by Misty Simon
But the choice to leave, or leave, was taken away from me when Ben dragged me back into the building, trailing behind him like an errant puppy on a leash. Deciding I didn’t want to look even more foolish in front of the big boss, I started walking on my own. I had a few select words I’d like to tell the guy about his choice of employees, namely ones who threw themselves at unsuspecting men.
By the time we were halfway down the hall, I was feeling sick to my stomach and hoped like hell I wouldn’t see the woman who only minutes ago had been draped all over my boyfriend. Yeah, my bravado hadn’t lasted long. When does it ever?
So we were back to Ben dragging me instead of me dragging him when we got to the end of the hall, thankfully without even a single glimpse of the infamous Susie.
“He’s not going to bite you,” Ben said, looking fierce.
No, but it looked like Ben might take a bite out of him, and I didn’t think that would be the best idea for his career at this point. This job might not be what Ben ultimately wanted to do with his time or himself, but as far as I knew it was what paid his bills and for the apartment where he lived.
“Maybe we should come back another time. I don’t know if I want to finally meet your boss when he’s so pissed at you.” Or you’re so pissed at him, I wanted to say but held it in. No use in making matters worse. I was a firm believer in this concept, if you couldn’t already tell.
“No, it will be fine, and I want him to meet you, anyway. You won’t meet Marty, my immediate boss. We’re going in to see the owner of the paper.”
But this way? Right after he’d caught Ben and me being totally inappropriate right outside the office? The owner of the paper? I’d rather meet Marty of the barking voice. I pulled a little harder and got an answering tug in return. Apparently I wasn’t going anywhere but into that office. Heaven help me. Please, don’t let my face be totally aflame. But I could tell from the warmth of my neck and chest and cheeks that I was redder than a boiled lobster left in the pot too long. Nice.
Ben at least knocked on the door before barging in, but it seemed perfunctory. We sailed right through the door and stopped at a big, beautiful, mahogany desk littered with piles of paper.
“Ben, I don’t have time for this right now,” the man said before I’d even opened my mouth to apologize. “I have to find a replacement for Susie, and I don’t even want to discuss your behavior.”
That seemed pretty harsh and high-handed. I revised my thought of apologizing.
“You will take the time, Uncle Harlow.”
Uncle? Harlow? Help!
“Boy, don’t even start with me. Susie ran out of here a minute ago, crying. I understand you’re the cause.”
Uncle? Harlow? Gah!
“Mr. Uncle Harlow, sir,” I began. I should have simply said sir and left it at that. I almost smacked myself in the head but bravely continued on.
No, I only wished I had bravely continued on. Ben jumped in before I could think of something to say to cover up my mistake.
“Don’t even try that imperious tone with me.”
“Good word,” I muttered, then got the evil eye from Harlow. Who names their kid Harlow? Obviously someone related to Ben, and that worried me a little bit. Just a little.
Ben continued after squeezing my hand and giving me a half smile. “You’ve been looking for a reason to get rid of Susie for at least six months, since she started messing up all the ads. And you’ve wanted to meet Ivy for the past three. So, two birds, one stone.”
Which reminded me, I wasn’t supposed to be meeting Ben’s family and playing kissy face. I had birds of my own to nail. Crap. And I still had to tell Ben about Nathaniel.
But then a smile popped out on Harlow’s face, transforming him into someone very attractive, in an older-guy kind of way. I could see the resemblance between him and Ben, and hoped when Ben was older he’d look exactly like this older guy. Hoo-mama!
“Well, well, well. Isn’t your mama going to be proud to hear you finally brought the girl around to meet a family member? She’s started thinking Ivy was a figment of your imagination.”
Surely this man had seen or heard of me before. I mean, I’d made the news at least twice, that I knew of. And since when would Ben need a figment?
But I didn’t get much of a chance to ponder, since Harlow got up from his chair, rounded the desk, and started circling me like a vulture. “So this is the little woman, is it? Nice.”
