Distorted

by Laura Dunaway

  I nodded again as I pulled my blouse on and started buttoning. “Yes,” I whispered. I was fiddling around with the buttons when I realized some were missing from when he tore them open.

  He was before me in an instant, lifting my chin to meet his gaze. “Ah, sweetheart, I’m more than okay. I couldn’t be happier. That was unbelievable.” He rubbed his thumb over my lower lip and gave me a quick kiss on the mouth.

  He turned around to grab his shirt. A second later I heard Casey’s loud voice and I jerked my head toward Paul. It sounded like she was on her phone and my eyes went wide, knowing we were about to get caught.

  “Shit,” he cursed, looking over at me. “Hell, you’re not even fully dressed, there’s no time.” He pulled me off of the desk, handed me the rest of my things, and dragged me over to the closet.

  He opened the door and waited for me to get inside. “I had no idea she was coming. I’m so sorry. I’ll get rid of her quick. Just stay quiet.”

  I nodded and he kissed my forehead then shut the door. I was surrounded in darkness and did my best to be quiet while I pulled my skirt down. I’d just tucked my blouse in when I heard her enter the office.

  “Paul, I need to talk to you.”

  I heard Paul turn in his chair and try to act nonchalant. “What are you doing here, Case?”

  I heard the tension in his voice, the worry, but I doubt Miss Self-Absorbed would notice. I could barely breathe, worried to death we’d get caught. I leaned against the wall of the closet, praying she wouldn’t stay long.

  “Don’t sound so happy to see me, darling,” she sneered. “I told you I needed to talk to you. I’m feeling unsettled about us and I can’t take it anymore. You’ve been distant lately, short with me. I tried to tell myself you were just under stress, but honestly, you’ve never been this way with me before. I need to know what’s going on.”

  I groaned a little and slid to the floor. Unfortunately, it didn’t look like Ms. Hammond was going away anytime soon. I’d rather dance naked on nails than hear this conversation.

  “Case, what the hell has brought this on? You know I’m working right now, can’t this wait?” I heard Paul’s muffled response through the door. I was hoping he was trying to get rid of her as fast as possible. I needed out.

  “You’re seeing someone else, aren’t you?” I heard her whiny yell. “Wait, what the hell happened in here? Why is all that stuff on the floor?”

  Oh shit! I couldn’t believe what was happening. I’d just had sex with my boss on his desk, got thrown in a closet so his girlfriend wouldn’t see me and find out, and I had totally forgotten about the stuff he’d swiped to the floor. Could things get any worse?

  “Nothing happened. I uh, just lost my temper over something and in a weak moment I swiped some things off of my desk in anger. Don’t worry about it,” I heard Paul’s response to her.

  It was quiet for a moment. “I don’t believe you,” she told him. “You’re lying to me and I want to know why.”

  I heard Paul’s heavy footsteps walk closer to her. “I’m not and I don’t appreciate you not trusting me. I don’t have the time for your insecurities at the moment Casey. I have work to do.”

  I cringed at his harsh tone, then my ears perked up as I heard footsteps coming closer to the closet. “What are you doing?” I heard Paul ask in a heightened tone.

  “I left my sequined jacket in your office the other day, I need to get it out of the closet before I leave you to do your work,” Casey told him in a cold tone of voice. “Just so you know, I do not appreciate being pushed aside. We will finish this conversation later.”

  I scooted as close to the wall as I could, praying she wouldn’t open the door. I heard Paul come after her, calling her name. “Casey wait,” he said. I let out the breath I’d been holding in relief, knowing he’d stopped her from opening the door.

  My relief was interrupted by sounds of moaning. It took me a minute to realize what I was hearing. At first I shook my head, telling myself no way, but when I heard someone being shoved against the wall and Casey yelling out Paul’s name, I knew it was true that my question from a minute ago wondering if things could get any worse just got answered with a resounding yes.

  Paul Pierce was having sex with his girlfriend while I hid in the closet. Paul Pierce was having sex with his girlfriend right after having sex with me. Paul Pierce was having sex with his girlfriend and breaking my heart, all at the same time.

