Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (39 page)

“You
’re an idiot you know that right?”

The oven dinged letting her know
the preheat was done. 

“You are supposed to be making me feel better, Lee, not calling me names,” she replied after she put the cookie sheet into the oven.

“No, I’m supposed to show you the error of your ways when you act like an idiot. I would give anything to have a man that looks at me the way Mitch looks at you. You have that yet you are letting your ‘I am woman hear me roar’ attitude keep you from reveling in it. That, my friend is why you are an idiot.” 

She thought about it for a minute. “He is great isn
’t he?”

“Yes, and admitting you love him doesn
’t make you any less you.”

“This is huge, Lee.”

“It’s called love, Macy.”

“But…”

“But nothing, you love the man. He didn’t say he wanted you barefoot and pregnant; he said he loves you.”

“He was so upset.”

“Of course he was upset. Hell, I’m pissed at you for being so stubborn. But, I bet if you called him right now, he’d come over, and I’d be sleeping with my headphones in.”

“Thanks, Lee,” she said, giving me a huge hug.
 “Watch my cookies. I have a call to make.” She practically skipped out of the kitchen, and I couldn’t suppress laughing at my love-struck friend. 

Admitting she was in love was a huge deal for her. Mitch was a very lucky man because she
’d never uttered those three little words to any of her boyfriends. Not that I thought he would do anything, but I hoped she didn’t end up with a broken heart. I hoped she found the lasting love I always knew she secretly wanted no matter how much she said otherwise. Or it could be my inner romantic’s wishful thinking projecting my longing on to her. Either way, I was happy for her. Macy came out of her room a few minutes later wearing a huge grin and carrying a bag. 

“Guess he
’s not that upset,” I said, pointing towards the bag.

“He was gonna come here, but I thought I
’d let you get a decent night’s sleep.”

“So was he happy when you told him?”

“I didn’t. I just said I was sorry and wanted to talk to him, and he agreed.” 

I could smell the cookies; I opened the oven to check on them.
 They were golden brown and looking very delicious.

“Oh shit, Lee.
 I won’t leave you to do the cleanup.”

“Don
’t worry about it. Go now and have fun,” I said, playfully pushing her out of the kitchen.

“I
’m in love, Lee, can you believe it?”

“Yes, I can. Now go,”
 I said, trying to sound stern, pointing towards the door. 

After she left, I made sure the door was locked before starting clean up on the kitchen.
 I felt a little lonely. I was looking forward to hearing about her weekend, but we could talk tomorrow or Tuesday depending on when she came home. 

The house was quiet, and it was a little unsettling.
 I thought about calling Seth, but I doubted he wanted to talk to me about nothing. Taking a bite out of one of the cookies, I contemplated asking him over but dismissed that idea since he’d left not long ago and it was a thirty-minute drive if there wasn’t traffic.   

Instead, I took the plate of cookies, poured myself a glass of milk and then settled on the couch to watch some TV. Sitting alone in my little house with only the TV for company, I
realized how very isolated my life was. I didn’t have any friends outside of Macy here. She had plenty, and I’d hang out with them but only when she was around.

I missed my parents.
 Being able to talk to them through Skype was nice, but it wasn’t the same. I needed to see them; I wanted to see them. I didn’t remember how vacation time worked, but since I didn’t really have funds for an international trip right now, I wouldn’t worry about asking Patrick just yet. Instead, I’d start saving up, and hopefully in a few months, I could take my first trip to Greece.

 
The TV was still on when I woke up, and I had one hell of a kink in my neck. Hitting the info button on the remote to check the time, I was thankful it was just after six. I feared I had overslept. As my body started to wake up, I heard the distant roar of thunder, and my ears picked up rhythmic pattern of the rain. 

“Shit,”
 I muttered. 

The down side to not having a car, luckily, it was only about a ten minute walk to the bus stop, but that would feel longer in the rain.
 Rolling my shoulders in a vain attempt to work the kink out of my neck, I hoped that the hot shower would help. I stayed longer in the shower than I intended, so I rushed to get dressed putting on a pair of black slacks and a gray, striped button-down shirt. I pulled my hair into a quick ponytail, shoved my pant legs into my rain boots and put my dress shoes in my bag. It was quite the downpour, I acknowledged sadly, when I opened the door. 

“I am so buying a car soon,”
 I huffed before I popped open my umbrella and made my way to work. 

Once I got there, I started in on my monotonous routine.
 First thing was to check in with the answering service to see if there were any messages; emergencies were forwarded to Kerrin immediately. All other inquires and calls were noted and dealt with by me on Monday. I had five call backs to make. After punching in the code to have them sent to my email, I pulled up Patrick’s schedule.

 
He had two consultations with new clients. The last one would be a large job. The client was having a house built, and wanted Patrick to do the entire interior. 
Time check; eight-forty-five needed to get his coffee made so it would be on his desk waiting.
 I forwarded his schedule to his phone before heading to the kitchen. I rubbed my neck, trying to work out the kink, while I waited for his coffee to finish. 

I had really messed it up last night. I searched the cabinets for some aspirin or something.
 I took two Advil that I found and hoped it worked soon. 

“Good morning, Calida,”
 Patrick said as he walked into his office. He dropped his briefcase beside his desk and took a sip of his coffee.

“Good morning, Mr. Thorn.”

“Any more home improvement this weekend?” 

