Doubt #2 (The Deception Series #1)

by Hopkins, J. D.

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Sign Up for Exclusives

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  DOUBT #3

  NOTE FROM AUTHOR

  Doubt.

  Part Two.

  By

  J.D. Hopkins

  www.JD-Hopkins.com

  COPYRIGHT

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are products of the writer imagination or have been used factiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2014 by J.D. Hopkins.

  Published By J.D.H. Publishing.

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products reference in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.

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  Chapter 1

  No way is this happening to me right now! Who the fuck is this person? I cannot believe he has fooled me this entire time into believing he is a faithful guy. I truly fell for it. I'm such an idiot! The knots forming in my stomach right now are so intense that it feels as though someone has stomped all over me a hundred times.

  What do I do? Do I confront him? How do I go about this?

  Adrenaline starts gushing throughout my hollow body, leaving nothing but disarray and jittery sensations. The sound of running water stops. Shit, he's coming out of the shower! I jerk myself off the bed, still holding his phone, not sure what to do with it. Thankfully, my instincts take over, and I hastily run round to his side of the bed and put the phone back on the side table. Anticipating that Dean will be out of the bathroom any second now, I begin to put on the black dress I wore last night.

  I don't even glance at the mirror to see how I look, that's how far my mind has gone astray over that text message. I really thought he was different to the other ones. I knew it was too good to be true! All sorts of irrational thoughts run through my head. Is she pretty? Are they together? Is she another business associate? The sound of Dean whistling to himself in the bathroom distracts my train of thought. I stand still and take in a deep breath. Despite how I'm feeling right now, I'm just going to act normal with him. I can't face this right now, I really can't. The sudden noise of the door unlocking signals he's leaving the bathroom. With his whistling getting louder, I know he is getting closer and closer. I take in rapid breaths in a desperate attempt to cool the ever increasing tension and sickness that is engulfing me.

  "Good morning my lady!" Dean teases as he walks into the room towards his wardrobe with only a towel wrapped around his waist.

  "Good morning." I reply with an unsatisfied tone to my voice.

  He pauses to look at me before opening his wardrobe door. "You alright?"

  I turn away from him, pretending to be occupied elsewhere. "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

  "Nothing. You just seem a little... tame. Which is ironic considering how feisty you are by nature." He laughs in an attempt to lighten up my mood.

  I giggle to keep him from thinking something is up. As I am about to head to the kitchen, he leans down to the side table to reach for his phone. I seize the opportunity to see how he reacts to the text message.

  Still semi-naked, he takes one glance at the phone, then swiftly places it back down on the table.

  "What's the time?" I prod.

  As if a bolt of lightning just went through his body, he jolts and looks at me with shifty eyes.

  "Err... I don't know. Why?" He tries to compose himself.

  The knots in my stomach grow tighter and tighter as the realization that Dean is hiding someone, becomes more and more real.

  "I thought you would have seen the time on your phone when you just looked at it, that's all." I answer.

  "Sorry." He says as he drops the towel from his waist to put on his black Calvin Klein's.

  As I am about to resign myself to the kitchen, he continues talking. "Fancy my signature breakfast, baby?"

  The sickening sensations are still not letting up. The thought of eating something right now makes me want to throw up, but him calling me 'baby' is just plain insulting. I'm not your baby though, am I? I'm clearly just your bit on the side.

  I turn to face him. "No thanks, I'm not that hungry. I'll have some juice instead if that's alright?"

  A discontent expression surfaces on his face, clearly saddened over me rejecting his offer. "Yeah sure, no worries. Help yourself, I'll be out once I've changed into some clothes."

  "Cool." I respond.

  I haste out of the bedroom and head straight into kitchen. Grabbing the orange juice, I start to pour it into the glass. The sunlight beaming through the huge windows sends me into a slight trance. He said to me very clearly when we first met that he was here in Vegas on his own. Why would he lie to me?

  It's taken me a lot to trust him. I feel even worse having had sex with him. Ugh! I want to throw up. I feel so stupid. Amy was right, I should never have rushed into this. I don't even want to work with him no more. Agh! My head is so screwed up right now.

  As if I have been quenching for a drink all day, I tilt my head back and gulp the entire glass of juice down. Without paying any attention, I slam the glass back down on the marble table so hard that it shatters. In shock over the impact, Dean comes rushing in from no-where.

  "What happened here? You alright?" He asks in surprise.

  "Sorry, I dropped it as I went to put it down" I reply.

  "Don't worry, these things happen! I'll clean it, you go and sit down on the couch honestly, I've got this." He insists as he rolls up his black shirt sleeves.

