Distorted

by Laura Dunaway

  My mood took a dive at the mention of Paul’s name. I hadn’t even thought about that. “Oh, man. Paul...” I said in a whisper. Ethan started rubbing circles on my hand with his thumb.

  “It’s okay, Aly. I know it’s hard and a lot will change but if it’s the right decision, it will work out.”

  “I know it’s the right decision, Ethan,” I said, leaning over the table closer to him. “Without a doubt, I know it’s right.”

  He leaned closer to me and ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “Good. Everything will work out. If you want me to be there when you tell him, I will.”

  I shook my head. “Thank you but no. I need to do it on my own. I need to get through the meeting with Mr. Halliday first. I’ll tell him soon though.”

  He frowned at that. “Are you sure? I hate to see you having to deal with him like you have been. I also want to shout to the world you’re finally mine,” he said with a grin.

  I laughed. “Believe me, I do too. I promise I’ll do it soon. Please just give me a few days.”

  He nodded. “That’s fine, Aly. No pressure. You’ve just made me the happiest man alive, how can I complain about anything else?” He leaned even closer and planted a light kiss on my lips. “I love you so much. Thank you.”

  I looked at this man, this man who had been my best friend for so long. I looked at this man who was now my love, my soulmate, and I felt such an overwhelming peace I thought I’d cry from the relief it brought me. To know who I wanted, who I was supposed to be with, meant the world to me. Realizing I’d be hurting Paul brought knots to my stomach, I don’t think I’d ever have to do anything harder than tell him we wouldn’t be together. But looking back up at Ethan, I knew it would be okay, that I would finally be okay.

  We sat there eating the rest of our lunch just holding hands and staring at one another. I swear it was like we were in a cheesy romance novel, but I didn’t care. I was finally with my man. Our server came with the bill. Ethan gave him his credit card. When he came back Ethan signed it, then stood. He grabbed my hand and we walked slowly back to work. I caught him looking over at me a few times, when he finally pulled me to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulder. Being with him felt so right, so comfortable. I never questioned anything when I was with him. I was happy.

  We got back and he pulled me into an empty conference room. I giggled as he shut the door with his foot and pulled me into his arms. Before I could say anything, his mouth was on mine in a mix of pure passion and lust. All I wanted to do was stay like that forever, to just be with Ethan and nothing else. When he finally released my lips, he brushed some hair behind my ear and looked at me.

  “I love you so much, Aly,” he whispered. “You have no idea how happy you’ve made me. A weight I didn’t realize was so heavy has been lifted and all I want to do is take you home and show you just how much you mean to me.”

  I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “I love you too. I can’t wait.”

  He returned my kiss and groaned when I pulled away. I laughed and ran my hand through his spiky hair. “We both need to finish out the work day at least. Come get me at five?”

  He growled and wrapped his arms around me in a huge hug. “Nothing could stop me. Not sure I’ll make it till then.”

  After a few more kisses, I walked back to my desk and plopped down on my chair, replaying the past hour in my head. I hadn’t felt this happy in so long and it felt amazing. All that faded when I heard giggling out in the hall, getting louder as the person walked closer. My mouth dropped in shock when I saw Missy and Paul walk in. Paul’s eyes instantly showed embarrassment and I knew mine showed surprise.

  Missy’s showed excitement. “There you are,” she squealed, rushing toward me. She grabbed me in a hug and I glared at Paul over her head. He put his hands up, shaking his head and mouthing, “It’s not what you think.”

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as she released her hold on me.

  “Well, my lunch meeting canceled so I came over here to see if I could take you to lunch, but you’d already left by the time I got here. Paul generously offered to take me out instead and you know I can’t ever turn a gorgeous man down.”

  “Did he now?” I asked, glaring at him more.

  Missy was oblivious. “Yes. It was just this little hole in the wall down the street, but it was sooo good,” she said, glowing from ear to ear. I continued listening to her, all the while watching Paul. He tried to hide his smirk behind his hand, but wasn’t doing a very good job of it.

