react like she did. He refused to.
"Damon." Linda glanced up and gave him a weary look. It had been a long time since she'd called hi
m anything but Mr. Bryant. "Your father has been waiting on you."
"Great. I'll head down to his office in a few minutes." He nodded to his secretary and walked into his office. After setting his stuff down and checking his calendar, he made his way down to the corner office where his father spent most of his time or used to. He knocked on the door and poked his head in. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah. Shut the door and come on in. I didn't want to talk about business last night at dinner with Matt and Karen. Everyone seemed a little edgy with Bethany not being there." Damon's father nodded to the seat across from him. "Take a seat."
"I have a meeting in twenty minutes with the CEO of Killinger. Just want to give you a heads-up." Damon unbuttoned his suit jacket and sat down.
"Where were you this morning? I thought you were having the Killinger meeting at eight."
"I was. I went up to the school for a few minutes. I wanted to see Kendal."
"And?" His father tilted his head to the side, studying him as he had been doing most of Damon's life. There was acceptance and love in his gaze, but expectation as well.
"And he and Bethany were knee-deep in conversation. I didn't want to interrupt, so I left."
"Interesting."
"I guess. What do you want to talk about, Dad? Beth?"
"For starters, yes. What the hell happened yesterday?"
"She had her fill of being treated like a child and walked out." Damon leaned back and crossed his legs. "Did you really think that hiring Delilah was a good move for us?"
"She's a strong accountant, Damon. I didn't think the ties you guys had as kids would come to haunt us. She has great references and-"
"And she's in love with me. She has been since we were kids. She hates her twin because Krista and I ended up together." He ran his hand down his face. "Anyway, Delilah has been after Beth since she got here. She knows Beth is your daughter but nothing else. She just doesn't like competition."
"Is that causing a stir on the team?" His eyebrows lifted.
"What?"
"Them knowing that Bethany is your step-sister and your fiancee?"
"She gave me the ring back." Damon reached into his pocket and pulled it out. Fuck him for carrying it around, but he couldn't help himself.
"What?"
Damon nodded. "We've been fighting a lot lately, and she gave the ring back. We're better family than we are lovers."
"And you're okay with that?" His father's eyes widened a little as he leaned forward and pressed his forearms to the desk.
"No. Not in the slightest." Damon stood and walked to the windows, finding comfort in the beautiful park scene just beyond the buildings. "I love her so much it hurts, but love isn't enough."
"Damon." His father walked over to the window and put his hand on Damon's back. "Love is always enough. Your mother and I had some rough patches, but love pulled us through."
Sickness raced through the center of Damon's chest and took up residence in his stomach. "Right. Anyway, Beth is probably better off not working here, but that still doesn't solve our problem with Delilah. She hit on me yesterday... again. I'm getting quite tired of putting up with the small things just because she's your pick for the firm."
"Get rid of her. Find a reason to let her go, and do it." He turned to face Damon. "And talk to Bethany. Her position with us here at McKenzie and Bryant will always be open."
"All right." Damon squeezed his father's shoulder before walking to the door. It was the perfect time to explain to his dad why love didn't work. Love was great, but without fantastic sex and loads of money to boot, most women would go looking elsewhere. Why would his mother cheat on his dad? He was a great guy. The house was beautiful; they had everything anyone could want, and yet she slept around like a whore. Why?
Because the sex was bad, or maybe there wasn't enough of it.
Either way, he had promised himself years before that love, wealth, and sex would be the center of his relationship with a woman. There would be an abundance of all three, and then, and only then, she wouldn't cheat on him, or leave him stranded.
And yet something was missing with Beth. The money was there. The sex was in extreme abundance, but maybe James was right. Maybe he wasn't showing his love in the right way.
He almost felt too tired to figure it out, as if it were worth too much effort.
"Son."
Damon paused at the door and turned back toward his old man. "Yeah?"
"What happened with you and Bethany? You seemed so sure just before the wedding."
"I don't know, Dad." He shrugged. "I guess I'm just not enough."
"I highly doubt that."
Damon nodded and walked out. There was nothing else to say about it. Beth had chosen her path, and obviously Kendal was supposed to play some part of it. As much as it pained him to think that either of them would hurt him, some sick part of his heart was thrilled to know that she might end up with a good guy like Kendal.
