Ruined Promises

by Stefanie Jenkins

  “Lexi once tried to warn—” I hold up my hand, cutting him off while I find the strength to read the message.

  Lexi: She needs you.

  Who needs me? Is she drunk? “The fuck,” I mutter softly.

  I stare at her text for a few moments before I muster the strength to hit Send on her contact instead of responding. Someone picks up right away; however, I have to pull the phone back for a second with the loud background noise.

  “Hello,” a soft voice says over the phone. Even though I am looking anywhere but at him, I can feel Asher’s scrutinizing and concerned gaze on me.

  “Lex? Are you okay? Where are you?” I place my forefinger in my other ear, trying to hear her talk.

  “Ben.” Wait, this isn’t Lexi’s voice. I begin to panic. Did something happen to her? “Ben? It’s Hadley.”

  Why is Hadley calling me on Lexi’s phone?

  “Ben?” my brother tries to cut in. I hold up my hand to him so that I can hear Hadley.

  “Hadley, where’s Lexi? What’s going on,” I demand. She’s starting to scare me.

  “Hold on,” she shouts into the phone. “Let me go someplace quieter.” The background noise grows distant.

  “Are… are you still there, Ben?”

  I exhale and run my hand over my face. “Yeah, I’m still here. What’s going on? Is Lexi okay?”

  “Lexi’s a mess. Ben, she needs you.” Even with everything that happened between us, I hear the desperation in Hadley’s voice. For her own best friend to reach out to me, I have to take that as something. I get up from my desk and leave the office with my brother on my heels.

  “Hadley, where are you?”

  “Eiffel Park.” I stop in my tracks and close my eyes—of all places, back to the scene of the crime.

  I grab my keys off the counter and race down the stairs to the garage.

  I open the car door when I see my brother doing the same on the passenger side. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m going with you. You look extremely distracted, and honestly, I’m a little concerned about you.”

  My brows shoot up, insinuating he’s never been concerned about me.

  “I thought you were going out?”

  He shrugs. “Plans change. Now, are we going or not?”

  He’s right. I need to stop stalling and rescue my girl. Back to where it all began we go.

  Twenty minutes later, we’re pulling my car up to the front of the club. On the ride over, Asher explained that Lexi had confronted him and tried to warn him that Dominic Jennings was a bad person, but that he brushed her off. Is it possible all of this is connected?

  A valet out front tries to stop me. “I’ll be just a minute.”

  The young boy hesitates, and Asher comes to the rescue at my side, reaching into his wallet and grabbing a hundred-dollar bill. “Go, I’ve got this.”

  I place my hand on his arm. “Thank you; I’ll be right back.”

  I race into the club in search of Lexi and Hadley. I find Hadley standing over by the bar, her eyes focused on something on the dance floor. When I approach her, I graze my fingers on her arm to get her attention, causing her to jump.

  “Oh, Ben, thank God. I didn’t know what else to do. She’s…” She holds her arm out where she was just staring at on the dance floor, and my blood begins to boil. She’s pressed up against some random guy, dancing, just like the night we met. I can tell she is intoxicated by how her eyes are shut, and she is swaying side to side. I need to get her out of here.

  “Come on.” I follow Hadley out to where she stands.

  “Lexi, I think it’s time to go,” Hadley shouts over the loud music. Lexi shakes her head no at first.

  “I’m fine. You can go,” she retorts. “You wanted me to have fun, so now I’m having fun.” Her hands tighten around the douchebag’s whom she is dancing with.

  Lexi finally notices me standing behind Hadley. “What are you doing here?”

  “Lexi.” My tone is firm. I wrap my fingers around her slender arm and pull her toward me. As I suspected, she is so drunk she flies right into my hard chest.

  “Ooof.” She laughs and pushes off my chest, but I hold on to her tight. Fuck, I have missed her so much. Now is not the time.

  “Ben, just leave.”

  “No.”

  “Hey, buddy, I believe she told you to leave,” the jackass that was just grinding all on her says from beside me.

