“AMELIA PARKER.” Cole’s voice booms through our hotel room stopping me in my tracks.
“Aw shit,” I’m caught, turning and wrinkling my nose like a little kid in trouble.
“I expect a kiss goodbye,” he booms, keeping his eyes on the paper.
“No funny business, Parker, I’m serious. I want to make a good impression. If I don’t, I’ll be forced to sleep my way to the top!” I yell out with melodramatic flare as I near the back of the couch. As soon as I say it, Cole grabs me and pulls me over the couch onto his lap. I scream out with laughter as he pins me into his arms.
“If you are going to sleep your way to the top, just switch companies first.” He smirks, going along with my joke. Dazzling me with his smile, he leans forward kissing the tip of my nose.
“I love you,” I smile sweetly.
“I love you back,” he whispers before annihilating my lipstick.
Walking into the building with a spring in my step, I couldn’t wipe the grin off my face from this morning. I wave hello to Jules and grab my laptop off my desk as she approaches.
“Hey you, ready for snacks?”
I laugh. “Funny, but I think we should maybe focus on the meeting more than the muffins? You know just to pretend we like to work.”
Jules makes a face of horror when I say the last part and we both laugh, walking toward the conference room. I like Jules, but she makes me miss Alex. I realize making work friends is important, but I can’t help but feel guilty.
Shaking off my feelings of guilt, I try to refocus, “So, what should I expect at these meetings? It’s just our department?”
“It’s ads, us and the heads of the other departments. It’s mostly us taking notes on how to promote their stupid ideas, I mean, some of the marketing ideas are just insane!”
I smile and just nod my head, secretly I’m super excited like a kid for the first day of school. As we walk through the doors, I look around at the growing number of people filling up the room and Jules points to our seats.
I’m pulling out my seat when I hear, “Sam, nice to see you! I heard you were out for a while, I hope everything is okay.”
Immediately, my eyes scan the room to find Sam Johnson, then I hear her respond and realize Cole and Foster are correct. I feel even more confused now, how the hell does this lady know me? Old teacher maybe? I think I would remember Sam, though. She is tall, very blonde and her looks are striking, angular and powerful, but she still manages beauty. I realize I’m staring at her when her eyes meet mine, questioning my look. That is until she leans over to someone whispering in her ear and then smirks in my direction. My gaze drifts toward the whisperer and my heart stops and for every reason, I am mad. Really fucking mad.
“Hello stranger.” Jack casually strolls over to me.
Of all the people, here’s my fucking shoe. It has been dropped.
“Hello Jack, fancy seeing you here.” Sarcasm fills my voice like a hurricane.
“Oh, come on Mia, be nice. We are work colleagues after all. I also think the fact that I singlehandedly got you your job would go further to you being politer.”
I open and close my laptop, unable to say what I want to say. I keep trying to think of a “better way” to phrase my answer, but all of my responses seem to end in “go fuck yourself.” Ugh, this day sucks.
I’m relieved when the meeting begins and Jack turns to join Sam at the opposite end of the table. The next hour is the hardest hour of my life, trying to maintain focus when all I want is to get up, walk straight to HR and quit. I cannot believe I owe this job to Jack. Jack, the biggest asshole in the world. Why would he do this? I swear I think it’s his way of keeping me under his thumb. What a psycho! Cole is going to lose his mind. My attention is brought back to the present as Jules hands me a muffin.
“Treats!” Her excitement apparent.
Looking around for Jack, I see him standing with Sam off to the side by the door. This is not happening, dammit. I stand and decide to just face the firing (or hiring) squad. I feel so awkward walking over and for a split-second wonder what they would do if I just keep walking through the door, but instead I stop when I see them staring at me, anticipating my conversation.
“I believe I owe you a thank you.” I smile at Sam hoping to open the conversation in a friendly but professional manner. “I’m very grateful and surprised to have been recommended for my position.” Not expanding, I look between her and Jack.
