Damaged Perfection (The Perfection Series Book 1) (11 page)

* * *

              I watch the small televisions in anticipation. Thirty minutes in and I have yet to find what I am looking for. I decide that this room is suffocating me and that I need to be downstairs with everyone else.

              Face after face pass me but not the one I want. I make it to the party room and weave in and out of people. After passing through the dance floor, I find a dark corner. I want to be able to see everyone but not stand out in the crowd.

              After about fifteen minutes of watching this one lady go from guy to guy trying to get them to take her home, I pull out my phone. I am typing out a message when I hear her voice. After searching for a few seconds, I finally find her a few tables over. She is sitting there with the blonde. They are talking casually and she seems to be enjoying herself. His hands are a little too friendly for my taste and it takes everything I have not to go over there and move her ass to the middle of my lap. He whispers something in her ear and she agrees to whatever he said. He takes her by the hand and leads her to the dance floor. Fucking great!

              Even though my blood pressure is rising due to seeing her with another man, at least she didn’t wear the dress; that speaks volumes. Those heels she has on are making my dick hard. I send her a text and continue watching them.

             
Fenton: “Did you wear the dress?”

             
She seems a bit stiff dancing next to him. His hands are moving up and down her arms. If I sit here too much longer, I am going to need some alcohol. I can’t watch this sober. I grab a cup of ice water from a passing waiter. Chewing on the ice will give me something to grind my teeth into as I watch some dude feeling up my girl. I duck down in my seat a little when they head back to the table. She sits but he walks to the bar to get them a drink. She takes the opportunity to check her phone. A smile spreads on her face when she sees my message.

             
Piper: “Yes. Too bad you aren’t here to rip me out of it like you promised a few weeks ago ;)”

              Her date returns and I watch her smile dissipate. Although I hate that she isn’t smiling any longer, I am glad that it is me and not him that put it there in the first place. She stands and walks toward the hallway and I think that is my queue.

Piper

              “What… uh… stuffy partee.” The lady standing next to me slurs as I check my makeup. I shake my head when she offers me a drink of whatever it is in her cup.

              “What are you a good girl? Who are you here with? My husband is the CEO of this company and I am going to inform him how rude you were to me…” I roll my eyes and leave the miserable old hoot in the bathroom rambling. I check my phone as I am walking out to make sure Fent hasn’t messaged me back. I don’t want to be looking at my phone when I am here with Shane. Disappointed that I don’t have a message, I slip the phone back in the pocket of my skirt and am silently cursing myself for wearing these tall stilettos. When will I ever learn that I cannot wear them? I turn to walk in the conference room and standing there, with all his gorgeousness, leaning his hands on the top of the door frame is Fenton. I am pretty sure my heart stops.

“Hi darlin’, nice dress,” he says, stalking me with his eyes. I can’t move, or speak.  I don’t think I have ever seen him in his security uniform but holy hell.

              “Hey. What are you doing here?”

              “Just so happens Gibson had this job tonight and the person who was supposed to work it couldn’t make it. So, here I am.”

              “Just so happens, huh?” I say breathlessly, as he gets closer to me.

              “Yeah…Crazy, huh?” he whispers, right before our lips meet.

              “Real crazy…” He walks me backward toward a dark hallway. We find a door but it is locked but we are luckier with the next one. He pushes me in the room and when the door is shut behind him, he backs me up against the wall and puts his leg between mine.

              “This is not going to be sweet, Piper. Are you ready?”

              “Oh my God, Fent. I couldn’t be more ready,” I say while he takes off my panties. Then, in one swift move he picks me up, unzips his pants and sits me back down on him. I gasp when he slams into me.

“Ok baby?”

“Y-yes…”

“Good,” he says and starts his beautiful assault on my body. His movements are fast but steady, making me feel things that I have never felt before. I know I am loud but I don’t care; the only thing that matters is what this man is doing to me right now.

“Sweet Piper… I will never be the same again,” he says against my shoulder with his eyes closed. He squeezes my ass as he thrusts a few more times and we both call out in bliss.

“Holy shit, Piper!”

“Yes, that is the best closet sex I have ever had,” I laugh. He smiles and kisses me on the forehead.

