Flawed (Imperfectly Perfect Book 1)

by Lym Cruz

  Chapter 16

  Melissa

  Andrew had been acting strange since I’ve come back. Something was not right, and I didn’t know what it was.

  He’d been distant, more quiet than usual and I wasn’t sure if it was paranoia again, but it appeared as though he wanted to hide me. We have stopped going out in public and whenever I suggested passing by his apartment, he’d make an excuse to come to mine instead or didn’t show up at all.

  Tomorrow was his birthday and he didn’t seem to appear festive. We’d agreed to meet at my apartment and spend what was left of the day together. I drove the suspicious thoughts to the back of my head as I entered Malcolm & Bale.

  Dalia welcomed me with a wide grin, she seemed kind and Andrew was fond of her. “Hi! Is Andrew in?”

  “He is,” Dalia answered. “Is he expecting you? Do you want me to announce you?”

  “He’s expecting me.” I lied.

  Dalia let me through to the corridor leading to his office. I knocked twice on Andrew’s door. “Come in,” he said.

  I opened the door to find Andrew sitting behind his desk with piles of papers surrounding him. He had his eyes on the computer, but the strokes of the keyboard came to an end once he sensed my presence and his gaze moved to me. He set his lips to a disapproving line, scowling so deep I was scared of moving forward. His jaw took a rigidity that warned me that he wasn’t pleased.

  “What are you doing here?”

  I couldn’t formulate a response. I stood wide-eyed staring at him.

  In a rapid movement, he rounded his desk, caught me by the elbow and practically dragged me out. We passed by Dalia who looked up her glasses and shook her head. Andrew led me all the way to the parking garage and then released me.

  “Why are you here?” he demanded harsher.

  “I came to see you.” I smiled. “Surprise.”

  “You saw me, now go,” he ordered dryly.

  Andrew had never spoken to me in such a harsh way and for no apparent reason. His behavior only confirmed my suspicions. “Does she work here? Is it Ashlyn? Did you get tired of me like she said and went back to her?”

  He stiffened further. “Are you mad? There is no one else, Melissa, it’s only you.” He pressed me against his car and held my jaw. “Don’t you trust me?”

  My neck began to heat up and I fisted my hands. “Not right now, I don’t.”

  He rested his forehead on mine with a weary sigh. “I don’t want you here, go, we’ll talk later.” He stepped back and released me but I didn’t move.

  “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t. How did you get here anyway?”

  “I used my broom. It’s parked at the front.”

  “You’re not funny.” He patted his pockets fished for his car keys and extended them to me.

  I Rubbed my brow as if to ward off a headache and answered in a sharp tone. “You know I can’t drive.”

  “Fuck,” he muttered.

  He looked over his shoulder, shifting anxiously on his feet. “We need to fix that. You have to learn how to drive.”

  My lips narrowed and my heart beat pure rage, short, rapid, bursts. “Tell me what’s wrong and I’ll go.” I crossed my arms and leaned on his car.

  Andrew growled frustrated and glanced back again. “It’s complicated Mel…I.” I waited and waited, but he offered no more. Without answers, a thousand scenarios swam through my mind to explain his sudden change of behavior.

  Hurt sliced through me, and I dropped my gaze. There was something to tell, but he didn’t want to tell me. I had always been honest with him, told him everything there was to know about me. I didn’t see why he couldn’t do the same. Deep down I didn’t want to believe there was someone else, however, there was something out of place and I wish he would tell me what.

  Andrew tried to touch my hand but I moved away before he could. I would do anything for him but I would not act a fool or be taken advantage. I was not that naïve girl anymore, if this was going to work then we both had to be on the same page.

  He held me by the shoulders, hauling me to keep in place, watching me closely. Then he lowered his lips to mine and I let him. When our lips touched, I flinched. I wished I loved him less at that specific moment but I didn’t.

  “Mel you know I lo—”

  “Don’t say it,” I interrupted him.

  “But I do.”