  “And then he was telling me about the time you were going on and on to some lady at your latest job site and how you made her so nervous, she took a few steps back from you. I was dying because I know how passionate you get about things and could totally see that happening.”

  I didn’t think my glares could get worse, but they so did when I heard that. Paul started laughing when he saw my face and I jerked my head away, refusing to look at him anymore. Missy kept rambling on about their lunch, barely stopping to take a breath. When she finally did, I took full advantage.

  “Well, it sounds like fun. Sorry I missed it,” I said sarcastically.

  “Oh, me too,” Missy exclaimed. “I wish I could stay, but I have to get back to my meetings. Hey, are we still on for Friday night? Did you talk to Ethan?”

  I gulped, looking over at Paul. His eyes perked up hearing that and I wanted to throttle her right then and there.

  “Uh, yeah. We’re still on. Ethan’s excited to see you.” I couldn’t help the smile that came over my face at his name. Paul was looking at me and I could tell he noticed. My stomach churned at knowing what I’d soon have to tell him.

  She clapped her hands. “Oh, yay! I can’t wait to see him. I need to get my hands on that boy,” she said, chuckling. She then looked over to Paul. “Are you coming?”

  He looked at me. “I wasn’t invited,” he said with something that sounded like hurt in his voice.

  I felt horrible, but I had no desire to spend the evening with the man whose heart I would soon break. I couldn’t think of a worse situation to be in.

  “Of course you’re invited,” I said, completely dying inside.

  He gave me a look that told me he knew I was full of it. “Then I’ll be there.”

  Missy clapped her hands again and told us she’d see us then, practically skipping out of the office. I looked after her, willing her to come back and save me from being alone with Paul, but of course she didn’t. I decided then that I needed to use the restroom and started heading that way.

  His hand reached out and grabbed my wrist so fast I gasped in surprise. He turned me to face him, his other hand going to my lower back. I looked out the door that Missy had left open and thankfully didn’t see anyone there.

  “So, when were you going to invite me to this little get-together?” he asked as he pulled me closer to him.

  I resisted. “Um, soon?” I said, having it come out as a question.

  He smiled and led me down the hall, around the corner by the restroom. “Liar,” he said as he lowered his head and started kissing my neck.

  I placed my hands on his chest and pushed. I knew I no longer wanted this. He smiled at me, leaning down to try again. I turned my head to the side, doing my best not to burst out and tell him we were over. I had to wait until after our meeting with Mr. Halliday. I needed Paul to focus on that so we could do our best to try to convince him to let us help him. Paul wouldn’t have any of it, though. He grabbed my hand and started kissing my wrist.

  “You had no intention of inviting me, did you?” he asked between kisses.

  “Uh, yes I did,” I told him, trying to yank my arm away. He held on, giving me a challenging look as he kept going. He had just started traveling higher when I heard a voice down the hall.

  We both whipped our heads in the direction at the same time. Paul coughed, nodded his head downward, indicating he had a problem. I looked and instantly blushed when I saw what his problem was. He chuckled aga
in as he went into the men’s room and I walked back toward the office to see who was there.

  When I reached the waiting area, I stopped in my tracks. There on his phone, was none other than Walter Hammond, Casey’s father. He saw me as I came into view and his face darkened. He turned around to finish his conversation and all I wanted to do was go to the restroom to throw up.

  I continued to my desk, doing my best not to show Mr. Hammond how nervous I was. He kept his back to me, finishing his phone call, one that didn’t seem to be going too well. Paul walked back in and froze when he saw Walter. He shot me a look and I just shrugged.

  Mr. Hammond ended his phone call and turned back around. He noticed Paul and walked over to him, extending his hand. “Paul,” he said curtly.

  Paul shook it back asking, “Hello, Walter. What are you doing here, if you don’t mind my asking?”

  Walter gave a little grin. “Why don’t we go into your office and I’ll tell you.” He turned and walked by me, never acknowledging my presence. Paul followed him, giving me a look of pure annoyance.

