He was the CEO of the company; if he had time to take a lunch break surely she did as well! Instead of insisting he let it go, but he wouldn’t do so anymore. He made a dinner reservation for them tonight at one of Devyn’s favorite restaurants. He would make her tell him what was going on.
* * * *
Nikola paced in front of the popular Brazilian Steakhouse, waiting for Devyn. She insisted on driving herself to the restaurant. He knew that wasn’t a good sign. He sighed. A few minutes later he saw Devyn crossing the street.
“You could have valeted. Where did you park?” He rushed to ask her, pulling her in for a kiss. She turned her head and his lips landed on her cheek. His grip tightened on her waist.
Looking down he asked, “Everything okay?”
She nodded. “Yes, I was just running a little late. I parked in the lot around the corner.” She smiled, but he knew her face well. It was a strained effort.
“Devyn, I cou–.”
She waved him off. “Nikola, it’s okay,” she pulled out of his embrace. Nikola grabbed her hand and escorted her in the restaurant.
With each passing second Nikola grew tenser. Devyn barely made eye contact with him throughout their meal. Conversation between them was stilted. Their usual banter and back-and-forth was nonexistent. He could feel the tension coiled within Devyn, as if any little thing would cause her to stand and rush out of the restaurant. He wanted to reach out and pull her into his lap, have her smile at him the way she only did for him and tell him everything was okay. He needed that.
Nikola wracked his brain to try and figure out if he had done something wrong or neglected her in some way. He knew his Devyn; she would have told him if he had been an ass.
At the end of their meal, Nikola escorted Devyn out of the restaurant. “Are you going to follow me home, or do you want me to follow you home so you can drop your car off?” He asked fully intending for her to spend the weekend with him. He noticed a look pass over Devyn’s face that made his gut clench. She dipped her head.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” She stated in a low voice.
“What? Me following you? We can go straight to my place then.” Nikola knew this conversation wasn’t going to end well, but he tried to play it casual.
“No, me coming over tonight.”
“Why not?” He stepped closer and lifted her chin with his finger when she tried to step away from him.
“Devyn, what’s wrong? And don’t tell me nothing. You’ve been avoiding me for days now and you won’t come home with me. What’s the matter?” Nikola’s heard the strain in his own voice. He watched as Devyn’s eyes became glassy with unshed tears.
“I just...” She hesitated. “I just don’t think it’s a good idea for us to see each other anymore.” Nikola felt as if he’d been kicked in the stomach. He was speechless for a few moments.
“What? What are you saying?” His voice tight.
Devyn blew out a breath. “I think we should stop seeing each other. It’s getting too complicated.”
“Too complicated?” He was completely thrown for a loop.
Just last week everything was fine. Sure, their relationship progressed quickly, but it felt right. He believed in following his instincts and every one of his instincts told him Devyn Williams was the one for him. Nikola didn’t believe in waiting around or being patient when he really wanted something. It’s not how he was taught to do business or live his life. Once he finally had Devyn there was no way he could take anything slow. She was it for him.
“I...uh…” She sighed. “I just think it’s for the best.”
“That’s not an explanation, Devyn.” He tried to keep the frustration out of his voice.
“I just...It’s gotten too complicated. We’re together all the time. I was practically living with you. I feel like I’m losing myself.” Devyn stepped back and lowered her head.
“It was never my intention to smother you. We can take it slower if you’d like.” The words pained Nikola to say, but he would do it if that’s what Devyn needed.
“You can’t take things slow Nikola. It’s not who you are. You’re the full-steam-ahead type of person. It’s why you’re so successful. I just...I can’t do this. I’m sorry,” she took another step back. Nikola felt his anger rise.
“Sorry for what? Leading me on? Having me believe everything was great between us and then discarding what we have as if it doesn’t mean shit to you?” Nikola knew he was losing the thin thread of control he had over his anger. He felt out of his depth.
“I-I’m sorry, Nikola. This isn’t what I wanted to happen. It’s...this is for the best. Please, just let it go.” Devyn turned to walk away. Before Devyn could take a full step, Nikola grabbed her by the arm, just hard enough to halt her movement, not to hurt her.
“Devyn, don’t do this. Whatever’s wrong, we can fix it,” he didn’t care that he was begging. He couldn’t let her walk away from him. Devyn didn’t turn to look at him.
“I’m sorry,” she said before freeing herself from his grasp and walking away.
Nikola could hear the tears in her voice as she said those two words and his own agony doubled. With every step she took away from him, the ache in his chest grew.
Nikola didn’t know how long he stood in that spot. He subconsciously willed Devyn to return to him and tell him it was just a cruel joke. That she didn’t mean what she said and they were okay. He needed that to be the case. After ten minutes of standing there, and the valet drivers asking if they could retrieve his vehicle, he finally gave in. She wasn’t coming back. Dejected, he handed the valet his ticket. When his car arrived, he drove home in a daze.
Chapter 25
Devyn slammed her laptop closed and almost hurled it across her living room. Every day for the last week, Marcus sent her a different picture or clip of one of the videos he secretly taped of them. She knew he was taunting her, holding his sick videos over her head to make her do what he wanted. She’d complied and broke up with Nikola. Why the hell couldn’t he just leave her alone?
