by Scarlet West
“What was your mom’s name?” I asked. For a moment, there was a brief sadness that passed over his face, and I wondered if I had gone too far. But then, he answered me.
“Madeline.”
“Beautiful.” I said. I paused for a moment, and said. “I like Maddison.”
“Maddison Bogart? I like that, and Maddie can go just as well for both,” Blake said with a smile. “Alright then, it’s settled. But we both know that we’re not going to have to worry about it. This is going to be a boy, and that’s all there is to it,”
He put his hand on my stomach as he spoke, and I felt the familiar rush run through me. But, there was something even more intense about it this time. I was used to him touching me. I was used to the feeling that I got in my body when he did, but this time, I almost got the feeling of butterflies in my stomach.
There was still the same need – the same lust that I had before – but this time, I felt something deeper. Not just the hint of connection that I questioned whether it was there, but an actual connection. It had to be real. At least, this was real for me. And I knew I didn’t want I to come to an end.
Don’t say that now! You are having such a good time, and you don’t want to ruin it with something like that. When is the last time you did something so romantic with anyone? Never!
Not even when you guys met was it as romantic as this, even if he did lay on the charm as much as he did! Let it go, focus on the dinner you are having, and the names for the baby! This is romantic, don’t blow it.
The warnings ran through my head quickly, and I picked up my grape juice. “I propose a toast!”
“You do?” he asked in surprise. “And what are we toasting?”
“The baby,” I said with a grin. “We just picked out names, so no matter when they come, they are going to enter the world with a name. Right now, we’ll just call them Baby Bogart.”
“To Baby Bogart! May you come into the world with all the grace and beauty of your mother, and all the charm and charisma of your father!” Blake said as he raised his glass. I chuckled, but I didn’t laugh outright. I knew that was another complement he was giving to me, even if he did throw in his own conceited attitude with it.
It was one of the many things that I loved about him, and I knew I had been silly to think that there might have been someone else.
We were near the end of our meal, and I rose to clear the dishes. I didn’t want it to end, but I was happy with how the evening had gone. Of course, I wasn’t surprised when his hands started massaging my back. He liked to give me attention from behind, and I liked it when he did. It was half the reason I’d gotten up to go to the sink when I had.
“What are you doing?” he breathed into my ear.
“There are dishes that need to be done,” I said with a playful grin. “Dinner’s over.”
“They don’t need to be done right now, not with you dressed like that,” he said.
“Oh really, and what would you rather I was wearing?” I asked as I blinked seductively at him.
“Come with me into my bedroom, and I’ll show you,” he said as he pulled my hand with him. “It’s going to be less than what you have on.”
“Oh, and what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked as I suddenly stopped. It had bothered me when he said that at the beginning of the evening, and now it was starting to bother me again.
“It’s nothing that can’t wait,” Blake replied. “I’d rather focus on making you happy.”
I smiled to myself. I felt my plan had worked, and I looked forward to making love to him now. We weren’t just going in there to fuck, or have sex, we were going in there to make love. It would be the first time I’d done so with him, and I wanted it to be hot.
Blake closed the door and turned off the light, pulling me onto the bed with him. His breath was warm on my skin, his hands firm on my body. Jenny wouldn’t hear any of this, but I made a note to tell her she was right.
She knew exactly what men wanted.
19
Blake
“Fuck! Why is he gone again?” I slammed my briefcase down on the desk in my office, and Peter walked in.
“He just walked out right before you got here. I tried to get any information out of him that I could, but he didn’t give me any,” he said.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“We have meetings lined up all afternoon, and he was supposed to be there for all of them. Now, it’s going to fall to you and me to handle them, and you know what that means?” he asked.
“It means we’re going to get our asses chewed when he deems us worthy of him working here again,” I said as I rolled my eyes.
“I was thinking a little more optimistically than that,” Peter said. “I was thinking that we could take the chance to talk to these people about what we wanted to talk to them about.”
“You mean with our startup?” I asked in surprise.
“Why not? If he’s going to be out there doing whatever the fuck he’s doing and leaving us in charge, then he’s pretty much giving us permission to do things as we see fit, right?” Peter asked.
I sat down at my desk. He did have a real point. It was one of the things I really liked about my partner. He was able to find opportunities everywhere.
“Do we have enough we can put together a pitch?” I asked.
“We have enough to can throw out the idea and see if any of them are interested in such a thing,” he said. “It’s not going to be a pitch, per se, but we’re going to have to keep it on the brief side so we can talk to them about the company, too.”
“Why bother, if we want to do our own startup, then why talk about the company at all?” I asked.
“Because you want your father to find out about this? If we talk about something like that he’s going to see the numbers drop. But, if we play our cards right, we can do it on the sly. That’s going to give us a leg up in the game, and he’s not going to be here to stop it,” Peter laughed.
“Of course, you’re going to have to be prepared to be fired over this,” I said.
“What? Why?” he looked at me with shock on his face.
