He's So Bad

by Z. L. Arkadie

  I look at my wristwatch. “It’s Friday, 1:48 p.m. I’m closing shop early, so go home. Our clients will hear and see you all on Wednesday morning!”

  I take in the last round of applause. The sound reverberates through me like the melodies of a full orchestra. I would’ve never believed that I could earn this sort of adulation without being Vince’s sidekick.

  My employees quickly trickle out of the building. I apparently don’t have to tell them twice to call it a day. I, on the other hand, have a lot of work to finish up before embarking on the four-day weekend.

  I’m typing on my computer when an envelope is thrown on my desk. I look up. It’s Grace.

  I throw up my hands. “What the hell?”

  She closes my office door. “You want favors from those people, then I want Carter out of here.”

  I open the envelope mainly out of curiosity, and I read the names. I snort cynically. Gerald Bush is on the list, but a handful of key names are missing, and one of them is Jack Lord.

  I fold the page, stuff it back into the envelope, open my desk drawer, and put it away. “You know what I think? I think someone has convinced you that I’m a buffoon. You think I’m going to crack and binge on young, hot employee sex and cocaine before I run this company into the ground.”

  She snarls. “Young, hot sex and cocaine? Is that what you’re addicted to?”

  I glare at her with narrowed eyes. “I wanted to respect your father, but you’ve made that impossible. You’re fired. Get the hell out of my building.”

  She squares her shoulders as if she’s ready to rumble. “You can’t fire me!”

  “I can, and I have.” I pick up my desk phone. “Do I have to call security?”

  “Those people on that list will make sure you never get clearance for the permits you need, or any other kind of agency approvals.”

  My expression is as cold as ice. “You’re bored, Grace. Get the fuck out of my office.”

  She shakes her head as though she’s been struck by shock. “Wait. I mean it, Robert. Those people are very important to my father’s operation, and you need them and me.”

  “I’m also bothered by the fact that you can’t seem to remember that I made your father a half a billion dollars richer and now I own this company. Why don’t you go ask him for some of it and go lie on a beach in Tahiti or somewhere?”

  “Ha!” she scoffs.

  “Okay, make it Mars, but regardless, I need you to get the fuck out of my presence.” I’ve become slightly distracted by the email that just popped up on my screen. It reminds me what I was doing before Grace walked in here with her troth of bullshit to shove down my throat. I type on my computer as I say, “You have until I finish answering this email to get out of here, or I’m calling security.”

  Grace has become an enemy, and one never tells the enemy why their strike didn’t draw blood. I’m richer and more connected than she is. The people on her list will ultimately answer to the highest authority—my cash. Grace has proven to me that even women can be narcissistic idiots who think their strategic charisma is all it takes to dominate. She’s a star in her own mind—powerful in a pea-sized universe.

  Although I don’t look up, I sense that she’s turned her back to leave.

  “I don’t ever want to see you again,” I say.

  I wait for her to get the hell out of my office, but she stands still. I look up. Her entire body is shaking. I don’t want to be sympathetic to whatever’s going on with her at the moment. She came in here with both guns blazing, took her best shots, and didn’t even graze the target. Now she should go lick her wounds like an adult and move on. But she’s wearing another tight red dress that shows off her tits, along with a pretty face and tears trapped in her eyes. Those are the best powers of influence she has to use against a guy like me.

  “What is it?” I ask harshly.

  She puts a hand over her mouth and shakes her head.

  “Do you need a moment?”

  She nods. It’s awkward as hell. I did not expect this show of weakness from Grace.

  “I need you to rethink your decision to fire me,” she says.

  “If you were me, would you trust you after the stunt you just pulled?” I ask.

  She stares at me pleadingly. This has to be a game she’s playing.

  “I thought so,” I say.

  “I’m sorry,” she says.

  “I accept your apology, but I can never trust you again. I wish you luck though.”

  “It’s just…”

  I set my gaze. Even a fool can see that there’s no changing my mind.

  “I just can’t stand that he chose her over me. That’s all.”

  “If jealousy can make you pull a stunt like this, then maybe you should seek help.”

  She wipes her eyes. “I guess I should.”

  Whether she’s fucking with me or not, seeing her in this state makes me empathetic. “I’m not being facetious. Get help, then maybe we can talk in the future. Your father built this company from the ground up. It would be a shame if you weren’t part of its future, but after what you pulled, I need some assurance that I can trust you.”

  We stare at each other. Grace finally turns and walks out of my office. She proceeds slowly down the aisle, keeping her head up. Carter hasn’t left yet, and I wait to see if Grace shoots her a final glare. She doesn’t, and I’m thankful. After she’s gone, Carter looks toward the exit then at me. We lock gazes. She’s the first to let go. Shit, I think she took my breath away.

  I stay at my work for a while. Zoe was one of the first to leave. She wanted to stay, but I insisted that she leave. If anyone has pulled more than their share, it’s Zoe. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to reward her for the work she has done. Ralph had given her the job title of administrative assistant. I’ve considered changing her title to executive assistant and tripling her salary, but I haven’t yet spoken to her about where she sees herself in the next five years. The last thing I put on my calendar is “Meeting w/Zoe.” It’s set for nine Wednesday morning.