  I turn and stare at him, leaning closer. “Why don’t you back off before I make you. She’s already spoken for,” I growl. Luckily, he takes the hint quickly. I do not feel like getting into a fight tonight, but if it weren’t for her, I wouldn’t hesitate.

  “Lexi, come on, let’s leave,” Hadley begs.

  Lexi looks between her best friend and me before her shoulders sag in defeat. She takes a step to walk away from us but begins to fall. I reach out and catch her, then wrap my arms under her knees and lift her. Her head rests in the crook of my neck. The way she clings to me is everything I need to know but leaves me more confused than ever. Her body is telling me one thing, but her mouth is saying another.

  Hadley and I make our way through the crowd to the door.

  Once outside, I find Asher leaning against the passenger side of the car looking down on his phone.

  “Asher,” I call out, and he looks up from his phone. I nod for him to open the passenger door for me, and he obliges before stepping to the side.

  I gently place Lexi in the passenger seat and brush a stray tendril of hair away from her face. Her eyes are already closed. What did you get yourself into, baby girl? It doesn’t matter that she walked away; she’s still mine.

  Hadley comes up from behind and hands me Lexi’s bag. I set it on her lap and shut the door. “Thank you for coming, Ben. Seriously.”

  “Thank you for calling. I’ll look after her, I promise. Do you need a ride somewhere?”

  “No, I can just call an Uber.” She wraps her arms around her waist, unsure of herself.

  “I’ll make sure she gets home safely,” Asher adds, stepping up beside her. “Hi, I’m Asher Harrington.” He extends his hand to her, and she takes it in hers.

  “Hadley Kincaid.”

  “Yeah, sure, Asher, no funny business. Make sure she actually gets home, okay?” My tone is stern, hoping he actually understands what I am saying. The last thing we need is for him hooking up with Lexi’s best friend.

  “Jeez, Ben, have a little faith in me, and get your girl home.”

  “I’ll be fine, Ben. Thank you,” Hadley reassures me.

  I nod and go to walk around to the driver’s side, but Hadley grabs my arm, stopping me. “Lexi has been hurt enough. Her ex, he was not a good man. She’s falling for you, even if she won’t admit it. If you don’t catch her…” She pauses. “Well, let’s just say that Brynn, Cal, and I will all gladly kick your ass.”

  Once inside the car, I double-check that Lexi is safely buckled and head back to my place. Hadley’s words play over in my head the entire ride. Every so often, I glance over at Lexi. She is out cold.

  I park in the garage and scoop her gently in my arms. I make sure not to jostle her too much as I take the stairs. I carry her down the hallway to my bedroom when she finally starts to stir. She nuzzles her head into my nook and inhales.

  “Ben.”

  “Yeah, baby, I’m here.”

  “I love you.” She says it so softly that if there had been other noises throughout the house, I might not have heard it. I freeze. This is the first time she has ever said those words. I know that Hadley said that she was falling, but she just said those three words that I’ve been begging to hear from her lips.

  “Lex? Lex?” I look down and see that she’s passed out again.

  I gently lay her down on the bed and slide her boots off. I lean over and press my lips to her forehead, lingering a moment longer.

  I pull back and back up into the chair in the corner of the room and watch her sleep. I ho
ped sleep would eventually overtake me; instead, the words “I love you” in Lexi’s soft voice play over and over all night long.

  Light creeps in through the window, and even with my eyes closed, it is blinding. The worst case of cottonmouth in the history of hangovers is currently taking residence in my mouth. “Hadley, I’m never listening to you again.” I don’t even remember how we got home last night. I groan as I roll over, stretching. When I put my face into the pillow, a familiar scene assaults me, and I realize I’m not in my bed or Hadley’s.

  Ben.

  I turn over and sit up quickly. I find Ben sitting in a chair with his head resting in his hands. He looks a wreck—just like how I feel.

  He finally looks up as if he could sense me staring at him, and his sad eyes meet mine. I swallow thickly. “Do you feel better about yourself,” he asks.

