Morgan, Nicole - Sweet Redemption [Sweet Awakenings 1] (Siren Publishing Allure)

by Неизвестный

“I don’t know, John, and no offense, but better you than me. He’s already taken my head off twice today.” Anna, who had worked at the gym for Jack for the past three years, had never seen him act like this. He was always a strict boss who pulled no punches, but today was different. There was an edge to him she hadn’t seen before, like a volcano right before it blows.

  Johnny sulked towards Jack’s office looking nervous. Turning the corner to enter the office, he slowly walked in. Jack pointed to the chair and indicated for Johnny to sit down. He did as instructed and waited. “Mr. Peyton, did I do something wrong? I haven’t missed any more work.”

  “Johnny, am I stupid?” Jack demanded. He didn’t miss the fact that the kid looked scared.

  “What? I don’t understand the question, Mr. Peyton, uh, sir?”

  Jack was backing him into a corner but he didn’t care. “Did I or did I not ask you to make sure there were always clean towels in the locker room for our members? I could have sworn I’ve made that clear to you on several occasions. But perhaps I didn’t. Maybe I’m so stupid I just thought I did, and this is really all my fault. Is that what is going on here, Johnny? Because I just had a member rip me a new asshole because there weren’t enough towels in the men’s locker room. So, which is it? Are you an incompetent idiot, or am I stupid?” Jack was glaring at Johnny. His anger was coming out of every pore. The kid was screwed no matter how he answered the question. It was a lose/lose situation for him.

  “Look, Mr…sir. I just put about three dozen clean towels in there about an hour ago. I really don’t know how we could have gone through all of them so quickly. I am truly sorry. If you let me, I will go fix that right now. I promise it won’t…”

  “Excuse me, Jack.” Mr. Collins, the member who had just screamed at him moments before, stood in his doorway.

  “Yes, Mr. Collins. What can I do for you? Is there another problem? What can I do to help?” Jack’s demeanor changed instantly, turning on the charm.

  “Well, this is a little embarrassing. After, I, ah, well, after I yelled at you, one of my friends pointed to another shelf by the showers. It was completely filled with towels. I have no excuse for my rude behavior. All I can say is I had a horrible night sleeping on the couch. I had a little too much to drink last night at a buddy’s house watching the game. And, after coming home way too late - without calling—my wife was not too happy with me. Anyway, I’m sorry. Hey, Johnny, how are Allison and the baby? She still doing okay?”

  Jack looked surprised. He hadn’t even known Johnny had a girlfriend named Allison, let alone the fact that she was pregnant until a few weeks ago. Here stood a member that not only spoke to Johnny as if they were old friends, but he obviously cared about Johnny’s predicament. Jack, you are such an ass!

  “She’s doing much better, Mr. Collins, thank you. And when you’re speaking again, please tell the Missus that we loved the afghan she made for the baby.”

  “You bet. Take care, and sorry again, Jack.” With that, Mr. Collins headed out of Jack’s office.

  Johnny didn’t know what to do. He wanted to jump up and tell Jack off. Tell him what an asshole he was half of the time. How more than half of his staff was afraid of him. He wanted to tell him to take this job and shove it, but he knew he couldn’t.

  “Johnny…I…why didn’t you tell me?” Jack looked puzzled.

  “I tried to, sir. You were yelling and wouldn’t listen. But I was sure that I had put enough towels in there and…”

  Jack held up his hand to stop Johnny. Oh, great, here it comes, he had said too much.

  “Not the towels, Johnny. Me. Why didn’t you tell me what a crappy boss I was? You’ve worked here for a couple of years now, and Anna has worked here for over three years. Someone should have told me!”

  “I, um, I, all right. Fine. You want the truth? I’ll give it to you.” What was he doing? He was talking faster and louder now and was dangerously close to losing his cool. “You are an overbearing asshole to work for. But you pay well, and quite honestly, I need the money now more than ever. Allison and I didn’t plan to get pregnant. It was an accident, but I love her, and she loves me. We can’t get married because she won’t do it without her father’s blessing. He’s a minister. She is twenty years old, and she still needs her daddy’s permission. Despite the fact that he has disowned her, she lives with me, and he has done nothing to support her in the past six months since we found out about the baby.”

