Shattered Heart (The Hart Series) (19 page)

 “Ely, I don’t
know what’s going on with you and your man,” I can imagine Janice using air
quotes to accentuate the word
man
.  “What I do know is there is no
mistaking you guys care for one another.  Take today as an example, you look
completely miserable and he looks…”

“Dreamy.”  Did
she not see the dread in my eyes?  Oh, and the coffee stain?  No one can miss
that disaster. 

“I wouldn’t say
dreamy…” 
Thanks, Janice.
 “He hasn’t shaved in days, his shirt is
wrinkled in the back, and he spilled coffee on himself.” 
Damn, do I really
look that bad?
  I guess that means that we truly are a pair.  A pair of
miserable fools.  Elyssa always looks gorgeous to me, because she was made for
me.  Even with her oversized sweater hiding her curves she looks stunning.

“Looks like
you’re being summoned.” 
Summoned?  What did I miss?

“It would seem
so.”

“Lunch today?” 
Janice asks.

“If I’m still
breathing, count me in.” 
I’m confused, where is she going?

“No need for the
melodramatics.  I’ll see you around noon-ish.”  Janice’s singsong voice trails
off as she walks away. 

Moving swiftly
out of plain sight, I act like I’m walking back towards Elyssa’s area.  I am
not letting her out of my sight.  She seems down and fuck me if I’m going to
let anyone else pull her any farther.  Luckily, Janice doesn’t notice anything
and does her walk and a skip back to her desk. 

When I see
Elyssa on the move, I lurch farther back and wait.  She looks like she may be
going to see Arianna.  I have access to Arianna’s schedule and I didn’t see any
meetings with her.  Not that I keep up with her and her bullshit, but it is
Arianna we’re talking about.  Her shit is as deep as the ocean.  I don’t know
how she hasn’t drowned in her own twisted, fucked up desires. 

When she takes
the last step towards the office, Sam, Arianna’s assistant ushers her in
without so much as a sideways glance.  That’s interesting, because even I don’t
do that anymore.  Arianna has strict rules about anyone entering her office
without Sam warning her first.  Says she doesn’t want anyone to catch her off
guard.  I think it’s more likely because she likes to fuck the staff.  Me
included, but fortunately I put a stop to that the instant I knew I was falling
for Elyssa.  Smartest thing I’ve ever done in my life was to get rid of
Arianna. 

Okay, now that
she’s in Arianna’s office, the only thing I can do is get close enough to hear
bits and pieces of their conversation.  Unfortunately, that means I have to
stick close to the vulture’s sidekick.  I can’t do much else, so I move closer
to talk to Sam.  Of course, the second I step towards her, Arianna’s all
encompassing shrill of a voice reverberates against the walls.  

“Are you
stupid?” 
What the fuck? 
My body trembles with anger as I hold myself
still instead of pushing past the doors and rescuing my girl.

“Mr. James, can
I help you with something?”  And there goes my chance at eavesdropping. 

“No thank you,
Sam.  I was going to see if Mrs. Salerno had a quick moment, but I just saw Ms.
Hart step in.”  I ponder and then decide to ask, “Do you know why Ms. Hart
would be seeing Mrs. Salerno?”

“Sorry, Mr.
James.  I’m not privy to the meetings Mrs. Salerno has with Ms. Hart.” 
Meetings,
as in plural?  What the hell is going on?

The door opens
slowly, but stops a quarter of the way open and I hear Elyssa’s wispy voice,
“Oh, I know who I’m dealing with.  Trust me.” 

The door opens
to half mast; Elyssa takes a step closer, but then turns around when Arianna
calls her back.  “Oh and Elyssa?  Don’t you dare forget.”

“How
could I?” she responds, dejectedly.  The pain in her voice controls my body,
and as if my own brain has no say, I go to comfort her.  But before she notices
me standing ten feet in front of her, she takes her phone out of her pocket,
glancing at the screen. 

