All the Wrong Reasons: When something so wrong can feel so right! (Destiny's Games Book 1)

by Jerilee Kaye

  “Because the plate says I-E-N-N-E.”

  Adrienne’s head shot up and she stared at Jill. “What?”

  “It could stand for anything,” Yuan theorized. “Probably a different language. He’s multi-lingual anyway.”

  “Or!” Jill raised her voice. “It could also be a nickname for a girl.”

  Yuan raised a brow. “What kind of a name is that?”

  Jill pointed at Adrienne. “Adrienne’s nickname is Yen, but it could also be spelled as I-E-N-N-E.”

  “That must be pronounced as ee-yen,” Yuan said.

  “It would be sweet if he’s suddenly named one of his cars with a girl’s nick, right?”

  Adrienne turned away from her friends. Tears rolled down her cheeks once more. She hoped that her friends wouldn’t notice.

  It could all be lies! It could mean anything! That car could even belong to the girl I found in his apartment this morning.

  But didn’t he tell her that he has a surprise for her?

  What if that was the surprise he was talking about?

  What if his new car’s plate meant… my name?

  But still…

  Why the hell did he have another girl in his apartment?

  * * *

  She tried to concentrate on her work the next day. She sure knew she looked like hell. She had worn her eyeglasses again to hide her red swollen eyes that said she stayed up all night, crying.

  Even Jada knew she felt horrible. She didn’t say anything. But to her surprise, she wasn’t the bitch from hell that she used to be.

  Oh! She does have a heart after all!

  She was staring at the blank page on her screen when she realized that Justin was standing in front of her.

  She looked up at him nervously.

  For a handsome guy, who looked so playful and carefree, Justin looked like shit, as well. He hadn’t shaved and it looked like he didn’t sleep at all.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked him crossly, but trying to keep her voice down so no one could hear.

  He shook his head. “Honey, don’t do this. Please…listen to me first.” He sounded almost like he begged her.

  She shook her head. Right now, everything was just plain confusing for her. She and Justin started out wrong. Their four-month relationship seemed to be built on passion, but never entirely on trust. It was a good thing. But that didn’t mean it was right. Because if it was right, then they shouldn’t have to keep it a secret.

  She wasn’t being fair to him either. She couldn’t keep stringing him along and making him wait on the sidelines while she couldn’t bring herself to break up with Troy. As much as she felt hurt with the fact that Justin brought another woman home, she also hated the fact she had no right to demand for his faithfulness. She didn’t even exactly give him hers. She’s still with Troy, wasn’t she?

  “I need to clear my head. I need to think about what I need to do. The thing we have…let’s just be thankful it lasted that long. It was just supposed to be a one-night stand anyway. I can’t tie you down. And I have too much excess baggage.” She took a deep breath and tried so hard not to cry. “I can’t keep on lying to my friends and cheating on my boyfriend. I’m not some loose woman who plays around. I made my mistake. I have to make things right this time. I’m not being fair to anyone. And it’s time I become fair to you.”

  She didn’t know where she got the courage to say those words, without even blinking.

  She stared at him. His eyes were narrowed a little and for a moment, she thought she couldn’t contain the cold fury she saw there. She felt almost scared.

  “So, just like that?” he asked coldly. “You couldn’t break up with Troy for the longest time! And you’re giving me up just like that? Without even giving me a chance to explain?”

  No! I don’t want to give you up!

  She wanted to scream that to him.

  “You didn’t have to explain. You don’t owe me an explanation.”

  Justin balled his fists and gave her table a frustrated punch. “Okay!” he said. “I slept with her! I banged another woman. What can I say? I was in…heat! I would fuck anything that wears a skirt! And she happened to be there! Willing! And easy! So I took her back to our bedroom and screwed her brains out!” He gave her a stone-cold stare. “Is that what you wanted to hear?!”

  Adrienne stood up from her seat and without warning slapped Justin on the face. Tears were rolling down her cheeks. Every word he said felt like knives stabbing through her, shredding her, tearing her apart.

