The One of Many

by M. Jane Early

  “Let me ask you this. Does everything come fairly easy for you?” I knew the answer.

  “Usually.” He smirked.

  “Is there anything that you wanted to be good at but weren’t?”

  He took a minute to think. “Basketball.”

  “Basketball?” I smiled.

  “I tried to play in high school—I was horrible at it.” He leaned towards me more.

  I did the same. “Did you love it?”

  “Still do, but now I only watch.” He focused on my lips.

  “Did you practice harder to get better?” I asked. With us so close together, my voice got lower.

  “No.” He shook his head.

  “Why not?” I asked. It was hard to keep my thoughts clear as I inhaled him and watched his delicious lips move.

  He shrugged. “I figured I wouldn’t waste my time with something I wasn’t good at.”

  “But you never tried or practiced more to make yourself better, right?” His scent was all around me, distracting me from stopping the conversation.

  He waited. “No.”

  “So, how did you know you weren’t good at it?”

  He didn’t answer, but his brows pulled together.

  “There it is.” I raised my finger to him. “Fear of commitment. You’re so used to doing everything well that when something like basketball—or a relationship—comes your way, something that takes work, you blame it on ‘not being naturally good at it’ instead of trying harder. It sounds like you just give up.” I didn’t mean to sound condescending, but his thought process was a cop-out.

  He scoffed and leaned away, breaking the pull between us. “So, you’re going to blame my not wanting to be in a relationship on my fear? Pretty presumptuous.” He sounded irritated and turned back to his computer. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, I faced mine as well.

  I had evidently hit a nerve. Probably not the best thing to do when talking to the CEO of the company you work for. My comfort level with David was getting sloppy—I needed to pull it back.

  I exhaled and closed my laptop. It was better for me to leave than risk saying anything else that would irritate him.

  When I stood, he stopped typing and looked at me. “Where are you going?”

  I kept my tone light. “I’ve been here all day. I need to go home.” I looked at my watch. “There’s only twelve hours before I have to be here again…”

  He nodded but didn’t smile, then directed his eyes to the ground. I continued to collect my things.

  Powers placed his hands on his keyboard but didn’t type. “Did you need a ride?”

  I glanced at him and shook my head. “I’ll order a car.” I pulled my phone out and opened my app while slinging my bag over my shoulder. I peeked at David, who was still staring straight ahead, but his elbow landed on the conference table. Two of his fingers touched his lips.

  When I got to the door of the room, I turned back to him and said, “So, I’ll see you tomorrow.” He looked at me, and his face had softened a bit. “Thanks for all the help.” He nodded, giving me a hint of a smile.

  I walked out.

  “Way to go, Farren. You pissed off the boss,” I said to myself as I walked towards the elevators.

  I stood outside the building near the curb. The closest car was still fifteen minutes away. I didn’t dare put in my headphones with it being so dark outside. The streetlamps were the only thing lighting the surrounding area, and the last thing I needed was to get attacked outside Imperium. I’d already called the CEO a coward in so many words, I figured I’d better not do anything else dangerously dumb.

  A silver Mercedes with black-tinted windows came around the corner and stopped in front of me. I backed away cautiously. The driver’s side door opened, and David Powers stood, watching me. He didn’t look mad, more irritated than anything. He walked around to the passenger side door and opened it.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Taking you home,” he answered.

  “I have a car coming.” I held up my phone.

  He exhaled and closed the door. He walked towards me, stopping close enough to block the breeze coming off the ocean in the distance, his hands in his back pockets.

  His eyes met mine. “I’m not letting some stranger drive you home at night.”

  “I’ll be okay,” I answered, a lot less forceful than I wanted.

  His jaw tightened as he leaned closer. “Farren, get in the car.” He flickered his eyes away as he walked back to his Mercedes, opening the passenger door again. He turned to me and waited.