  I sat on the floor, traumatized. I stuck my fingers in my ears, trying to cover the sounds of grunts and moans, but I still knew what was going on out there. Each time I heard her cry out his name, my heart broke into more pieces.

  After what seemed like an eternity, it became silent. I didn’t even try to hear what it was they were saying. Tears streamed down my cheeks as I realized what a fool I was and I stuck my fist in my mouth to hide my sob.

  A few minutes later, the closet door opened and I shielded my eyes from the light streaming in. Underneath my hand, I saw Paul lower himself to his knees and I heard him take a shaky breath. I sat there feeling physically sick.

  “Aly,” he whispered, reaching out a hand to me. I quickly shoved it aside and stood up on my own. He stood up with me and blocked me from leaving the closet.

  “Aly, I am so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. She was frantic. I had to calm her down.”

  I gave him a look that told him exactly what I thought of that excuse as I lifted my hand and slapped him hard across the face. His head whipped to the side from the impact and his eyes showed shock and pain. I pushed him aside and walked out of the closet. Seeing the cushions on the couch askew made me want to vomit. The tears started again and I swiped them away.

  I felt him put his hands on my shoulders and I turned quickly to face him, more livid than I’d ever been in my entire life. “Don’t you dare touch me,” I seethed as I shrugged his hands off me.

  “Aly, please. Please listen to me,” he begged, his eyes tortured and a red mark from my slap blazing on his cheek.

  “Listen to what, Paul? Listen to you explain why you just banged your girlfriend right after having made love to me? While I was in the closet, no less!” I yelled.

  He winced.

  “I cannot believe that just happened, that you thought that was the only option you had. You are an asshole! Plain and simple. You have sunk to a level I never thought possible and I’m sick.” I turned away from him and wiped my eyes, refusing to let him see me cry.

  “Aly!” he cried out, “I am so sorry.” He started pacing and ran a hand through his hair. “Please believe me. I know that was a horrible thing to do. I just didn’t know what else I could do to convince her things were okay. I had to get her to leave as fast as possible and that was the only way I knew how. I felt horrible the whole time, knowing you were right there. It was all I could do not to shove her out of my office and run to you.”

  I turned back to face him. “Yeah, but you didn’t. You went right on screwing your girlfriend with no thought or care for me, and after what we had just shared.” I covered my mouth as the realization of what I’d just done hit me. “Your girlfriend! Oh my gosh! I had sex with you and you have a girlfriend. I am mortified and humiliated beyond what I ever thought possible.” He started to say something, but I held my hand up to stop him.

  “I don’t want to hear anymore. Consider this my two weeks notice. I can no longer work with you. I’ll finish these two weeks from home on my computer laptop. All communication between us will be strictly about business via email.”

  I turned around and headed for the door. I’d barely taken two steps when he grabbed my wrist and whirled me around, slamming me into his chest.

  “No! No, no, no. I won’t let you do this. Please,” he begged, forcing me still when he wrapped his arms around me. I struggled to get free, but his hold was too tight. “I can fix this, I’ll do whatever it takes. Just don’t walk out on me, not now.” I felt him shudder as he held me tight. A part of me wanted to
reach out and comfort him, but then the searing pain of what he just did hit me and the rage came roaring back.

  I tried stepping out of his hold again, but he held me even tighter.

  “Paul, let me go,” I demanded.

  “No. Not until you tell me you’ll stay. I can’t let what just happened take you away from me.”

  “You should have thought about that before you had sex with Casey...in front of me.”

  He stroked my hair, almost like he was willing me to stay. “I know, I’m so sorry. I knew you’d be upset, but I didn’t know what else to do, Aly.”

  “I can’t hear that anymore!” I cried. I lifted my head to look at him. “Don’t you see? It doesn’t matter. You did it. You had sex with me and then had sex with your girlfriend, right after, while I was hiding in the closet from our encounter. Nothing you say or do will change that, Paul.” I pounded on his chest, completely frustrated.

  He gripped me to him. “I know. I’m so sorry. I can’t believe I did that. But I refuse to let you resign and walk out on Pierce Homes. We need you, I need you. Please don’t leave us, Aly. Don’t leave Glendale and Hidden Creek.”

