by Vivian Payne
I sighed and made my way to the conference room.
I opened the door and was greeted by everyone. To my surprise, Melly and Natalie were in here too. I took a seat, and my dad filled me in with all the details I missed.
I guessed Natalie messed up the case she was working on. I saw dark circles around her eyes, and she seemed like she had lost weight. I opened my mouth but then remembered that she wasn’t my responsibility anymore. I needed to start treating her like another rookie attorney.
“So, what should we do? Isaac, got any ideas?” my father asked for my opinion. I glanced at a teary-eyed Natalie and instantly looked away. I couldn’t stand watching her like that.
I cleared my throat and spoke, “She’s a new lawyer, and we all make mistakes, so we shouldn’t fire her. But we can suspend her for three days without pay, and pass on this case and the rest of her cases to Melissa.” I offered and looked at my father to see if he agreed with me. He did, and I got up from my chair.
“Well, if you would all excuse me. I need to finish some work, ladies and gentleman.” I left the conference room and went back to my office.
I kept thinking about Natalie. She looked so sad and hurt.
Was I strong enough to have her work here? I couldn’t fire her just because of what happened between us. That would make me pathetic.
I was a mature adult, so I could easily get over her.
Maybe we could even be friends someday, but not right now.
It was too soon. I still needed time to heal and move on. I had done this before, so I knew I could move on with my life.
Chapter 13
Natalie
It had been a week since my three-day suspension.
I messed up big time. I couldn’t concentrate on anything, especially not since I lost Isaac and my best friend.
Melly was serious; she went to extremes on avoiding me.
After Isaac came back from his week-long vacation, Ian, Melly, and he would all go out and have lunch together. It hurt when I overheard them talking about a double date.
Today was bad since Jasper decided to come over to take me out to lunch. As the elevator came down, the doors opened and showed the three of them talking happily. Of course, Jasper couldn’t help himself but join them.
“Melly, Ian, long time no see. What have you guys been up to?” asked Jasper. I just tried to avoid them. I couldn’t handle looking at Isaac.
“You know, just work,” Melly replied dryly.
“Well, I hope you all are coming to our wedding. It’s in two weeks.” Jasper invited them, and I stiffened. If there really is a god, please let the doors open now. Jasper reached for my hand and tightened his hold, almost crushing it.
“Sorry, man. We already got plans,” Ian said firmly.
I heard a snort, and I tensed. Oh, please. Just let us get to the lobby.
“That’s fine. What about you, Isaac? Would you be attending?” Oh my god. Jasper, stop! I kept chanting in my head, but the odds were not in my favor.
“I understand if you can’t since the best man did win,” Jasper cooed, and I turned to glare at him.
“Jasper, just stop. Enough with the bullshit. He is my boss so don’t mess with my job,” I sneered at him as the elevator door opened.
I glanced at Isaac and then spoke, “I’m sorry for his behavior; it won’t happen again.” And I walked away, and it hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe. Jasper grabbed my arm roughly, looking pissed.
“What the fuck was that, huh? You defended him from me, your fiancé?” he spat at me.
I snapped. I didn’t care where we were anymore.
I saw red. I was so angry at Jasper for ruining my chance for happiness with the man I truly loved. I yanked my arm out of his grasp.
“Yes! Yes, I did because I love him, not you, and I’ll never stop. And if it weren’t for you blackmailing me, he and I would still be together, and I wouldn’t be marrying you. Just stop, Jasper. You won already, so why do you need to flaunt in front of him?” I retorted with tears brimming in my eyes. I saw Melly, Ian, and Isaac staring at me from behind a very pissed off Jasper. I sighed and looked down.
“Is it true?” Isaac’s voice sounded through my ears as he asked me.
I looked into his eyes. How I wished I could stay lost in them.
“Do you really love me?” he continued to ask. I sighed deeply.
“I never stopped loving you, but it doesn’t change anything. I’m still marrying Jasper. I’m sorry, Isaac. I do love you with all my heart, but we just can’t be together,” I said, pleading him with my eyes to believe me.
I walked away again, and even though I told Isaac half the truth, it still hurt like a bitch when I did. I was aware of Jasper behind me, and I made a face of disgust. Whatever affection I had for this man, he killed it with his pathetic actions to keep me with him.
“You’re smart, but if you ever do that again, I’ll post that video faster than you can say his name. Got that, dear?”
I rolled my eyes in anger.
***
Isaac
I stood there, dumbfounded. Did that just happen? Did Natalie just tell me she loved me? I couldn’t take the grin off my face.
I just wished I knew what that jackass was blackmailing her with.
It had to be something bad, but what? I needed to find out.
“Told you it was something,” Melly claimed, snapping me out of my thoughts.
“But what? We need to find out,” Ian said as if he was reading my mind.
“When she comes back from lunch, I’ll trap her in the elevator.” They both nodded. I wanted to ask Natalie by myself, in case it was private.
“Suddenly, I don’t feel very hungry. I’m going back to my office,” I mumbled to them and didn’t wait for their response. Could I have a little hope? Did Natalie really love me?
My god. I might be able to get her back.
I’d feel complete once again.