“Well, really it was Jack that insisted I hire you. He said you were a star student. I trust his word implicitly. We are a partnership and I am a very loyal partner.” She smiles sweetly, but puts a lot of emphasis on that last sentence. Weirdo, but I get her meaning. It’s obvious that something is going on between them.
“Great,” I’m not sure where to go with that. “Well, thank you again, and of course to you as well, Jack.” The last part came out like a hairball. I know he has ulterior motives. Such a dick. Who gets their ex hired just so they can either plot revenge or even worse, try and get her back. I hate both options.
All I can think of is how Cole is going to react. I swear he will burn this place to the ground. Great, just my luck that I find an amazing job, and I have a stalker ex. Ugh!
Just when I’m at my office door, Jack comes hurriedly around the corner. “Mia, hey, wait up!”
I deliberately pretend not to hear him and close the glass door to the office, hoping he will break his nose. Not the most mature way to handle the situation, but I gave up caring an hour ago. Hearing the skidding from his shoes brings a smile to my face as I sit at my side of the desk.
“Mia, c’mon, was that really necessary? I would think that you would be better behaved since you’re still a new employee. You haven’t really made enough of a mark to start acting like a spoiled brat.”
I knew he was in there somewhere, the Jack I’ve come acquainted with.
“Welcome back. I was beginning to think you may have actually started to believe the bullshit coming out of your mouth.” I shuffle some paperwork around to look disinterested in his presence.
“You know what, I just came to say let’s bury the hatchet. Honestly, I was hoping that this could have been an olive branch. Jesus, you act like I am out to get you or something. You realize I am only guilty of recommending you for this fucking job! I remembered when we had our thing, you saying something about working for this firm and when I was hired on and after everything what happened… look I’m the one who got their ass beat down and humiliated. For fuck’s sake, Mia, I was just trying to do a karmic good, sue me. Better yet, enjoy your position and you don’t have to even worry about me.” With that, Jack turns and pushes out of the door and walks away.
I stand, feeling embarrassed. Had I just made a monumental error? I mean, did I really think he was stalking me or that I am so amazing, he was unable to move on? Oh my God, I’m so ridiculous. Fuck.
Making it through the rest of my day is torture. I can’t stop thinking about my run-in with Jack.
I’m jarred from my daydream torture by Jules. “Ahem, earth to Mia.”
My cheeks heat and I look at her apologetically. “Sorry Jules, what’s that? I was thinking of something and must’ve spaced.” Oh my God, I can’t even take my own stupidity right now. Get it together, Mia!
“No worries, is everything okay? You’ve seemed distracted today. Boyfriend?”
“No, God no. I mean, it’s just that I ran into someone that I didn’t expect to see and it’s thrown me for a loop. Seriously, I’m just spacey because I didn’t eat my snacks at the meeting this morning.” I laugh at the end, hoping to sell my story but it’s clear to me Jules sees more than I would like her to see.
“Oh, yeah. I was wondering why you and Jack seemed so tense. I mean, most of the girls think he is strange, but we all know not to look his way or Sam will bite.”
“Wait, hold up… they’re actually a thing?”
“Yeah, for a while now.” Looking around, she leans in as if
what she is going to say is top secret. “Everyone used to say that Sam was different, like into some serious fetish kind of stuff, but I guess that’s not true, because Jack does not look that interesting.”
“Really? Hmm, very interesting.”
“Yeah, but Laura on the fifth floor said that she saw them bumping uglies in Sam’s office once and Jack was doing some really strange stuff. She never said what, but she seemed pretty tripped out.”
“Well, to each his own. Who cares what people do as long as it’s not on my desk,” I laugh to myself.
I’m glad she is so forthcoming with information, but I couldn’t care less about his sex life. Really, her story just cements how off base I am about his motives and manages to re-ignite my humiliation.
I glance at my watch and realize I’ve finally made it to the end of the day. I straighten my workstation and say my goodbyes for the day. As I walk outside, my eyes scan the curb for my car, knowing Cole will be inside waiting for me. I almost have to force myself to walk because my instinct is to run directly into his arms and hide away. I’m stopped in my tracks when the driver exits and opens my door for me.
