He dumped his coffee in the sink to go after her. “Taylor, wait.” She kept walking until she was in her office. He followed her inside closing the door. “Taylor, I was out of line, and I apologize.”
Sitting down at her desk, her fingers tapped hard on the defenseless keyboard. “Save it for the next person you screw over. If you don’t mind I have to work to do.” She sifted through the stack of papers on her desk.
Dillon covered her hand with his. “Would you stop pretending you’re busy and listen to me!”
Taylor laughed from her place behind her desk. Her glossy lips formed a straight line. “Listen to you? Go away,” she demanded.”
“I won’t go away. We are going to be stuck on a boat for seven days. How are we supposed to get through that if we aren’t speaking?”
“It will be easy for me; I invited Mario to come along.”
“You asked that pompous ass to join our cruise without consulting me?”
Taylor burned to tell him off; instead, she chose her words carefully and through clenched teeth, said, “That pompous ass happens to be the man I’m dating. And contrary to what you may believe, seeking your permission to ask him to join me wasn’t even a consideration. I paid for my ticket, not you. Who I share my bed with is none of your business either.”
Dillon shook his head and groaned sternly, “It didn’t take him long to get you to a lot of things. God, Taylor, you have turned naïve in a span of months.”
Furious she pushed her chair away from the desk and stood up. “You have worn your welcome. Goodbye, Dillon.”
“No, I will not go away! We have to figure this out and remain friends at the same time. Look at us; we never fought until that fool came along.”
She pointed her finger in his face. “We never fought because we respected each other’s space! Somewhere along the line, you’ve promoted yourself overseer of everything I do. I don’t need you to do that!”
“Taylor, I’m looking out for you.”
“Is that right? Well how many times have you put your ass on the line for me? I’ve stuck my neck out for you on numerous occasions. I’ve bailed you out of trouble when your mistakes in court got back to Todd. I even took the blame for a default on a summary judgment deadline you missed!”
“I didn’t realize you were keeping count.”
“Some things you just don’t forget. Sort of, like how you’re paying me back. You’re so against Mario being a part of my life that you don’t care my career may be tanked, and you caused it.”
He shrugged his shoulders feeling cocky. “You can stop it all from happening, Taylor.”
She folded her arms. “You are going to tell me how, right?”
He nodded. “Get rid of Infante. I will speak with Anderson about getting rid of him, and everything will return to the way it was before Infante got here.”
She snarled her lips as his eyes glared at her. “Go to hell, Dillon.”
He reached for the doorknob but drew back his hand saying, “As I’ve said before, I’m already there. But if you want to continue working at Cartwright & Associates, you have to play by the rules.”
“No, thanks, I’d rather go elsewhere than play by your rules. Even if Mario were to go too, there would be nothing between us….not even friendship at this point.”
“I knew I ruined our relationship Saturday night.”
“Then why are you here? Your mission has been accomplished.”
“You know what, Taylor,” he said circling around her. The angry heat surrounding her turned him on.
She didn’t answer him as he sat on the edge of her desk. “I’m already in the doghouse with you, so I have nothing to lose by telling you this. I worshiped you. Did you notice me? No, you didn’t. I was just a friend,” he said with a sting to his voice.”
Taylor swallowed the knot growing in her throat. This Dillon was unfamiliar to her and her knees shaking indicated a little fear in what he might do if he snapped. “Friends have a tendency to last longer than lovers. You know that, Dillon.”
He slammed his hand on her desk, and she jumped. Her reflex to his anger encouraged him to continue. He had her under his control for once. “Not for me! I would have done anything for you. If you had said jump, I would have said how high. You never gave me the chance to prove I could be the only man you would ever need.”
“Do you want me to feel sorry I don’t feel the same way about you?”
With his face inches from hers, he admired the fact that she continued to stand up to him and show no fear, but was uncertain of what he might do next. “I want you to regret you never felt that way about me.”
Focusing on his vacant blue eyes, she said confidently, “I don’t regret anything. Regrets lay in the heart of the beholder. What will you regret from this, Dillon?”
“I will regret a lot,” he said smelling the fresh coffee on her breath. “I was there for you when Miguel dumped you. Do you remember that?”
“That was personal drama. What you are doing is a danger to our careers.”
“Yeah. But, I regret my touching you didn’t make you shiver. I bet Mario makes you shiver hard—doesn’t he?”
She didn’t move away from him and asked, “Do you really want me to answer that question?”
“Might as well.”
“Fine, but remember you asked for it. He does make me shiver just by kissing me. I love when touches my body all over. The intimacy we share will never be duplicated with anyone else. Did that satisfy you?”
Without warning, to himself included, he wrapped her in his arms, crushing his lips against her mouth. The coffee flavor mixed with the sweetness of her taste excited his blood.
Taylor kept her arms at her side. He was incredibly strong, and if she fought, he would squeeze the life from her body. His hand cupped her neck as he forced his tongue in her mouth. She wanted to bite a chunk of the flesh alien invading her mouth and spit it at him.
Panicking Dillon released his hold pushing himself away from her. “What the fuck am I doing?” Sweat beaded his forehead. “Taylor, I’m sorry. I would never hurt you. I don’t know what came over me.”
