Wanting It All: Michael and Sarah (8 page)

SARAH

I was hungry and with Michael not here for lunch, I decided to head out to the deli across the street. Paul walked with me to keep me safe. Just as we were about to walk into the deli, I received a terrible shock. Michael was walking out of a jewelry store with none other than Brandi. I ran back to the office without my lunch. It didn’t matter because I lost my appetite. Paul tried to calm me down, explaining that the bimbo probably followed him, and that he would never do that to me.

I tried to calm down and told Paul I’d wait for an explanation before I popped him in the jaw. I’d just sat down at my desk when in walked David Montgomery.

“If it is not the most beautiful woman in the world.” He came up and pulled me into a hug and squeezed me tight before setting me down. We hadn’t seen each other in years because both of us were so busy. I had been away at college while he was working hard to make his business thrive. The first time was at the club the other day.

“David, it is so good to see you.” David looked at me and could tell that I was about to cry.

“What is the matter, Sarah? Did Jason contact you?” He grasped me by the chin and had me look at him in the eyes. “What happened?”

“Nothing.” He looked at me like I was so full of shit.

“What happened? Really.”

“It wasn’t Jason. It was Michael. He is still seeing his ex-girlfriend Brandi and I just saw them together. He lied to me. He told me he was going to be in a meeting with the tech team today, and he was at the jewelry store with her. He just used me.”

“Sarah, there’s no way he was intentionally with her. He wouldn’t betray you. You have no idea how insane the guy is about you. I think you just need to talk to him and get it straightened out. I have known him since college, and he has never even had a real girlfriend. It wasn’t until he met you that he wanted more than the annual one-night bed partner.” He wrapped his arms around my waist and hugged and looked down at me.

“You don’t worry about it, baby, you are gorgeous.”

“What the fuck are you doing with your hands on my woman?” Michael walked towards us with rage in his eyes, but I didn’t care. He had a lot of nerve.

“David, you wait until I am out of the office to pounce on my woman? Get the fuck out!” He looked like he was going to deck David.

“Michael, you have some nerve. David, let’s go. Michael, I’m moving back to my apartment. You can send my things to my place.” I stormed off to my desk outside of his office and started packing my things. He could manage for a few days without an assistant or he could have his bimbo help him. I was obviously not enough. I grabbed my things and walked away from him.

“What the fuck makes you think that I am going to let you leave with him?” Michael grabbed my arm to stop me from leaving before he turned to David, “After all these years, this is how it goes down, David?”

“Mike, calm the fuck down and don’t fuck up a good thing. It so happens I came to talk to you and you weren’t here and Sarah was near tears. It’s all your lying ass’s fault. I tried to tell her you wouldn’t cheat on her, but by the lipstick on your collar, I beg to differ.” David gripped the edge of Michael collar and there was a bright pink lipstick stain. I had to hold back the tears.

“You saw me?” Michael looked defeated, which only meant that he was guilty, and my heart crumbled on the spot. I stepped away as he kept coming near me.

MICHAEL

“That is all you can say? You were back with your whore and all you can say is ‘you saw me’? Stay away from me.” Oh God, she looked at me like I was the biggest creep. I had to fix this and right now. I couldn’t lose her. After this is straightened out, I was going to find Brandi and choke her.

“It wasn’t what you think. I lied, but for a good reason. Brandi must have followed me in there because no one knows of the place where I buy my mother’s gifts from. She tried to tell me that she missed me. I told her there was no way I would have anything to do with her. Then she tried to kiss me. When I moved, her lips grazed my collar, which seemed to piss her off. I am truly starting to think she is more like Jason and missing a few pieces.” I needed her to believe me. Damn it, if she left me, I wouldn’t be able to exist anymore.

I wasn’t going to let her get away from me. An idea popped in my head. Crowding her space, I held her tight and gave her a fast but thorough kiss on her lips. “What do they taste like, babe?”

“Like the coffee you were drinking before you left.” She looked confused.

“See? I wasn’t kissing up on any woman. In fact, wait and follow me.” I rushed to my office and called security. After explaining what I needed, I hung up and waited. “I think I can prove it to you.” My head of security sent the video to my computer from the outside cameras.

“Look, baby, we have a camera that faces away from the building and towards the store. The owner happens to be a friend of mine I met when I first came to America.”