  I anxiously agree with what he says and begin walking towards the couch. What's wrong with me? I just want to go home!

  While sitting on the sofa, I watch Dean as he finishes sweeping the shattered glass into a black bin bag. Once he is done with the mess, he pulls out his phone from his pocket, and begins to fumble with the buttons. My heart sinks to an all-time low. He's actually texting her right in front of me! My lungs start to deflate, as does my hope that this is all just one bad nightmare. My instincts tell me to confront this lying bastard right now, but at the same time, something deep within me, is telling me to not react. Not right now, at least.

  "I need to make a call to my, or shall I say, our advisor. I'll be one moment." He turns and smiles at me as though everything is normal.

  The gushing emotions that are circulating in me right now, paralyzes me.

  Realizing he is waiting for a response, I manage to put on a fake, but tame smile, before nodding at him.

  "Cool. I'm going to take the glass out to the hallway bin too." He adds

  "Okie dokie." I reply.

  As he walks and opens the main door to the suite, he pulls out his phone and promptly shuts the door behind him
. A thought goes off in my head which forces me up off the couch, and rushes me over to the front door. I press my ear up to to it in a desperate attempt to overhear his phone call. Nothing, I hear nothing. Wishing there was a way I could see through the door, I proceed to open it slowly and quietly.

  I hear Dean mumbling down the hallway, but I cannot be sure of where he is. As I open the door more, I begin peaking my head out. The mumbling is louder. I peer to the right where there is a small window that overlooks the western part of the building, but he is not there. I glance to my left, the same way you come and go to the elevator. I see him!

  Having no choice but to peer my head further out of the door to hear the conversation, Dean unexpectedly starts plodding towards the hotel suite, still holding the black bin bag. The shock of him walking closer, forces me to sling my head back, and partially close the suite's door. I take in rapid but shallow breaths. Please don't come in, please don't come in!

  The sound of his shoes on the floor suddenly stops. His mumbling can now be heard more clearly. Yes! I lean my ear over to the partially closed door to try and hear what is being said.

  "Look. I know it's been a few days, but I've been busy with work. I will come over today I promise. When have I ever let you down?" He laughs privately with the unknown person.

  "Alright! 3pm at the Plaza Hotel, our usual spot. Speak soon."

  Despite the conversation crippling every part of my body, I force myself away from the door and run back straight to the couch, where he last saw me. As I sit myself down, I drop my head to take in a deep breath.

  "Was that you that left the door open?" Dean's voice rings across the suite.

  I raise my head as swiftly as I dropped it. "Err -- yeah." I stutter.

  "Why?" He probes with a raised eyebrow.

  "I was going to ask if you wanted a juice, but I couldn't see you." I elaborate.

  He shoots glances at me with narrow eyes. "Ah, okay. Well, I'm good, thanks." He adds before closing the door behind him. As he walks toward the kitchen, he halts just before the room and faces me.

  "My advisor said I'm having a conference call in the next few hours, and I'm going to need to head to the business park a few miles from here to use their big screens." He says hesitantly while playing with his cell phone in one hand.

  "Okay...?" I reply.

  "So, I'm going to have to love you and leave you. Don't hate me." He pleads with a sympathetic look on his face.

  Hate is not even the word I have for him right now. "Okay. That's cool. I need to do a few things anyway. What time do you think you will be back?" I ask inquisitively.

  "Not too sure, probably not till late. Apparently it's an "important" call, so I can only assume it will be awhile. Don't worry though, your knight in shining armor will soon be all yours again very soon!" He flirts, this time putting the phone into his dark blue denim jeans.

  "No worries! You gotta do what you gotta do." I giggle.

  His words alone repulse me right now. I feel like a spare limb in here. 3pm is when he is supposed to be meeting this person right? I glance down and pull my phone from my handbag. It's 11 o'clock now. It gives me four hours to ready up back at home, and follow his lying ass.

  Dean, with his typical grin, continues into the kitchen. The noise of the fridge door opening and shutting prompts me to pick up my handbag and go. As much as I want to just rush out of these doors without saying goodbye, I need to play it normal, otherwise I will probably be left with no answers to what is going on.

  With a slow, but methodical inhale, I walk over to the kitchen to kiss Dean goodbye.

  "I'm going to let you get on with what you need to do then, like I said, I've got some things to get done back at home. Speak to you later?" I approach Dean, whilst he butters some toast.