  The floodgates had officially opened on Johnny’s temper. He was on a roll now. “You told me when I came back to work a few weeks ago after taking that week off that you didn’t even know I had a girlfriend, or that she was pregnant. Well, that’s pretty strange to me. I have introduced you to her twice, and you have denied countless requests for my time off to go with her to her OB-GYN appointments. So, yes, you are a crappy boss, and quite honestly, a crappy person. You have been yelling at people all day, and by the way, you look like hell. So there, I’m sure I’m fired now. Give me just five minutes to clear out my locker, and I’ll be on my way. No amount of money is worth working for an asshole like you!” Johnny said with such vehemence his voice shook. He stood to storm out of the office, and he felt Jack coming up behind him. Great, he’d just lost his job, and now his ex-boss was going to kick his ass.

  Jack slammed the door. “Sit down!”

  Johnny obeyed Jack’s order and sat. Jack took a moment and leaned back in his chair. He looked up at the ceiling to collect his thoughts.

  After taking a big sigh and staring at Johnny for a moment too long, he said, “Everything you said about me is true. I owe you and everyone else here an apology. You are my employees, not my verbal punching bags. I value your service to this gym, Johnny, and you are not fired, and I surely hope you don’t quit. The members enjoy having you around, and despite my earlier outburst, you apparently do follow through with the instructions I give you. As far as your girlfriend goes, I am sorry that I was so oblivious to what is important to you. You are an employee of mine, and if nothing else, it makes good business sense to have you happy in all aspects of your life. If you are happy, you will be more productive and do a better job. If you are upset, then you won’t do well. I am a perfect example of that today.”

  Johnny must already be dead. Jack had killed him, and Johnny was just imagining all of this. Jack Peyton didn’t apologize to anyone, ever. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”

  “Listen, why don’t I give you some money and you can go pick up one of those big party subs at the sub shop across the street. It’s almost lunchtime. Let this be a small token of my appreciation to all of you.” Jack handed Johnny five twenty-dollar bills.

  “I think this will be too much. I’ll bring you your change.”

  “You know, I don’t really feel like using a calculator to figure out what change you would owe me. I have an idea, since it sounds like I missed some sort of baby shower or something, why don’t you take what’s left and get what you and Allison still need. I hear diapers can be pretty expensive these days.” Jack grinned at the dumbfounded kid. Johnny smiled hesitantly and left the office before he was struck by lightning.

  Back at her apartment, Tamara spent all day getting ready for Jack. Brent had called her several times throughout the day. After the first call she answered, she told Brent she was going to go to bed, but that they would talk soon. When she told him that they needed to talk to make things clear between them, he told her he couldn’t agree more. She knew what he was thinking, but she didn’t care. All she wanted to focus on today was Jack.

  Now, she sat in front of his house waiting for him to come home. She thought about going to the gym and seeing him there, but she was worried there would be another fight before things got better, and she didn’t want an audience. It was already after six o’clock, and she had been waiting here for an hour. She didn’t care. She would wait all night if she had to. Jack was worth it.

  Chapter 13

  “Ouch, do you feel as bad as you
look?” Rex walked into Jack’s office and closed the door. He sat down on the chair opposite Jack and, as usual, put his feet up on the desk.

  “If I look like death, then I actually feel worse than I look.” Jack was tired, and his headache hadn’t subsided all day.

  “I would like to assume that you look this way because you were up all night making sweet love to that lady of yours. But, judging from that look in your eyes, I would say probably not.”

  “No, I didn’t get the chance. Her ex was at her apartment when I got there.” Jack took a moment to steady his breathing. He didn’t know if he would be able to say it out loud without breaking down. He didn’t want anyone to know that he was actually hurting, especially Rex. “She’s going to marry him.” There, he said it. “When I got there he was half dressed, or should I say undressed, and they were obviously about to…”

  Jack closed his eyes and hung his head. He would not show his weakness for Tamara. It was over, and that was that. He was her rebound. Big deal, he had been a rebound for other women. But those other women weren’t Tamara.

  Rex gawked at him in disbelief. “What?”