“What are you doing?” I ask when he begins looking around and not letting me down.

“I am trying to find something clean you up with.”

“Oh, right.” I swear I don’t think straight around this man. “I can just run to the bathroom, it is right across the hall.”

“Looks like you are going to have to, I can’t find anything.” With one last kiss, he slowly lets me down and I run to the bathroom. I have never in my life been the kind to have sex outside of the house but holy shit is it amazing with Fent. He makes it so it is all I think about.

When I enter the bathroom, I hope the old drunkard from earlier isn’t here. I am relieved to see that she isn’t; in fact, no one is in here which is a feat in itself in a women’s bathroom. I quickly clean up and head back out to BOTH of my dates. When I leave the room, I see Fent leaning up against the wall across the hall. I begin to walk toward him but Shane steps in front of me.

“Where the hell have you been?” I am somewhat taken back by his forwardness. He has never spoken to me this way. I can smell the alcohol on his breath and I notice that his eyes are unfocused.

“Shane what have you taken?”

“That doesn’t matter. I asked you a question. Where were you?”

“It really is none of your business where she was,” Fenton answers as he walks up next to me. Shane’s head turns sluggishly toward him.

“Fuck off.  I don’t need security, I have this under control.” I forgot that these two have never met. This should be interesting.

“I am not security tonight. I am here to make sure you treat her like the friend you claim to be. So far, I am not impressed.” Shane laughs in his face.

“Fenton, I have this under control. Please let me handle it.” I step between the two of them. I am not sure what I think I am going to accomplish as they both tower over me but nonetheless, I do.

“Who the hell is Fenton? You have never talked about him before. Is he a fuck buddy?” Shane asks.

“Shane, I don’t appreciate that. I think it is time to go.” He pulls his arm away from me and almost falls on his ass.

“I am not asking you Shane, let’s go,” Fenton says as he calls someone. As soon as he finishes his phone call, he is by my side helping Shane up.

“Did you drive?”

“No, we took a cab.” He rolls his eyes.

“Of course you took a cab. I will take both of you home.” Once Shane is on his feet, we walk him out to the car. We sit on either side of him, to keep him from falling over, as he has now passed out. Fent plugs the directions into his navigation and we begin our long drive to the other side of town.

“What kind of friend do you have here?”

I blow out a deep breath.

“Believe it or not, he has been a good friend up until the past year. He has gotten involved with some bad people and has gone downhill fast. Since I started at James, I really haven’t seen him much, so I thought it would be nice to catch up. He clearly isn’t getting better. I don’t know what to do. He is my best friend and I want to help him but he doesn’t want to help himself.” I know what he is going to tell me before the words even leave his lips and I don’t want to hear them. I don’t need another person telling me he is no good. If you can’t count on your best friend to kick your ass into shape, then who can you count on?

              “Don’t lay it out to him as ultimatum but make sure he knows you are serious about being there to help him. But make sure you are ready to deal with the repercussions because it isn’t going to be fun.”             

              I am speechless. That is not what I expected to hear from him.

              “Thank you for that. I was not expecting to hear that from you.” I wasn’t sure this man was capable of surprising me anymore but I was wrong.

              “I have been in his position. It’s not fun having to go through it alone. And it is even less fun to have people tell you they are going to be there and then not.” Even in his profile I can see the sadness in his eyes. Even though Fent and I just met recently, I already feel like we have such a deep connection. I don’t know what to do with either of the men that are sitting next to me.

              “I know it is hard for you to share your feelings but maybe you can talk to him?” I plead. He glances at me and I know that probably isn’t going to happen. My gaze returns to the road in time to see we have made it to Shane’s apartment. Fenton parks and within a couple of seconds, he is at my side of the truck. I get out and Shane falls over, waking up when his head hits the seat.

              “Piper…?” He slurs.

              “I am right here, Shane. We drove you home.” He raises his head a few inches and opens one eye. He zeroes in on Fent but of course he has to give himself a few seconds to focus on him. He sits up as he realizes he is in a strange car but relief quickly shows on his face when he recognizes his surroundings.

              “Thank you for making sure I had a ride home,” he says to me before kissing my cheek and walking in his apartment. I look over to Fent as his brows shoot up.