  “Then why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

  He brushed his lips gently over mine, and then dropped a light kiss followed by another. I placed my hands around his waist and his mouth parted molding my lips. I did the same and allowed him to kiss me. Then I sunk my teeth onto his bottom lip with all the rage I felt. He cried out in pain and I bit harder. Andrew held me by the arms and tried to push me away. The further he pushed me, the harder I trapped his lip between my teeth. When I was satisfied, I let him go.

  “What the fuck?” He brought his hands to his mouth. “Are you crazy?”

  It would leave a mark for sure. “It’s a gift for whomever you’re not telling me about.”

  I shoved past him. Andrew called for me but I didn’t turn.

  “Melissa, there is no one else.”

  “You wanted me gone,” I yelled without looking back and flipped him a bird. “I’m gone.”

  I stood by the road pacing while my blood boiled hot. After shuffling my brain and coming up with no answer for Andrews behavior, I stopped and took in a breath trying to calm down.

  Although my face was still burning, the rhythmic white noises from the flow of traffic punctured the stillness of the afternoon air and aided in my relaxation.

  But then I was rooted in place when a paralyzing shiver ran up my spine. Causing the hairs at the back of my neck to stand. I didn’t hear or see anything unusual. But in my gut, I felt that something wasn’t right. The sense of fear that pulsed through my veins had my hands trembling at my sides.

  My body wanted to run back to Andrew, but instead, I remained where I was. It was broad daylight and that gave me the courage to turn. I glanced around and saw nothing out of place and there was no one behind me.

  Finally, a cab pulled over and as I climbed in, I caught the stench of a cheap cologne—the sent was familiar, yet I couldn’t pinpoint where I’d felt it before. Desperation crept closer and I slammed the door of the cab shut.

  Chapter 17

  Andrew

  “What happened to your mouth?” Dave said, entering my office.

  “Melissa. Can you believe she thinks I’m cheating on her?”

  Her accusation was incredulous. I would never do that to her. She was all I thought about all day long. I knew I’d been distant but it was necessary. I’d explained to her that I was about to leave the firm and was rushing to close all of my active cases. The problem was that working with people was unpredictable and what could be resolved in a day could be dragged on to months.

  “Yes,” Dave said, pacing around my office with his hands shoved in his pockets as if it was his first time in here.

  “Not funny.”

  “Happy birthday by the way.”

  “It’s not going very well so far.”

  “Is the party still going to happen?”

  I massaged the back of my neck. The subject alone brought on a headache. My mother was organizing a party at their house for my birthday against my will. My father insisted I bring Melissa for him to boast about her wealth to his associates. He didn’t have friends.

  “I don’t know and if it is, I’m not going. Stop moving around, if you have something to say or ask just do it. You pacing around my office is creepy.”

  Dave finally settled and took a seat. “I’m sorry for how I treated Melissa. I had no idea what the story behind her was. Even though you told me not to, I checked her out. I knew she was rich, so I assumed she was some spoiled brat trying to screw up your life.”

  I drummed my fingers on the desk staring at him. Dave did a check on Melissa behind my back. He was the
first to know who she was but because I told him not to, he kept it from me.

  “You should apologize to her, not me, and if it’s any consolation she doesn’t think very highly of you either.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted into a crooked smile. “No surprise there.”

  “I’m leaving the firm.”

  I saw the shock register on his face before he could hide it. “Because of Melissa?”

  “No. Because of me. I’m tired of this life. Of this office. I can’t do this anymore.”

  “Are you sure about this?”

  I sat back and rocked in my chair. “I’m sure. I want to keep Melissa as far away from this life, from my parents. I’ve had enough.”

  “If that’s the reason you want to leave then maybe you should talk to Melissa and explain what’s going on. If she knew why you don’t want her around here than maybe the two of you can figure it out.”

  “I don’t know how to tell Melissa that my mother dislikes her because of the color of her skin? Or that my father has his eye on her money. Where would I start?”

  “From the beginning.” His answer was flat. “This is about how you feel about her, therefore, what your parents think doesn’t matter.”