I cued up the video to about half an hour earlier. You could see me crossing the street and going into the store. It didn’t look like anything was about to happen, but out of nowhere came Brandi out of a nice SUV. She looked around, then looked into the store. She waited there until I walked out and wrapped her arm around my arm.

“That is what I saw right here.” She had tears streaming down her face. I didn’t like that shit, not one bit. The tape showed me quickly unhooking myself and moving away as she tried to kiss me. Then you could see me yelling at her to stay away and she told me something.

“What did she say to you?”

“She said I couldn’t get away with using her just to make someone jealous. Then I walked really fast back into the building.”

I pulled her back into my arms and looked down at the love of my life. “I know it looks bad, but I promise there is no one but you. I would have never seen more than one woman at a time before, and those were meaningless women. You are mine. I would never do anything to lose you.” I tipped her chin, what I needed to say was scary to me, but it needed to be said. “I love you, Sarah. Nothing can change that.”

She looked as though her world had brightened with just those words. She hadn’t returned the sentiment and it made me nervous, so I jokingly added, “Even with this fuck trying to pick you up.”

She shook her head and smiled at me. “Michael, I love you, too.” Fuck, she said the words I’d hoped she would. I forgot David was there when I kissed her lips, letting my hands slide in their usual position, one on her waist and the other cupping her hair. God, I loved this woman.

“Michael, I was just hurt because Jason cheated on me, and that is why we broke up. I thought you were doing the same. I wanted to deck you”

“Baby, please don’t ever compare me to that fuck. He is as fucked up as they come, but I understand what you mean. I am sorry, but you have to trust me.”

“You are talking about trust, but you lied about where you were. Why?” The no nonsense Sarah was back. Shit.

“Amore, it’s a surprise. I promise you will understand soon, but you have to believe me. I beg of you, my love.”

David chimed in, “Sarah, I told you he wouldn’t do that to you. I have known him for so long, and I know that would be so beneath him. Don’t let the broad ruin what you two have.”

“Michael, I just feel hurt right now.”

“David, can you excuse us for a moment?” David bowed his head slightly in agreement and left my office, closing the door on his way out.

“Sarah, did I not spend all last night making love to you? Leaving my mark on your body as a way of letting you and anyone else know that you belong to me?” She nodded. “Sweetheart, I need you more than you can possibly know, and I wouldn’t do anything to fuck that up.”

I sat in my chair, taking her into my lap. “This is the item I wanted to give you the other day, but it was
that
day. I bought it before I came to your apartment the day the bastard almost…Baby, just open it.”

It was a necklace that had two charms. There was an initial on each. “Michael, it’s beautiful… but it has the wrong initials, mine are SO not SV.”

“Amore, you need to think, baby. My last name is Vitale. What I was trying to say with this, is that I think of you as my other half. One day, when you are ready, I want you to be my wife. I just wanted to let you know that it is going to happen. You will be my wife.”

“Michael, I don’t know what to say. This is special, and I almost threw it all away.”

“Baby, I wouldn’t let you leave, but I can’t blame you for your jealousy. I used her at the party as a buffer, and it backfired on me. She won’t give up, and you think that I am seeing her but I am not. I wasn’t then and I’m not now.”

I pushed her hair to the side, kissing her neck. I whispered, “I love you, Sarah, so unbelievably much. The thought of not being with you hurts. Hell, I threatened my best friend since college for hugging and protecting you just because you two knew each other. He thinks you are hot as fuck. He’s right, but that doesn’t mean I want him to show his appreciation.”

“Michael, when I saw you texting at the club, all I thought was that David’s friend has a cute butt and his body looks like my boss’s. My mind went to all the fantasies I had and what I wanted you to do to me, but I thought you didn’t want me.”

“I have wanted you from the first time I saw you. I wanted to take you away from Jason and carry you off to Sicily, but then again, that would be a bad idea. There are way too many good looking and flirtatious Sicilians.”

“I love you, Michael Vitale,” she said with a laugh and a shake of her head.

“I love you, Sarah. Now I hate to be an ass and kick you out, but David wants to talk to me.”

“No, that’s perfect. I have some work to do. My boss is a slave driver.” I swatted her ass as she tried to get away from me.

“God, my dear, you have no idea how bad I want you, please send Mr. Montgomery in.”

“Yes, sir,” she replied with a bite of her lip.           