  Taken back by my sudden exit, he drops the butter knife and pats himself down before coming over to hug me goodbye. As he hugs me, I sense my entire body seize up, rendering me as stiff as an ironing board. "Are you sure everything is alright?" He peels off a little from the hug.

  I nod to reassure him. "Yes, honestly I'm fine. I'm just a little tired I think. Thanks for a great time last night."

  Pressing his lips together, he omits a content smile. "Okay, well, y'know I'm only a phone call away if you need anything, yeah?" He tightens his embrace one last time before releasing me.

  "Absolutely!" I acknowledge with a masking smile.

  "Alright, cool. Have a good one!" He leans in and kisses me on the forehead.

  Every part of my body cannot help but repel him right now. He leads me to the door, and opens it. We exchange one last smile before I make my way out of the suite. As I walk down the hallway, the sound of the door shutting behind me releases a vast amount of tension in my body. I briefly close my eyes and start nodding to myself reassuringly. You will be alright, Dana.

  This time in a few hours, it will all be over with.

  Chapter 2

  I've been in more taxies this past week than I have my own car. Pretty ironic. I sluggishly sigh over this though as I lay on my bed, digesting the events of today. The headache I've got at the moment is a killer!

  "What the hell do I do?" I mumble hopelessly.

  I sit up and lean against my headrest. I need Amy's take on this. But, I feel like such a dumb-ass telling her that the guy I rushed in with this last week and a half is not who he says he is. It's stupid! As if I was going to know him fully in such a short space of time. Who was I kidding?

  I reflect back to when I overheard his conversation. The gripping knots in my stomach won't let up. It was so obvious he was flirting with someone, probably a girlfriend or wife that he failed to tell me about. I sense my lips drying up. I feel so nauseous!

  I glance down at my phone, scrolling repetitively over Amy's number, debating whether to call her or not. What if somehow the whole thing with Dean is completely innocent? Amy will hold this against him forever, unless there's a very good reason.

  Snap out of it! This is anything but innocent. He's lied to me about the phone call, saying it was a business conference thing, which it clearly isn't. The Plaza Hotel is NOT a business park! And that text message this morning... I don't even want to rewind back to that because it just makes my body cold and hollow.

  With one firm tap on the screen, I dial Amy's number. As it rings, I find my nerves grow in anticipation to what she might say. It continues to ring a few more times, and still no answer. In the midst of the ringing, I start to notice my legs twitching more and more.

  "Hey! This is Amy, bit busy right now. Leave me a message and I'll get back to you!" Her voicemail blasts my ear.

  "Crap!" I hiss. I guess I'm doing this on my own then. I look at the time on the phone, then tilt my head back, staring at the ceiling hopelessly.

  It's midday now, and he's supposed to be at the Hotel Plaza in a few hours. Thank God I know where it is, that was the first place I applied for a job when I got here, and I still haven't heard back from them. I better start getting ready. I don't want to run the risk of him turning up there earlier, and I miss him. My heart's pace starts to pick up more and more over the thought of what may happen.

  In a desperate attempt to shake it out of me, I sling myself up off the bed and start yoga breathing. With each inhale, I begin to feel my body easing up. The eerie silence of the house is somewhat welcoming. I needed this alone time, although I wish Amy picked up. As much as I dread what she has to say, I need to hear it, for my own sake.

  Knowing I need to leave within the next thirty minutes, I quickly proceed to my wardrobe and pull out some fresh underwear before heading into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

  ****

  As I drive on the freeway, my eyes fixate on the road, but my mind is still back at Dean's suite. I simply don't know how to approach this situation. What if I see Dean and this other person embrace right in front of me? I don't know why I'm thinking about things that are making me feel worse. I guess I'm just preparing myself for the
unexpected.

  I look at the time. Great! I'm running late. I found it too difficult to leave the shower. It was the only place that kept me warm, and allowed my thoughts to wash away, literally. Seriously though, he could turn up at that hotel any moment now. I ease my foot further and further on the accelerator to speed up. It should only be another ten minutes before I get there.

  As I glance down to turn on the radio, the sound of sirens beam from behind me. Crap! I go into the lane on my left to let the police car through, but I soon realize that he wants me to pull over. This day couldn't get any worse if it tried! I've never been pulled over before.

  While pulling over, I notice the unwelcoming sensation of my mouth drying up. I'm completely petrified! Will he take my car? Am I going to prison? Where's Jess when I need her?! As I glance at my rear-view mirror, I watch nervously as the officer shuts the door of his car and begins walking to me. He taps on my window with his knuckle, indicating me to open the window.

  "Hello sir, have I done something wrong?" I ask timidly while pressing ever so hard on the window button.