  By the look on his face, if I didn’t move, he was going to throw me over his shoulder and put me in the car himself—I had no choice but to obey. I slowly walked over to him, stopping to meet his stare. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  Powers nodded and looked over my shoulder while I got in. He strolled to his side of the car, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He got in and started the engine. I felt the rev in my seat as he took off wordlessly.

  I gave him basic directions to where he needed to go, but otherwise kept quiet. The strain between us was heavy. I didn’t want him upset with me, but I didn’t feel the desire to apologize all the same. Maybe it was time for David Powers to deal with some hard truths. At the same time, I wanted to clear the air between us.

  When he parked, I took a breath. “David, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m sure I’m wrong. You don’t want to be in a relationship because you choose not to be in one.” I scoffed. “I’m obviously not the expert in the subject. My ex cheated on me with his co-star, and when she dumped him, he came running back to me. I’m not exactly telling him to go away.” I shook my head. “My point is, we all have to make decisions that are best for us…or what we think is best. I didn’t mean to judge you.”

  I peeked over at him. He draped his left wrist over the steering wheel, staring out the windshield, his face blank.

  I exhaled. “Thanks again for the ride,” I said in a small voice. I got out of the car and trudged to the entrance, admonishing myself the entire way.

  I reached the elevators and pushed the UP button. My hands landed on my waist as I walked around the front of the steel doors, trying to release my nerves.

  “Farren.”

  I turned to my left as Powers hurried towards me. He ran his hand through his hair, his eyes down. Once he reached where I stood, he looked at me and shook his head. His charming, crooked smile appeared, and I relaxed a little.

  “You’re not wrong,” he said, sincerely. “I’ve just never met anyone worth trying harder for.”

  My forehead wrinkled in confusion. “But you were engaged.”

  He looked away. “That was more of an arrangement. It was better for our parents than it was for us.”

  I tilted my head, hoping he would tell me more.

  He took a step closer. “Listen—”

  The elevator dinged, and the doors opened.

  “Hey, babe!” I heard behind me. I turned and saw Crew. He grabbed me into a hug. “I’ve been waiting for you.” He pulled back and kissed me. “I sent you a bunch of texts. I was getting worried.”

  I stepped out of his grasp when he realized David was standing by me.

  “How you doin’?” He asked David.

  “Crew, you remember Mr. Powers,” I said, unable to look at either of the men.

  “Oh, hey, yeah.” He shook David’s hand.

  “He gave me a ride home.” I glanced at Crew.

  “Hey, thanks for taking care of my girl.” He brought me to him by my waist. I silently sighed and closed my eyes.

  Powers’s eyes were on me. “Yeah, not a problem. I just wanted to make sure she got in okay.”

  “I appreciate that, man.” Crew shook his hand again.

  I locked eyes with David as he exhaled. “Have a good night,” he said, then turned and walked towards the doors.

  I stared after David, then turned back to Crew. “I was at the office, working for a few hours
.”

  “Yeah, I know you like to do that.” He grinned at me. “I was about to run to the store for some wine, and there’s Chinese upstairs. I’ll be right back.” He leaned down and kissed me, then walked away.

  I entered the elevator exacerbated and pushed the button to my floor, closing my eyes as the doors shut.

  Crew came back a half hour later with a bottle of wine as I was doing the dishes to relieve my nervous energy from being with David.

  Crew walked up behind me and moved my hair, kissing my neck. “Did you eat?” he asked against my skin.

  “I did.” I put the last dish on the drying rack.

  “Guess what?” He crossed his arms in front of me and rested his chin on my shoulder.

  “What?”

  “They renewed Viking Point for another season,” he whispered, kissing my neck.

  I stopped moving. “They did?” I didn’t mean to sound so surprised.

  “Yep, and we’re going to shoot in Belfast next week.” His kisses moved to under my ear.

  I turned around and looked at him. “That’s great, Crew. Congratulations.”

  “I want you to come with me.” He took my hands.

  “What?”