  I run my hands through my knotty rat’s nest of hair. “No.” One simple word is all I can manage. How did I get here?

  “Lex, you said something last night.” I did? I try to put the piece of last night together. Hadley forcing me off the couch to go out. Shots. Dancing. Ben.

  “I don’t get you, Alexis Baker.” The use of my full name stings a little—so formal but also brings an even bitter taste to my mouth, reminding me of Dominic doing the same. “We promised one night. That was it. But then you made your way into my heart, and then you crushed it.”

  Tears pool in my eyes. I pull my knees into my chest. “You can have any woman you want out there—don’t waste your time on me. Just like you said, we promised one night.” I hide my face in my hands to hide the tears falling.

  Ben is off the chair so fast I worry I might have gotten whiplash as he pulls my hands down and cups my cheeks. He brushes away the fallen tears with his thumbs.

  “I don’t want any other woman out there, Lex. I want you. Don’t you get that? You’ve ruined me for anyone else.” He swallows deeply and glances down at the sheets before his glossy eyes meet mine again. The emotional tension in this room is so thick that I am struggling for air. “Lexi Baker, I love you. I love you so much, baby. Please talk to me and tell me what happened to make you walk away from me, away from us. We can fix this. You and me. With your hand in mine”—he links our fingers together—“we can take on the world.” He presses his forehead to mine. I inhale his scent along with the mintiness of his breath.

  He loves me? The words are right on the tip of my tongue, screaming at me to say them. Just say it, Lexi, tell Ben you feel the same. Tell him everything.

  “Ben.”

  He presses his lips against mine in a searing kiss. One just like the night we met, and it burns me alive. His tongue forces its way into my mouth, and I welcome the intrusion, catching it with my own.

  He guides me back against the pillows, settling between my legs.

  In between kisses, I catch my breath. “Ben,” I manage to get out as his lips trail kisses along my jaw and collarbone.

  “Ben. I… I…” He pauses, and his eyes meet mine. I cup his cheeks and pull him to me. “Bentley Michael Harrington, I love you with everything I have and everything I am.”

  He pulls me into his lap. “I’ve never heard more perfect words out of your mouth.” He brushes the fallen hairs out of my face. With one last peck, he wraps his arms around me and holds me. I cling to him for dear life, afraid this moment will slip away.

  “Lex, I need you to tell me why you walked away.”

  I shake my head. “I can’t.”

  “Baby, I can’t do this without you. I need you to talk to me.” I chew on the inside of my lip before pulling my lower lip between my teeth. Using his thumb, Ben pulls it free from my grasp. “No matter what it is.” He takes out joined hands and presses kisses along my knuckles. “It’s you and me.”

  I nod. It’s time to tell Ben everything. It won’t change anything, though. Sometimes love isn’t enough.

  “I was hired right out of college at Maritime. Paul said that even though I didn’t have the work experience, he saw something in me. On my first day, I met someone.”

  “Dominic,” Ben says. How does he know? I nod to confirm.

  “We fell in love and eventually moved in together.”

  Ben listens to my every word and holds me tighter while I explain our downfall.

  When he grumbles a few “that motherfucker,” I soothe him, running my hands down his back in small circles.

  “But what does he have to do with us now?”

  “It seems as though Paul had always planned to leave Dominic the company when he retired one day, that is until he changed his mind after watching his actions that led to our breakup and after. Dominic acted out and when he learned the new buyer was you, he did research. He befriended Asher in a way to get to you. However, better ammunition was put in his path when he discovered that we were dating. He no longer had his eyes set on you, but on me.”

  “So, your ex has been hanging out with my brother this whole time.”

  I slide off Ben’s lap, needing the space, but he doesn’t let me go far by pulling me to his side and holding my hand, needing to know that I’m not leaving.

  “It seems so.” I look down at my lap before continuing, explaining what happened with my confrontation with Dominic.

  Ben jumps off the bed, pacing back and forth. He runs his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends, leaving it in further disarray than it was. “He was in this house. He was in this room… with you. What the fuck is wrong with my brother for being his friend.”

