by J. S. Cooper
"You don't think my black jeans and black shirt are suitable for a meeting?"
"With a bank manager, not really."
"Yeah, maybe not."
"You know your dad would be pissed off if you ruined it because of me."
"What do you mean?" He blinked at me. "What do you know?"
"Huh?" I was confused. "What are you talking about? I was just joking."
"Oh," he shook his head. "Sorry, I thought you were talking about something else."
"Talking about what, Hunter?" I was really confused now. "What's your dad got to do with anything?"
"Nothing. Nothing at all. My dad is just my dad and, you know, he's just living his life in South Carolina and I was living my life in South Carolina. And I'm here just to merge these two banks, and there's nothing about you that he might ... " he paused. "Anyway, are we going to have morning sex or what?"
"You're really confusing me, Hunter. What are you talking about? Does your dad not like me or what?"
"You know my dad always thought you were a great girl."
"He did? Or he didn't? I always thought he liked me, but the way that you're talking ... "
"Shh." He kissed me on the lips. "Enough talk. We've only got five minutes now."
"We can't do anything in five minutes, Hunter," I said, trying to push him off slightly, but succumbing to the feel of his warm lips against mine. His hands slid to my breasts and his fingers pinched my nipples and I cried out. Why was I so pliable to him? Why did I enjoy being with him so much? I just couldn't say no to him when he touched me. "Okay, well, 10 minutes."
He grinned as he rolled over on top of me, his fingers opening my legs and running across my clit.
"Hunter," I gasped as he played with me until I was wet.
"I have one question for you, Birdie."
"Yes?"
"Um, I know this is a little bit late of me to ask." He looked nervous.
"What is it?"
"You're still on the pill, right?"
He looked into my eyes questioningly and I just stared at him, comprehending what he was saying. Shit, it hadn't even struck me that we hadn't used protection. I didn't know what to say to that. I'd been on the pill for most of the time that we dated, at least after we started having sex. "Oh shit, Birdie. That look has me nervous."
"It shouldn't have you nervous. I just ... " I chewed on my lower lip. "I'm not on the pill."
"You're not on the pill? As in, at all?"
"What do you mean, as in at all? Like, it's not just a sometimes thing. You can't sometimes be on the pill and sometimes not be on the pill."
"I know. I don't know what I was saying. So last night then..."
"So yeah, last night we weren't protected."
"Oh, shit." He blinked and just gazed at me. I blinked back at him. I licked my lips nervously.
“I mean, it's unlikely right, that I'd be pregnant just from one time right?”
“Are you kidding me, Birdie?”
"Oh, wait!" I suddenly exclaimed with a small grin. "Oh, my gosh. I'm so crazy."
"What? What is it?" he frowned.
"I am on the pill."
"What do you mean you are on the pill?"
"I am on the pill." I grinned at him...regretting my impulsive decision to lie and joke about it.
"So why did you say that you weren't?"
"I was just joking. I thought it would lighten the mood."
"Really Birdie?” He shook his head. “Me becoming a dad was going to lighten the mood?”
"Bad joke, sorry.” I bit down on my lower lip. “Guess I won’t make it as a comedian.”
"Birdie, I'm so confused right now." He looked at his watch, "And we really only have five minutes if we want to do this now."
"You still want to do this right now after everything?"
"What is everything?"
"After the fact that we almost had a pregnancy scare?"
"We didn't have a pregnancy scare, Birdie. I mean, I know the first few seconds we did. Oh my gosh, I'm so confused with you, girl. Like, was the sex so good that I got your brain scrambled?"
"Ha ha." I rolled my eyes. “Sorry about the pill joke, I’m on it for reasons other than sex, you know.”
"What are you talking about? What other reasons would you be taking the pill, if not for sex?"
"I take it to regulate my period, okay?"
"Um, okay. And so when you're with other guys, you ... "
"I'm not with other guys like that. Okay, Hunter?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I haven't had sex with another guy since you, okay?"
"You mean, at all?" He looked shocked.
"Yeah, at all."
"You mean, I'm your one and only?"
"I've done other things, you know, with other guys. You're not a one and only for everything."
"But I'm the one and only guy you've had sex with."
"Hunter, stop grinning. It's not funny."
"I don't think it's funny. I just think it's kind of sweet."
"It's not sweet. I just ... Oh, I don't know."
"I mean, that's really nice, Birdie," he said softly. "Thank you. It makes me feel special."
"Uh-huh, I'm sure it does. So am I your one and only?"
He started laughing.
"What is so funny about that question?"
"Birdie, it's been years since we've been together and I'm a man. What do you think?"
"Oh, so I'm guessing you banged lots of women?"
"I'm not going to answer that question, but yes, I've had sex since you. You knew that."
Of course. I knew I shouldn't feel jealous and upset, but I did. I don't know why I'd been hoping that he'd saved himself. But really, why would he save himself for me? We were over. We'd been over.
"I'm guessing this isn't going to happen this morning, is it?" he said with a wry smile.
"I don't think so," I laughed.
"What about I meet you later?"
"I work today, Hunter."