The last week had been tortuous. Just the thought of Nikola brought a fresh wave of tears to Devyn’s eyes. This pain was much deeper than anything she experienced after she broke up with Marcus. The pain of her loss threatened to swallow her whole. For the past week, she’d done everything in her power to avoid Nikola at the office and elsewhere. He tried to call her and she reluctantly blocked his number. She knew if she saw his number on her phone or in her email she would cave. She couldn’t let that happen.
In addition to sending his emails, Marcus called her every few days, keeping tabs on her. He knew she broke up with Nikola outside of the restaurant that night. He watched her movements, she didn’t know how, because she never actually saw him, but he knew the times and places she went. Just thinking about him having her followed both scared the hell out of her and made her angry. Marcus had already taken five years of her life when they were together. Now, he was taking more. He caused her to lose Nikola.
Feeling dirty after seeing yet another one of Marcus’ emails, Devyn went to take a shower. It was a Friday night and she was scheduled to perform that evening, but she cancelled. She wasn’t sure she could ever get back on the stage again. The shame she felt at seeing Marcus’ pictures, caused her to recoil within herself. The thought of putting herself out there to perform was unbearable. She already felt stripped and exposed for the world because of Marcus’ duplicitousness.
Getting out of the shower, Devyn dried off and put on a pair of boy shorts and one of Nikola’s old West Point t-shirts, she’d stolen from his condo when they were still together. The shirt had his scent still in it, and it allowed her to still feel connected to him in some way. But his scent made her miss him even more.
Devyn cried herself to sleep, the same as she had done since the night she broke up with Nikola.
* * * *
The following Monday, Devyn was no better. She knew she had huge circles under her eyes from crying and la
ck of sleep for the last week. She did her best to cover the circles with makeup and paste a fake smile on her face, while her heart continued to break. Her disheveled appearance didn’t go unnoticed by Andre. Sometimes he could be as observant as his brother. He was a Collins’ after all. Andre asked her if she was okay repeatedly, throughout the morning. Devyn did her best to reassure him, but he only gave her a pitying look letting her know he didn’t buy it. When lunch came, instead of his usual lunch with Nikola, Andre decided to work through it, as he was going out of town later in the week, and needed to complete some work beforehand. Andre asked Devyn to have something delivered from the bistro around the corner. Devyn opted to call ahead and take the short walk to pick it up herself. She needed the short break from the office.
When Devyn entered the bistro, it was packed as usual during the busy lunch hour. Devyn was greeted by the hostess, who escorted her to the bar to wait for her order. She ordered both Andre’s and her lunch, figuring she would eat back at her desk. As she sat at the bar, she glanced around the restaurant which was almost filled to capacity. She looked over at one of the tables in the corner and her heart sank.
Sitting at a table for two was Nikola with the dark haired woman she knew he used to date. She looked at the woman, who was beautiful with her long dark hair, heart shaped face and big brown eyes. Devyn’s gaze slid down the woman and she saw her hand resting on top of Nikola’s. At that same moment, Nikola turned and looked directly at Devyn, her breath caught in her throat.
“Williams.”
She heard the waitress call her name for her order, pulling her out of her trance. Blinking she turned back to the waitress.
“Yes. Thank you.” Devyn quickly paid for her order and hurried out of the restaurant. When she got back to the office, she told Andre she wasn’t feeling well and asked to work from home the rest of the day. Giving her that same pitying look he asked if she needed anything. Waving him off and saying she just needed some rest, she tried to assure him she was fine. Devyn rarely took days off. Andre must have known it had something to do with Nikola.
“I can kick his ass for you, if you want,” he said, surprising Devyn.
“What?”
“If he did something. I know my big brother can be a jackass sometimes. I can kick his ass if you want me too.” This got a small smile from Devyn.
“That won’t be necessary. He didn’t do anything. I’m just not feeling well. A little rest and I will be fine.” Andre finally conceded and dropped it. He allowed her to work from home and made her promise to call him if she needed anything. Devyn wanted to tell him what she really needed was to erase the image of seeing Nikola having lunch with another woman, or better yet, go back almost seven years and tell her to stay the hell away from Marcus Thomas.
Devyn had to will herself not to cry in the car as she drove home. The thought of Nikola moving on with another woman shredded her inside. She knew she should want him to move on and be happy, but she couldn’t bring herself to wish that for him. Devyn climbed the stairs to her apartment and barely made it in her door before she burst into tears. Even though she told Andre she would work from home, she spent the rest of the day in bed watching sad movies on Netflix and crying.
Chapter 26
Nikola wanted to kick his own ass. He knew it was a bad idea to agree to eat lunch with Cindy the day before. When Andre cancelled, he opted to walk over to the bistro and have lunch alone, but he ran into Cindy and she begged him to have lunch with her. His desire to get away from the office is what made him finally give in. His office was ordinarily a space he loved going to, but since his breakup with Devyn, it felt like a prison. Knowing she was in the same building, a few floors down and that he couldn’t have her, left him feeling helpless. He hated that feeling.