“Because if he loses money, or if something comes back to him and tells him that the presentation didn’t have anything to do with the company, who do you think it’s going to fall back on?” I asked. “It’s not going to look good for either of us, but he’s not going to fire me over something like that. You, on the other hand.”
I let the words hang in the air, and Peter sighed. “On the other hand, if we find enough people in the presentation who want to sign on, then we can move forward, fired or not. It’s not going to matter if we lose our jobs here, because we’ll launch right into another job elsewhere.”
“I’m not saying that I don’t like the idea, I’m just saying that you might get fired,” I said.
“We all might get fired. Hell, I might die. We’re all going to die at some point, so why worry about it?” he laughed.
“Considering my father doesn’t work for the mafia, I don’t think you and I really need to worry about being killed. But fired, yeah, definitely,” I said.
“Are you in or out? Do you have to run all your business meetings like this?” Peter asked. I gave him a smirk and he shook his head. “Maybe it is a good thing you aren’t running this place if you’re going to have an attitude like that.”
“So by contrast, you would rather have an attitude like my dickhead of a father?” I asked.
“Didn’t say that. I’d rather have an attitude like me,” he put his hands on his hips and I laughed.
“Keep dreaming, flyboy. You aren’t ever going to be CEO of Bogart. Maybe you can get your own going, but if my father isn’t in the picture, I’m taking it,” I said.
“Fair enough. It is in your name, after all. Anyway. I’m going to go get some of this shit put together for the presentation so we have something to actually say, and we’re going to figure out how to put it into what we want to say, together,” P
eter said.
“Do what makes you happy,” I replied. I sat down at my desk and he suddenly hesitated.
“Don’t let your dad get you down, man. You know that’s his goal in life. If he can make you feel like you aren’t good enough, then he’s got an excuse that’s going to always make you feel like you aren’t good enough,” he said.
“Since when did you get so philosophical?” I asked.
“Alright, sorry, but I can see that there’s something bothering you, and you’ve been letting it bother you for a while. How many times do I have to tell you to go talk to that girl before you get it through your skull?” he asked.
“I was going to last night!” I shot back.
“And why the fuck didn’t you?” he asked.
“I couldn’t! I bought flowers before I got home, and when I opened the door, she was all in this romantic getup. Like these panties, this bra. She was making dinner,” I shook my head. I didn’t want to go into too many details with Peter, but he was shaking his head.
“Damn, you got lucky with that one man. You really need to get Candace out of the picture as soon as possible. I mean, if you get her out of there, maybe you don’t have to talk to Ashley about it at all,” he said.
“I thought about that, but I’m not sure how to do that, either. I wanted to talk to my father today. I was going to give him an ultimatum. It’s either Candace or me. She can come in and ruin my life, in which case I’m going to pack up and be gone tomorrow, or she can fuck off and I’ll do what I can to keep him happy,” I said.
“Do you really want to live your life to keep him happy? I mean, I feel like if you do that, he’s either going to pick Candace just because he likes to be a dick and he’s getting revenge on you. But, if he picks you, he’s just going to be a dick because he’s getting revenge on you,” Peter said.
“So either way he’s going to be a dick,” I sighed.
“Don’t act like that’s any sort of surprise,” Peter reminded me. I nodded. I couldn’t argue with him on that one, but it was still frustrating.
“Or, we can go back to square one, and you can talk to Ashley,” Peter said. “Which I think might be the better of the two options. You can get her on your side, then you aren’t going to have to worry about what your father or that other broad does.”
“That just brings me back in a giant circle,” I said. “Either way, I’m fucked.”
“Well, you better decide which one is going to hurt less, because you’re really going to be fucked if your father is going to be an asshole thinking that he’s going to keep you,” Peter replied.
I knew he was right. The worst thing that could happen would be for Ashley to find out about Candace on her own. I had to be the one to tell her. I didn’t really think that I would have the ability to get rid of the woman on my own. She was going to have to see for herself that I was happy now.
Hell, she didn’t even care. All she wanted was money, so I either had to pay her off, or prove to her that I wasn’t ever going to have anything to do with her. If I paid her off, I was sure she would come back in the future. Then again, if she did, it might not be as big of a blow. Except for the fact I knew my father wouldn’t stay out of things, and I was forever going to be on edge, wondering if she was just going to randomly show up.
“So, what’s it going to be?” Peter asked. “We need to move on with the meeting prep, so get this decision out of the way, and you can focus on what we’re doing here, alright?”
“I’m going to take her to dinner,” I said.
“Ashley?” he asked.
“Of course, Ashley. I’m not going to do a damn thing with Candace. I’m going to take my wife to dinner, and I’m going to tell her the truth. Maybe in that setting she’s going to see that I really do love her, and I want to do something nice for her since she was so nice to me last night,” I said.
“Be careful with how you present it to her. You don’t want to take her to this fancy ass restaurant and have her think that you were just trying to butter her up so you can break her heart,” Peter warned.