“Where is Mr. Parker?”
“Sorry, Mrs. Parker, he is still at the office, he asked me to swing by and pick him up after picking you up.”
“Oh, that’s fine, sounds great,” my voice gives away my relief.
Sitting in the car in late afternoon traffic isn’t ideal, but knowing who I’m going to see in the next forty-five minutes is worth it. I sit, reading and responding to some emails, but my thoughts keep drifting back to my misstep today. I open my phone and scroll through, stopping first at Alex. I need her awake and giving me advice on how to handle this situation. God, I really miss her bad advice. Damn her. I keep scrolling and find Jack’s number, hitting the message icon, I start to type:
Hey, well this is awkward. I don’t hate you and I don’t want us to be strangers. Let’s get coffee sometime, I’d love to start over…
NO, hell no! If he even knew me for a minute he would know that isn’t anything I would actually say, so I try a more honest approach:
Hi Jack, sorry for the confusion earlier. Let’s just let this be water under the bridge. I appreciate what you did for me but let’s face it, friendship is not in our future… Cole would bury you.
Maybe not so honest, okay I need to mesh the two together:
Hi Jack, I apologize for the misunderstanding. Thanks again for the recommendation. I hope we can have a professional and friendly working relationship.
I re-read it twice before hitting send, right as we pull up to Cole’s building.
I decide to give him the same preview I had the other day and I get out and lean against the car, jutting my leg out just enough so the split in my pencil skirt opens enough to highlight my leg. Keeping my sunglasses on, I pretend to look at my phone. I know it’s flirty and teasing and exactly what I want him to feel when he walks out. I see out of the corner of my eye the moment he notices me and I casually turn my head in his direction, pretending to be unaffected. Cole slows to a stop as he exits the doors and loosens his tie before he stalks toward me. The determination to rip my clothes from my body is so evident that I almost run out of instinct. Instead, I stand my ground and smile as he walks right into me, arms wrapping around my body and mouths crashing into each other without a care for who is watching.
Pulling away breathless, I smile, “Well, hello to you too.”
“Get in the car,” is all he growls, leveling his eyes at me, never breaking contact.
“I thought we could walk a bit? No?”
“Get in the fucking car before I rip that skirt off of you, right here in front of everyone.” I squeal as he squeezes my ass and climbs into the back of the town car.
He settles in next to me, leaning over, giving me long, slow savoring kiss as he rolls up the privacy window between the front and back of the car.
“In a hurry?” I ask, shaking my head at him.
“Yes! Yes, I am. I’ve been waiting all day to ravage my wife and now I have you alone in that fucking skirt and I just want to rip it off.” He groans as he grabs the hem of my pencil skirt.
I swat his hands away, rolling my eyes, “Well, my lovable sex-fueled god will have to wait. We are heading to see Alex and then we have to grab dinner. I mean the list goes on and on. I don’t think we have time for sex and I certainly need my clothes on my body.”
“Are you turning me down… for sex?” His face is incredulous.
“I guess, I am,” I divert my eyes before he can tell I am joking.
“Huh, I mean… I’ve never actually had this happen, let alone with my wife. I’m not sure how to feel right now.” He laughs and blows out air. “I don’t like it. Your body is mine and I want to feel it underneath me.” He pouts with puppy dog eyes.
“I mean, I guess you can beg. That’s if you’re really desperate,” I purr.
“I see, my girl thinks she’s funny. She thinks she can bring me to my knees, but what she doesn’t know is that it’s her, on her knees, that I would beg for.”
Unable to hold back my smile, I turn my head and see the mischievous gleam in his eyes and before I can help myself I give him exactly what he wants… without the begging.
Pulling up outside of the hospital, I’m feeling a bit powerful and very appreciated by my husband. We exit together and he takes my hand, swinging our arms slightly as we make our way to the elevator bank.
“You’re the very best wife,” he smiles down at me.