I
fight the urge to pull Elyssa aside and ask her about the meeting as I wrap my
arms around her protectively.  Or I could go into Arianna’s office and let the
bitch have it.  Instead I slink back and leave her to her thoughts as she puts
her phone away, squares her shoulders, and a look of pure determination comes
over here.  We are at work and I am still the Vice President of some part of
this God forsaken company, not to mention, my girl doesn’t need a knight in
shining armor.  I need her to save me, not the other way around. 

~~~~~

When six o’clock
comes around, I cringe at the thought of eating a meal with Oliver.  I’m not
hungry, but only because I’ve been letting guilt take residence over every
available surface of my body.  I’ve replayed Alex’s face as he walked away, his
shock when he thought I had agreed to a date with Oliver, and not to mention
Arianna’s reaction to our “date”.    . 

Guilt.  It’s far
from a pleasurable existence.  Arianna was elated at the thought of me moving
on.  The only reason I will continue to let her believe the lies is because our
agreement leaves Alex to his own choice; a choice that he can pursue anyone as
long as his choice is not me.

I didn’t have
the energy to do anything with myself, so a simple side braid was all I could
muster for my chestnut hair.  When I stepped out of Arianna’s office today, I
got a text from Oliver letting me know he changed the time to six and to dress
warm.  Because I have no clue what we’re doing or where we’re going, I decide
on a pair of low rise jeans, a pink v-neck sweater and some boots.  I’m
virtually covered from head to toe.  After all, even if we live in Las Vegas,
it’s almost December.  And unless you’re in Southern California or sunny
Hawaii, December is December: Cold.

My hands run
over my still flat stomach and hope that my baby doesn’t wreak havoc while I’m
out tonight. 
Hey, little one.  Behave tonight, okay?  I’ll treat you to
some ice cream later on. 
I caress my growing child through the fluffy
cashmere of my sweater and reel in all of the resolve I have left. 

Knock! Knock!

With his relaxed
nature and aloof attitude, I’m honestly surprised Oliver’s only ten minutes
late.  I expected at least a thirty minute wait.  Giving myself a last look in
the mirror, I sigh and turn to open the door. 

Oliver greets me,
the corner of his lip upturned; eyes inspecting me from head to toe.  I’m not
so blind that I can’t admit he looks good; shed of his business attire he looks
casual in a pair of dark jeans, dark blue button up, leather jacket, and
boots.  Over the past few weeks I’ve seen him dressed down, but almost like
he’s just thrown on whatever was not in the dirty clothes pile.  Tonight,
tonight’s different.  You can tell he put a lot of thought into what he’s
wearing.  And it most definitely works.

“You look beautiful.” 
I blush and roll my eyes playfully as I nudge him back to lock the door behind
us.  “Don’t like compliments?  You really are the complete opposite of most
girls I’ve known.”

I furrow my
eyebrows and look into his smug face, waiting for an explanation.  “It’s just
that I’ve never had to try so hard to get a girl to go on a date with me and
then once I finally get her to agree, she’s usually twirling her hair,
giggling, and making goo-goo eyes at me hoping for a compliment.”

“Oh wait!  Is
that
how this is supposed to go?”  I slap my forehead.  “I’m sorry; it’s been so
long since I’ve been on a date.  I didn’t realize that I’m supposed to lose all
brain cells and turn into a drooling, love struck idiot in front of an
attractive man.”  I flutter my eyelashes and toy with the end of my ponytail
with exaggerated excitement. 

“So, you do find
me attractive?” 
Of course that’s the only part he would take from the
entire sarcastic response.

I ignore his
question and start walking to his car.  “Where are we going anyways?”

“It’s a
surprise.  You’ll see.”  Oliver opens the passenger side door and helps me in
before closing it.  I’m not sure what type of surprise he has in store for me,
but even with the unknown future, the butterflies are still at bay.

~~~~~

An hour later
we’re parking. 
A park?  This was his surprise?
  We made a pit stop at
the grocery store where we picked up Oliver’s so-called supplies, which
consisted of water bottles, candy, and bagged popcorn.  Going to the store with
Oliver was a bit of a conundrum.  He’s such a kid sometimes, running through
the aisles, yet a gentleman, offering to pay.  Looking out to the crowd, I
notice several groups of people carrying blankets and walking up a large hill.

“What is this?” 
I question when I notice yet another couple walking hand in hand.