  He was right, I had to tell her because juggling the situation wasn’t easy. I wanted to safeguard her but keeping her in the dark was doing more harm than good. She already thought I was seeing someone else.

  “I’ll talk to her today, eventually she will figure it out, so I guess it’s best I tell her. But that’s not the reason I’m leaving, I can’t continue here. I just can’t.”

  This wasn’t the first time Dave heard me threaten to leave the Firm but I felt it was the first time he took me seriously.

  “When do you plan on leaving?”

  “As soon as I close all these cases. I don’t want anything lingering and I don’t want to give anyone a reason to call me once I’m gone so I believe in a month, give or take, and I’ll officially be gone.”

  “What are you going to do? And please don’t say you’re going to open your own practice because your father will make sure you never practice law in this state ever again.”

  “Nope.” I shook my head. “I’ll figure something out.”

  His eyes softened. “This place won’t be the same without you.”

  “Change is inevitable and this one is for the better.”

  “Is there anything I can say to change your mind?”

  I didn’t answer and simply huffed a dry laugh. There was nothing anyone could say or do to make me stay. I wanted out of this life and I was more than determined to see my plans through.

  Chapter 18

  Melissa

  “It’s his birthday. I should call him,” I thought to myself but shook off the idea as fast as it came. Andrew wouldn’t talk to me and I sensed that there was more than work. He wouldn’t tell me what was going on and to make matters worse he hasn’t called or texted once since yesterday.

  Nothing!

  No calls, no texts. Nothing. It was driving me up the walls. This was atypical of him.

  I went over my actions, replaying what I said yesterday to him and regretted nothing. Okay, maybe I shouldn’t have bitten him.

  Crossed legged, I sat on the rug of the sitting room floor wearing one of Andrew’s t-shirts and holding my phone. I’d checked it a million times today and nothing.

  “Call me, damn it!” I yelled at the phone.

  It rang and a spark of excitement hit my chest, however, it didn’t last when I saw who it was.

  “What, Erica,” I answered briskly.

  “Um, did you and Andrew have anything planned tonight?”

  “Yes, but he hasn’t said anything since yesterday and I’m not sure he’s coming anymore.” Erica was silent and I heard music in the background. “Where are you?”

  “Okay.” She exhaled. “This might be nothing but he’s here.”

  “Here where, Erica?”

  “Let me start from the beginning. You, like, told us that you think Andrew is acting funny?” I nodded as if she could see me. “This morning Dave’s mother asked me if I was going to the party the Malcolm’s were hosting for Andrew’s birthday. So, I got all the information I could out of her and asked Dave about it. He said he knew but Andrew wasn’t going and neither were we. In the interest of curiosity, I came to make sure that he wasn’t really coming and since you never mentioned the party, I figured you didn’t know about it either. He just walked in, like, right now.”

  “I didn’t know about the party.” Those were the only words I found. He hadn’t told me a single thing about it. “Is he with Ashlyn?” It hurt me to even think Andrew was with her. Ashlyn did try to warn me. I clasped the phone and felt pain as the edges dug into my skin.

  “Yes. She is here following him like a foot-servant, but he isn’t giving her any attention.”

  “But he’s there and he didn’t tell me about it. Andrew said he’d be working late.”

  “I’m sorry babe,” Erica’s voice was soft. “I don’t know what is going on but I had to tell you.”

  “I’m coming.”

  “Okay, wear something fancy, everyone here looks like a million bucks.”

  “Thanks.”

  I ran to my room, stumbling into the furniture, and headed straight to the closet. I took out the first dress I saw. It was a purple one. I wrestled out of Andrew’s shirt and tossed on the dress that fell down to my feet. Not bothering with my overall appearance, I slipped on a pair of ballet flats that would be hidden under the dress. I couldn’t do heels. Without one glance at the mirror, I stormed out the apartment and called for a cab on my way down.