He knew he loved Devyn. He couldn’t understand why she broke things off the way she did. He didn’t believe what she told him that night. He knew he could be overbearing at times, but Devyn let him know when it was too much. He never mentioned her quitting her performances after she shared why it was so important to her, and he’d even come to look forward to them. He learned to accept that part of her life, and he knew that while other men may ogle her, it was him she went home with at the end of the night. This past weekend he even went to The Black Kitty to watch her perform and try to talk to her, but she had cancelled her appearances. He wondered if it was to avoid him. She wasn’t answering his calls or emails, nor did she answer her door the few times he went to her apartment.
Cursing himself, he thought back to the moment in the restaurant the previous day, when he saw her staring at him and Cindy. The hurt in her eyes killed him. He wanted to run out and tell her that he felt nothing for Cindy and he only ate with Cindy to try and get his mind off Devyn. It was a useless venture. Looking at Cindy and talking with her, he only saw everything she wasn’t. She wasn’t Devyn. He knew he couldn’t go on like this. Picking up his phone, he had Connie dial Devyn’s desk and patch him through. He didn’t want to give Devyn the chance of seeing his office number and not picking up.
“Andre Collins’ office. This is Devyn, how can I help you?” He closed his eyes as a tingling ran down his spine at hearing the voice he hadn’t heard in more than a week.
“Devyn, I need you to come to my office,” he attempted to project a business tone. She must have been shocked because it took her a few moments to respond.
“I–I can’t. I have wor–”
“Now. Be here in five minutes. Your job may depend on it,” he said before hanging up. He knew there was no way he would fire her, lest he wanted to catch a sexual harassment lawsuit, but he needed to find some way to get her to his office. Everything else he tried had failed.
Less than five minutes later his phone rang. It was Connie letting him know Devyn was here to see him.
“Send her in, please.”
When Devyn entered his office, he couldn’t help but let his gaze run over her body. She wore a coral colored skirt that stopped at the knee, with a sheer black button up shirt and black heels. She was extremely beautiful, but Nikola saw the tension on her face. She tried to hide it with makeup, but he could still see the puffiness and circles under her eyes, indicating she hadn’t been sleeping that well. His chest tightened as he also saw a look of fear in her eyes. What was she afraid of?
“You wanted to see me?” She asked avoiding his gaze.
“Come in and close the door.”
“Nik–”
“Close the door.” He commanded softly. She did so.
Nikola stood from his desk and walked over to Devyn. He knew he shouldn’t but he had to kiss her; he had to feel her. It’d been too long since he had her in his arms. When he was right in front of her he reached out and pulled her into his embrace, lowering his head to nuzzle the spot between her neck and shoulder. Although still tense, Devyn let out a short moan and the sound shot straight to Nikola’s cock. He lifted his head and captured her lips in an unrelenting kiss. Devyn’s shocked gasp allowed him access to her mouth and he seized the opportunity. He kissed her with all the frustration and longing he’d had over the past eleven days. He felt Devyn relax slightly and she lifted her head, granting him better access to her mouth and surrendered to his kiss. In that moment he knew the reason she gave for leaving him was bullshit. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her.
Nikola pulled back from the kiss and traced her swollen lips with his finger. “I wasn’t on a date with Cindy,” Devyn’s eyes widened. She tried to step back, but Nikola held on to her.
“I am not dating her or anyone else.”
“Nikola, it’s none of my bus–.”
“Yes,” he said adamantly. “Yes, it is your business, because you’re the only one I want. Why did you leave me?”
“I told you why,” she said trembling in her voice.
“No, you gave me some bullshit excuse. I know you want me as much as I want you. Don’t lie to me.” His voice gruff with emotion.
“I-I ca
n’t.” A tear fell from her eye. Nikola wiped it up and the next one that fell.
“Tell me. Whatever it is we can fix it.” He knew something was wrong. Something or someone was keeping her from him and he was determined to find out what it was.
Devyn dipped her head as she began to tremble in his arms. Nikola lifted her head and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Tell me.” He whispered. “I’m not letting you go. Whatever it is, I will find out.” Devyn closed her eyes and leaned into his chest.
“I wish I never met him.”
Devyn said it so low, Nikola almost missed it. He wondered for a second who the “him” she was referring to was.
“Who baby? Tell me who he is.”
“Marcus.” Devyn croaked out. Nikola’s grip around her waist tightened even more and he gritted his teeth. Her asshole ex was behind whatever reason she had for leaving him. Nikola knew in that moment he would destroy the man who caused Devyn hurt and pain.
“What did he do?”
Devyn shook her head. “I can’t say.”
She looked away as if embarrassed. Nikola cupped the sides of her face and put his forehead against hers. “Trust me. There’s nothing you could do that would make me give you up. Tell me.”
Devyn blew out a breath as her shaking hand came up to push her hair out of her face. Nikola grabbed her hand and pressed his lips to the inside of her palm. “Tell me.”
She swallowed. “He-he has videos and pictures of me. Of him and I – when we were together.” She paused as if the words caused her pain to get out. “He threatened to release the videos if I didn’t leave you.” She stepped back and Nikola let her.
Black Pearl: a BBW, BWWM, Alpha Male romance Page 12