  “Stop.” I slide to the edge of the bed and grab for his arm. “This isn’t his fault. It’s all mine.”

  “What?” he screeches. “No way this is any of your fault.”

  I look away, ashamed of everything that has brought us to this moment. Had I told Ben from the beginning about my past, could all of this have been avoided?

  “Lexi, whatever assumptions you have in your head, stop thinking it. None of this is your fault. Dominic is fucked-up in the head if he thinks I’m going to let him get away with this. I’m going to take that motherfucker down.”

  “Ben, I can’t let you do that.”

  “You’re not letting me do anything. I’m an adult, Lex, and a man. I protect those I love. And as we’ve already put it out there, I love you. Don’t you get it? There is nothing I won’t do for you, and if that means giving all of this up, I would.”

  “No,” I plead. “I don’t deserve you.”

  Stepping up in front of me, Ben pulls me against his chest. He draws my attention to his face by cupping my cheeks in his strong hands. “You deserve everything. I love you. I will fix this. You are mine.”

  I get lost, staring into his eyes.

  “I want to hear you say it.”

  “Say what?”

  “Say you’re mine and that you love me.”

  “Ben, I—”

  He presses his finger to my lips. “I only want to hear you say those words. Everything else just leave to me. Okay?”

  I hesitate, so he chooses to help entice me by closing the distance between us. When his lips touch mine, the fireworks erupt, reminding me just how much I love this man. “I’m yours. I love you,” I breathe against his lips.

  “I will fix this, baby, I promise” are the last words I hear before getting lost in his kiss once again.

  It took everything in me not to walk right out of the room and find Dominic and kill him. Well, not kill him because that would definitely keep me away from Lexi with me being in jail, but I would definitely beat the shit out of him. An awkward conversation with my brother took place.

  I had to carefully plan his takedown—one that keeps him away for good.

  For the past week, I’ve forced Lexi to focus on preparing the Best Of party to keep her mind off everything. I should be there now; the party starts in just under two hours, but I needed to take care of this first.

  “Excuse me, but you can’t just barge in here.” I ignore the annoying voice of the bleach-blonde f
emale yelling to stop me.

  I push open the door of Dominic’s office at Burke, Wilson, and Talbot. The knob slams into the wall with a loud clunk. I find him sitting at his desk as if he owns the place, feet perched up, leaning back in his chair, and phone receiver glued to his ear.

  “I’m sorry, Harvey, I’m going to need to call you back.”

  He hangs up the phone and rises from his chair, buttoning his suit coat.

  “Bentley Harrington. To what do I owe you the pleasure of this visit?”

  “You know what the fuck I’m doing here,” I say through gritted teeth. I had planned to keep my cool, but watching him come around the front of his desk, sitting on the edge with both his ankles and arms crossed as if this is a pleasant everyday occurrence, has my blood boiling.

  “Dominic, do you need me to call security?” the secretary asks from the doorway.

  “No, Missy, that won’t be necessary. Leave us.” He dismisses her with just a wave. “I figured it was only a matter of time before you came sniffing around here. Come to discuss what it’s like with my sloppy seconds. Or maybe you’d rather have a go at my secretary there. I preferred her over Lexi as well.”

  I grind my teeth so hard I may have cracked a molar with my jaw so taut.

  I step up to him, gripping his collar in my hands. “Leave Lexi the fuck alone. I swear to God, if you come anywhere near her, me, my family, or my company, I will end you.”

  My grip on him tightens as he laughs sinisterly. Does he think I’m joking? I will do anything I have to to protect my family especially from scumbags like him.

  “You think I’m scared of your threats? It’s quite perfect, my plan. See, in the beginning I thought having that company would bring me great joy. But all it will take is one little press conference, and I will get to ruin it all, including your precious Lexi.”

  Nothing is more satisfying than the sound of my fist hitting Dominic’s face. The crunch of bone breaking and blood splattering. Days of frustration at the world rolled into one justifiable punch. Dominic falls back on his desk, causing a loud banging noise of objects shuffling to the floor.