  He used the tactic he knew would work, our projects. He knew how much they meant to me and how it would kill me not to see them through. I hated him for it and I refused to let him manipulate me.

  I let out a groan. “You know how important what we do is to me, how important these projects are. It would kill me to leave before they’re completed, but I have to put myself first this time. You don’t deserve me, Paul. Not after what you just did. I need time to think and I can’t be around you.”

  He closed his eyes in pain, and leaned his head back.

  “I’ll be out until Monday. If you need me for anything business related, you can email or text. Anything else, you can shove it up your ass.”

  I finally untangled myself from his arms and strode out of his office, slamming the door behind me. He didn’t stop me this time. I grabbed my purse and ran out the door.

  The next few days were complete misery. Paul was relentless in trying to get me to forgive him. I ignored every email and text, only responding to the few that were business related. He knocked on my door the day after I stormed out of his office and I ignored that too, more tears streaming down my face. The man had broken my heart.

  I couldn’t afford for that to happen again.

  Ethan came by the day after; asking what the hell was going on and why wasn’t I at work? I broke down in his arms, telling him everything. When I was done, he swore he would break every bone in Paul’s body. While the thought appealed for a moment, I told him to leave him alone.

  “Are you crazy? He can’t get away with that, Aly!” he cried.

  I wiped my eyes with a tissue. “It’s not your problem to deal with. I can handle it. Leave him alone.”

  Ethan swore under his breath. “You realize I want to bash his teeth in, right?”

  I gave a hint of a smile. “Yes, and I love you for it.” I leaned back against him, resting my head on his chest. When he wrapped his arms around me, his comfort was exactly what I needed.

  “You never told me how your date with Trisha went,” I suddenly remembered.

  He rested his chin on my head. “It was okay. Nothing we need to talk about right now,” he replied.

  I looked up at him. “Of course we do. I need to hear about something else right now. Tell me.”

  I heard him sigh. “Well, it went really well actually. I’m seeing her again tomorrow night.”

  “Oh, Ethan. That’s great.”

  “Yeah, she’s fun to hang out with, and sexy as hell. I am definitely intrigued.”

  I squeezed him tight. “I’m glad. She really does seem like a nice girl.” I started to feel sleepy, and tried to stifle a yawn. When he started stroking my hair, I was out.

  Being lifted up awakened me. I opened my eyes and saw Ethan’s face close to mine. “Go back to sleep, Aly. I’m just carrying you into bed.”

  I wrapped my arms around his neck and felt him walking me gently to my room. He set me down on my bed, and covered me up. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

  “Goodnight, beautiful girl. I’m right here, always.”

  I smiled at him then fell back into a deep and much needed sleep.

  When I woke up the next morning, I had no memory of how I got in my bed. The last thing I remembered was Ethan telling me about his date with Trisha.

  Ethan.

  He must have put me here. I smiled at how good he was to me. A part of me wished I felt more for him because it would make my life so much easier, but no. I had to go and fall in love with the biggest prick in town.

  Paul.

  My heart tore into pieces again at the memory of him, of what we did. Tears came to my eyes and I swore. I was so tired of crying over that man. I had no idea how I’d face him in the office next week when I went back to work. I really hoped that I could finish out these two projects and keep my sanity.

  I got up and went out to the kitchen. I froze when I saw Ethan asleep on my couch. Realizing he’d stayed over to make sure I was okay made my heart melt.

  I sat down on the couch and ran my fingers through his hair. “Wake up, sleepyhead. You need to get to work.”

  He swatted at my hand, grumbling as he turned over in his sleep. I smiled and started rubbing my hand over his stubbled face.

  “Ethan, wake up, sweetheart. It’s time for school. Gotta get going before the tardy bell rings, baby,” I said in a mock motherly tone.

  Ethan opened one eye and looked at me. “If that’s really you, Mom, I’m having a complete nightmare.”

  I smacked him on the arm, laughing. He reached up and pulled me down over his chest in a bear hug, squeezing me tight. I could still smell the citrus scent of his cologne.