“Just wait until we get home.” I smiled at her with lecherous intent.

“Yes, sir.” This time she gave me a huge eager grin.

She sashayed her hips as she strutted out the office, fucking brat. I had to adjust myself. I watched her walk up to David, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

She hugged him, so I walked up on them, but this time my jealousy wasn’t as strong. Granted, it would never go away. Any man that wasn’t related putting his hands on what was mine might be on the receiving end of an ass whooping.

“Really, I am getting tired of you trying to grope my woman. Miss Owen, don’t you have some work to do?”

“Grrrr, you are lucky I think my boss is sexy.” She huffed away and back to her desk. Damn, her ass was sexy as fuck.

I led David back to my office and David closed the door.

“Before you jump down my throat, let me say something. I know you have had issues with trust and shit, but I have been nothing but your friend for the last decade. I would never intentionally hurt you. At the club, I didn’t know that little Sarah, the one I knew as a teenager, happened to be your tormentor. I hadn’t seen her since their freshman year. Plus, I was drunk, too. You need to tone down your green-eyed monster. I would never do that to you.”

“I know that, but the thought of another man touching her drives me insane. It doesn’t help that you thought she was hot before you knew she was mine, because that still doesn’t make her not hot.”

“To me it does. She is pretty to me, but now I see her just like I did when she was younger, like a kid sister. We have been like brothers, and I don’t want that to change. Sarah is a great woman. You’re both lucky that you have found each other. Am I still going to be invited to the wedding?”

“First, I have to ask her to marry me, if you don’t mind. I already told her she was going to be my wife, and she didn’t fight me on it, so I take that as a yes. I would appreciate it if you would be my best man, though. Do you think you could handle that?”

“Of course. Give me a hug you big dummy.” We hugged it out and the fight was over with.

SARAH

The two guys were hugging just as I walked in.

“Oh, I see how it is, Michael. You weren’t jealous that he was trying to take me but upset that he wasn’t trying to flirt with you.” With my hands on my waist I scolded them. “David, you’re a whore. I am telling your sister.” I added a big harrumph while attempting to keep the smile from my face.

“Shush, it’s our secret,” Michael said, before stealing a kiss from me.

“You think you are funny, don’t you? Didn’t I already warn you?” He looked at me, attempting to be stern, but it wasn’t working.

Batting my lashes and with a coy smile I replied. “Yes, sir.”

“Enough, you two. I am about to vomit.” David pretended to stick a finger down his throat.

“You don’t like it, you can leave. I need to ravish my sexy assistant.” Michael was ogling my breasts, ravishing me sounded like a good idea.

“Actually, Mr. Vitale, you can’t right now. You have a conference call in about two minutes. That’s what I came in here to tell you.”

“Come, David, let’s leave the boss man to do some work.” I could feel Michael’s eyes on us as I dragged David by the hand and out the door.  

“You could close the door. Can’t get good help these days!” He shouted out to us before getting up to do it himself.

“Add it to my list of infractions.” Michael couldn’t help but laugh as he closed the door.

“You two are suited for each other. It is rare to see that man laugh. So let me ask. Is my sister going to have to go on a diet any time soon?”

“What do you mean?” A woman’s weight was a dangerous subject.

“I mean to fit in her bridesmaid dress,” he said with a wink.

“Hahaha, so funny. I am going to tell her you said that, but I don’t know.”

“Why not? You two are perfect together. The chemistry is exploding when you two are around each other.”

“It’s not that. He hasn’t really asked me. Although I don’t think I have a choice in the matter.” I knew he was serious in his office earlier.

“See? You might as well prepare my sister in advance. She is going to freak out if it is short notice, and knowing Michael, it will be. Hell, he might kidnap your ass and take you to Vegas.”

“He probably would if I make him wait. Which I might do just to annoy him. Actually, I am scared. I am too happy and with Jason out there, I am afraid something will happen to take away my happiness.”

“Don’t let that bastard ruin your life. Stacy always said she couldn’t believe you were dating that asshole anyway. When she told me, I was pissed. I wanted to kill him myself. I am glad Michael got to wail on his ass. Just don’t forget to live, because if you do, then he is taking more from you. If you need to be with someone while Michael is working or something, you could stay with me or Stacy.” He gave me a kiss on the cheek and left, but not before he reminded me that if Michael or I need anything to give him a call.