  “You heard me, man. Don’t make me rehash it again.”

  “Look, I don’t know what kind of drugs you are on, but there is no way that woman, your woman, is marrying that asshole! I only spent a few hours with her, and I know that. You spent a whole month with her! Are you crazy? You must be crazy if you think she is going to marry him. Why don’t you tell me exactly what she said, and start from the beginning.”

  Jack looked up at him. “I didn’t even get a chance to talk to her. I went to the door, and he answered and told me about…” Even as Jack said it, he couldn’t believe his own words. And judging from the look on Rex’s face, he was clearly thinking the same thing. That Jack was an idiot. He took the word of her lunatic ex-boyfriend and hadn’t even spoken to Tamara. Had she even been home? He hadn’t heard or seen her. “Shit! I am so stupid!”

  “You think?” Rex asked him bewildered. “Never in all the years I’ve known you, have you ever left things unfinished or undone.”

  “I have to get out of here and find her. I have to tell her I love her. I’ll see ya, man. Thanks!” Jack grabbed his keys and headed for his door. Rex put a foot up to block him from the door.

  “Wait a second, partner. Before you go off and profess your undying love to this woman, we need to talk.” Rex was serious. Jack sat down and eyed the man who was like a brother to him with curiosity.

  “Look, although I seriously doubt it, I want you to prepare yourself for the possibility that she might have slept with him and that maybe she agreed to marry him.” Rex put up his hand to silence Jack before he could argue. “Women tend to do some pretty desperate things sometimes when they are hurt. You really hurt her yesterday, man. If she did do either or both of those things, I am pretty certain that she regrets it. But you have to understand, if you really love her, that you might have driven her to do it. If that’s the case and you do love her, then you’re going to have to find a way to forgive her. Because, I’ll be honest with you, man, if she did do either or both of those things, it’s your own damn fault. You were horrible to her, you threw her away, and you treated her like a whore.”

  Jack didn’t think, he got up and punched Rex across the jaw with such force he fell back in his chair.

  “Shit, man, what the hell?”

  “Do you honestly expect me to listen to this crap about Tamara sleeping with another man and me having to take my lumps and accept it? The idea of her being touched in any way, by anyone, sickens me.” Jack hesitated, trying to rein in his temper. “Do you know what I did last night after I left her place?” Rex waited, rubbing his jaw, where Jack had slugged him.

  “No guesses? Well, I’ll tell you. I stopped by that liquor store on Highway 7, picked up a bottle of Jack, and thought I would go get shitfaced. Don’t look at me like that, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Anyway, I ran into this drunk chick. We met her a couple of times before at Flannagan’s. Don’t ask me her name, I couldn’t tell you. So, she follows me to my place. As soon as she gets there, she is telling me all of the things she’s going to do to me as she is literally ripping off my clothes. I get to the living room with her, she drops to her knees, and starts to give me what should have been a mind-blowing blow job. You wanna know what I did?” Jack was screaming his words. Rex waited for him to continue. Damn, his jaw hurt.

  “Nothing! I couldn’t get it up. She sucked on my dick, and I couldn’t get hard to save my life. All I kept thinking about was Tamara. I kept seeing that asshole standing in her doorway half naked, telling me they were getting married. It made me sick. I just wanted to see her, to touch her. I wanted her there with me, not just any warm and willing body, but her.” Jack slumped back in his chair.

  Defeated, that was the only word to describe the way he felt. Rex was looking at him like he was the shell of a broken man. And he was! The day that he, Jack Peyton couldn’t screw a woman was a sad, sad day indeed.

  Rex stood up and eyed his friend suspiciously. “If I speak honestly are you going to punch me again? What the hell. You’re like a brother to me, man. Here’s the deal, if you ever intend to get Tamara back and keep her, you’re going to have to tell her about that girl.”

  “Are you nuts? I can’t tell her, it would hurt her. I can’t ever tell her about that girl, ever!” Jack was yelling at Rex. He couldn’t believe Rex thought he should hurt Tamara more.