“No, sir,”
 I answered, rubbing at my neck again. It hurt and was very distracting.

“Did you hurt yourself?” he asked, walking from around his desk towards me.

“No, sir. I fell asleep on my couch, and I am paying for it now.”

“Here, let me help.”
 

Before I could protest, his hands were on me, moving and kneading away at the sore spot. Having him touch me, especially like that, was uncomfortable.
 He stepped closer to me, and I heard his deep inhale, his warm breath blew across my exposed neck when he exhaled.

“You smell delightful,” he whispered as his hands went from working a sore spot on my neck to a caress.
 

I attempted to step away, but he held onto my shoulders keeping me in place.
 

“You should have dinner with me one day this week.
 We can discuss your potential increase in job responsibilities.” 

He gave me another small squeeze before removing his hands.
 He took a seat at his desk, looking over the information about the first client.   

“Mr.,” I stopped to clear my throat.
 “Mr. Thorn, I would prefer to discuss my job responsibilities at work not over dinner.”

“We both have to eat, so there is no harm in doing it together.”

“Yes, but…”

“I don
’t have time to discuss this. My first meeting is in thirty minutes and, ah Kerrin, right on time.” 

They always had a pre-meeting to make sure they were on the same page with the client
’s initial wishes. Effectively dismissed, I closed the door quietly as I exited his office. I needed my job. I was even beginning to like it, but Patrick didn’t show any signs of letting up. Kerrin said he would get bored and move on. I wished that would happen soon.

“I can wait him out. I have to,”
 I whispered to myself. 
I could wait him out; I could hold strong. 

The rain never let up, and it made for a longer, more depressing day.
 I was thankful Patrick ignored me for the remainder of the day. 

The first client was a nursery playroom, not really something Patrick was into, so that meant Kerrin would be heading up that job.
 That was good for me because she would let me help out. He was very excited about the big job of the last appointment. The construction wouldn’t be finished for another two to three months, but he was already thinking fabric and design. He spent most of the day in the drafting room. It had been a long day and I was ready to go home. 

The Advil had never kicked in, so my neck was still hurting.
 Closing my eyes, I gave myself another little massage, while I waited for the last client info sheet I’d entered to upload.

“I
’d be happy to do that for you.” 

His voice startled me. My eyes popped open to see him standing there smiling with a wicked gleam in his eye.
 He normally waited for me outside. I still had fifteen minutes before I was off yet here he stood. 

“Um, what are you doing here?”

“Coming to pick you up like always. It’s raining, and since I am a gentleman, I need to walk you to the car.” His umbrella was dripping on the floor.

“I have an umbrella. I would have been fine.”
 

I didn
’t mean to come across as short, but I wasn’t expecting him to come in. He had never come in before. I didn’t want or need Patrick to see him and possibly remember him from the auction.

“Is there some reason I can
’t come inside?” Seth asked, picking up on my tone.

“No, of course not.
 Sorry. Thank you for being so thoughtful,” I replied nervously. “Um, have a seat over there,” I said, pointing to the waiting area. “I have a few more things to finish before I can leave.” 

Seth gave me another smile before going to sit on the couch.
 I went to get paper towels to clean the floor. The last thing I needed was for someone to slip and fall. I could feel Seth’s eyes on me, although he pretended to flip through a magazine, while I mopped up the puddle. After shutting down my computer, I started gathering up my things only to be stopped by Patrick.

“So will Thursday work for you?”
 he asked, scrolling through his phone.

“Work for what?”

“Our dinner.” 

I think I stopped breathing at that moment. I only looked at Patrick because I didn
’t need to see Seth to know he would be looking very unhappy. 

“Just wear something appropriate to work, and we can leave directly from here.”
  

Shit! This couldn
’t get any worse.
 

“How
’s your neck?” 

Double shit, it is about to get worse.
 I needed to say something before he did because if he mentioned the massage, I didn’t want to think how Seth would react.

 
“Mr. Thorn I…I can’t go to dinner with you. I tried to explain this morning it would be best, I mean, I would be more comfortable discussing my job at work.” I cut my eyes over at Seth who remained still, but if looks could kill, I would’ve been dead where I stood. 

“Well, you
’re at work now. We’ll go to my office, have a drink, and I’ll be happy to give your neck some additional attention while we talk.” 

Seth stood then. This time Patrick saw me look over.
 

“I didn
’t show another appointment on my calendar, Calida.” He sounded annoyed now that he may have been caught hitting on his employee in front of a client. It would have been much better had it been a client, but I wasn’t that lucky. 

“He
’s um, he’s not here for you.” 

Seth casually strolled over and placed a pos
sessive hand around my waist. “She’s not available for dinner or drinks.” His voice was level and his gaze impassive as he looked at Patrick. 

“Oh, well, my apologies. I won
’t keep you.” Giving a nod in Seth’s direction, Patrick quickly retreated to his office. 

Seth looked at me but didn
’t say a word. He was quiet in the car, never even glancing in my direction. Macy’s car wasn’t there when we arrived, so if he was going to be angry, there would be no holding back. I sat in the car, waiting for him to say something, but he remained quiet. He didn’t open my door. Instead, he got out, walked to the porch, and waited. My hands shook as I fumbled with the keys to open the door. 

“Seth, why are you mad at me?”
 I asked once we were inside.

“What makes you think I
’m mad?” His tone was light and casual, not at all what I was expecting.