  They stayed in there for over an hour. I could hear their tones rise here and there, but couldn’t quite hear what was going on. Walter opened the door and stormed out, never looking behind him.

  “Aly, come in here please,” Paul beckoned.

  I got up and walked into his office. “Shut the door,” he said. I closed it and sat down.

  I waited for Paul to tell me what he needed when he suddenly pounded his fist on his desk and ran his hands through his hair. I jumped at the sound, but didn’t say anything. He let out a breath and looked at me.

  “Well, it seems as though Walter isn’t too happy I broke up with his little girl and is threatening to pull all of his funding from Pierce Homes.” He pounded his fist on the desk again. He then stood up and walked over to look out the window. His shoulders were tense and I could hear him muttering under his breath.

  I decided to stay seated, even though I wanted nothing more than to go over and try to comfort him. “He can’t do that Paul,” I said, thinking about it.

  He uttered a hollow laugh. “Oh he can, and he will.”

  “Isn’t there something you can do? Some way to show it’s like bribing?”

  He turned around. “Bribing? Are you kidding? He doesn’t have to donate a dime to Pierce Homes if he doesn’t want to and he’s allowed to pull what he has donated at the drop of a hat. There are no rules as to why, Aly.”

  I sat there, stung by his words, but I knew they were true. I couldn’t help but feel this was entirely my fault and all I wanted to do was cry. I turned away from his glare and tried to figure out some way to fix this.

  “He told me if I take Casey back, he won’t do it.”

  My head shot to him at that. He looked devastated. “What did you say?” I asked.

  “I told him I wouldn’t. I told him I didn’t love his daughter and did what was best for both of us.”

  Relief rushed through me. He continued looking at me. There was more. “What is it?” I asked.

  “He obviously didn’t like hearing that, but he said he expected it. He told me Casey has been a wreck ever since I dumped her, as he put it. I apologized saying that was never my intention to hurt her. He then said he had one more condition.”

  I waited for him to tell me, but he stayed silent. Whatever it was, I knew it was bad, otherwise he would have said. I started to stand, but he held up a hand.

  “Don’t, just stay there Aly,” he said curtly.

  I sat back down, hurt. I started twirling my hair around my finger. His eyes darkened even more, but I didn’t care.

  “What is the other condition?” I asked.

  He ran his hands down his face, turning back to look out the window. “To get rid of you,” he said, barely above a whisper.

  I sat there, stunned. Get rid of me? “Why in the world would he want you to do that?” I asked, shaking.

  He didn’t turn around to face me. “Because Casey’s convinced I dumped her for you.”

  I was speechless. This was out of control. Paul was going to lose a major benefactor for his company if he didn’t take Casey back or get rid of me. I couldn’t believe this was happening.

  I stood. I had to get out of there. Everything was falling apart and it was my fault. I couldn’t let Paul lose one of his biggest benefactors because of me. While I knew Mr. Hammond was an ass, he still held the cards at the moment.

  I headed toward the door. The room was stifling. I needed some air. “Where are you going?” he asked me.

  I paused, keeping my back to him. “I have to go. I need some air. I’ll respect whatever decision you make, Paul,” I said as I dashed out the door.

  He called after me, but I didn’t stop. I kept walking, almost running to gain the distance I needed between us. I found myself at the elevator, and I pushed the up button without realizing it.

  I stepped inside and pushed the top floor button. I needed to get outside, and the rooftop was where I wanted to go. The elevator arrived and I walked out, pushing through the door.

  Paul had the roof set up as a place to hang out for a relaxing time. Tables and chairs were set all around, along with a few BBQ grills. Plants were everywhere, giving it a homey feel. Umbrellas adorned the tables on summer days, as it was right now. There were a few chaise lounges and swings as well. I sat on one of the swings and pushed back and forth with my legs. The light breeze hit my face and managed to soothe me, just a little.

  I couldn’t believe the new situation I was in. I’d finally realized who I was meant to be with and now this. I hadn’t thought about whether or not I would stay working for Paul once I told him but now it looked like the decision was being made for me. I resisted the urge to slam my fist against the armrest and instead just leaned my head back and closed my eyes.