              “You’re welcome,” he speaks in Shane’s direction.

              “I will thank you for him, he is in a drug haze. He isn’t usually so rude.”

              “You will not thank me for him. He will thank me the next time I see him. He is lucky I don’t go after him right now for the way he has treated you tonight.”

              “It is the drugs, Fent. I promise, he has never treated me that way.” He stares at me a few seconds before he pulls me to him. He wraps his arms around me until I think he is going to squeeze the life out of me.

              “I don’t care what his problem is; no one is going to treat you that way.” We stand there, in each other’s arms, completely content and comfortable with each other. I didn’t feel this comfortable with Nate after nearly a year together. I don’t know what it is about Fent but I hope he keeps his good guy attitude instead of turning back to the womanizer I met at the bar.

              “I need to get you home. We have an early work bell in the morning.” He finally releases me and I climb back in the truck, completely exhausted from the day with Fent and the night with Shane. The truck is filled with silence the entire trip home. I don’t have the energy to talk or listen and apparently neither does Fent.

* * *

              The music from my alarm wakes me. I stretch and my body screams that it is too early to be awake. Turning over on my side, I decide that a few more minutes of sleep are in order. I reach over to silence my phone and feel a piece of paper on top of it. My lids pop open.

             
Sweet Piper,

             
I hope you slept well. I wanted to carry you to my bed but I knew you would probably not be too happy about that. I can’t wait to see you at work.

              Fent

              What a great way to start my day. For someone who seems so miserable all the time, he sure knows how to make a girl smile. I find my phone and send him a quick text.

             
Piper: “Thank you for making sure I made it to bed safely.”

             
Now that I am fully awake, it is time to hit the shower and get to work. On my way to the bathroom, my sister calls to me from her room. When I peek inside, I see she isn’t even out of bed.

              “What? I have to get ready for work.”

              “You better keep that one around.”

              “That is all you wanted?”

              “Yeah. I have never had a guy carry me up to my room without waking me up and wanting a piece of ass in return.”

              “You have such a way with words.” I roll my eyes and shut her door.

Chapter Ten

Piper

              The drive to work is filled with emotion and thoughts of the day to come. Will I have to work with Ty again? Will Frank show up and make Fent’s life a living hell? After the sweet note I found this morning, I don’t think I can work with anyone other than Fenton.

              Fent…

              Just the thought of not working with him everyday has already made me feel lonely. I am going to miss our lunch dates and his silly smile when he is making fun of me. We have been together so much over the past few days that I just can’t imagine how I am going to get through the work day without him.

              My thoughts are interrupted by my ringing phone. I feel around on the seat for it.

              “Hello?”

              “Piper, I wanted to thank you for going with me last night. I know I acted like an ass at the end and I want to apologize. Let me take you to dinner to make it up to you.”

              “Shane it seems every time I go out with you anymore you get wasted and are an asshole. How do I know that won’t happen again?”

              “Piper, I promise. I won’t drink anything but water.”

              “Ok, I will call you when I get off work.”

              “Ok, bye baby girl.” Immediately after hanging up, I think about what Fent is going to say about me going out with Shane again. He is the one that told me to help him in any way I can, so I am sure he won’t mind. I finally make it to the site and am relieved that Frank is not here when I pull up. However, Ty is and that makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t believe Frank would keep him around; he is such a sleaze ball.

              “Piper, you get to work with the master today.” Liam smiles at me when I walk to the site tent.

              “Man, you said she was working with you today?” Fent jokes with him. I am glad to see that both Fent is happy this morning and that I get to work with Liam instead of Ty.

              “Well, let’s get to it then,” he says. I am usually the only one that doesn’t show up thirty minutes early to shoot the shit with everyone over coffee. I am lucky to make it here five minutes early.

              Once we finally get to work, I quickly learn Liam’s deftness. He definitely gives Fent a run for his money if the skills department. I am excited to gain some of his knowledge.

              “I want to thank you for yesterday,” he says, startling me.

              “What happened yesterday?” I replay the events from yesterday and can’t recall anything that happened to warrant gratitude from Liam.