  When he released me, I looked at him and realized once again just how handsome he was. His eyes were a deep hazel and his hair was completely messy in it’s spikes. His chin was peppered with stubble and scratched me as I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. Whoever ended up with Ethan Baker was a very lucky girl.

  “C’mon, sleepyhead. Mama will make you some breakfast,” I teased as I rose from the couch. I headed to the kitchen and pulled out some pancake mix. I got the eggs out of the fridge and started up the griddle. I heard Ethan head into the bathroom. A few minutes later he came out and joined me in the kitchen.

  “You didn’t have to stay over, you know,” I told him as I whisked the batter. I felt him come up behind me, resting his chin on my shoulder.

  “I know I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. I was worried about you and wanted to be here in case you needed me.”

  I felt gratitude warm my heart and I turned to look at him. “Thank you.”

  He smiled and tapped my nose with his finger. “Don’t mention it. You’d have done the same for me.”

  He was right, I would have. I poured the batter onto the griddle and got some plates out. I set them over on the bar with some silverware. I was glad to see I still had some orange juice so I topped it off into two glasses for us. Ethan leaned back on the counter, taking a sip and looking at me over his glass. I was suddenly hit with feelings for him that I’d never felt before. The look he was giving me was intense...hot. I shook my head, telling myself it was just me reacting to Paul’s betrayal.

  “So are you doing okay, Aly?” he asked.

  I shrugged as I flipped the pancakes over. “As good as can be, I guess.”

  He set his glass down on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, looking at me intently. “You know I still want to kick his ass, right?”

  I sighed as I flipped off the griddle. “Yeah, I know. But you won’t. Just leave it, Ethan.”

  He came over to me and stopped me from putting the pancakes on our plates. Tipping my chin up to look at him, he smiled at me. “I won’t because you asked me not to, but I want to. I’ll always want to. He hurt you and in turn, hurt me. Nobody hurts you, A
ly.”

  I shivered at the intensity in his eyes. I knew he meant what he said and it meant so much to me. I didn’t know what I’d do without him.

  I wrapped my arms around his waist and settled my head against his chest. He held me tight, never moving once. We stood there for what seemed like hours when I remembered the pancakes. They were cold by now.

  “Hey, knight in shining armor,” I teased, “these pancakes are cold. Thank goodness for the microwave.” I plopped them on a plate and set them inside. When they were done, I set the plate down on the counter.

  Ethan strode over the barstool and happily gobbled up the rewarmed pancakes. I chuckled at his hearty appetite and was grateful I’d made enough. I was full after two and rinsed my plate, putting it in the dishwasher.

  When we were done cleaning up, Ethan walked over to the couch. He sat down and pulled on his shoes. “I guess I’d better get home and get ready for work. Don’t ask me how I’ll behave if I run into Paul, though.”

  I let out a sigh. “Ethan, just be professional. This isn’t your problem to take on. I don’t want you to do anything that would risk your job.”

  He stood and pulled me into another hug. “I won’t, but it doesn’t mean I don’t want to,” he said, rubbing circles over my back.

  “I know and I appreciate it. I want you to, as well, but it’s not going to happen. I’ll take care of Paul myself.”

  Ethan gave me one last squeeze with a kiss on my cheek and left. After I closed the door behind him, I felt the damn tears again and I went into the bathroom, determined to beat them. Paul Pierce wouldn’t make me cry for forever, I’d get over him and what he did to me in time. I just wished I believed it.

  I made it to the weekend without having to see or talk to Paul other than business emails and texts. He continued to try to talk to me, even coming to my apartment again and pounding on the door, but I sat on my couch ignoring his pleas to let him in. I almost caved, but the pounding stopped and he’d walked away.

  At least one thing was going right during this awful week. Norman had responded to my email asking how to get Mr. Halliday to see us. He told me he’d talk to him one more time and ask him to at least sit down with us. I was hopeful Norman would be able to convince him as I was more determined than ever to plead my case. I needed to get a positive response back, though I didn’t want to have to think further about it. Paul would have to go with me if Mr. Halliday consented and I wasn’t ready to go there yet.