Pinkie Promise

by Sarah Clay

  That’s how the next two weeks had continued. I’d work from one of the boys’ offices’ and have lunch with my brother every day, then I’d spend my nights with Jackson and Charlie.

  It would have been perfect if only there wasn’t this constant niggling feeling hanging over us.

  I’d told Jackson a couple of times I’d felt like I was being watched, which only made him more agitated.

  I was sick of this hanging over Jackson and me, and over the work I was doing for Anperson; it was hanging over every aspect of my life.

  I’d gotten to the point where I felt like I was always under somebody else’s control and I’d had enough.

  So two days ago I’d gone and seen Tony, to ask about my Dad.

  I’d dismissed the idea of this being Alec after one of my friends from back home had mentioned his family had moved away.

  I’d hoped Tony could tell me whether my dad was in Hayward somewhere or back home. But he’d told me he’d need a couple of days to find out for sure.

  That brings us to the here and now.

  Jackson had just walked into his office and overheard Tony assuring me my dad was in fact, still in Merrick.

  I was sure now, more than ever that he didn’t have anything to do with this, but Jackson wasn’t listening to anything I had to say; he was too angry.

  “She asked you to do what?” he seethes at Tony.

  I cringe at the anger I can feel rolling off of him.

  “Jackson, it was a fair call. Is this how you want to keep going, looking over your shoulders?”

  Jackson is switching between glaring at the two of us.

  “Jacks, listen to me” I speak softly, walking towards him.

  Reaching out to stroke my palm over his jaw.

  “You asked me not to call my dad, not then anyway and I respected that. But I just needed to know for sure where he was. You heard for yourself, he’s not here. It’s not him Jackson.”

  He steps back from me, letting my hand slip away.

  I frown at his actions, but he’s quick to blow out a rush of air “you don’t fucking know that, he could have come here and gone back by now Olivia.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Jackson

  I was trying to calm down, but no amount of counting or deep breaths was working.

  The past few weeks had been exhausting and amazing all rolled into one.

  Knowing someone was out there threatening Olivia had me constantly on edge, constantly worried about where she was and who she was with.

  The police had a massive backlog of evidence to be tested and although they were able to pick up some prints from Liv’s car, they’d yet to run them through the system properly.

  It didn’t matter how much damn money I threw at them either, some arseholes in the department had decided to go on strike for fair pay and healthcare at the wrong fucking time.

  If the fuckers would just get back to work, I’d pay their whole years’ salary.

  Thanks to the fact that the police were in possession of the prints, I couldn’t even take them to an independent source to run.

  I knew Liv was feeling the crunch of it all too. As much as she enjoyed the time we shared at night together, she’d voiced her concerns over her just being there because I had a desire to be a knight in shining armor and protect her.

  She worried that we had been thrown headfirst into our relationship quicker than normal because of the threats against her. It didn’t matter how I tried to reassure her, I could see the doubt lingering.

  So when I’d walked into my office to hear Tony and her talking about her contacting her dad, I’d wanted to break something.

  I could see the desperation on her face, she wanted to solve the problem head-on so we could move past it and get on with our lives. But the problem with that was she was willing to put herself into what I considered to be danger.

  And I wouldn’t let her, it wasn’t happening.

  “Jack you could be right, he could have gone back, but why would he if it was Liv he was after. Why would he come all this way to threaten her to turn around and go home without her?”

  I glare at my best friend, pissed that he was entertaining the idea.

  “Jackson” Olivia's soft voice calls my attention back to her.

  “I’m going to call my dad, I’m going to talk to him and I am going to find out first hand whether he has anything to do with what has been happening.”

  I feel like I’m being pushed into a corner, she’s not asking or talking about it with me; she’s telling me that this is happening.

  “So just like that, you’re doing it without even talking to me about it?” I scoff at her. “Sure no problems, and what if it is him, Olivia, have you thought about that. Or what if he lies to you and makes you feel guilty for even accusing him. What if this is all a big trap that you’re blindly walking in to?”

  I see the doubt creeping up on her face and I feel like an arsehole but she has to know that I’m only saying all of this because I’m worried something is going to happen to her.

  And yet it feels like she is completely disregarding it, it’s infuriating.

  “If it’s not your dad then who else would be pulling this fucking shit, Olivia?” I spit.

  “Jackson, calm down” Tony stands from his spot, but I cut him off with a glare.

  “No, you” I fiercely point a finger in his direction “have done enough here, entertaining the idea that someone around here would want to hurt her, everyone fucking loves her here.”

  Tony’s head dips low. I look away from him and back to Olivia when her voice cuts in.

  “It’s not him Jackson, he’s my father… he is my father” She speaks slower, emphasizing each word.

  I can see her eyes are glazed over with unshed tears, and as much as I want to, I don’t make a move towards her; to offer her the comfort I know she needs.

