“You don’t think I’m done for the night, do you?” He grinned at me as his fingers found my sweet spot again. I closed my eyes as ecstasy filled me once again and all thoughts of telling him the truth fled my mind.
I shifted in my seat, feeling aroused again as I thought about that second encounter in the apartment. The sex in the cab had been hot and quick, but the sex when we got back to the apartment was slow and sensual. So, so sensual. Brandon’s fingers tapping on my knee awoke me from my memories and I blinked rapidly, trying to focus on where I was.
“So, you don’t have a fiancée?” I looked at him hopefully with my heart in my mouth. Maybe the HR bitch had gotten it wrong. Maybe he was still the decent guy that I knew. Maybe that’s why he had said our phrase. If the words didn’t come from him, it wasn’t true.
“No, Priscilla was right, I do have a fiancée and I was on the phone with her.” His eyes bore into mine with a challenge. I knew what he was thinking: What are you going to do about it, Katie? I could feel in my bones that he wanted me to react.
“But,” I shook my head in confusion. “You told me I shouldn’t listen to other people, you told me that if it doesn’t come from you, it’s not true.”
“You shouldn’t listen to other people about me.” He shrugged. “But, I’m here now and I’m telling you, that yes, I have a fiancée.”
“How could you?” I gasped, my heart breaking.
“How could I what?”
“Sleep with me.” I whispered, my eyes wide.
“We didn’t do any sleeping.”
“How could you f**k me when you have a fiancée?” I hissed at him, mad.
He smiled then, a wide mocking smile. His blue eyes looked down at me in disdain. “Men with power, men with money, men like me… We can do what we want, when we want, with whoever we want. I wanted to f**k you.” He picked up a napkin and wiped his hands. “So I did.” He turned away from me then and stood up. “Okay everyone, let’s get back to work.”
I sat there, humiliated, feeling like a slut. Once again he had made me feel cheap, like a piece of meat that a dog had discarded. I listened to him talking, but I didn’t hear the words that were flowing out of his mouth. As I sat there, I felt my body getting hotter and hotter. I couldn’t stand it anymore. I had to leave. I didn’t care if I got fired, I’d find another job. Nothing else mattered but me leaving the room, right then and there.
I jumped up as Brandon stopped talking and he grabbed my arm as I made to leave the table. “Where are you going?” His eyes were dark as his fingers pinched into my skin.
“I’m leaving.” I pulled my arm away from him. “I’m not going to let you treat me like this.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” He shook his head. “Not until I say you are.”
“You can’t stop me.” I turned around and walked out of the room quickly. I could hear my heart beating like drums at a rock concert as I hurried out. People in the room were whispering and watching me, and I knew they were all wondering what was going on.
“Excuse Katie, everyone. She just got an important call. She’ll be back in a moment.” Brandon spoke up and I looked back at him with a glare. He faked a sympathetic smile and nodded at me. “Take your time, Katie. We’ll be here when you get back.”
“I’m not coming back.” I shot back as I glared at him. I didn’t care who heard me. I was done. He had no right to treat me this way. Let him explain my abrupt departure. I half expected him to follow me out of the room, and I was disappointed when I realized he wasn’t coming. I walked into the elevator and waited for him to rush out of the room and run into the elevator to stop me. Only he didn’t. The doors closed slowly and the ride down seemed to take forever. I pulled my phone out as soon as I walked out to call Meg. I needed to talk to her. I needed someone to remind me what a jerk he was so I wouldn’t burst out crying.
“Hello?” Her voice was breathless, and my heart stopped beating.
“Meg, what’s wrong?”
“I was fired.” She burst into tears. “The law firm laid me off yesterday with no severance. They said that they couldn’t afford to keep me.”
“Oh, that’s horrible.” I leaned against the wall next to the elevator with my heart beating fast. “Can they do that?”
“Yes, I had no contract. I was an employee-at-will.” Her voice broke. “I don’t know what I’m going to do.” She burst into tears again.
“You can just get another job, right?”
“They told me that they won't give me a reference.” She sobbed hysterically. “I’m done, Katie.”
“Oh, Meg.” My heart broke for her, as I knew how happy she had been when she had gotten her law job.
“Thank God you have this position.” She sobbed. “You don’t mind covering the next few months’ rent, do you? I’ll pay you back as soon as I have a new job.”
“Sure.” My heart dropped at her words. How could I quit now? “You don’t even have to ask. You know I will always be here for you.”
“How is everything with you, by the way?” She sighed. “Sorry, I completely forgot to ask if you’d seen Brandon. My mind was caught up in my own issues.”
“It’s fine.” I lied. “I saw him, but for, like, a minute. I don’t even think he recognized me.”
“That’s good, right?” I could hear her blowing her nose. “Hopefully you won’t see him again. Then you can just come back home and forget about him again.”
“Yeah.” My voice was weak as I spoke into the phone. “Everything is going according to plan,” I lied again. Nothing was going according to plan. Nothing at all. I closed my eyes for a moment as I thought about everything that I had been through, everything I had put into action, and my heart broke again. I’d made a big mistake, and once again I was getting burned.
“So I’ll see you tomorrow night, right?” Meg’s voice sounded a bit happier. “I’ll cook pasta and you can help me look for jobs.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I cleared my throat. “But I better go now, I think we’re starting up again.”
“Okay, great. Thanks for cheering me up, I miss you already.”
“You need to get a boyfriend.” I laughed, shaking my head at her words. “You won’t have time to miss me then.”