“I’m hoping that I can tell her the truth without it breaking her heart,” I said with a sigh. “I know there’s no promises there, but I don’t want her to think that I’m telling her there’s someone else and I’m leaving her.”
“That would be a little soon, wouldn’t it?” Peter asked. “I mean, you’d have to really talk about things if that was the case.”
“You aren’t helping,” I replied.
“Fine. You are going to take her out, and you’re going to talk to her. That’s going to be your saving grace, trust me,” Peter replied. “Now, can we please get through this paperwork before the hot shots start to arrive? I don’t want to be caught off guard, especially if we are going to be throwing in a bit of our own two cents in there.”
“Alright,” I said as I sat down at the desk. “You get in your office and figure out what we are going to tell them on our startup end. I’m going to be in here and I’ll figure out how much of this we can cut out without anyone really noticing. That’s going to make it possible for us to slip in our own shit, and everything is going to be great.”
“Great,” Peter replied. He headed for the door before pausing. “And don’t stress too much about tonight. You’re going to go home, get her ready and out the door faster than she’s going to know what hit her. Then you’re going to tell her the truth, and all this is going to go away.”
“Right,” I replied, hoping to have more confidence in my voice than I did in my heart. Peter was right this was going to be fine. I was going to take care of this, and I could move on with my life, with my wife.
Candace and my father would be gone, unable to do a thing to our relationship, and I’d be happy.
I still felt sick to my stomach when I thought about the conversation, but I knew it was for the best. This was for Ashley, after all.
And I wasn’t going to risk losing her for any reason.
20
Ashley
I sighed as I flipped through another cookbook. I didn’t want to cook, but I wasn’t going to ask Blake to order takeout. I had spent a lot of money on the food for last night’s dinner, I didn’t want to ask him to spend a lot again. I’d suck it up and make something, though I really didn’t feel like it.
I was surprised when I heard footsteps in the hall. There were a couple other wealthy tenants who lived on the same floor, but we rarely heard any of them. Blake told me he believed they were all elderly, and none of them really ventured out much.
That was fine with me. I didn’t ever like hearing the activity that went on when I was in my old apartment, and from the crime shows I’d seen on tv, I didn’t really care for it here, either. I lied peace and quiet.
But it was weird for Blake to be home so early, too.
I heard the code being punched in, and sure enough, he walked through the door.
“What are you doing home so early?” I asked.
“Get your jacket. We’re going to get something to eat,” he said.
“It’s like you can read my mind. I was just trying to find something here,” I said. “I didn’t really want to cook tonight, but I didn’t want to ask you to order anything, either.”
“This is going to be better than takeout. Come on, get ready and let’s get going. I want to have a nice night with you, and I don’t want to be crowded out in the restaurants,” he said.
“Okay,” I said with a surprised look on my face. I was surprised that he was so fervent that we go out. He was growing more and more attached to me, I could sense it. I tried to push out of my mind what Jenny had said earlier that day and just focus on the fact that he wanted to go out with me.
I’d told her about the night before, how it had gone so well, and everything that happened. I’d included the fact that he had said that he wanted to talk to me about something, but when I asked about it again, he’d gotten weird. I didn’t know what to make of it, but she seemed rather worried.
/>
“If he wants to talk to you about something, then he’s going to bring up something big,” she said. “Any time a man announces that he wants to talk to you about something, that means that you are about to have the shoe drop.”
“Are you sure?” I asked. “But I did everything you said, and it went so well. He brought me flowers and everything.”
“Uh-oh,” she replied.
“What?” I asked, nearly feeling frantic.
“If he brought you flowers then told you that he’s got something to talk to you about, I’d be concerned,” she said again. “That could mean that you are getting breakup flowers.”
I sighed. “I’m going to be optimistic about this, but if that’s what you think is going on, I’m not going to rule it out.”
“Good, because I really don’t want to see you get hurt,” she replied.
It bothered me all day, and I wasn’t sure what to do about it. But, when I got home and saw the roses standing proudly in the vase, I knew Jenny had to be wrong. She had been right about how he would like that, but she had to be wrong about the breakup.
I couldn’t see him doing so much for me, only to betray me, and I wasn’t going to let my brain even worry about it anymore. I loved this man, and if we were going to have a real relationship, I was going to have to trust him, even if it was hard for me to do so at times.
It didn’t take me long to get ready to go out. I dressed casual, but fancy enough to be taken anywhere out on the town. There were so many options for us to choose from, but I had a feeling Blake already knew where he was going to take me, and I was more than happy to go.
There was a restaurant that wasn’t far from his place. I had only eaten there one time in my life, but it was my favorite of all. I’d mentioned it to him several times when we were on our way to work in the morning, and he had promised me that he would take me there one of these nights.
Just as I suspected, that was where we were headed. We walked in and the waitress greeted us, then he surprised me again with reservations.
