From That Moment: A Promise Me Novel

by Ryan, Carrie Ann

  “You’re just going to let her talk to you like that?”

  My shoulders tensed at the voice behind me, and Prior’s jaw clenched. Prior spoke first, thankfully, because I wanted to scream. “We were kidding, Benji. Get back to your desk.”

  “You’re not the boss of me. What the hell is with you two? I knew you guys were fucking, but I didn’t realize you guys were going to fuck all of us over.”

  I rolled on him. “What on earth do you mean?”

  “About you guys fucking? Everyone knows it. We’re all talking about it.”

  I looked past him at the others on our floor, and they shifted from foot to foot, not looking at me.

  Oh, so that’s how it was. Maybe I needed to leave and get a new job. This was too much.

  “It’s none of your business.” Prior sounded calm and cool, but I knew he was anything but. He was as hot-headed as I was and had to force himself to hold it back like I was trying to do.

  “Seriously, Benji, just walk it off. Don’t say something you’re going to regret,” Prior added.

  “Look at you, a team. Is this how you got to where you are in your business?” Benji asked me. “Fucking your way to the top. I guess you’re a decent piece of ass, but you’re lucky that your little boyfriend will be gone. You’re going to be following right on his heels. After all, I already told George what you’ve been up to.”

  My hand shook at my side, and I could feel Prior coming up behind me. I held up my hand, hoping that he would see that I could handle this. And I was going to handle it.

  “I’m done.” My voice sounded calm to my ears, but anyone who knew me would be able to hear the rage.

  “You’re finally going to quit?” Benji asked, his eyes gleaming with a manic anger I didn’t understand. He’d had an alibi for the time I’d gotten attacked, but maybe it was a lie? Because that same sense of dread filled me when I looked at him, and my mouth went dry. I ignored all that and focused on what I needed to say.

  “I’m done taking this. I only did for this long because I thought if I ignored you, you would go away. But that hasn’t been the case. What you said right now? It was beyond inappropriate. I could sue you for your words alone. And everyone else on this floor, even if they won’t stand up for me, heard it.”

  “We did,” Susan, one of the only women on my floor said.

  “We did,” Trevor added. Warmth filled me, but I ignored it because I needed to focus on the horrible person in front of me.

  Benji scoffed. “So what? George loves me. We golf every weekend. I’m the one getting ahead in this company. Your little boyfriend or fuck buddy or whatever the hell he is, is leaving.”

  “I’m headed for a promotion, in fact. I’m not even going to be attached to this branch. So, we were never in a competition.”

  “Oh, fuck you, too. In case you haven’t gotten enough fucking from her.”

  I opened my mouth to say something and noticed that both Trevor and Susan had their phones out, recording everything.

  Well, they were going to stand up for me, and I would finally have proof of Benji’s bullshit. I was tired of this. And if George didn’t take what I had to say seriously? I might sue. Regardless, I was leaving. I’d find a new job. Work, even if I loved it, was not worth this.

  “I don’t know what you have against me, but this is cruel and beyond horrible. I do not have to take this anymore. And you can stop. You can walk away nicely, and I won’t sue you right this very moment.”

  “Big words for a big bitch.”

  Prior was there right behind me, but I stood in front of him, blocking his way.

  “Don’t hurt him, he wants to sue you.”

  “I don’t think the lawsuit will be from Benji,” a voice said from the elevator. I froze before I slowly turned to see our boss, George Haberman, walking towards us.

  I did not like George. He was part of the good old boys’ club, someone who had gotten this job because of his family and rarely worked. However, he usually let us do what we needed to do and made sure we had amazing projects that utilized my talent and fulfilled my mind.

  I hoped to hell he would be on my side about this.

  Benji puffed up like a peacock as though he hadn’t heard our boss’s words. “Hey, George, can you believe how she speaks to me? It’s like I’ve been telling you.”

  “You’ve been telling me a lot of things about Paris. And Prior. And a few other people around here. Why don’t you come with me to my office, Benji? We need to talk.”

  Benji looked nervous, his face going almost gray. “What do you mean? You can tell everybody about my upcoming promotion right here.”

  Promotion? This was the first I’d heard of it.

  “The papers weren’t signed, Benji. And for that, I’m grateful. We can do this right here, though, if you want. You’re fired. And, if we’re lucky, Paris will only sue you and not the whole company. Those recording this, I would love a copy. Benji? Come with me.”

  Everybody started talking at once, and then Prior was there, holding my hand for a bare instant, giving it a squeeze before letting go. I blinked, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do.

  I had a feeling my work situation had just gotten a thousand times better.

  In the end, though, I wanted to throw up.

  By the time I got home, I was exhausted and sweaty but relieved. Benji would no longer be with the company. I would not be suing George and the corporation as of yet. There would be more paperwork and other things that I would need to figure out with regards to Benji. George had even helped, offered to assist me with getting a restraining order against Benji, but I didn’t think that was necessary. Although Benji hated me for who knew what, reasons that I didn’t understand, I didn’t think he was the one who had attacked me.

  The fact that I still didn’t know who had, worried me. Honestly, I didn’t think it was him.