I had to admit I was fucking jealous when I saw Jasper and Natalie together inside the elevator. But then, I saw her trying to put a little distance between them. It made me feel good.
I grinned foolishly just remembering Natalie’s words.
“I love him, not you, and I’ll never stop.”
I loved it when she stood up to him for me. Once I found out what he was threatening her with, I would be the best man.
And by god, I would do anything in my power to get Natalie back and get rid of Jasper.
Chapter 14
Isaac
I was sitting here in my office, thinking about how I was going get Natalie to tell me what really was going on.
My cellphone beeped, alarming me of a new text:
She’s back without the loser. I already talked to everyone. No one was going to use the elevator, so get in there and fix this.
Ian liked to text.
I rolled my eyes and replied:
Thanks.
I made my way to the elevator and went in. I guessed Ian wasn’t kidding. I wondered what they did this time? Did they send emails to every employee in the building? Probably, knowing my psycho brother and his partner in crime. I wouldn’t put it past them. I sighed. What if we were wrong? What if Natalie did want to marry Jasper?
No, she wouldn’t have said that she loved me if she wanted to marry that jackass. She was not a bitch.
The door opened, and Natalie came in, looking at her iPhone. She didn’t realize I was in here until the doors closed.
“Isaac? What’s going on?” she asked, confused. She looked so cute when she’s confused with her nose scrunched up and eyebrows furrowed.
I smiled.
“What is he blackmailing you with? Tell me; I need to know.” I pleaded. She looked surprised but sighed in defeat.
“He knows about you dancing. He was there the Saturday I stayed home, and he took video of you,” she replied and exhaled deeply as if a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders.
“The next day, he came
over when I went for a run. He waited for me outside your place and told me about what he knows. He threatened to play the video all over New York if I didn’t leave you and go back to him.” She finished, avoiding eye contact with me.
She was doing this for me. Natalie did love me, and she was protecting my reputation.
I was an idiot for thinking that she just enjoyed watching me suffer. But in reality, she was the one in torment by being around that asshole.
And then it hit me. I would do anything for her because, without her, I was nothing. I couldn’t even imagine my life before I met her.
Natalie really was amazing. I mean, shit, she agreed on marrying Jasper just to protect me.
“I’m going kill him.”
She looked up and smiled at me sadly.
“You know, when you said that you loved me from the first time we met, I almost didn’t believe it. That day when I said I love you, I did mean it,” Natalie confessed.
I was so stupid and blinded by my own pain. I should’ve seen that sad look in her eyes and noticed that she was hurting.
However, I was so pissed off, thinking that she had turned out to be like my stupid ex.
“Princess, have you slept with him?” I hated myself for asking her this, but I wanted to know.
“No, I’m still a virgin. Jasper doesn’t even come home most of the time,” she responded. Her cheeks were as red as a tomato.
I get it now. Jasper only wanted to ruin my relationship with Natalie.
“Princess, do you trust me?” I wanted her to trust me for what I was planning.
“I trust you more than anyone in this world, Isaac.” I smiled at her response.
“Continue acting like this. Payback is a bitch. On your wedding day, before you say ‘I do’ to that asshole, everyone will find out what a piece of shit he really is,” I said as I ran my hand through her silky brown hair.
I told her the rest of my plan as she gave me her wedding details. After that, I surprised her by getting down on one knee.
“Natalie, two weeks from today, you’ll be standing at a church. Once I remove that asshole, would you say ‘I do’ to me?
Natalie stiffened and asked, “What?”
“What I’m asking is: will you marry me?” I proposed to her, and she looked at me with her eyes wide open.
“Yes! Oh my god, a million times yes!” replied enthusiastically.
That’s all I needed. I reached into my pocket and took out an engagement ring. It was a white gold band with a diamond stone. I had it custom made just for her. I slid the ring onto her ring finger, and she stared at it in awe.
I was supposed to propose to her that week she left me, but terrible things happened.
“What am I going to tell Jasper if he sees the ring?” she asked, still admiring her ring. “And what about the video he has of you?” Her smile instantly faded at the last question.
I rolled my eyes. I hugged Natalie to calm her down and for me to make sure that all this was real.
“Princess, trust me. I will have everything under control in two weeks. You will be married to me, not to that idiot,” I said. She instantly calmed down, her face pressed against my chest.
Oh, yes. Jasper wouldn’t know what hit him for messing with me.
I was going to make him wish he never crossed paths with me. I always knew how to dig up dirt on people no matter how good a person was at hiding it.
Chapter 15
Natalie
I was at my office, going through my work files and feeling nervous. It’d been a week since that day in the elevator and Isaac proposed to me, and just one more week before I walked to the altar with Jasper.
Isaac told me to trust him.
I wanted to, but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. I was honestly scared to death about what was going to happen. My family was already here, staying at a hotel because they didn’t want to intrude. My parents actually didn’t like Jasper nor did his family like me, and I couldn’t blame them. I was in so much pressure, and I knew I was going to break down.
What the hell was going to happen? What was Isaac going to do?
To top it all, this weekend was going to be my bachelorette party. Apparently, Jasper’s sister, Mary, was throwing me one.