  “Come with me to Belfast. I’ll be pulling in more money. I can take care of us.” He pulled me closer. “I want you with me.”

  “Wait, are you saying you want me to quit my job?” I asked. He couldn’t be serious.

  “Yes.”

  “No,” I admonished.

  “What?”

  “No.” I scoffed and walked away. “Crew, we’re not back together.”

  He looked at me confused. “I thought that night…”

  “Yes, we slept together, but that does not mean I want you back.”

  His eyes darted around the room. “But I’m here. I’m in the apartment.”

  “You have a key to my apartment that you never returned when you dumped me for Nina.” My voice turned colder.

  He put his hands on his hips. “I thought you forgave me. I thought we were together.”

  “No, Crew, you assumed and never gave me the choice.” I turned and walked across the living room.

  “Well, okay, let’s clear this up. I want to be together.”

  I turned back to him and paused. “I don’t.”

  He stared at me. “You don’t?”

  I exhaled and walked over to him. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and tried to be as honest as I could. “Crew, you treated our relationship like it was a placeholder. Like I wasn’t good enough for you, and you were just waiting for someone better to show up. Well, she did, and you threw me away like I was nothing. I don’t want to be with someone like that.”

  He looked down and grabbed my hands. “But I love you, Farren.”

  “Crew, this doesn’t work anymore. You said it yourself. You wanted to be with someone who understands your life. Your career is taking off, and I’m thrilled for you. But I don’t want to live that life with you. I have absolutely no desire to follow you around the world.” I removed my hands from his hold. He looked away. “I want you to be happy, Crew. But I will not be that placeholder again. I wish nothing but the best for you, I really do, but we can’t do this anymore.”

  I’d held on to Crew because he was a comfortable, familiar choice. I didn’t feel pain or anger with Crew at that moment—this was the right decision. I wasn’t afraid to be alone; I preferred it to being someone else’s consolation prize.

  “That’s it?” he asked, his face pained.

  I nodded. “That’s it.”

  Crew hesitated, then walked past me and grabbed his jacket. He headed towards the door, turning to me while his hand was on the knob. He stared at me for a moment, then walked out. I went to the kitchen table, moved the bottle of wine to the counter, and grabbed the corkscrew from the drawer.

  Nine

  Yvette sat next to me in my cubicle, going over the presentation before I sent the final to David. Most of the employees had gone home. Our conversation and my keyboard clicks were the only sounds on the floor.

  “I changed the color and font of the graphic. You were right, it was distracting,” she said, pointing to the screen.

  “Right? Thank you so much. I thought I was crazy,” I said, and continued to click through the pages on the computer.

  I went back to the front page that showed the credit of the writers and designers.

  “You don’t have to put my name on this, Farren.” She stared at the screen.

  I glanced at her. “The hell I don’t. You and Trevor really helped me with this. You’re getting credit, and Powers will know. We’re not under Dumas’s thumb anymore—that’s over.”

  She smiled at me, then stood. “Speaking of which, where has the Adonis been hiding lately?”

  I shrugged while typing. “I don’t know. He hasn’t said anything but thanks and looks good on my notes.”

  She sat on the edge of my desk. “Trevor said a long-legged blonde met him up here one night when he was working late. They left arm in arm.”

  I stopped typing and looked at Yvette. “When?”

  “I think he said Tuesday.” She moved her chair out of my space, back to the empty cubicle across from me. I exhaled through my nose. He was bringing women to the office now?

  “Well, I guess he’s well within his rights.” I turned back to my computer, irritated. Playboy.

  Yvette leaned her head into my peripheral vision. I turned to her. “You don’t seem happy about that,” she said, leading.

  “What are you talking about?”

  She gasped; her eyes widened. “Do you like Powers?”

  I rolled my eyes and turned away. “Oh my god, Yvette, stop it.”

  “Come on, Farren, it’s so obvious. As soon as I said it, your body stiffened up.” She giggled.