  When Justin looked at her again, his eyes were shining with tears.

  “I thought you trusted me, Adrienne… thought better of me,” he said in a cold and frustrated voice. He shook his head. “I guess you still believed my reputation more than you believed me.” He took one last deep breath and said, “See you around, Miss Miller.” And then he left.

  Adrienne sat back on her seat and this time, she really cried. She didn’t hold back.

  The other day, she was contemplating on breaking up with Troy. How did things go the wrong way and she broke up with Justin instead? The guy she actually loved.

  She took a tissue and wiped the tears from her cheeks and her eyes. Then she gathered her bag and went out of her office. She was thankful that most of her officemates had gone to lunch. No one saw Justin come to her office and no one heard them fight. Jill sat in a meeting in Jada’s office, so she couldn’t ask Adrienne why Justin Adams just went to her office. Knowing her, she would ask for every single detail.

  She got out of the building with no particular destination in mind. She didn’t want to go home. She didn’t want to risk running into Justin. He must be so pissed at her. She was still angry at him, too, for the words he said to her. He said his piece, and he could have just provided her with a clear explanation. Instead, he said words that made it difficult for her to know what happened for real.

  She was a big mess and she couldn’t even turn to her friends for advice. She could never consult her sister on anything. And Troy was definitely not on the options list.

  Twenty minutes later, she was sitting in a bar in a hotel, drinking daiquiri. Yes, maybe in this case, liquor helps!

  The lady bartender was looking at her wearily.

  “You okay, sweetheart?” she asked.

  Adrienne looked up at her. “I’ve been better.”

  “Boy trouble?”

  Adrienne let out a sarcastic laugh. “Boys troubles.”

  The bartender smiled. “Then consider yourself luckier than the rest of us.” Then she turned to serve another customer a drink.

  “Now this is the last place I expect to see you at this time of the day.” somebody said beside her.

  She turned to her left and saw a familiar guy sitting beside her. He motioned for the bartender to give him a beer. The bartender smiled at him widely, obviously flirting.

  Adrienne groaned. That was the last thing she needed.

  “So what’s up, Miss Miller?” Jin Starck asked taking a gulp of his beer.

  Adrienne shook her head. “Nothing.”

  “You could have fooled me!” he said lightly, trying to make her smile.

  “I don’t discuss my personal problems with my clients, Mr. Starck,” she said.

  He smiled. “Do you see me wearing my suit?”

  Adrienne took a second to look at what he was wearing. He wore a dark green long-sleeved shirt over his jeans. His hair was again disheveled. He didn’t look like the tycoon she met at the hotel a week ago.

  “Guess you’re not. But why would I tell you all my troubles?”

  “Because I happen to be an unbiased stranger.” He grinned. “Don’t worry. Nothing you say to me gets out of this bar. And I totally won’t judge you after this.”

  Well, she was desperate to talk to somebody. And right now, nobody she knew would forgive her if she told them the truth.

  Adrienne took her drink straight up. Then she motioned for the bartender to give her another drink
. “Okay. I must be crazy for telling you this.”

  Jin smiled. “You look more desperate to me than crazy, to be honest.”

  “You’re right.” She took a deep breath. And then finally, she talked…about the first time how she met Justin, how she ended up in his apartment, and how they were keeping a secret from everybody for the last four months.

  She told Jin that she had a boyfriend and why she was with him in the first place. She told him why she couldn’t tell her friends. She told him almost everything…except for the details of her sex life of course, and the names of everybody involved, in case Jin Starck happened to know any of them.

  “So this guy that you were with at the bar the night I met you…the one who picked you up at the hotel… that’s the official boyfriend? Or the mistress?”

  Adrienne raised a brow at him. She laughed at his choice of word.

  Mistress!

  “He’s the unofficial boyfriend,” she replied.

  “But he sounded like he’s also the one you want to be with.”

  Adrienne nodded. “I love him.” Tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them off with her fingers and then asked the lady to give her another drink.

  “Now, I understand,” Jin said.