What was I, a ripe piece of fruit? And little? Was the man insane? Although, it was kind of nice hearing myself described like that, especially by one of Ben’s relatives. And he didn’t seem mad anymore, so that was a bonus.
“How do you do?” It was formal, yes, but I wasn’t sure what to say, and Ben was absolutely no help, standing there, beaming at me like a prize pig from the corner.
“I do fine.” Harlow smiled at me, making his face look even more like Ben’s. This man must have cut his own swath through the locals when he was younger. “Now, tell me all about you.” He sat on the corner of his desk, settled in for a good long conversation, in which I tried to get familial approval, and he grilled me until I sweat.
But Ben finally stepped in. “Actually, Ivy was just leaving. Work to do, you know, and I’m going to head out with her.”
“Ben, sorry, I know you must be anxious to get this beauty home, but I really do need that information before you leave today. If you can get it all packaged for me, you can leave a little early, though, and I won’t dock your pay for the playtime.”
Ick. I mean, I know I was probably going to be “playing” with Ben if I could manage it, but I certainly didn’t want this man to think that, or know it. Then again, I was being prude-y. “While that sounds lovely,” I said, smiling my best smile, “I have business here I have to take care of, and then I have to go open my store for a little while.” I turned to Ben. “I’ll meet up with you later, okay?”
He kissed me full on the mouth. I worked hard to remind myself we were still standing in front of his uncle. Who cleared his throat.
“Right,” Ben said, dragging me out of the room by my hand. He seemed to be doing a lot of dragging lately, I thought as I waved goodbye to Uncle Harlow, who thought I was beautiful. I heart Harlow.
Twenty minutes later I was done, having sat in a chair in front of the guy who’d waved me out earlier without even looking up from his desk. Apparently, the woman talking about the car was not the person I had been looking for to place an ad.
I sauntered out to my car, and knowing Ben could see me through his tinted window, I blew him a kiss before jumping into the driver’s seat. It wasn’t nearly as cold this afternoon, and I was able to take off one of my many layers before I turned on the car. After removing my outermost jacket—leaving me with two others—I maneuvered back onto the street and headed for the shoppe. I didn’t have any orders coming in today, being so close after the holiday, but I did need to get another inventory going to see what I needed to replace. Women had been buying me out of several items as they whispered about Ben. I was no longer concerned about the whispers. After all, he’d introduced me to his uncle, so I had an in.
I opened the shoppe door and immediately went to the counter to light some candles and crank up the heat. Once those things were done, I settled down behind the long wooden counter to wait for customers.
I should have been up dusting, or straightening, or doing the dreaded inventory, but I really wanted a day off. I’d had several with the holidays, but they had all been filled with wedding stuff, then family stuff, then murder stuff, so I was looking forward to a light day.
And, wouldn’t you know it? I got that nice, peaceful day. Two women came in at different times, one looking for a little something for the weekend, and the other bent on putting together a weeklong getaway with her husband. So no Ben tales, no fighting, and I got an hour in between the two to study up on How to Drive Your Man Wild in 10 Easy Steps.
Personally, I thought ten steps was a little much to
try and remember when you’re going for your guy’s total loss of control, but who was I to argue with the experts? If it took ten steps, then it took ten steps. Of course, with Ben it took about one: I breathed, he was ready. And wasn’t that fantastic?
I closed up around four and decided to head over to his apartment. Maybe I could beat him there, set up some candles, some low mood music, and change into something a little less comfortable (I know it’s supposed to be comfortable, but thongs and I are not friends).
I grabbed the little something from the rack in the back, took it out of the inventory, and changed in my tiny bathroom. I swiped a few candles from the counter and hopped into my car, all bundled up again but feeling a little naughty since I knew what was underneath all these layers.
I hightailed it to Ben’s and ran up the steps with my bag of goodies. He was going to be so surprised! I nabbed the key he’d given me out of my pocket and inserted it into the door. I really hoped he hadn’t made it home yet, since this way I could be all set up and spread out like a feast before him when he did get home.