“Wow! I must give the best blow jobs ever. I may pass out from all this appreciation.”
“I appreciate everything you do. I just really appreciate your blow jobs.”
I laugh and elbow his side, but I know he doesn’t even feel it. As the elevator doors open, Foster nearly plows us down, causing Cole to jerk me out of the way of a frantic Foster holding his phone to his ear and yelling obscenities into it.
“Whoa, Foster, what the fuck are you doing?” Cole booms. “What is going on?”
“Oh shit, sorry, sorry… I don’t, I can’t… it’s Alex, come with me,” he stammers out.
It’s at that moment I see the tear-stained cheeks and my heart sinks. Everything is running in slow motion, all I hear is a faint buzzing of noise. I feel like I’m having an out of body experience. I am pushed into the elevator and see Foster and Cole speaking animatedly, but all I hear is silence. I know I must be consciously shutting out the world, because I cannot hear the words. Alex is dead. Alex is dead, and I don’t ever want to know that reality. Closing my eyes, I feel Cole tugging at my arm, but I dig my heels into the ground, locking me into the elevator. I look between their faces and see Foster looking confused and Cole looking concerned. Cole steps back into the elevator and gently pries my hand from the railing, forcing me forward.
Leaning down to my ear, I can feel his breath and then I hear, “She’s awake, baby, you haven’t lost her.”
I suck in air as if I’ve been underwater and take off in a full sprint with Foster and Cole right behind me, busting through the doors, I see Alex. Alex. My beautiful, lovely, crazy best friend, alive and well, eating Jell-O. Freaking Jell-O! A hysterical burst of laughter pops out of my mouth followed by another and another until the tears start falling.
“Why does everyone keep having that reaction?” Alex looks to the nurse, who just smiles and continues to check her over.
“Hi,”
“Hi back.” She smiles tenderly. “Does someone want to clue me in on what the hell happened to me? I can’t get anything but tears from these two dummies,” she points at Foster and me. “But maybe you can help me, Parker!”
“Of course, beautiful,” he winks at her and squeezing my hand and moving over to her bedside. “It’s nice to have you back, Alex.”
“It’s nice to be back, Parker.” She smiles, setting her Jell-O aside and smoothing down her blanket “Now, where exactly am I back from?”
“What’s the last
thing you remember, darling?” Foster interjects and walks toward her as Cole stands again to rejoin me at the foot of her bed.
Alex lets out a tiny giggle and looks around, clearly reacting to the endearment Foster has used.
“Focus, Alex, we can talk about this, later,” motioning between them to accentuate the point. She side-eyes me and I cannot hide my smile. I want to know what she remembers, but I am bubbling over with happiness that she is alive and well.
“Alex,” I grin. “Seriously, do you remember what happened to you?”
“I remember being in your house and I remember looking through the yearbooks and then it gets hazy. I feel like maybe someone called or I don’t know, I just remember needing my phone. After that it’s fuzzy and now I’m here with a shit headache,” she groans as Foster rests his arm around Alex’s back, causing her to jump a little. She looks over at me and mouths “what the fuck?”
I shake my head trying to keep a serious face. God, I missed her. She is always irreverent, even in the face of her own crisis.
Speaking directly to Foster, Cole interjects, “I think we need to grab hold of Alex’s phone records and see about who called—”
“There was nothing unusual, nobody called other than Mia and me,” Foster counters.
“We have your phone at the penthouse! Maybe you were writing a text or something. I didn’t even think about it earlier!” I add.
“Wait, hold up… how are you looking at my phone records? What the hell, Fos—” Is all Alex gets out before she is stopped in her tracks by a very intimate and sweet kiss from Foster.
Cole and I turn and look at each other, smiling. I hide my face into his shoulder feeling a little embarrassed to be witnessing such a moment between them. Clearing his throat, Cole tries to remind them of our presence, but they don’t stop. Cole tugs at my shoulders leading me out the door before we witness something we shouldn’t, and telling by the kiss, we may be outside the doors awhile.
Forever with Me Page 8