  Restless, I paced up and down the walkway waiting for the cab. Time seemed to have slowed down and every time I checked my phone, the numbers weren’t changing fast enough. After a long wait—what felt like a long wait—the car appeared.

  As I moved to the cab a felt a flicker of light hit my face. It was quick, like the flash of a camera. I looked up but saw no one. Disregarding it, I hopped into the back seat and slammed the door.

  “Careful,” the driver said. “Where to?”

  “Shit,” I said under my breath. I didn’t know the address. “La Jolla. Just drive and I’ll give you the address soon.” I called Erica, she texted me the address, and I relayed it to the cabby.

  The ride was even longer—longer than it would take on a regular day, under regular circumstances. I didn’t know what I was going to say once I came face to face with Andrew. But if he didn’t have a perfect excuse then we were done.

  The taxi dropped me off in front of their house. I was impressed. The mansion was spectacular from outside. A stunning garden outlined the driveway, ending at the front entrance of the house. It was mesmerizing and perfectly crafted. I reached the black gates and a security guard popped out.

  “Evening,” he said politely. “May I have your name?”

  Oh boy. There was a guest list.

  “Melissa Alford.”

  The security went through the list and shook his head. “Sorry miss, I can’t find your name.”

  I held up a finger. “Just a second.”

  The security nodded yet held his position firmly. I took out my phone to dial Erica’s number when a familiar voice called my name. I whipped my head in direction of the sound to see who it was.

  Mendez, thank God.

  Mendez was a tall, lean African American with kind dark brown eyes. He was on the other side of the fence and came out to greet me with two kisses on either side of my cheeks.

  “I didn’t expect to see you here. Andrew said you weren’t coming.”

  “Yes, I wasn’t going to, but I changed my mind. Was about to call him.” I wiggled my phone in the air.

  “Come.” He led me to the guard. “This is Melissa, Andrew’s girlfriend.”

  “I’m sorry,” The security said seeming worried. “I didn’t know. Your name was not here.”

  “It’s okay. I wasn�
�t on the list and you had no way of knowing who I was.”

  “Thank you.” He smiled.

  I wandered in with Mendez up the driveway into the main house. It was even more stunning on the inside. In the strikingly decorated dining room filled with guests, I spotted Erica in a corner having what seemed like a heated discussion with Dave.

  Erica looked lovely in a deep blue sparkly gown with her hair neatly tied up in a high bun, whereas Dave looked under-dressed for the occasion. Besides the two of them, I didn’t recognize anyone else and I didn’t see Andrew either.

  As I strolled past various guests, Erica noticed me immediately, however it didn’t stop her from continuing with their discussion. I reached them and stood behind Dave.

  “Look, she’s already here there’s nothing to be done now.” Erica stretched her hand in my direction.

  Dave spun quickly. “Melissa, it’s best if you leave.”

  I snickered. Why would David Bale think I’d take any orders from him?

  “Where is he?”

  “If he wanted you here, he would have told you.”

  “What is he hiding?” Erica said, “Is it that Ashlyn girl?”

  “For the love of God, Erica, I told you that he has nothing with Ashlyn and he isn’t hiding anything, damn it.”

  “Then why didn’t he tell me about this party, David?”

  “Because he wasn’t going to come.”

  “But he’s here,” I hissed through gritted teeth.

  “He only came after getting a call from his parents saying his grandmother was sick or something. He didn’t want to come. He wasn’t going to come, Melissa.”

  “Oh God,” Erica breathed and covered her mouth. “Is Alice okay?”

  “Yeah, she’s fine. Nina told me she wasn’t sick. She’s okay. It was a ploy to lure him here.” He paused. “Melissa, I really think you shouldn’t be here.”

  I wasn’t going anywhere.

  What David said eased my distress. There was a valid explanation for this, but I still wanted to hear it all from Andrew. I needed him to clarify this situation and give me answers and I wouldn’t leave without getting what I wanted.

  I turned to get away from David and Erica but Dave gripped my arm stopping me. I looked over my shoulder glowering. He immediately released me.