My god. That woman was perverted. We never really got along.
I thought it had something to do with me never wanting to hang out with her back in high school . It was because she and my friends were so different.
I guessed she thought that me and Jasper being a couple would make her popular. Well, she was wrong. I wasn’t one for labels, and I would never force anyone to befriend people they didn’t want to be friends with. It didn’t matter if a person was rich. If your attitude sucked, then no one would want to be your friend. Mary was that bad.
Jasper was different. He didn’t really care about what anybody thought of him. That was the reason why we liked each other. Neither of us cared about labels at school.
The nerd, the outcast, the head cheerleader, the quarterback. To Jasper and me, we were all the same.
We were happy. In fact, we had a good time throughout our college years until the year before we graduated, well he graduated a year before me. That was the time we started to drift apart.
He started visiting his family more often and would stay there for a while. After we graduated, he went to his parents’ place and stayed there all summer without keeping in touch with me.
I often wondered if he was hiding something from me, but I dismissed that feeling because I trusted him. Damn. Now that I looked back, I felt so stupid. The thing was that it wasn’t always like this between us. Jasper had been shy and quiet, and we kind of just came off as a couple, hanging out and doing our homework together. We had fun.
“Hi, Jasper. Mind if Melly and I join you?” I smiled sweetly at him as I took the chair right beside him. I just wanted to get to know him, but it was kind of hard to when his nose was always in a book. I had seen him around school but really never talked to him. He never came to my birthday parties even if it was open to everyone. He was only a year older than me so I knew it wasn’t that. It made me wonder if maybe he wasn’t interested in having friends. “Sure,” Jasper answered, and we smiled back at him as we took our seats.
“On second thought, I have to go to the library to get that book,’’ Melly said, and I narrowed my eyes at her. “What book is that, Melly?” I asked her, and she rolled her eyes at me.
“You know, that book where a penguin was born differently than the other penguins. Instead of his mom, it was his dad who held him as an egg. When he got older, he couldn’t sing like the others, but he could dance. I want to find out what happened to him.” Melly finished her verbal vomit, and I sat stunned at her.
Jasper had a frowned on his face. “Isn’t that the movie, Happy Feet?” he asked, and I nodded in agreement. Melly giggled and quickly took off, leaving me with Jasper.
“I’m sorry about her. Sometimes, I wonder if she’ll ever graduate.” I sighed as looked at my food. Melly and I always went to the diner to get something to eat. We never really eat the cafeteria food.
“She wanted to leave us alone?” Jasper asked, his brows furrowed as he took a sip of water from his bottle. I nodded in reply. “What’s her end game?’’ he asked, and he must’ve seen the confusion on my face because he chuckled. “What’s her reason for wanting to leave us alone?” Ah, yes. The reason for that would be because Melly thought I was ready for something serious with a boy, so she pushed towards the one guy I had shown some interest.
“Not really sure. I think she just wanted to go catch Julian so they can kiss and make up.” I lied. There’s no way I would tell him Melly’s plan.
I sighed as I focused back on the present and started to stress on everything that is going on once again. How did we go wrong? Was it me? Was I not enough? Were Jasper and I even in love with each other or was it just the idea of being in love? Why do I feel so much for Isaac right now?
I just kept going back to the way things were with Jasper. I was always celebrating things with Melly and my parents; Jasper never was around. During my high school and college graduation, he didn’t celebrate it with me even for a brief time. What I didn’t understand was, why am I so bothered with this? Why does this hurt now when it never did before?
All this time, I was OK with everything with Jasper. Sharing an apartment but having separate bedrooms was totally my idea, but it hurt now. I always thought waiting to have sex until marriage was romantic, and Jasper had always agreed with me. But now, I wasn’t sure why he agreed with me back then. Were we friends? Was he gay and didn’t know how to come out? Was he using me to cover that? Jasper ending our relationship came out of nowhere. But him begging me to take him back was even more strange. And now, we were back on track and about to get married.
My phone rang, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked at the screen and sighed when I saw who it was. “Hi, Mary,” I greeted.
“Hi, Natalie, how are you? Can you believe it? We are finally going to be sisters!” she exclaimed, and I winced at her high-pitched voice.
“Yeah, this is exciting,” I answered in a deadpan tone.
“I bet you can’t wait to be Jasper’s.” She teases, and I chuckled a little.
“You could say that. Mary, can I help you with something? I’m still at work right now, and I really need to get back to it,” I said, not in the mood to talk to Jasper’s sister. She was always too much, always trying so hard.to be accepted.
“Oh. Yes, of course, but you really should be thinking about retiring since you are about to become a married woman.” Her nasal voice was getting on my nerves, and I was trying my best to continue being nice and not snap at her. Why was she so persistent? High school was over now, and we’re already grownups, so why was she still acting like she was in school and trying to be popular?
“I’m so happy that you and my brother are now dating!” She squealed as she hugged me, making sure everyone in school knew who I was dating. I just smiled at her as I continued to walk awkwardly, Mary linking her arm with mine and Jasper holding my hand on the other side. I turned to look for Melly and found her behind us. I met her gaze and she shook her head, making a face of disgust while glaring at Jasper’s sister.