  Prior wasn’t going to be at the office anymore, and I kind of hated the fact that the little cake the office had bought, and the little going away party and been marred. However, there wasn’t anything we could do about that.

  We would all still see Prior if he ever showed up again at the building to work on other projects, something he had said he wanted to do. And I would see him any day I could. Because somehow, our relationship had turned serious.

  So serious that I thought maybe, if I let myself acknowledge it, I was falling in love with him.

  He had let me fight for myself, even when he wanted to be the one who screamed and shouted and hit.

  And maybe if we hadn’t been at work, I would’ve let him.

  I probably would’ve hit Benji as well, but that wouldn’t have stopped anything.

  Prior knew who I was and liked it. He saw my strengths and my weaknesses, and he didn’t put me down because of them. He helped me elevate myself somehow.

  I didn’t know how that had happened, how I found myself wanting to be near him even when we had just seen each other. Yet here I was, thinking about him as I sat in my house and waited for him to show up. We weren’t even going out on a date. We were going to make dinner together and watch a movie and probably make out and then go to bed.

  Okay, and have sex. I wanted some hot, dirty, sweaty, kinky sex.

  That’s what I loved.

  I thought maybe I was falling in love with him.

  I still couldn’t quite believe that I was sitting here on my couch, waiting for…gasp…my boyfriend to come to my house so we could have an at-home date.

  I had thought going on blind dates set up by my friends because of our pact would send me down a new path, and I had been right.

  I honestly didn’t think I would see Prior the way I was now if he hadn’t been there for those last two horrific dates.

  He had seen me at my most embarrassed, and my worst, and he hadn’t left.

  And that was everything.

  I didn’t know what would happen next with us or even with work now that Benji was gone. It felt like so
mething had shifted, it had changed.

  Maybe I could be happy.

  My doorbell rang, and I grinned, thinking of exactly what Prior and I would get up to later. I had been relaxing and thinking so much that I hadn’t started getting dinner ready. I liked messing with Prior near the fridge when we tried to figure out what we needed to make.

  Knowing us, we’d end up simply making out and ordering in.

  I wouldn’t mind that either.

  I opened the door without looking and froze.

  Screams filled my mind, bile coated my tongue, and I started shaking. My fingers dug into the wood of the door, and I forced myself to see the man in front of me.

  He looked as if he’d aged at least thirty years, even though it hadn’t been nearly that long. He had deep grooves near his eyes, deeper ones near his mouth from where he frowned, but no smile lines. He had gone bald on the sides, the rest of his hair now gray.

  He’d gained weight in his belly, yet still looked the same somehow. Maybe a little weaker.

  No, I was wrong.

  He looked smaller. Was it because he’d aged? Because I knew his fists couldn’t hurt me anymore? He was so different. He wasn’t the man of my nightmares, and yet, he was. Standing here in the flesh, holding me captive.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I croaked out, surprised how I could even speak at all.

  “I didn’t know if I should call first.”

  “Are you kidding me? Get out of here. I’m going to call the police. You can’t be here.”

  “I know. I know I’m not supposed to be here, and I won’t be here for that long. I need to talk to you.”

  If he was here, that meant he had broken his parole, right? He wasn’t allowed to be near me. Right? I couldn’t even remember the rules. Maybe he had done this before. Had he been the one to attack me?

  I started to shake and then went to close the door. I looked at his face, at the evident sorrow there, and all I felt was pity. Pity and fear, and I wanted this to end.

  A car pulled up behind mine, and Prior got out, confusion on his face. Then he narrowed his eyes and stormed towards us.

  “Paris?”

  “I’m okay. It’s just Skeeter. My dad.”

  I didn’t like calling him that. I had never mentioned my father’s name before, so Prior wouldn’t have known who I was talking about if I didn’t elaborate.

  He moved forward and stood between Skeeter and me.

  I put my hands on Prior’s back, catching my breath, his warmth seeping through my palms as I closed my eyes. I took in a deep breath, telling myself that I wasn’t in the same place I had been before. I wasn’t that little girl any longer. I wasn’t going to get hurt today. I had stood up to Benji, and I would have stood up to my boss if I’d needed to.

  I could stand up to the man who killed my baby sister.

  “You need to back the fuck off. Get off this property. We’re calling the cops right now.”

  “You have every right to call the cops and take me away. I just wanted to say I was sorry. Sorry for everything. Me telling you I’m a changed man isn’t going to do anything for you. I didn’t know how to write it down, I was never good with words. And I didn’t want to call because I’m selfish. Or maybe because I was scared. You don’t have to look at me again, Paris. You can stand behind your man, and I get that. Maybe I’d do the same if I had someone. I don’t. And that’s my fault, too. I’m sorry, Paris. I’m sorry for what I did to you. What I always did. I’m sorry for what I did to Tracey. I’m sorry that I lost her. I loved you guys.”

  “Shut up,” I said and moved around Prior. Prior’s jaw tightened. He didn’t push me back. I stood next to him instead of in front of him. He was going to let me fight my own battles. I wasn’t going to force him to watch me get hurt.

  “Don’t say her name. Don’t talk about her. You need to go.”