  “It’s none of my business who he dates or sleeps with or whatever a cryptic CEO does,” I said, frustrated, and looked at her again.

  Yvette went silent. Her crossed arms were loud enough.

  I shook my head. “Let it go.”

  “Mm-hmm. Are you coming?” she asked as she put on her jacket.

  “I still have to send this to Powers, but I need to go over it again.” I concentrated on the screen.

  “Is he still in his office?”

  “Yeah, probably because I haven’t sent the presentation.” I kept typing.

  “You should deliver it to him naked,” she whispered, her brown eyes wild with excitement. She pretended to unbutton her shirt.

  “Wow, Yvette.” I laughed.

  “I’m just saying. Sex on a desk is amazing,” she sang as she walked behind me and out of my cubicle.

  “Go home. Thanks again for the help,” I said, chuckling.

  “Whatever, you know you’ve thought about it,” she said as she turned the corner. I had, but she didn’t need to know that.

  An hour later, my lower back screamed at me. I had been in the same position for most of the day, and my body was feeling it. I grabbed the arms of my chair and twisted, trying to crack the stiffness out.

  “Why are you still here?” I heard above me.

  I met his hazel eyes, looking especially bright. The flecks of green flickered. “What?”

  “Farren, you sent me the presentation an hour ago. Why are you still here?”

  “I was just… I… I don’t know.” I removed my hands from the laptop and stared up at him as if he had caught me doing something wrong.

  I followed his hand as he reached over and shut the laptop closed, then gazed up at him again.

  His eyes bore into mine. “It’s perfect.”

  I looked away and nodded.

  He pulled his hand back. “Have you eaten?”

  I glanced at him. “At lunch…I think.”

  His grin disappeared. “Come on.” He started to walk away.

  “Where are we going?” I called.

  He stopped and looked back at me. “The least I can do is buy you dinner.
Besides, I still owe you for that day in the cafeteria.” He smiled at me, and I couldn’t help but smile back.

  Right as I was about to argue, my stomach made a rumbling sound. I was starving. I exhaled and stood, grabbing my laptop bag and purse. David watched my every move. I came around to the opening of the bullpen, then we moved towards the elevators silently together.

  The parking garage was quiet and empty. Powers unlocked his Mercedes and opened my door. I got in and laughed. He asked what was so funny.

  I put on my seatbelt. “I just realized that Crew has this car too.”

  “Does he?” he asked flatly.

  I nodded.

  “Doesn’t surprise me. We seem to share similar taste in a few things.” He kept his eyes forward.

  I furrowed my brow, trying to recall. “The way you talked about Crew’s TV show, it didn’t sound like you were a fan.”

  He chuckled, then pulled out of his parking space.

  “Why don’t you drive?” he asked.

  I shrugged. “I never learned.”

  “How have you gotten around?”

  I paused. “The public transportation system is underrated and traffic in LA is…stressful.”

  He glanced at me with a smile. “Farren, are you afraid to drive?”

  Terrified, I thought. “No,” I answered and continued to look forward.

  “So, if I pulled over right now and let you in the driver’s seat for a lesson, you’d have no problem with it?” The edge to his voice made me think he really would do it.

  “First, I don’t have a license or even a permit, so that’s illegal. Second, your Mercedes is not what I would use to learn to drive with, especially in California traffic. Third, I’m hungry, and you promised to feed me.” I looked at him, hoping my light flirting would divert this conversation.

  He continued to smile. “That I did,” he said and looked forward. “Nice deflect, by the way. I saw the horror in your face for that split second you thought about being behind the wheel.”

  I sighed. “Since it appears you want to win, yes, I’m scared to drive. It gives me anxiety to think all it would take is one person not paying attention to cause an accident. No matter how much I play defense, my life might end by someone else’s negligence. Happy?” I glanced at him.

  “That’s true about a lot of things, not just driving.”