  Instead, I look away when I speak, “He’s your father, but you’re his princess. The one he keeps around to use when needed and now he’s pissed that he can’t cash in on you to help his business grow. That’s all you are to him” I conclude.

  I hear her intake of breath before I look up and meet her eyes. The tears she was holding back are now rolling down her face, she’s looking at me with so much hurt in her eyes.

  “Fuck, Liv, I didn’t mean it like that” I step towards her but she stops me with a hand up in the air, effectively blocking my path.

  “Olivia” I urge her to look at me, but she shakes her head, taking one step back; before turning and rushing out of my office.

  “Fuck” I growl out before slumping down in the chair beside me.

  “That wasn’t fair Jack, the man is a fucking arsehole but he is her father and you just made her feel like a fucking trophy to the guy.” I don’t turn around; I can sense he’s not finished. “Even if it is true, Liv doesn’t need to hear that shit. She just wants all of this to go away, fuck we all do. And the avenue she wants to go down right now is talking to her father. That’s her call man, not yours.”

  I sigh, fisting my hands in my hair and standing back up to start pacing my office.

  I keep my eyes on my office door, willing her to come back through it. “I know; I know I shouldn’t have said it. But what if something happens to her T? I can’t… I can’t.”

  Tony comes to stand beside me, slapping his hand down on my back.

  “You either be there for her when shit goes down or you continue pushing her away because you’re too much of a pussy. But you don’t get to have it both ways.”

  I stand a little taller at his comment. Of course, I want to be there for her.

  I want to make this all better for her. Just like she makes everything better.

  She makes my home better, she makes my life better, she makes me better.

  Fuck, what have I just done?

  “Yeah. There’s the look I was waiting for, you fucking idiot. Go on, go find her.”

  He pushes me towards the door
and I take off running, needing to find her and apologize for being such a fucking arsehole.

  I track through all three floors. Hitting redial every time the phone in my hand rings out.

  She was ignoring my calls and I had no fucking clue where to find her.

  She never ignored my calls, not intentionally. And over the past few weeks, I always knew exactly where she was.

  I race out of the lifts on to the ground floor and straight up the reception lobby.

  “Have either of you seen Olivia pass by here?” I demand, hitting redial again.

  When I look up again Victoria is shooing the other girl away before looking back to me with a sympathetic look.

  “Jacky, she’s gone.”

  I frown at her, “What do you mean she’s gone, gone where, when?”

  She comes around from her side of the desk, reaching out and gripping my forearm when she talks.

  “She came down about twenty minutes ago, she was a mess; really upset. Dean was here and ushered her away in a cab. I’m not sure where they went. I’m sorry” She starts rubbing my arm but I can barely feel it, trying to focus on the words she’d just uttered.

  “They?” I ask in disbelief.

  Victoria nods, before reiterating, “Olivia and Dean.”

  ∞

  I’d sat around my office like a fucking chump for another hour waiting for Olivia to come back.

  She hadn’t, so I’d taken off home; hoping she’d be here when I arrived. But she wasn’t, much to mine and Charlies disappointment.

  I grab a beer out of the fridge before slumping down on the couch. Charlie saunters over to me, before sitting and offering me his paw. I half-heartedly ruff him up around the ears.

  “I think I fucked up bud” I mumble into the room.

  I don’t know how long I’d been sitting here for, only getting up to get another beer or to let Charlie out. I’d just finished letting him out when I hear a knock on the door.

  Hoping like hell it was Olivia I race over and open it up, willing away my annoyance of her being with Dean; if she would just forgive me for the shit I’d said.

  But when I open it up, it’s Victoria. Only this time she’s standing there with that same sympathetic look.

  I sigh, opening the door wider before walking back over to the couch.

  Victoria lets herself in and comes to sit beside me.

  “What are you doing her Vic?” I ask between mouthfuls.

  “Jacky, we were friends before anything else and I was worried about you after everything that happened tonight… Let me be your friend, what is going on?”

  She sounds so genuine, and I really would like a females’ opinion. But I don’t know if she’s really who I should be delving into it all with. Especially when I’d been sat here wording and then re-wording a dismissal letter for her brother in my head.

  “Talk to me, I might be able to help.” She offers before taking the beer out of my hand and placing it on the coffee table.

  So I do, I spill it all out to her. From the second Olivia knocked on my office door that first night and I hadn’t known who she was, all the way up to what caused her to walk out in tears tonight.

  And everything in between.

  When I’m done I look over to Victoria and for a second I’m sure I see a glimpse of hurt behind her eyes, she quickly shakes it off and offers me a sad smile.

  “Sounds like maybe you two aren’t as right for each other as you thought.”

  I shake my head at her conclusion.