  I sat there for a while longer, swinging back and forth, the sounds of the city passing me by. I didn’t hear him come up behind me and jumped when I felt his hand on my shoulder. He gave it a squeeze then came to sit down beside me.

  “I thought I’d find you here,” Ethan said, joining me in pushing the swing back and forth with our legs.

  I continued looking forward. “Why were you even looking?” I asked.

  He sighed. “I went to your office to ask Paul a question on the Glendale project and noticed you weren’t there. You still weren’t there when I walked out so I asked him where you were. He told me he didn’t know, but told me what happened with Mr. Hammond.”

  The tears finally came, and I put my hands over my face. I felt him pull me close, wrapping his arms around me and letting me cry. He didn’t say anything as he held me, continuing to push the swing with his feet.

  We stayed that way for what seemed like hours, neither of us uttering a word. I finally stopped crying. I was sniffling and doing my best to stop my nose from running. The thought of not working at Pierce Homes anymore was killing me, but I didn’t see any other way.

  Ethan turned me to face him. “You okay?” He was looking at me with such love and tenderness.

  “No, but I know what I have to do,” I answered.

  He gave me a quizzical look. “What do you mean?”

  I let out a sigh and started twirling my hair around my finger. “I am going to resign.”

  His eyes widened. “You’re what?”

  I started nodding. “I have to, Ethan. I will not be the reason Paul loses one of his biggest benefactors. My mind is made up.”

  He held onto me. “You listen to me. This is ridiculous, and I know Paul would tell you the same thing. You should never give into blackmail. You need to stay strong. Paul has plenty of benefactors, he will survive if Mr. Hammond follows through on his threat.”

  I shook my head. “But I can’t be the reason why he withdraws his financial support, Ethan. I can’t. I’m going to go tell Paul right now,” I said, starting to stand.

  Ethan pulled me back down. “Don’t, Aly,” he said. “Listen to me, don’t do anyt
hing you’ll regret. You’re upset. Plus, with what just happened between us at lunch, you’re going to have to deal with Paul soon anyway. We don’t know if you’ll continue working here after you tell him about us, just don’t do anything right now.

  “I have to, Ethan. Don’t you see? I’m going to be hurting Paul when I tell him about us, I can’t be responsible for him losing Mr. Hammond’s funding too.”

  Ethan sat back and sighed. “I understand why you feel that way but I still think you shouldn’t make a decision this big until after you’ve told Paul about us. Mr. Hammond is an ass to do this as well, don’t give into that.”

  “I hate that I have to, believe me. But I cannot live with myself for being the reason Paul loses such a big benefactor, especially when I will be breaking his heart. Trust me, I know what I’m doing.”

  When I stood to leave, Ethan didn’t stop me. I leaned down and kissed him. He held onto my hand and finally dropped it when I walked away. Looking back, I could see him staring after me, sadness on his face.

  When I got back to the office, Paul was on the phone. When he saw me, he stood. “I’ll have to call you back,” he told whomever he was talking to.

  I went to the doorway and stopped. “Do you have a minute?” I asked him.

  His eyes softened. “Of course I do,” he said, walking around and perching himself on his desk.

  I shut the door and walked toward him. I stayed standing and smoothed out my skirt. I raised my head to look at him, and saw him watching me.

  I took a deep breath. “I’ve thought about it, and I feel it best that I resign,” I stated firmly.

  His eyes widened in shock and he started to shake his head, coming toward me. I lifted a hand and backed up a few steps. I couldn’t do this if he got any closer.

  “Aly, no. I won’t let you,” he said quietly. Although he’d stopped walking toward me, he reached out his hand. “Please, it kills me you were even considering this. I won’t let you,” he said again.

  I stayed strong. “Well thank goodness it’s not up to you, Paul. I’ve made up my mind. I refuse to be the reason your company loses a huge benefactor. I cannot have that on my shoulders.”