              “I have never seen anyone who was able to calm Fent like you did, especially when it involves Frank. He typically doesn’t listen to reason from anyone and with you it seemed he didn’t even second guess what you were saying. He just did it.”  I don’t really know how to respond that.

              “I guess I didn’t really think about it. I saw what was coming and felt the need to deter it.”

              “Right but do you understand that no one can deter Fent? Not even me.”

              “It was a natural reaction.”

              “Yes.”

              “I would have done that with anyone, Liam.”

              “Look, all I am saying is he acts different around you and I am glad that he has someone that makes him happy. It has been far too long for him.”

              “What happened to him, Liam? It seems to have messed him up pretty bad.”

              “You’ll have to ask him. I usually tell people not to get their hopes up that he will tell them but he acts completely different with you, so you may get lucky.” I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything. Liam doesn’t push it and we just continue to work.

              “Why are you doing grunt work anyway? Aren’t you some big shot boss?” I ask.

              “Fent asked me to work with you today…”

              “Oh did he?”

              “Yes, he did. Is that a problem?” Fent’s voice whirls around me, capturing what it wants and never asking permission. My eyes close and I know that voice will forever be a part of me. Long after he has moved on, I know it will infiltrate my dreams.

              “What are you doing over here?” Liam questions Fenton. I don’t know how long he has been behind us listening but he really needs to stop sneaking up on me like that.

              “I thought I needed to come and make sure you weren’t guiding her in the wrong direction. Plus, its lunch time and we had such a good lunch yesterday, I thought we could try some more.” He wiggles his eyebrows at me.

              “No, there was just enough for yesterday,” I counter. Liam sighs heavily behind us and we all laugh.

              “You guys know you are all going to be fired when Frank returns from his trip,” Ty says, with contempt in his voice.

              “Man, come off it. No one likes a snitch,” Fent counters.

              “Is that what you learned in prison?” A collective gasp fills the site and I am not sure what is going to happen next. Surprisingly, Fent just rolls his eyes and motions me to follow him. Once we reach the site tent and sit at one of the picnic tables, he begins talking.

              “I am ready for you to be working at the office. I love watching that body of yours work but I can’t handle all of these other dickheads watching it, too.”

              “I have to say that I agree with you. We may have different reasoning but we both know we shouldn’t work together.”

              “Agreed. What are you doing tonight? I want to take you to dinner.”

              “Um, I kind of already have plans,” I say, without making eye contact with him.

              “With who?” His aggravation is evident in his voice. Now I really feel guilty about making plans with Shane…again.

              “Shane. He wants to apologize by taking me to dinner,” I say quickly, before taking a bite of my sandwich.

              “Are you sure this dude doesn’t think you are dating.”

              “What? No. Shane knows we are just friends.”

              “Babe, trust me. I speak dude and my translation says he wants in your panties.”

              “Well he can want me all he wants but the feeling is not mutual.” We finish lunch out with casual conversation. I know he really wants me to cancel my plans with Shane but I can’t; it isn’t fair. I would never cancel with him if I had already made plans and I am not going to do that with Shane.

              After throwing away our trash, I begin to walk back over to Liam. Before I get too far, Fent pulls me back.

              “Next time you move the shit in my bathroom, you’re going to be sorry.” I glance over my shoulder and am met with that alluring smile, which can make me do anything it wants.

              “Is that a promise?” I whisper, excited for his answer.

              “Yes ma’am and I really want you to make me prove it.” He winks and I watch him walk back to his site. I sigh. I know that I will never tire of watching his confident gait. Reluctantly, I turn to walk back over to my site and find Liam watching me. Damn it! I really need to quit getting caught watching Fent, it is no wonder everyone thinks we are together.

              Once I make it back to my station, I find that Liam has already begun working.

              “Samantha wants me to give you her number so the two of you can go out sometime.”

              “That would be great, thank you. It will be nice to be around someone other than my sister for once. Don’t get me wrong, I love her but we are different people.”

              “Hey no judgment from me, I completely understand.”

              “Does Samantha work?” I ask.

              “No, we are lucky enough for her to be able to stay home with Abby.”

              “I would like to meet Abby. I bet she is adorable.”