  “Understand what?”

  “That night I met you, I watched you afterwards, trying to figure out where I’ve seen you before. I was curious why your boyfriend sat in the bar and you were at one of the tables with your friends. Now, I know. He’s your secret, other boyfriend.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “How’d you break up?”

  So she told him about the girl she found in his apartment.

  “She is so beautiful!” she said. “How could he say that he didn’t screw her after I found her in his apartment wearing his robe?”

  “He’s a pretty boy, Adrienne. I’m sure he’s got girls falling over his feet. His concept of beautiful just might be different from yours.”

  “He’s a player! A rakehell!” she said. “At least that’s what his reputation said.”

  “And you believe that?” Jin asked. Adrienne looked up at him. Jin sighed. “Let me guess. This guy…rich, smart, heir to some throne someday. Girls just follow him everywhere and he can take a pick wherever whenever? Never had a steady relationship. Never committed to anybody?”

  Adrienne nodded. “Sadly so.”

  “Welcome to my world!” Jin said and Adrienne looked up at him thoughtfully.

  Yeah, he was right. He’s exactly another version of Justin Adams.

  “But not all of us are heartless, Adrienne. Not all guys who are like that think with their… excuse my French… dicks! Just because he doesn’t commit to a girl doesn’t mean he’s just after the sex. Maybe he’s waiting for the right one to come. Maybe that was you. You got a chance to see what he was really like, and you still believed what others thought about him.”

  Adrienne stared back at Jin and tears welled up in her eyes.

  He’s right!

  Oh God! Justin didn’t screw that girl! But what was she doing in his apartment?

  “So…I should…call him?”

  Jin raised a brow at her. “Are you single? Have you broken up with your official boyfriend? Have you come clean to all your friends?”

  She bit her lip. “No. No. And no.”

  “Then no,” Jin said. “If you’re going after a guy you hurt and insulted, make sure you have something to offer in return. And right now, after all that you said to me, I can tell, he only wants one thing from you.” He took a gulp of his beer. “I think you know what that is, cherie.”

  Adrienne covered her face with her hands. “God! I just want to call my boyfriend now and break up with him! Maybe I should. Just rip off the bandage.”

  “Doesn’t always work. Not in your case,” he said. “You were with him for all the wrong reasons. You were trying to please your mother. Now, be brave enough to do the right thing this time. If you can end up as friends, then that just might cushion the blow for your Mom.”

  Adrienne drank another daiquiri. Her world seemed to be spinning now. She turned back to Jin. “You’re too wise for a twenty-three year old.”

  He smiled. “I was raised by a wonderful woman. Too bad for you…the woman who raised you sounds like a horrible person who didn’t care about your feelings.” Adrienne wanted to cry at that, because she actually believed that Jin felt sorry for her.

  “She was horrible!” she murmured. “She loved my sister but she never loved me. My sister hated me too. My father… was helpless to defend me most times.” Then she laughed. “I lost the one person who made me feel like I mattered at all. I screwed it up, big time!”

  She felt Jin put his arm around her shoulders and hug her. Adrienne cried on his shoulder, unable to stop now. She was thankful that she spoke to Jin. He was so comfortable to talk to. She felt like she’s known him all her life. She felt like right now, with him, there was somebody on her side.

  “How on earth are you so mature and wise?” she asked in spite of her tears.

  Jin heaved a sigh. “Of course, if the world wasn’t mad…if we were in the ideal world…it would be you giving me advice, Adrienne. Not the other way around.” Adrienne knew her world was already spinning. And before she passed out, she thought she heard a little sadness in Jin’s voice.

  15. Entrevue

  French. Etymology of the word Interview.

  When Adrienne opened her eyes, she was rested on a soft mattress. She immediately stood up and her hand went to her head.

  “Headache?” She heard a familiar voice ask her. She opened her eyes and turned to see Yuan almost glaring at her. “Serves you right!”

  He looked like he was so angry at her, but still he stood up and handed her aspirin and water. What happened?