Holding the bag awkwardly in front of me, I shouldered my way into the apartment without being able to see anything. Tripping would not go well with this plan, so I inched into the room.
You know what’s going to happen, don’t you?
Yeah, it was déjà vu, all over again.
Chapter Twenty
It all seemed to happen in slow motion: I opened the door; I saw the completely naked woman; my eyes widened until I thought they’d pop out of my head; I felt a breeze blow over my skin and turned my head to see the window open a crack.
For some reason, my mind stuck on the fact that the window was open. Why would the window be open in the dead of winter? Why would Ben want to let all the lovely warm air pouring out of the vent behind me escape?
Honestly, I think my mind stalled out trying not to think of, or look at, the woman brazenly spread out over the duct-taped couch, like a meal waiting to be devoured.
Then I heard a buzzer give its droning tone, and the world snapped back into place. “What the bleeding hell are you doing here?” Yes, I yelled this over the buzzer, and I think I scared the living daylights out of the woman reclining on the old, barely-held-together couch. She jumped about a foot. I had time to notice her boobs barely moved. Fake, for sure. But what really concerned me was that Ben came tearing out from the back of the apartment with a little hand towel wrapped around his nether region and soap in his hair. The buzzer shut off—the alarm he now set for his long showers because his water bill had been horrendous last month.
Why wasn’t she in the shower with him? my mind asked, even as I tried to shy away from the question. I started backing out of the apartment, but my bulky coat got caught on the doorframe. Ben came toward me, a look of horror on his face, and the woman, whoever the hell she was, tried to cover up her nakedness with a holey afghan from the arm of the couch.
I ripped my jacket as I yanked it off whatever it had caught on and hustled down the stairs like the devil was hot on my tail. I ignored Ben’s yelling, and continued ignoring him when he popped out of his building seconds behind me, still in only his little towel. It may have all been another misunderstanding like the Susie Slut thing, but I wasn’t sticking around right now to find out.
Jumping into my brown, comfortable, comforting car, I hauled ass out of the parking lot, knowing that I was sad my new jacket had ripped, but the breaking of my heart was a far distant winner in the competition of bad things that had just happened to me.
****
Bella was already at my house when I pulled into my driveway. I’d been driving around some back country roads, doing my damnedest to get lost, but no luck. No matter how much of an outsider I felt I was, I guess I knew my way around this little town to some extent.
I’d cried myself out about two miles ago, making my eyes feel like sawdust. Anger had moved into my heart, and I was in no mood to deal with anyone. If Ben showed up at my house to make our little triangle complete, I was pretty sure he wouldn’t be walking back out without a few missing parts, like what he’d had hidden behind his skimpy towel. Seriously.
Slamming out of the car, I barely registered the snow falling lightly all around me. I should have been cold, but steam was probably rising off my entire body, instead.
“Ivy. Ivy!” Bella scampered up the sidewalk behind me. I heard her heels clicking along the concrete, and part of me wished she’d fall so I wouldn’t have to invite her in and tell her all the horrible things in my life. I did not need this right now. Right now, I needed a brown turtleneck and a carton of Chunky Monkey with a huge spoon. Hell, I’d stick my head in the cardboard box and slurp it out, at this point. It would save time, and I wouldn’t have to wash any dishes.
“Ivy, wait up! What’s going on?”
I’d made it to the front door and was repeatedly trying to stab the key in the lock, with no luck. The tears had started again by the time Bella gently took the key ring from my hand and turned the lock on the first try. She ushered me into my own house, helped me out of my jackets—plural—and deposited me onto the couch where Ben had once loved me so intensely we’d fallen onto the floor.
Big racking sobs made me double over and hug my knees as best I could. I heard Bella come in and set something on the coffee table, then go back out into the kitchen. She made three trips before she sat down next to me on the couch and tried to put her arm around my rounded shoulders. She leaned me into her, holding on as I incoherently tried to tell her how horrible today had been, and what a complete and utter mess my life was.