              “She is and at only two years old, she is so smart. She already knows most of her letters; Sam works with her every day.” He pulls out his wallet to show me a photo and sure enough she has the same dark hair and dark eyes as her father. The love I see in Liam’s eyes while he talks about his family warms my heart.

              “She looks just like you.” I see the pride swell in his eyes.

              “So I have been told,” he says with a huge grin. “You know you are pretty good out here. I am impressed.”

              “Thank you. I grew up on a site, so it comes pretty natural.”

              “I can definitely tell. You know Fent is a lot of work. I am not going to lie and tell you that he is easy to put up with or that he is going to commit to you quickly. But if you give him the patience he needs, I know that you won’t be sorry.”

              “Thank you for the advice but I am not really sure where we are headed, if anywhere.”

              “I know, but I thought I should give you my two cents just in case.”

Thoughts of Fent, and how I would love to be able to figure him out, swirl in my head for the rest of the afternoon. I know Liam is absolutely correct about him but I also know that I want to try and peel away some of his layers. I need to get inside, even if it is just a little. He has conditioned himself for so many years that no one is worthy of his trust and that makes him almost impossible to penetrate. But tomorrow that is going to change.

Although Fent and I agreed it isn’t a good idea for us to work together, as the day comes to an end, I am rethinking that decision. I have grown accustomed to our constant bickering, him being right next to me if I have a question and knowing without a doubt that whatever he is teaching me is being taught accurately. Not that I don’t think I will get that in the office but it is hard to train yourself to have that much trust in another person.

“Are you ready to go?” Fent asks, pulling me from my thoughts. When I don’t answer, he sticks out his hands to help me up from where I was sitting. I place my hands in his and he pulls me up to his chest. Our eyes meet and the thought of everyone standing around watching us doesn’t even bother me anymore. He pulls in a long breath, puts his arm around my shoulders and walks me to my car.

“You look pretty hot in this hard hat, babe. I will think about you out here in it every day.” A smile pulls on one side of his mouth and it makes my heart flutter. He takes the hat off my head and hands it to me.

“Oh, did you want to drive home wearing this?”

“Maybe. But I have grown accustomed to driving home without all of my clothes on,” I joke.

“Babe, you’re killing me.” He closes his eyes and pouts. I kiss my fingers and stick it to his lips before I start to get in my car. Before I can pull my hand away, he grabs it and kisses the back.

“I have a meeting at the bar tonight, but please call me if Shane starts being his usual douche self.”

“I hardly think that is going to happen two nights in a row.”

“I’m just saying.”

“Okay, okay.”

* * *

Standing under the spray of the water and watching the dirt turn to mud before it runs down the drain reminds me that I won’t be working side by side with Fent every day. I know the office is where I belong but I am not really the plush office pencil pusher type.

“Pipe?” my sister calls before opening the bathroom door.

“Yeah?”

“Are you going somewhere with Shane? He is here talking about the two of you going out.”

“Yes and he is very early.”

“Well I don’t think you are going to make it very far, he is high.”

              “Damn it, already? Ok, I will be right out.” I quickly get out, dry off and pull on my robe. I have to swiftly adjust my mindset from the Adonis I have been working with all day to the friend who desperately needs help.

              As soon as I walk in the living room, I see him lying on my couch. “Shane! What the hell? You promised. What happened to taking me out for an apology dinner?”

              He tries to talk but all he can muster is a slur. Drool slides out of the side of this mouth and his eyes start to roll back a little. Panic begins pumping through me.

              “Phoebe, call an ambulance!” She fumbles a moment before the severity of the situation sinks in. She runs to her room to grab her phone and I can hear her talking. That is what I need to do; I need to keep him talking.

              “Shane, answer me! What have you been into?”

              “I swear, Pipe. It was just a little bump.” His words are lazy and spread out as though he doesn’t have the energy to speak.

              “You promised me, Shane…” Tears are sliding out of my eyes as I whisper to him.

              “I’m…sorry…”

              “If you are truly sorry, you will stop this nonsense. We are going to get you some help whether you want to or not. I can’t handle seeing you in this shape.”

              “Did you call the ambulance?” His eyes grow large. He is completely disregarding what I just told him. My patience with him is running short.