“Haven’t you
ever heard of a movie in the park?”  I shake my head.  “It’s just up over the
hill.  There’s a large outdoor amphitheater where they play old movies.”  While
he’s explaining where we are and why, I catch him staring at me.  Not that I’ve
not noticed this before, but tonight is different.   

Right.  Time to
move. 

I shake my head,
exasperated.  Not waiting for him, I grab the bags of food and exit the car. 
Finally catching a clue, he pops the trunk and meets me at my door carrying two
large blankets, a thermos, along with a backpack slung over his right shoulder. 
 

I tilt my chin
towards the metal container in his hand.  “Is that your way of disguising the
alcohol?” I giggle.

“Just for that
I’m not sharing my grandmother’s world famous hot chocolate.”  He winks and
takes my hand, leading me up the hill.  His hand adds warmth to the chilly
Vegas night, but still doesn’t warm my empty heart.
 

Before long,
we’ve made our way to a great little spot nestled up against a tree.  Our view
overlooks a grassy sea draped in blankets adorned with couples and families. 
Oliver makes quick work on setting up our little picnic.

I return his
proud smile and I’m surprised my reaction isn’t forced.  It’s genuine and
that’s when I realize something significant.  Oliver dulls the pain.  With his
effervescent attitude, confident manner and just all around goodness, he
doesn’t fill the empty gaping hole in my chest; he simply covers it, making it
hurt less.

“Okay, it’s
ready.”  Oliver reaches out his hand for me to take and pulls me to sit next to
him.  I sit and contemplate, realizing what he’s done; what he continues to do
for me.  My eyes shift and notice the single rose lying on top of the sandwich
wrapped in plastic next to a bag of chips.  I pick up the rose and close my
eyes, breathing in its scent wondering what I ever did to deserve a friend like
him.

“So, what are we
watching?”  I put down the rose and dig in.  Surprisingly, there are no waves
of nausea therefore I take the opportunity to get something into my empty
belly.

“Jerry McGuire. 
Ever seen it?”

“You mean…you
had me at hello?”

“No more like,
show me the money!” Oliver yells.  The crowd of couples surrounding us laughs
and snickers.  I smile and blush with embarrassment.

“You really
can’t stand not being the center of attention, huh?” I tease when I notice
several females eyeing him.

He takes a large
bite of his sandwich and chews vigorously, almost as if he’s thinking a little
too hard about what he wants to say.  “What’s that supposed to mean?”  If I
didn’t know him better, I would think he was a little taken back.

I pop another
chip in my mouth and carefully think about my answer.  “I’m only asking if
you’ve ever been content with just being in the moment.  Just enjoying
one
person’s company without worrying about everyone else or constantly trying to
compete or show off?”

Oliver’s eyes
turn to the screen as the movie begins; he’s chewing, but again seems to be
deep in thought.  We continue in silence.  I start to feel guilty about my
comment.  Obviously I made my point, but I had no intentions of hurting his
feelings. 

Before I know
it, it’s almost the end of the movie and we haven’t said more than a couple of
words, sharing only a few laughs.  I’m beginning to wonder if I should have
just kept my mouth shut.  But, I didn’t, so here we are. 

With the chilly
night air seeping around us, my fingers start to go numb.  I rub my palms
together and blow into my cupped hands to keep warm when Oliver startles me. 
“Cold?” his voice is soft.  I nod my head.  He reaches over grabbing the second
blanket.  I expect him to hand it over, but instead he reaches for my elbow and
pulls me to him, resting me between his thighs as he leans against the tree. 
Spreading out the blanket, Oliver wraps it around the both of us.  I’m warm
now, draped in the blanket and Oliver’s arms.

I relax against
him and rest my head against his chest and bask in the heat as my body
defrosts.  It’s odd to feel comforted in another man’s embrace.

“Is this what
you meant by being content in the moment?”  I can feel his lips as they brush
against my hair and his breath against the nape of my neck.  I nod.  “I must
admit this is a first for me.”  His arms tighten and I ignore the pang of pain
I feel as if I’m betraying Alex.  The most difficult part of being so close
with Oliver is that I’m torn.  I hate feeling lonely and I hate being without
Alex.  But even these few hours with Oliver have made me forget the tangled web
of lies and deceit I’m caught in.