"I know you work and I'm not saying during work. Well, maybe lunchtime?"
"No, Hunter. I'm not meeting you at lunchtime for a quickie."
"What about after work?"
"I'll think about it, I guess."
"I mean, do you want to see me again or?" He seemed unsure of himself now.
"Yes, I want to see you again," I said softly and I kissed him on the lips. I ran my fingers down his chest again. I mean, if you had 10 minutes right now, I'd be game, but you don't, so."
"I could make 10 minutes for you, Birdie."
"No, you have your meeting. You have to go." I laughed as I pushed him off of me. "Out of the bed, put your clothes on and go home and shower and get changed."
"I was hoping that I could stay here and we could shower together."
"No, Hunter, that's not going to happen because you know what? If we shower together, you're going to get frisky and I'm going to get frisky and you know what's going to happen?"
"What's going to happen, Birdie?"
"You're going to miss your meeting and then everything's going to go belly up and your dad is going to blame me and your family business is-"
"I wouldn't let my dad blame you for anything, Birdie. You know that, right?"
"Yeah, I guess so," I frowned again. "What is going on with you and your dad, Hunter? Is there something I should know?"
"No," he said quickly. "No." He jumped out of the bed and reached down and grabbed his boxer shorts and pulled them on quickly, followed by his pants and then his shirt. He leaned down and gave me a kiss on the lips.
"I'm going to go now, but see you tonight, yeah?"
"Message me and I'll see."
"Okay. I had fun last night, Birdie."
"Uh-huh, I'm sure you did."
"I hope to see you tonight, okay?"
"Okay. Bye, Hunter."
"Bye, Birdie."
"Oh, and Hunter?"
"Yes," he said as he walked away and then looked
back at me, an inquiring look on his face.
"Good luck today, okay? You knock them dead."
"Thanks." He gave me an appreciative smile, a little wave, and then he was gone.
Chapter 21
Chapter 24
Hunter
"Hunter. I think I messed up." Nellie looked at me with nervous eyes as I entered the hotel room.
"What are you talking about?" I said, staring at her and then at her best friend Shelby, who was putting on makeup at the vanity on the other side of the room.
"Well, Dad called and he wanted to talk to you."
"What do you mean Dad called and he wanted to talk to me?" I pulled out my phone. "I have no missed calls. Why did he call you?"
"I don't know. He said that he tried to call you and the phone went directly to voicemail."
"Okay, well what did he want?"
"I guess he wanted to know if you left for the meeting yet." She nibbled nervously on her lip.
"Okay and what did you say?"
"Well, I said I was pretty sure you're on your way, but you weren't in the hotel."
"Wait!" I said, frowning. "Oh shit so he knows you're in San Francisco, then?" I growled, this was the last thing I needed.
"Yeah, I kind of messed up last night." She looked at me with wide eyes.
"What do you mean you kind of messed up last night?"
"Well, Mom called."
"Okay, and?"
"And she wanted to come over to bring me some peach cobbler that she got."
"So."
"And I had to tell her that she couldn't come over because I wasn't home."
"Okay, so why did you end up telling her that you were here?"
"Well, she thought I was at a guy's place and you know, I didn't want her to think that. So I told her that I was with you and you know,” she made a face. “It just came out."
"Okay. So they know you're in San Francisco, I guess I'll have to deal with that when I get back. Is there anything else?"
"Well, yeah Dad was really pissed." Once again, she was chewing on her lower lip and she looked away from me.
"Because you skipped school?"
"No, he was really pissed because," she sighed, "I told him that you were with Birdie. I thought he'd be happy."
"Oh shit." I groaned. "Why did you have to tell him I was with Birdie."
"Because he wanted to know where you were and me saying you were sleeping just didn't seem plausible."
“So you told him that I was Birdie?"
"Yeah. And he cursed. He said he couldn't believe that you were screwing everything up again."
"Okay." I ran my hands through my hair. This was the last thing that I needed.
"What was he talking about Hunter?" Her eyes searched mine. "What did you nearly mess up before?"
"Nothing. I can't talk about this right now. I’ve got to shower and get changed. The meeting is about to happen."
"Yeah, but I just don't understand."
"It's not for you to understand."
"Why was he so pissed off?"
"I can't do this right now Nellie."
"Fine, I just thought I was helping the situation."
"How did you think you were helping the situation, by telling him everything about my business, do I have no privacy?"
"I thought he'd be happy. I mean, I'm happy for you and Birdie getting back together. It’s the best thing that could ever happen."
"Who said we're getting back together? Oh my God. You didn't tell Dad we're getting back together."
"Why? Why would he care?"
"I just can't do this right now." I looked over at Shelby, "And it's not even like we're in a private room having a private conversation."
"Sorry. Do you want me to leave?" Shelby jumped up. "I'm nearly done with my makeup."
"No, it's fine." I cut her off. "It's just fine. Look, I'm just going to head in the shower and then I got to go."
I hurried into the shower and I cursed. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
I knew my dad was going to be pissed off. Not only because I was with Birdie, but because I was with her the night before the big meeting. If anything went wrong in this meeting, I was screwed. My dad was never going to forgive me. He was never going to believe me. And he was never going to give me any more responsibility in the bank. This had been my time to prove myself and yet again, I screwed it up.