  “Why would you say that that’s not it at all” I defend as I attempt to stand up.

  But she shuffles closer to me, resting her hand on my thigh to stop me from moving.

  “I just mean that she clearly doesn’t respect your opinions on her father being behind these horrible threats and then she just takes off with my brother, god knows where they are or what they’re doing.”

  I slam my eyes shut, not wanting to picture any of the possibilities. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Olivia, I didn’t trust Dean with Olivia.

  I’d had a taste of what life with her was like and any man would be stupid not to want in on it.

  After the way she’d left tonight though, I didn’t know how she felt about me anymore.

  I hadn’t meant to fuck it all up, I just wanted her safe.

  I shut my eyes even tighter when I remember all the times I’d seen the way Dean looked at her in the office when he thought no one was watching. Olivia always thought I was overreacting but she was blind to all of the looks she received.

  My eyes fling open when I feel Victoria’s hand tighten on my thigh. I look over to her just as she leans in, smashing her lips against mine.

  It takes me a second to realize what is actually happening, but the second I do I push her back from me and stand.

  Pacing the small rug in front of me. Fisting my hands in my hair before I turn to look at her again, but before I do I spot Olivia; standing in the entryway with wide eyes and a disappointed look on her face.

  “Olivia!” I call out, but she doesn’t speak; instead, she spins on her heels and walks back out the door.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Olivia

  “Olivia!”

  I don’t listen, instead, I walk out the door and pull it shut behind me; before moving away from it and down towards the path. I hear the door reopen a few seconds later, but I don’t turn around; instead, I pull my phone out of my handbag.

  After Jackson had said what he had earlier, I’d run out of the office and straight into Dean. I must have looked a mess, but he offered to get me out of there.

  I’d left my handbag in the drawer of Jackson's desk and since I had no car anymore; I’d accepted the offer and left with him.

  I needed to get away, he’d invited me back to his place but I didn’t want that, thankfully he seemed to understand that.

  So instead I’d had the cab drop me off at Coopers apartments and thanked Dean for his help.

  After I’d said goodbye, I’d waited for the cab to pull away.

  But once it had, I hadn’t gone inside; instead, I walked.

  Nowhere in particular, but I eventually found myself right back at Anpersons’ Offices.

  I’d gone back up to the 12th floor, no one was there except a few stragglers. I’d let myself into Jackson's office to retrieve my things.

  When I’d checked my phone I had the familiar missed calls from dad and a few friends, but I had countless new ones from Jackson and a couple from Coop and Tony.

  Deciding the best thing to do would be to talk to Jackson's face to face, I didn’t call him back.

  Instead, I’d called for a cab to take me to him. Only when I walked in his door, I hadn’t expected to see Victoria. I especially hadn’t expected to see them kissing.

  “Olivia wait” Jackson demands when I continued walking down the path.

  Pulling the phone to my ear after hitting redial.

  It connects almost immediately, “Hi, I was just dropped off by a cab, the number I’m calling from is the same one I used to book it.” I listen to them recite the address I was currently standing in front of and ask for confirmation. “Yep that’s the one, I’m sorry, could you have him turn back; I’ll need him to take me back into the city.”

  They confirm they’ve logged the ride and told me he would only be a couple of minutes before hanging up.

  “Olivia, god dammit stop” he roars into the night.

  Finally, I stop moving and slowly turn around to face him. My cheeks were wet again but I didn’t make a move to wipe them clean this time.

  “What Jackson?” I can’t tell if he’s happy to see me or pissed that I’m here.

  “Where are you going?” he asks as he steps towards me.

  “Coopers.” I offer in way of an explanation.

  I hear him sigh before speaking again. “Nothing happened.”

  I scoff, turning around to continue walking but he grabs hold of my wrist, halting any movement.


  “She kissed me and I stopped it the second I realized what she was doing, she came over to make sure I was okay, she was worried about us.” I roll my eyes but he doesn’t notice. “She’d seen you upset, she told me that you left with Dean…”

  I shrug my shoulders at him, “yeah I did, after our fight in your office I needed some space. I needed to think.”

  He steps into me; I can feel his chest heaving against my back.

  “What and you thought being alone with Dean would give you that?”

  Of course, he would jump to that conclusion. I pull my wrist out of his grip and glare up at him.

  “You know what, that’s not fair. I left with Dean after you all but told me I was no better than a materialistic item to my father.”

  I see the regret written all over his face the second I mention it, but I keep talking.

  “But I didn’t stay with him, I was dropped off at Cooper's apartment, I wasn’t sitting on a couch kissing him.”

  I can feel his hot breath hitting me against the side of my face, I can smell his familiar minty smell, mixed with the beer he’d obviously been drinking.

  “I called Cooper, you weren’t at his apartment.” I shake my head at the audacity he has right now to be questioning me.