"Mr. Bryant?" The sound of Philip's voice caused Damon's blood to boil. It was a total mistake to hire the kid back on, but it was one he was going to have to live with. He'd fired him under unreasonable circumstances, and HR had been quite clear that hiring him back was the only way to reconcile the situation. The idea that he'd done it for Bethany was only part of the deal.
"Yeah?" Damon walked into his office and dropped down in his chair. "Make it fast. I have ten minutes until I'm on a conference call with a client."
"I took Bethany out for dinner last night, and the whole time, I kept wishing that she'd see me." Philip crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head.
Damon blinked a few times, trying to clear the red from his vision. Did the kid have a death wish? And what the fuck was Beth doing? Was she seeing Philip or Kendal, or both of them? The sheets weren't even cold between the two of them, and she was already dating?
"I'm not sure I understand," Damon bit out between clenched teeth.
"She didn't see me sitting across the table in front of her." He gripped the back of the chair across from Damon's desk. "She was lost in thought or talking about how much she missed you. I know you don't want to hear this, but I was hoping that maybe the dinner might resemble a date because Bethany is such an incredible woman, but it didn't at all. She's heartbroken, and you're the only one that can fix it. She'd kill me if she knew I was standing in here talking to you, but I thought you should know. From the guy that wants to steal your girl pretty damn bad... it's impossible."
Damon nodded but didn't respond. The conversation made little to no sense.
Philip turned and walked out, closing the door behind him as he left.
Confusion swept through Damon in a suffocating wave. He stood and walked to his liquor cabinet. It was mid-morning and yet nothing was going to calm his nerves but a stiff drink.
She loved him, but she didn't?
She wanted him, but she was dating Philip and gazing deep into Kendal's eyes?
"Shit," Damon muttered and lifted his glass to his lips. He paused and closed his eyes, letting the vision of her beautiful face fill his mind. Every cell in his body woke up, all screaming for her attention, her time, her touch. Just simply her.
He tossed back the liquor and groaned low in his chest.
The phone buzzed, and he took his time walking back to his desk. He pressed the speaker button and sat down.
"What's up, Linda?"
"Your call with Mr. Killinger? He's actually waiting on line three."
"Reschedule it for tomorrow. Make something up." Damon hit the button to drop the call.
Business could be done later. He needed a few minutes to gather his thoughts. Why did every scenario end with Beth cheating on him? Why did he automatically assume that of her?
Closing his eyes, he let his head drop back as the burn of the alcohol warmed up his chest and stomach. A soft groan left him as every wicked hot fantasy he'd had with her when they first met moved behind his closed eyelids. She was so timid and beautiful, smart and
sexy as fuck.
He was going to drive himself mad with indecision if he didn't figure something out soon.
Give her up or get her back?
Fucking forget it and move on, or buckle down and do anything it took to win her back.
Life without her didn't make sense. Nothing tasted right or felt nearly as good. The excitement was gone, and a dull sadness had cast a net over the top of every day since she handed the ring back.
If he went after her a few things would have to change. No more assuming the worst about her. No more being terrified that she would go to another man for affection if he didn't smother her in sex.
No more rules. No more demands.
It wasn't lust anymore that forced him to his knees with her.
It was love.
Chapter 86
Bethany
Bethany got to the coffee shop a good forty minutes before she was supposed to meet Philip, but it gave her time to think through how she was going to let him down. The guy was perfect for her, but she wasn't open to thinking about truly dating anyone yet, nor would she be for a long time.
Worry continued to swirl in the pit of her stomach over Kendal. Something was wrong. She'd tried calling Matt several times to see if he figured out what was going on yet, but he wasn't answering.
"Hey, you." Philip's voice caused her to glance up.
His dark blond hair was cut short like he assumed Damon wanted it at M&B. He looked good no matter the length of his hair though. Being from Australia, he not only had his sexy accent going for him but the beautiful golden color of his skin, his great smile, hot body, and sweet personality. He was the full package, but it didn't matter. Someone else would grab him up by the time she healed enough to even consider anything more than a friendship.
She almost preferred it that way.
"Hi." She stood. "I got here a little early. Kendal had to leave because of an emergency or something, so I took on the class by myself today."
"Oh wow. How was that?" He reached out and touched the small of her back, guiding her through a crowd of people toward the front counter. The touch was intimate and caused chills to run down her spine, warming her and leaving her thoughts racing toward Damon.