At least in his eyes. As far as I was concerned, everything was great. I left Birdie and she'd been in a really good mood. And I was in a good mood up until I'd gotten here. A part of me wished that I hadn't brought Nellie with me. But then if I hadn't, I wouldn't have had this moment with Birdie. It was really thanks to Nellie that Birdie had even met up with me. It was a catch 22, leave Nellie at home and have no Birdie or bring Nellie and be in deep shit with my Dad. If only she could have kept her big mouth shut. If only my phone hadn't gone directly to voicemail. "Shit."
I jumped into the shower and got ready quickly. As I put on my suit, I stared at my reflection in the mirror. I knew this was a big deal to the bank. I knew that we needed this merger, we needed an influx of cash. Dad didn't know that I knew, but I knew we were in a little bit of trouble. In fact, it was quite possible that our bank would have to close within the next couple of years, if we didn't figure out our financial issues. Not that I could tell Nellie that; I didn't want to worry her.
I took a deep breath. I could do this. I could go out and meet with these bank managers and then meet with the owners of the bank. And I could set up the acquisition and merger meeting and then I would get to see Birdie and I would take her out and I would ask her to give me another chance. That's all I needed. That's all I wanted. Everything was going to be okay. I just had to let the process work and I had to be patient.
"Well, it was very nice meeting you, Mr. Oliver and Mr. Chen. I trust that you'll email me if you have any further questions."
"Yes, it was very nice meeting you Mr. Beauregard." Mr. Chen nodded his head as he looked through the paperwork in his hands. "We'll be in touch."
"Yes, give your father our regards," Mr. Oliver said, a terse expression in his voice.
"Will do." I walked out of the bank with my head held high and my shoulders back. I had no idea how the meeting had gone. As far as I was concerned, I had made a good impression, but I knew they'd been surprised to see someone so young. I knew they were upset that my father hadn't come.
A part of me wondered why he hadn't come. Why had he sent me alone? Yeah, I was happy for the chance to prove myself, but this was a big deal for the family business. This was a really big deal. And if I screwed it up, well, I didn't even want to think about that.
I looked down at my phone. It was four o'clock. I had two missed calls from my father. One from my mother, one from Nellie, but nothing from Birdie. I sighed, couldn't believe it. Well, yeah I could believe it. I guess I just hoped that she would have texted or called or something to let me know that she was thinking about me, but I guessed that was too much to ask.
I quickly dialed her number and listened to it ring. I was pretty sure that it was going to go to voicemail, but then she picked up.
"Hello."
"Hey, it's me."
"Hey Hunter, how did it go?"
"I don't really know if I'm honest."
"Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Um wouldn't say it's a good thing. A good thing would be that, I thought it went incredibly well, but I guess it's not a bad thing until I hear something negative."
"Yeah, I guess that's true. So." Her voice trailed off.
"What are you doing? How's work going?"
"Oh same old, I was just chatting with Olivia. You remember her from the other night?"
"Oh yeah I remember her, are you two chatting about me?"
"No." She laughed quickly and I could tell that's exactly what she'd been doing.
I chuckled, "You told her how I can go all night long?"
"But you didn't go all night long Hu
nter."
"Well, you know that I can. I mean, I'd be happy to show you tonight."
"I'm sure you would."
"So I was thinking perhaps we could go to dinner? Maybe take a stroll across the Bay Bridge or something."
"Um I don't know if... I mean, I'd love to see you, but..."
"But what?" I could hear some noise in the background.
"I'd love to see you, Hunter. That'd be great."
"Oh," I said in surprise. "I'm surprised that you relented so quickly."
"Really? Why?"
"I don't know. I figured you were just trying to make my life difficult."
"I would never try to make your life difficult Hunter. Why would I do that?"
"I don't know. You seem to like to run away."
"What does that mean?"
"I just mean that when you feel awkward or you get upset, you run."
"When have I ever ran?"
"Ah, when you came to San Francisco."
"But we both know why I came to San Francisco."
"Yeah, because you were pissed off me."
"It was about more than being pissed off at you. It was the fact that you never spoke up for me and then I saw you with another girl."
"Well one, I didn't speak up for you in the moment that it happened. You don't know what happened afterwards. And two, you never saw me with another girl. You saw an Instagram video of me dancing at a party. You weren't there. You have no idea what happened."
"Do we really want to have this conversation right now, Hunter?"
"No." I said, I knew I was taking out my frustration and worry on Birdie. And this was the last and most inappropriate place to have the conversation. This was a conversation that needed to be had in person.
"Why do you sound like you're so hostile with me right now, Hunter?" I couldn't tell from her voice, if she was annoyed, perplexed or confused.
"Look, this is not a good time okay. I'm just leaving the meeting and my Dad knows that Nellie is here in the city and that I was with you last night. Look, it's just not a good time."
"What does it matter if you were with me last night? What's going on, Hunter? What haven't you told me? Why do your parents dislike me so much? I thought they loved me."