  “Sure, yeah, I understand, you’re right. What was I thinking? Seeing as how you were completely betrayed by her not telling you about a voice message from another man, I can totally see how it makes sense you not telling her about another woman on her knees, in your house, sucking on your cock.” Rex waited, giving time for Jack to see his point. “Shit, man, haven’t you ever heard of karma? If you don’t tell her and she finds out from someone else, you definitely will lose her for good! Don’t forget why she broke it off with the last guy.”

  Rex had a valid point, as much as Jack hated to admit it. But the idea of looking into Tamara’s eyes and telling her about this other woman pained him. He didn’t want to be the reason to cause her that kind of heartache, and he knew that it would. He knew because he felt it last night.

  “All right. Damn it, you’re right. I have to be the one to tell her. Do you have any other words of wisdom before I go find her?” Jack bit off the words, he was so angry with himself for causing this in the first place. He knew it should have never happened. He knew he was wrong. He just prayed it wouldn’t be too late.

  “Yeah, I have something to say to you about what happened five years ago in Columbia. And this time you’re gonna listen.”

  Jack snapped up his head and glared at Rex. Rex knew this could be trouble, but it had to be said. Jack finally had to deal with it and get over it.

  “I told you I didn’t want to talk about that, ever! We aren’t in the SEALS anymore, we’re not even in the damn Navy, so let it go!”

  “Damn it, Jack. I’m not going to let it go. That’s your damn problem. You don’t deal with it. How can I let it go when it still consumes you? You have had an issue with betrayal ever since that mission in Columbia. Until you deal with it, it will always haunt you. Columbia is the reason you lost it with Tamara in the bar last night. It wasn’t the fact that she kept a stupid voice mail from you. You know why she did it, and the reason makes sense. You lost it on her because you can’t let go of the fact that anyone you trust is going to betray you. I’m surprised that I’ve survived this long in your life. I think I’m the only person that has gotten close to you without you pushing me away. That’s the reason you never wanted anything to do with any of those women after you slept with them. You don’t want anyone to hurt you the way you think the U.S. Navy did.” Rex waited. This could go two ways. Jack could lose it and kill him, or he would talk. If Jack hauled off and hit him again, he would just have to take it. Enough was enough. This needed to be dealt with.<
br />
  Jack just stared at Rex. The anger in his eyes was evident. His temper was boiling right below the surface, then finally he blew. “Those orders to leave us there were a betrayal.” Jack was shouting. “They left us there to be captured, killed, or both, all because some asshole in the DOD didn’t want to own up to the fact that he had ordered us on that mission. It was bullshit, and you know it! It went against everything we were taught.” Jack had stopped, his breathing was erratic, his face was flushed, and he was sweating, despite the cool, air-conditioned room.

  This was for the best, Rex thought. He knew this was hard on Jack, but it was time to put the demons to rest. “Go on, finish, get it out. You’ll never be able to let go if you don’t.”

  Screaming, Jack picked up his computer monitor and slammed it down on the floor. Five years of hurt and betrayal by a government he loved had brought him to this point. “Our own captain sold us out, all because he was ordered to do so. I trusted him, you trusted him, we all trusted him! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, when we managed to make it out of there—not, of course, before we lost Jenkins and Rollingsworth—they fed us the line of crap that they drilled into our heads in basic training, Non Sibi Sed Patriae—not for self, but country. I always thought that meant something. I never thought it was an excuse they would use to kill their men, to kill SEALs!” The sweat was pouring off of Jack’s forehead, and he was shaking with fury.

  Rex watched Jack. He brought his chair back upright and sat in it. “Finish it, Jack. You have to do this!”

  Jack turned away from Rex and stared at the wall. He wasn’t sure what more he could say, but then he started again. “Do you remember on the way over there? Jenkins was telling us about his son. He was two days old when we were called to go over there. He left behind a wife and a four-year-old little girl too. And Rollingsworth, he had been living with that girl for two years. They were three months away from their wedding. But since she wasn’t his wife, the government fought her tooth and nail over survival benefits. If she hadn’t found out three weeks after his death that she was pregnant, she would have been left high and dry. They had that house they bought together. She would have never been able to afford it. The whole situation was wrong. It was bullshit, and it was wrong. That mission made me ashamed to be in the U.S. Military. That mission destroyed lives.”