She made nonsensical noises at me that I knew were meant to soothe. I couldn’t understand a word she said and knew she was probably having the same problem herself. I figured neither of us was really making any sense at this point, so I kept sobbing and tuned her out until I fell into an exhausted sleep.
When I woke up about an hour later, she was still on the couch and had turned on the TV to watch my Lord of the Rings DVD.
“I absolutely adore Viggo,” were the first words out of her mouth. “There is something so very sexy about him.”
“He’s nothing compared to my Orlando, complete with ears.”
“Ah, so you’ve decided to join the land of the waking? It’s nice to see your sparkling eyes, even if they are completely red rimmed.”
I sniffed, then reached for a tissue conveniently placed on the coffee table next to a cup of stone-cold coffee and a container of guacamole dip.
“So what happened?”
I started to seize up again, but she grabbed me before I could get going again with the waterworks.
“Whatever it is, it’s not worth all this. Take a few calming breaths and get yourself together. You can tell me all about what that bastard Ben did, and we’ll think of how to kill him in the most horrible way together. I promise.”
I gave a watery chuckle and sucked in a breath. I let the breath out in a big gust that shot my bangs up into the air.
“You really need to come in and get those taken care of again, hon.”
This chuckle was less watery. I actually did feel like I might survive. I rested my head back against the couch and blew out another big breath.
“What happened?” Bella crooked a knee on the couch next to me and put her hand on my shoulder.
I wasn’t much for touching, but this felt good. I rolled my head and looked at her from the corner of my eye. “What hasn’t happened is a better question. I have had the day from hell.”
“Really, the day from hell? I heard you ran out of Ben’s apartment building like he’d suggested an orgy with an old man.”
I couldn’t help it, I laughed again. It wasn’t an apt description, but it was almost a better image than what had been running through my mind for the last couple of hours. It had even followed me into my dreams, where the woman’s breasts had become monstrous and tried to swallow me. Ben’s hand towel became a washcloth that he used to wipe his glistening chest. I
had no idea about dream interpretation, but these didn’t need definition.
“I had a bad feeling something was going to happen this morning, but then my ex-husband called and I thought that was it for the day.”
“Your ex-husband, the Bastard, called you at home? Why?” Well, this almost trumped what I had gone through today. Although at least Bella still had someone to lean on and be with, in Jared. I had no one.
I must have said that last part out loud, because I got a smack on my shoulder instead of a patting hand. “Don’t you dare say you have no one. You have me, and your dad, and Martha loves you. You know it.”
What she said was true, but I wanted Ben back, the one who rubbed my back, made my toes tingle, and let me fall asleep with my head on his chest. Not the one who was caught almost in flagrante “delecto” (and yes, he was still very delectable in a hand towel, no matter how treacherous he was) with a woman I didn’t know.
And speaking of the devil, there was a knock on the door, and then Ben was there, in my living room, puffed up like a big old rooster with murder in his eyes.
“Go away,” Bella said before I could get the words out. I wanted to cheer, but sank lower into the cushions of the couch, instead.
“I am not going anywhere until this gets sorted out.” Ben knelt on the floor before me and tried to take my hands. I stubbornly tucked them into my armpits and turned my head.
We played a brief tug of war, where he tried to drag my arms to him and I sank deeper and deeper into the couch. Maybe, if I was lucky, it would swallow me whole and I could die next to the dust bunnies and various coinage stuck under the cushions.
Finally, he seemed to get the hint and sat back on his heels. He shook his head and ran an agitated hand through his hair. “I don’t know what the hell is going on, but I did not let that woman into my apartment today. As soon as you left, I kicked her out and pushed her clothes after her to keep her from attempting to come back in. Why didn’t you stay to talk to me? I could have explained then. Instead, I had to track you down.”
