Friends with Benefits

by Amy Brent

  “You know, I always had a feeling about you two,” Louise said.

  “What do you mean?” Wesley asked.

  “All the way back in high school, when the two of you dated. I knew she was smitten with you, and I just knew the two of you were gonna marry right out of high school.”

  “Wait, what?” I asked.

  “Yeah!” she said. “My gosh, Wesley. It broke my heart when you left her. She was in love with you, you know.”

  “Mom,” I said, blushing.

  “Well, I was in love with her, too,” he said. “I was also a very jaded seventeen-year-old boy. I hope you can forgive me for what I did to her.”

  “Oh, all you did was break up with her,” my mother said. “She was bound to get her heart broken at some point in time. It’s something that happens when you grow up and discover what love is. I’m just glad the two of you have found your way back to one another. Honestly, I don’t think she ever really let you go.”

  “Mom, are you really doing this?” I asked.

  “No, Olive, let your mother speak,” Wesley said, grinning.

  “Yes, let the old woman speak,” Louise said as she sat everything on the table.

  “You don’t look a day over forty, Miss Louise,” Wesley said.

  “And you’re full of shit, but I’ll take it,” Louise said. “I know the two of you didn’t date for very long. Officially, anyway, whatever that means. Honestly, I’ve been waiting for Olivia to find someone to settle down with. She’s too cooped up in that office all day to find someone to bring home.”

  “Mother. For goodness sake! I don’t need a man to be happy or to take care of me.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with taking care of you, or happiness for that matter. It’s got to do with your father.”

  “Here we go,” I said, groaning.

  “I don’t know if you know the whole story, but that’s how she got started with all this detective stuff,” my mother said. “I was too blind to see what was in front of me, so she brought the pieces together. Downloaded his phone records, got into his laptop, stole his phone. Printed off everything before she brought it to me, and I was still not willing to believe her until later.”

  “Sounds like the Olivia I know,” Wesley said.

  “And, I can’t help but think the reason she shut herself off from the world was because of all that. Like, maybe she didn’t want to settle down because she saw what her father did.”

  I threw my head back and laughed before I brought my mug of coffee to my lips. If anything, I had cooped herself up because of how Wesley had broken my heart. But I felt everyone had experienced enough truth dropped into their lap for one day, so I bit back my statement and kept it to myself.

  “Anyway, it’s wonderful to see you again, Wesley, and I’m glad it’s under these circumstances,” Louise said.

  “It’s wonderful to see you, too. And, for what it’s worth, I’m sorry for hurting Olivia like I did back in high school. I want you to know it’s not going to happen again.”

  “Oh no, it won’t. I promise you. Because if it does, you’ll quickly realize where she got her skills from,” Louise said.

  Wesley’s eyes widened, and I couldn’t help but giggle again. I tipped my coffee up to my lips as I stifled my grin, but then I felt Wesley’s hand drift over to my knee. He squeezed it reassuringly, like he was reiterating his statement. He wanted me to know he wasn’t going to hurt me. He wanted to make this work.

  And I got his message loud and clear.

  “Miss Louise, how much do you know about how Olivia and I rekindled our relationship?”

  “Probably more than you want me to know,” Louise said.

  “So, you know about the women,” he said.

  “I know about one particular woman who’s after you, yes,” Louise said.

  “Then, you won’t mind if I have a conversation at the table with Olivia about it?” he asked.

  “Not at all,” she said. “I’ll just take my coffee into the other room. Come sit with me for a bit once you’re done.”

  I furrowed my brow as Wesley’s hand slid from my thigh. My attention was fully turned to him now, and I felt panic rise in my throat. Wesley’s confident gaze had slowly tumbled into one of unsolicited fear, and I set my coffee cup down before I took his hand.

  “Wes. What’s happened?”

  “Yesterday, before I got on the road to come find you, Destiny showed up at the bar.”

  “She did not,” I said.

  “She did. And she said a lot of things that have me thinking.”

  “What did she say to you?”

  “She told me I was going to pay for what I did. That she’d somehow find the evidence you weren’t willing to hand over and throw me in jail forever. Then she told me she was going to kill me.”

  “Wait a second,” I said. “She threatened your life?”

  “I think her exact words were, ‘I’ll kill you for what you’ve done to me and my son.’”

  “Fuck,” I breathed. “All right. What was her demeanor like?”

  “She was screaming. You can call Chad, and he can vouch for me. He was right there when it happened. She was yelling and pointing, puffing up to me. At one point, I actually thought she was going to hit me in front of everyone. Not that I don’t deserve it, but still.”

  “Wes, I need to ask you an important question. Not because I’m still working your case, but because I’m not. I had a meeting with her in LA, and I told her—”

  “I know you’re not working it anymore, Olive,” he said. “What’s your question?”

  “Do you still have that money?”