She stood frozen in place. Too scared to move and too afraid of what she would do to him if she did. In a low graveled voice, she ordered, “Get out before I call the police.”
His heart thudded against his chest. He had to explain that was not him acting in a garish manner. “Taylor, I don’t know what came over me. I’ve been having these spells and acting irrational at times. You know I would never harm you.”
She repeated in the same voice. “Get out!”
Rubbing his face, he walked to the door looking over his shoulder; she had not moved. He dropped his head exiting her office. Closing the door hard, he rushed to his office. Leaning his back against the closed door, if she did not call the police, he would be surprised. He’d forced himself on her like an animal.
He held his head walking to his desk to sit down. The headache began pounding at his temples again. “What have I done? I’m a damn idiot!” He scolded himself. Opening his drawer, he removed a bottle of aspirin. They were useless and like popping candy since they did nothing to relieve the blinding pain the headaches caused.
He swallowed four of them dry and laid his head against the back of the chair to wait. He waited for the headache to ease up or bang hard enough to burst his brain and cause death.
*****
The diplomas on the wall shook when Dillon slammed the door. Tightening her lips, she rubbed her neck where his handprint burned her skin. She tossed the ink pen lying on her desk across the office as hard as she could. What was wrong with that man? Her hands shook uncontrollably. Grumbling she snatched the receiver off the base and punched in a number.
“Taylor, you’d better be hurt or sick to be calling me this early in the morning.”
“Sabrina, I’m sorry to call so early. Girl, I have a problem,” she said hearing the heavy coarseness of Sabrina’s sleep-laced voiced. At 7:30 in th
e morning Sabrina, normally didn’t get going before mid-morning.
“What is the emergency?”
“I may lose my job and soon. Sabrina is your day full or will you be able to have lunch with me?”
“You’re in luck. I’m off on Mondays. What time and where do you want to meet?”
“Lola’s on 4th at noon. “I am buying before you ask.”
“You gave me incentive to get out of bed. I will be there at noon sharp.”
“See you then,” she said hanging up the phone.
Placing another call, Mario’s assistant answered on the second ring. “Hi, Denise, is he around?”
“Good morning, Ms. James, he’s in depositions this morning. He expects to be gone all day.”
She clicked her tongue. “Right, he did say he would be out most of the day.”
“Would you like his voicemail?”
“No, it’s nothing that can’t wait until he is back in the office.” Taylor said a quick goodbye and hung up the phone. Unfolding the real estate ads, she perused the section for office space.
Chapter 12
Taylor made her way through the crowd of people in search of her sister. 4th Street bubbled over with people in the summer. The outdoor seating for the many restaurants and merchant shops drew people to the one-time alley recently updated and reserved for pedestrian’s only. She reached the restaurant. Scanning the faces dining at the outdoor tables for Sabrina; she saw she was not there.
Lola’s wasn’t crowded on the inside. She waited to be seated by the hostess and ordered a glass of lemonade when the server came to take her order. Sitting close to a window, she laid her cell phone on the table and watched the people outside enjoying the day. Her cell phone vibrated on the table; it was a text message from Sabrina stating she’d be late but was on her way.
A light tapping on the window took her attention away from her phone. It was Kelly waiving to her. A tingling fanned through Taylor’s body. She smiled and returned the friendly greeting. In a nanosecond, Kelly was standing at the table.
Taylor, how are you?” Kelly asked disrupting Taylor’s interaction with her sister via texting.
In a normal voice, she said, “I’m okay, Kelly. Are you and Dillon having lunch today?”
“Yes. He called out of the blue and asked me to join him.”
Taylor glanced out the window with hope her sister would come into view. She did not want to talk about Dillon. She did not want to tell anyone about what Dillon had done until she figured out what was going on with him. “And you are eating here?”
“Yes, we love Lola’s. Are you waiting on Mario?”
“No, Sabrina is meeting me for lunch today.”
“I haven’t seen her in ages. Maybe we should join you two.”
Taylor scraped her teeth across her bottom lip. Kelly was not a stupid woman. She had to know there would be fallout between her and Dillon from what happened Saturday night. Taylor adjusted the sunglasses on her nose. “I don’t think so, Kelly. Saturday night did not leave me very pleased with Dillon. Actually, I’m going to reschedule my vacation. I’m not going on the cruise.”
“Please don’t do that. Dillon didn’t want me to come and if he is cooped up with only me, I don’t know what will happen to me, Taylor.”
A tendril of dread filled her belly. She reserved lunch for her to unload on Sabrina, not for Kelly to empty her burdens on her. Kelly eyed her waiting for her to respond. Shifting in her seat, she asked. “Kelly, are-are you saying you’re afraid of Dillon?”
Kelly played with the straps of her purse staring blankly at Taylor. “I’m saying he is a different man these days. His mood changes from one minute to the next. I am walking on eggshells around him. I’m thinking about calling off the wedding and moving back to Nebraska.”