  She was dressed in her pants and long-sleeved white shirt. The same ones she was wearing in the office yesterday.

  She looked around the room and discovered that she was in Yuan’s bedroom.

  “Why am I here?” she asked. She didn’t even remember seeing Yuan yesterday.

  “Your hot-looking friend called me. You’re so lucky he’s such a gentleman. In your state yesterday, you could have been gang raped and you wouldn’t even have a clue when you woke up the next morning.”

  Adrienne squeezed her temples. “What time is it? God, I have to get to work.”

  “Forget it.” Yuan said. “Jill already told Jada you weren’t feeling well. She said she needed to interview somebody for her article and then she’ll come back here.”

  Adrienne lay back on the bed and closed her eyes.

  “Come on! You could use caffeine in your system.”

  Adrienne took a quick shower as Yuan made them coffee. When she emerged from the bathroom, she was wearing a fresh pair of pajamas. She felt better but she still had a headache.

  Damn those daiquiris!

  “Who called you?”

  “Jin Starck.” Yuan replied.

  Adrienne finally remembered how she poured her heart out to Jin yesterday.

  Oh God, this is embarrassing!

  “How did you meet him anyway? He’s not even from New York. He lives in Paris.”

  “He’s here on business. He’s a client of Blush.”

  “Well, you don’t get wasted in front of your clients! Or are you mixing business with pleasure?”

  “Hello—no!”

  “Well, he said he insisted that you go for a drink after your meeting. He didn’t know that you have low alcohol tolerance. I told him you had zero.”

  Wait? What? Jin told Yuan we had a meeting yesterday? He didn’t tell him that he found me drinking my problems away? Thank God!

  “Wondered how he knew to call you,” she thought out loud.

  “He called using your phone. Maybe he checked who you had on your speed dial.”

  After having coffee, she went to the bedroom and slept some more. Honestly, with the pain she felt in her heart after losing Justin, there were o
nly two things she wanted to do. Drink and sleep.

  She checked her phone, hoping for the impossible. That somehow, Justin must have called her or sent her a message.

  But she only had one message from an unregistered number: Hey, hope you’ll feel better when you wake up. Don’t forget to laugh once in a while, okay? – Jin

  She smiled at his thoughtfulness.

  She replied: Up now and still alive. Will learn how to laugh again soon, I hope. Thanks! I owe you one.

  Jill got to Yuan’s place in the afternoon.

  “I had a wonderful day!” she squealed. “You’ll never believe what happened today!”

  “Do tell!” Yuan said curiously.

  Adrienne’s heart pounded inside her chest. With Jill’s excitement, she figured this has got something to do with Justin again.

  “Jada gave me a new column, right? I’m featuring anybody from town. Real people with their interests and some personal stuff. So to launch this column, we asked some interesting people to be the firsts to be featured. And guess who we interviewed first.”

  Please don’t say Justin!

  “Justin Adams!” Jill squealed and jumped for joy.

  “What did he say, what did he say?” Yuan asked excitedly.

  “I know you will not be content with my narration, so I got him on camera!”

  “Oh my God, oh my God!” Yuan said excitedly. “Let’s play it!”

  “Come on, Adrienne! Let’s watch!”

  Adrienne shook her head. “No, guys. I’m really not in the mood.”

  “When were you not in the mood to hear about Justin Adams? Come on! I’m giving you uncut, unedited scoop on the City’s most wanted!”

  “Really not interested,” Adrienne insisted.

  Jill grinned at Yuan. “I know why she’s not interested!”

  “Yeah! I can’t say I blame her.” Yuan said grinning back at Jill.

  “What?” Adrienne raised a brow at them.

  “Maybe she doesn’t fancy black-haired rebels. She wanted brown-haired, green-eyed tycoons.”

  Adrienne blinked back at both her friends. “What? No way! It was just a situation that got out of hand.”

  “Come on, Yen!” Jill insisted. “That guy is hot! He can give Justin a run for his money. Ditch Troy and see if you can make something out with your sudden closeness to Jin Starck!”