  I studied his eyes while Wesley grazed over my body. I knew he was still analyzing me, still trying to figure out what was going on. I couldn’t imagine the way his mind must’ve been swirling, so I cupped his cheeks and brought his gaze back to my face.

  “Because if you do still have the money, you can go pluck it from wherever you put it without my knowledge. I could have it delivered back to my place, so she couldn’t pin you for having her possessions any longer. Then, I could place a call to Nelson. He’ll help us with this, especially if you’re willing to give the money back.”

  “I can do that,” Wesley said.

  “All right. Here’s what we’re gonna do. We’re gonna finish breakfast, and then, we’re gonna head out. We can come see my mom another time. She’ll understand. You go wherever and put all the money you took from her in an envelope. Then, call me. By that time, I’ll have things settled with Nelson, and we’ll both deliver everything to her. She won’t know what hit her, and she won’t have any more evidence on you.”

  “I love you, Olive,” he said.

  “And I love you. Now, let’s dig you out of this hole, so we can work on other things, huh?”

  I finished my breakfast before Wesley and I hugged my mother goodbye. She waved us off as we drove away in our respective vehicles. I followed behind Wesley for most of the trip, but the moment we hit the Malibu city speed limit, I took out my cell phone.

  “Nelson Wainwright’s office. How can I help you?”

  “Mrs. Wainwright. It’s Olivia. Is Nelson busy?”

  “Not too busy for you,” she said. “Is everything all right?”

  “I need you to patch me through to him quickly,” I said.

  The phone beeped in my ear before Nelson picked up, but before he could even get a word in edgewise, I launched into the speech I’d been rehearsing for the past three hours.

  “I don’t have a lot of time to explain, and I need your help. I backed off the case I was talking to you about, but now I have to help Wesley. He’s going to be returning Destiny’s possessions back to her, but she came to his work yesterday, threatening him. She was yelling at him, harassing him at work, and threatened his life for what he did to her. She was screaming and belligerent, and she had to be escorted from the premises. With him giving back her possessions that he took, what type of legal right does he have?”


  “More than you could ever realize, especially since you can’t pin any of the other women onto him,” Nelson said. “With what you’ve given me, I can have a quick document drawn up that countersues this woman for more than she’d ever be able to afford. If I’m still thinking of the right woman, many of her assets are still tied up in escrow I’m still trying to get released.”

  “So, you remember Destiny’s case?” I asked.

  “How could I forget? She was loud then, and it seems as if she’s still a boisterous person. It’s fine to be angry, but it’s another thing to go to someone’s workplace and threaten their life, whether she was emotional or not. I’ll draw up something to scare her. How quickly can you get over here?”

  “I’m still thirty minutes out,” I said.

  “Perfect. I’ll be waiting for you outside. I’ll sign it and everything so it’ll be ready to go.”

  “Thank you so much, Nelson. I’m serious.”

  “Olivia, I’ve only ever seen you stick your neck out for someone like this once. If there’s one thing I’ve never questioned about you, it’s your judgment. If you tell me this man’s life has been threatened and you feel you need official paperwork to make her back off, then I believe you.”

  “I’ll see you soon, Nelson.”

  “Drive safe.”

  I got a text from Wesley just as I was pulling up to Nelson’s office. The text told me he had everything in an envelope, and he was wondering where to go next. I told him to stay put until I had the documents from Nelson. Then, I got out of my car and met him on the sidewalk.

  “Hey there, Nelson.”

  “Olivia. These papers state that you’re countersuing for defamation of character, harassment, conflict of interest, slander, intimidation, attempted assault, and threatening death or bodily harm. The last one alone comes with a maximum of five years in most states, so make sure that’s clear to her. Even if she wanted to take this to court, she’d been looking at a very lengthy process with a detailed investigation, and even with a mediocre lawyer, it would cost her thousands of dollars without any guarantee she’d win.”

  “Holy hell, Nelson. Thank you so much.” I threw my arms around the man. I felt his back stand up straight, his arms stiff at his sides. I knew Nelson wasn’t the kind to show affection to anyone other than his wife, but I couldn’t help it. I knew this would all put a stop to the show that had started two weeks ago, and I was ready to put this behind me.

  “If she does pursue this, for any reason, send your guy my way,” Nelson said.

  “I will. And again, thank you so much.”

  “Good luck,” he said.

  I shot Wesley a text with Destiny’s address. We’d have to backtrack all the way to Los Angeles, but I knew it would be worth it. By the time I pulled up into Destiny’s driveway, Wesley was already parked and waiting.

  I also saw Destiny peeking out of her bedroom window.

  I got out of my car and motioned for Wesley to follow. He stepped out with a bulging manila envelope, which he promptly handed to me before we started for her front door. I raised my hand to ring the doorbell, my hand shaking as it approached the device, but before I could ring it, Destiny whipped the door open.

  “What the fuck do the two of you want?” Destiny hissed.

  “Two things,” I began. “First, here are your things. I promised you I would get them to you, so here they are.”

