As she walks away from me, the restaurant patrons busy themselves pretending to ignore the scene I caused. Mr. Berkshire stands in front of me, a look of confusion on his face. Fuck! Now I have to deal with this. Thankfully, Kate takes over most of the dinner meeting because I can barely think straight. She knows what she’s talking about, and every so often Mr. Berkshire asks me a question which fortunately I’m able to answer. By the end of the night, Kate has him signing the contracts, which for Lexed is a huge deal.
It’s a little after nine when we’re done, and Mr. Berkshire shakes my hand congratulating me on hiring such an intelligent assistant.
Outside the restaurant, I know Kate will finally ask me what I’d said.
“What did you say to her?”
“Kate, drop it. It doesn’t matter anymore.”
“Are you fucking serious, Lex?” Her tone throws me off, her abusive language and her calling me Lex all in one sentence. Since when did we cross the line from boss to friend? “For the past month, I have watched both of you in agony. She loves you so much. All along it was you that she’d go on and on about. Had I known, maybe things would have turned out differently. You actually love one another, yet neither of your stubborn fucking heads can seem to comprehend that. I don’t know what you said back there, but believe me, if you want her then go after her. You need to shit or get off the pot and fight until you’re blue in the face. Show her you can’t live without her.”
“What the fuck do you think I’ve been trying to do these past weeks? Sitting around, watching TV, scratching my ass? It’s over now, Kate… I’m done. I have no more fight left in me.”
I walk into the liquor store next door and purchase the strongest whiskey they have in stock. The clerk looks at my blood-stained hands until I pull out my black Amex. Without a single word, he scans my card and passes me the receipt to sign before placing the bottle in a brown paper bag.
As I exit the store, Kate stands there watching me take a swig from the bottle. The whiskey is smooth with an almighty kick.
“Why are you doing this to yourself?”
“Because I fucking love her, and it hurts like hell.”
“And that bottle is going to fix it.”
I don’t answer her, raising my hand in the air to say goodbye and make my way to my hotel a block away.
As I enter the lobby, I run into Victoria who’s checking in.
“What do you want, Lex? Don’t worry, the New York Times is retracting that statement, so you can keep your pornographic shots of me to yourself,” she hisses.
I take another swig of the whiskey. This time the burning has stopped, and the liquid feels smooth as it makes its way down my throat. Victoria is decent-looking, I mean when she isn’t so conniving, I can see that she’s a head-turner. The slutty black number she’s wearing is enough to get me hard if I try to concentrate. Who knows what I’m thinking anymore? My mind’s spinning, and I just want to forget everything that happened tonight.
“I don’t care about the pictures anymore. Come with me.”
I pull her arm as she looks at me confused by my sudden change of heart. I press the elevator button, and as the doors open, I drag her inside, pressing the button to the penthouse suite.
“What the hell’s wrong with you, Edwards?”
When we reach the penthouse level, the doors open, and I pull her hand to my door. As I swipe the card, she asks me one more time what the hell is wrong.
“You want to fuck me? Well, get inside before I change my mind.”
With a grin widening across her face, she runs her fingers along my cheek before following me inside and closing the door behind us.
This time, I’ll make sure Charlotte and I are completely done.
You want to hurt me for what I did to you, Charlotte? Well, you’ve won.
To quote you, “I’m done.”
CHARLIE
I sit opposite Julian at a restaurant downtown. The tension is palpable, and no matter how I angle the situation inside my mind, it always comes back to the same thing.
Lex.
The restaurant is busy for a Saturday night, and it only dawns on me as I look around and notice almost all the tables taken, we should’ve chosen something more intimate