“Kelly, I had no idea it was so bad. But, go with your instincts. If you are having doubts about Dillon then do what you have to do.” Relief filled Taylor’s chest. Maybe Kelly already knew Dillon was possibly a psychopath in a suit.
Kelly narrowed her eyes. “Does he talk about me to you?”
“Dillon and I really haven’t talked much since….”
“I know—since you got with Mario. So he has withdrawn from you also.”
“That is so far from the reason we aren’t talking anymore. You were at the party and saw what he did to me.”
“I was surprised at his behavior. I was too speechless to intervene. I would never expect him to do anything to cross the perfect Taylor James. You have always been the center of his world. The woman that does nothing wrong in his eyes,” Kelly responded oddly.
Taylor shook her head and sighed. “I am going to ignore your jabs at me, but this has to stop. I have no romantic interest in Dillon whatsoever and you are aware of that.”
“That may be true for you, Taylor. I’ve heard Dillon has been in love with you since you were kids.” She took the empty chair across from Taylor and sat down. “It’s funny, we were happy until you came around again. He never mentioned you or once treated me like a disease until you returned to Cleveland. Suddenly, your name was mentioned so often, I doubted she even remembered mine.”
Taylor’s already brittle emotional state took over. “What you’re saying is I’m the cause of your problems with Dillon.”
Kelly didn’t shy away. “Yes. Do you know how hard it to compete with you?”
“You shouldn’t have to compete with me. We are two different people with our own agendas.”
“You don’t see the big picture, Taylor. I don’t satisfy Dillon anymore. You occupy his mind, and he has pushed me out completely. I was holding on by a thread but now that has unraveled and broken off.”
Taylor saw the beginnings of another public scene in a restaurant happening and was unable to stop it. She heard her voice rising. “Kelly, what do you want me to do? If Dillon is in love with me, that is not of my persuasion. I cannot control his heart.”
“You can control yourself. Stop being so YOU all the time!”
“I don’t even know how to respond to that because it was stupid! I will not change who I am for anyone.”
The crocodile tears formed beneath Kelly’s eyelids. Her bottom lip trembled. “Some friend you are. If the tables were turned and I was going after Mario, you would do whatever you could to keep him.”
“This is where we are different. I don’t pester Mario throughout the day. Whatever he does when I’m not around, I have to trust him. If you pursued him and he responded, then so be it.”
“That is not true. I know about your trust issues.”
“I never had trust issues. I was jealous when other women approached my boyfriends. However, that is in the past. I was able to put it there because when I’m with Mario, and he is making love to me, I know I am the only woman he wants.”
“He has you believing that crap? Men love to fantasize about other women when making love to their woman.”
Taylor rolled her neck. “Not Mario. When he says my name at that crucial moment, I know he is only thinking about me.”
“You have it all, don’t you Taylor?”
Taylor relaxed in the chair wanting to clear the air of the tension. She said in a calming voice, “Kelly, I have no beef with you and never have. I have stood by your side during your relationship with Dillon. I cried with you when you lost the baby. I don’t want him that way. Being his friend has been my only intention and nothing else.”
Kelly took a tissue from her purse and wiped her nose. “Taylor, I’m asking you woman to woman, to stay out of our lives and let us be. Just leave us alone and don’t offer Dillon any more helpful advice.”
“Excuse me? I don’t think I heard you correctly. Kelly, were you listening to any of this conversation? I don’t want Dillon. If it is your desire to marry him in his current state of mind, then do it and be happy.”
Kelly’s amber eyes glowed. “I heard you and I have advice to give you. Instead of worrying about what Dillon and I are doing in our re
lationship, maybe you should work on trying to keep a relationship with Mario. Your track record isn’t that great when it comes to men. You should work on keeping him happy if you expect him to stick around.”
Taylor heard the thundering in her ears from her blood pressure rising. The adrenaline pulsed through her veins underneath her skin. She gripped the wood edge of the table to keep her hands from going around Kelly’s throat. “First, my love life is not any of your concern. And, second, if I were you, I would walk away while you have a chance with all your limbs attached.”
Kelly’s voice rose to alarming levels as she stood up from the table. “Why, Taylor! You’re ruining my chances for happiness with Dillon. Why did you have to return to Cleveland? I hope you enjoy watching Dillon’s sanity deteriorate watching you with a man that makes him feel inferior. Thank you, Taylor; thank you.”
Kelly stormed away leaving Taylor angry and confused by the soap opera tantrum she threw in front of the patrons of the restaurant. Slapping the hard table, she bit down on her lip hard enough to draw blood.
What in hells bells is happening with the crazy ass people that are supposed to be my friends?
She crossed her arms tightly across her chest avoiding the eyes of the people in the restaurant. She didn’t care they looked anyone was looking this time. Composure was not an option with her mood, she was mad as hell and the anger had to be release before she exploded on the next person to step in her path.
Sabrina entered the doors of the restaurant in search of Taylor. The hostess pointed her where Taylor was sitting. She only needed to look once at her sister’s blowfish express to know she was pissed beyond words. Sitting carefully, she touched Taylor’s hand. “What’s the matter, Taylor? Who has pissed you off?”
OBSESSED WITH TAYLOR JAMES Page 16