  “You’re a piece of shit,” Destiny said to Wesley. “I should have you shot.”

  “And this little piece of paperwork is for legal purposes.”

  “What the fuck is it?” Destiny asked.

  “It’s a piece of paper countersuing you for the way you approached my client after being told to stand down.”

  “Your client?” Destiny asked.

  “Should you choose to press charges, this is what we will countersue you with. Intimidation, harassment, but the last one is the threatening of someone’s life. You now have two counts against you with that little comment you just made, and that carries a maximum sentence of ten years in most states.”

  “You can’t fucking be serious, Olivia. This is bullshit. He fucking stole from me!”

  “And now he’s returned it,” I said. “You can count every cent.”

  “I even threw in interest in there, for the fees you’ll incur on your credit cards for the withdrawals that were made,” Wesley said.

  “I don’t want your fucking money,” she said. “I want you to rot for what you did to me.”

  “Then, press charges,” I said. “Those are the charges we will countersue with, but understand it will take a while. Months, probably even years, before it gets into court, and every single cent you pay to a lawyer will have to be provided by you until you can take us to court to see if you’ll win. But judging by all the witnesses at the bar who heard you threaten my client’s life, the jury probably won’t see it your way.”

  “You two fucking deserve each other,” Destiny said. “The both of you are just pieces of work.”

  “I promised you I would get your stuff back, and I did. I’m placing a call to your credit card company in the next couple of days to reverse the transactions on your cards, so not only will your cards be back to their original balances, but you have all that money there in your possession. Take the win, Destiny.”

  “You’re a fucking bitch, you know that?” Destiny asked.

  “And maybe take some anger management courses. That’s going to really get you into trouble if you don’t watch it, Destiny.”

  And with that, I turned my back, took Wesley’s hand, and started for my car. Destiny was yelling behind us, drawing attention from her neighbors as they stepped out onto their porches. In my mind, they were simply more witnesses to her volatile nature. If she did press charges, she wouldn’t make it past the first round of hearings before she would tank her own damn trial.

  “Thank you, Olivia,” Wesley said. “I have no idea how I’m going to repay you for what you just did for me.”

  “Oh, I have a few things in mind,” I said, winking.

  “Oh, really?” he asked. “And may I ask what they are?”

  “Maybe later. Right now, her voice is ringing my ears, and I’m ready to go home.”

  “Then, let’s get you home, beautiful.”

  Chapter 31

  Wesley

  I woke up Tuesday afternoon and drove straight to work. I couldn’t wait to tell Chad about everything that happened, especially since it was Chad’s advice that had kept me on the road with Olivia. Without Chad pushing me toward her, no matter the type of turns it took, I wouldn’t have made it this far with her. I never would’ve gotten to a point where I could ever utter those beautiful words to her, and I wanted to fill my friend in on everything.

  “Hey there, champ,” he said. “Need a drink?”

  “A celebratory drink, yes,” I said.

  “Oh, celebrating are we? And what is the special occasion?”

  “I told Olivia I loved her.”

  Chad’s eyes widened before he got to work behind the bar. He put down the syrups he was filling and began making us both margaritas. He added an extra shot of tequila each before he rounded the bar, and then he sat next to me before we clinked plastic cups.

  “To admitting the truth,” Chad said.

  “To the next leg of the race,” I said.

  “So, what happened? When did all this take place?”

  “Over the weekend, like you told me I should do.”

  “Nice to know I’m finally being listened to,” he said. “So, what was the grand gesture?”

  “I tracked her down to her mother’s and drove over to see her.”

  “Oh, shit,” he said. “You met the mom, too?”

  “Well, you gotta understand I wasn’t meeting her for the first time. I met her all the way back in high school.”

  “Oh, yeah. I keep forgetting you two go way back. So, how’d you find her?”

  “A quick search
on the internet refreshed my memory of where her mother lived,” I said. “Then, I just drove. Got there at almost two o’clock Monday morning, and she met me out on the porch. I think she heard me pull up or something.”

  “Did you jump her bones and give her a sloppy kiss?” Chad asked.

  “No, that was later. I did give her the spiel, though. About how I was sorry for breaking her heart in high school and how I was an idiot back then. I didn’t want to make the same mistake twice, so I came for her. And I told her that. Then, I told her I loved her.”

  “How’d she take it?” Chad asked.

  “She said it back, dude,” I said, smiling.

  “Oh, you should see the goofy smile on your face right now,” he said, smiling. “Did you stay there with her and her mom?”

  “Oh, I most certainly did. We defiled her childhood room like we’d wanted to so many times in high school. It was incredible.”

  “Of course, you did,” he said. “Seems both of you get off on that risky shit.”

  “And it’s a different facet of her personality I’ll greatly enjoy exploring,” I said, grinning.

  “So, how did her mom take it? I assume you guys saw her the next morning, unless you snuck out like the little dog you are.”