  I rub my eyes and look at the time on the computer screen. It’s ten thirty at night. It’s time to return to the hotel. I have a busy weekend ahead of me, including house hunting and having one of my cars transported from LA to San Francisco. I believe I waited so long to handle these details because deep down, I thought I would fail at making this company float. I’m learning to never doubt myself again.

  I yawn. That’s the final sign that it’s time to go. I power off my computer, turn off my desk light, and gather my things. The main floor light is off, which means everyone has left. As soon as I step out of my office, the main floor light turns on, and I nearly jump out of my skin. Carter is still in her chair with her face resting on her desk. She’s asleep.

  I walk over and stand above her for a moment. She has the prettiest face. I don’t want to disturb her, but I can’t leave her here alone. I touch her shoulder. “Carter?”

  She wakes with a start. “Shit…”

  “You fell asleep,” I say.

  “I did.” She rubs her eyes. “Shit, I was just…”

  I wait for her to finish whatever she was going to say, but she doesn’t. Instead, she looks me in the eyes. Her pretty face makes me smile.

  Carter shakes her head. “Nothing, I was just working.”

  “No plans for the long weekend?” I ask.

  She yawns. “I’ve got nothing. What about you?”

  I’m surprised she asked me that so casually. She’s normally nervous around me. “I’m going to move out of that goddamn hotel. I have a friend who’s going to let me stay in his house until I buy my own.”

  She perks up a little. “You’re going house hunting?”

  I’m entranced by the sparkle in her eyes. “Yes,” I say breathlessly. “Do you want to come with me?” Shit, that slipped out.

  “Are you serious?”

  Extremely. “Yeah. Sure. Yes.”

  “Okay then.” She smiles. “I know of so
me great homes on the market that will suit your taste.”

  I grunt, intrigued. “What do you know about my taste?” My heart skips a beat. I’ve been waiting for Carter to bat her eyelashes at me like that for the longest time.

  “More than you think,” she says.

  I know that I’m smirking. I want her to see that I’m thinking naughty thoughts about her. “Then lay it on me?”

  “You’re a contemporary man but in the way that you like new materials.” She shakes her head. “No… you like to take the old and reform it into something that has never existed.”

  “But there’s nothing new under the sun.”

  “Exactly. But you don’t mind giving it the old college try.”

  I want to kiss her, but instead I bite my lower lip. “Get your things. I’ll walk you out.”

  Her smile is full of warmth. “That’s okay. I’m going to stay and work for a little while longer.”

  “Oh yeah, what are you working on?”

  She follows my line of sight to her desk. There’s nothing in front of her. As far as I can tell, she hasn’t been working on anything but sleep.

  “I was just taking a break.” She lifts the top of her desk and takes out a drafting pad. “You gave me the Wilmore Estate. I was working on some options for the upstairs.”

  She’s nervous, and I also suspect that she’s lying.

  “That can wait until Wednesday, can’t it?” I say.

  “I feel inspired now. I don’t want to lose momentum.”

  I still sense that she’s more stressed than she’s letting on, but I don’t push. “Okay. Have a good night.”

  “I will,” she says with another yawn.

  “Good night then.”

  “Good night.”

  Our gazes linger. I don’t want to leave her. I take a few steps away then stop.

  “Are you sure you have no plans for the weekend?” I ask. My heart is racing like a locomotive. This isn’t like me. I’m never nervous around women.

  Her eyes expand. “I’m sure.”

  Oh shit, I can’t believe I’m about to ask her this. “I’m staying at my house in Napa…”

  “You have a house in Napa?”

  “Yeah,” I say with a grin. “I was wondering if you wanted to come up. Maybe we can go house hunting from there.”

  I anxiously await her reply. Her pretty face is so tired. She even has dark circles around her eyes.

  “Sure, absolutely,” she says.

  “Good. Then I’ll pick you up at around eight in the morning. What’s your address?”

  She looks off to think. “You can just pick me up here.”

  I grimace. “Here?”

  “Yes.”

  I wonder why she doesn’t want me to see where she lives. I don’t think she lives with a boyfriend or else she wouldn’t spend the weekend with me. Regardless, I don’t think I should stick my nose in where it doesn’t belong.

  “Here at eight?” I say.

  She musters up a smile and nods.

  “See you then,” I say.

  We smile at each other one last time, and I leave her alone, which I don’t feel good about at all.

  I get into my car and head back to the hotel, but I can’t help worrying about Carter. Something’s going on with her, and she’s hiding it from me. I remember that she and Allie used to be pretty close. I want to call Allie and ask if there’s anything going on with Carter. I haven’t paid much attention to Carter in the last two months. Ignoring her was easy to do while working fifteen- to twenty-hour days. It was only during my hour-long workouts at the gym or when I beat off that thoughts of her creeped into my head.