  “Fair enough. I own all of it. You can do whatever you want to me. I’m going to burn in hell for what I did, and I understand that. I wanted to let you know that I’m sorry, though. And I’m not going to be here any longer.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

  “Just want to let you know I’m not going to bother you anymore. No matter what. If I see you accidentally at a grocery store, I’ll leave. I’ll come nowhere near you, and I’ll never hurt you again. I wanted to tell you I’m sorry.”

  “Fine. You’re sorry. Now, go.”

  He looked at me again. This time, Prior had had enough. And I let him do what he needed to do.

  “You’re done. Go, before I do call the cops. You said your piece, she didn’t have to listen to you. If I ever see you again, I will let out all the rage that I’ve been holding in today. And you do not want to deal with that.”

  “I understand, son. Take good care of her.”

  “I’ll do a better job than you ever did,” Prior said, and I saw the words hit my father like a slap. I didn’t feel any joy in that, only pity.

  My father gave me one last look and then walked away. I had a feeling this would be the last time I ever saw him.

  He got into his old beat-up sedan and drove away, leaving me and Prior standing on my porch, my hands shaking.

  And then Prior was in front of me, his hands on my face as he studied me.

  “Baby?”

  “Thank you,” I whispered, and then I leaned into him, holding him close. I took in his scent, letting it soothe my nerves and breathed.

  I had faced the man who had killed my sister, the man of my nightmares, and I had made it. I had said what I needed to, and I would never see him again.

  As Prior held me, I thought of another thing that worried me.

  Because the man who stood in front of me had not been big enough, had not been wide enough, had not been strong enough.

  The man who was my father was not the person who had attacked me in the parking lot.

  So who the hell had it been?

  Chapter 15

  Prior

  I stood naked in my shower, my hand around my cock. I pumped it hard, the water turning lukewarm.

  “Harder.”

  The voice in the shower with me felt like a purr against my skin.

  “Any harder, and I’m going to squeeze myself blue,” I said into the phone. I had my phone on the shelf where water couldn’t get to it and was currently getting myself off while Paris did the same in her bed.

  I had been listening to music in the shower when she called, and one thing had led to another. Now, my cock was in my hand, and I was ready to blow.

  “What are you doing now?” I panted, barely able to breathe at this point.

  “I have one hand on my breast, the other’s playing with my clit. Will you help me? What would you do if you were here?”

  “I’d be between your legs, licking you, one sexy lap at a time. Teasing your clit, using my hands to slowly tease you open, blowing cool air on that wet pussy of yours. Because you’re always wet for me.”

  “Oh, I’m wet right now.”

  “Play with your clit and think of it as my tongue. I want to hear you come.”

  I had no idea how I was actually speaking or thinking right then because it was all I could do not to come immediately and fall in my shower.

  “Prior!”

  I could hear her coming, and that sent me over the edge. I shook, finishing myself off, and then I smiled.

  “That’s one way to wake up in the morning.”

  “It would have been better if it was your hand on me rather than mine. But we make do.”

  I smiled, thinking about what I was going to give her later that day. It had nothing to do with my dick.

  Okay, maybe a little bit had to do with my dick.

  “You headed over here soon?” I asked, wondering why I sounded so needy. Oh, right, because I was.

  “I have a few things to do around the house, and then I’ll be over. However, I will need something to eat. And not just your cock.”

&n
bsp; I barked out a laugh, even as I finished washing my hair in cold water.

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, I will eat your cock. First, however, I’m going to need food. And it’s tough to hear you over the shower, so I’ll see you soon.”

  “See you soon.”

  She ended the call, and I couldn’t help but wonder why I had felt the urge to say something more after “see you soon.”

  I love you?

  Right, that’s what I wanted to say.

  Hell.

  I loved Paris.

  Jesus Christ.

  The water was only getting colder, so I rinsed out the product from my hair and turned off the water. I got out of the shower and grabbed my phone on the way.

  I made sure that my phone was still dry, and then dried myself off, thinking about how quickly things had changed. And yet, maybe they hadn’t.

  I had been waiting for a serious relationship, even if I hadn’t actively been looking for one. I had thought I had that with Allison. Only we were simply two people who occasionally saw each other and fucked once in a while. It was crude, not the nicest thing to say, but it was the truth.

  We had never exchanged keys. We had never hung out just to…hang out. It always had to do with sex or her needing something from me.

  I hadn’t realized that until it was over. Now, it was a stark reminder that everything that I had with Paris was completely different.

  I was no longer working at her branch of the company, so I didn’t have to worry about any issues there. Things were going to get better for her at work now that Benji was gone. I didn’t want to think about that and swallowed the anger that rose.

  We were making inroads. And today, I was going to give her something that meant that.

  I only hoped that she was responsive to it. Of course, now that I thought about it, it sounded like I was overreacting and making a big deal out of something that could be normal practice. Sensible.

  Or too big of a step so quickly.

  I got dressed and went to see what I could make her for brunch. She’d had a girls’ night the night before, so she hadn’t stayed the night as we had originally planned. She needed girls’ time, and I understood that. So, I had hung out with the guys. Now, I was starving and couldn’t wait to see her.