  As I drive along, I try to figure out why I like her out of all the women I’ve encountered in the last three months. April and Celia have been sending me emails, inviting me to different events and asking how my day is going. I’ve ignored most of their messages. Ignoring them became easier once their project was completed and their invoices paid. The next time they want to use Kennedy Creative, their fee will be twice the usual amount. They got a deal for all the headaches they caused Carter. But that’s the nature of cronyism. Those two women are Grace’s friends. Grace is another woman I would’ve gladly fucked three months ago. She’s hot and powerfully sexy. I used to love chasing the difficult ones and making the easy ones wait. What a tool I was. I don’t want to play those damn games with myself or with Carter. One look at her face, and I feel as if I’ve known her all my life.

  That look on her face… the exhaustion in her eyes… where was her helmet?

  * * *

  Carter

  As soon as Robert left, Carter dropped her head back on the desk. She was so sleepy that she could hardly keep her eyes open. Not only that, but she couldn’t believe she’d said yes to spending the weekend with him. How many times had she hoped he would walk up to her desk and ask her out? The answer was every day since their lunch at Yao Fun. One look at Robert, and she wanted to tell him everything. It probably was presumptuous of her, but Carter felt as if Robert could fix the turmoil she was going through. All she had to do was tell him the truth. Why hadn’t she said anything? Maybe because she didn’t believe in fairy tales. “Prince Charming” was the reason she was in this situation in the first place. Only her Prince Charming had turned into the ugly frog.

  Carter yawned and slid off her chair. She headed to Robert’s office. This would be the third night in a row that she’d slept on the sofa in his office. It was actually more comfortable than her bed, yet she still missed her lumpy bed. Carter also missed taking a steaming hot shower. For the last three days, she had taken a birdbath in the ladies’ room. She could’ve stayed in a hotel, but that would have felt too much like admitting defeat.

  Tonight she was too exhausted to try to figure out how she had landed in such a bad situation and what was the best way out of it. One big decision she had to make was if she was ready to leave San Francisco for good. Perhaps she’d let her thoughts torture her when she woke up at six in the morning. She woke up at that time every morning, like clockwork. Carter closed her eyes, and before long, she had drifted off to sleep.

  “Hey…” she heard.

  Carter remained stuck between conscious and unconsciousness.

  “Carter?”

  She took some deep breaths and rubbed her eyes until they opened. The light in Robert’s office was on, and he was standing over her.

  What’s in a Weekend

  Carter sits up. “Robert?” She’s still rubbing her eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” I ask.

  She stands, and her legs are wobbly. I catch her and hold her steady.

  “I’m sorry, I’ll leave.”

  Suddenly I realize that she’s embarrassed. Tears are rolling from her eyes.

  “You don’t have to leave.” I keep my tone earnest. “But I would like to know what’s going on with you.” I wipe a tear from the corner of her eye.

  Her lips part, and her warm breath tickles my chin. I want to kiss her so badly. My dick stiffens. I swallow, take deep breaths, and get control of my lust.

  She closes her eyes. “It just…”

  “Just what?”

  She sits on the sofa and pats the space beside her. I sit.

  “Have you heard about Tyler and me?”

  I wish I could say no. “I’ve heard some things.”

  She looks as if she didn’t want me to say that. “Oh…”

  I rub her hand. “It’s okay. What does Tyler have to do with you sleeping in my office?” I feel the tension in my lips. I don’t know how he put her in this situation, but I want to rip his head off for it.

  “We used to live together. He moved out, but his name was on the lease. On Monday, he made the landlord kick me out. I asked if I could take over the lease, and she said no.” She shakes her head. “It’s him. He just wants to stick it to me.”

  “Okay then, tomorrow morning we’ll go and get your place back.”

  “No, that’
s okay. The memories… I just need time.”

  I study her with a frown. I can see how confused she is. “Time for what?”

  She heaves a long sigh. “To figure it all out.”

  I can see in her eyes that she’s hiding something else from me. “Well, where are your things?”

  “In my car.”

  “Your car? I thought you drove a motorcycle?”

  “Only in the summer.”

  I smile and pat her thigh. “Well, let’s get up and go.”

  She looks panicked again. “Go where?”

  “I would say to my hotel room, but I know how that would look. Let’s just drive out to Napa tonight.”

  “Tonight?”

  “Tonight. It’s not that far.”

  Her eyebrows ruffle. “Are you sure?”

  I stand and offer her my hand. She takes it, and I help her to her feet.

  “Let’s go get your things out of your car.”

  We stare deeply into each other’s eyes. Damn, I want that kiss, but instead I get a grip and control myself.

  “I have to get my coat,” she says.

  We go to her desk, and she takes a black winter coat out of her storage cabinet. Once she’s ready, she stands next to me. I put my arm around her waist, and she rests her head on my shoulder as we walk out of the building. The night is cold and it’s raining, but neither of us increases our pace to stay warm and dry. The smell of her skin drives me crazy. I wonder if she’s comfortable with me holding her this close. She hasn’t tried to pull away, so I guess she’s fine with it. We make it to the parking structure and take the elevator to the second level where I’m parked.

  I walk her to the passenger side of my car, open the door, and she gets in. I already miss her soft, warm body against mine. We smile at each other before I close the door. Her eyes are so tired. I can’t wait to make it to Napa and tuck her into one of the beds. I’ve spent weekends at the house for the last two and a half months, so I know it’s guest-friendly and the refrigerator is stocked.