"Okay, so you are desperate, but why be an asshole to Lilli?" Dixon growled.
"I wasn’t trying to be. I guess I just came off that way. I told you it wasn’t my intention." I sighed. "I don’t think for one second that she is ‘for sale’ or that she is a whore. I simply know that she could use some help and I could use a lot of damn help."
Dixon shook his head at me.
"You’re screwed!" He laughed loudly.
Well it was good to see Dixon back with me, at least a little bit.
"Do you even understand what these ‘inheritance conditions’ truly mean to me?" I answered before either of them could say anything. "It means that I am responsible for the security of over 5000 employee’s. If the board takes over the company, my family’s company, I don’t know for sure what they will do but I’m pretty sure that Gideon will do everything in his power to ruin it just to spite Grandfather and my family. Then, on top of that, I’m responsible for securing my family and keeping my grandfather’s things in our family." I sighed in heavy frustration and put the damn ice pack to my cheek.
"I get it," Dixon said in a low voice. "I didn’t really think about it that way but that doesn’t mean —"
"I know, I know. I was wrong in my approach." I sat up quickly. "How can I fix it?" I looked directly into Dixon’s eyes.
He shrugged. "She’s stubborn. I think you should cut your losses and move on to plan B."
"Lilli was plan B." It unintentionally came out condescendingly.
Dixon raised his beer up.
"Here’s to plan C then." He laughed before he took a drink.
I groaned, laying back onto the couch.
"Fuck!" I yelled. Oscar patted my shoulder.
"Look, you have charmed a hell of a lot of women, why are you so intent on it being Lilli?" Oscar drawled. I caught Dixon’s intense look at my face.
"I like Lilli."
Dixon groaned. I sat up straighter.
"I think Lilli is nice and I think she deserves to be better off than she is right now. I know I don’t know her well but at least I do know her, she knows me and we have some of the same friends." I sighed and looked at Dixon. "I really do want to help her out, she’s a nice girl."
"Yeah, she is a nice girl, which is why she shouldn’t get involved with you!" Dixon smirked. "Yet, it would be nice for her to not have to work so much and be so…" He didn’t finish.
"I doubt she would talk to me at this point. Besides, I don’t even know where to begin to –"
"Uh oh," Oscar said after he swallowed the gulp of beer that was in his mouth "I know that look. What are you up to?"
"Nothing." Smiling, I took his beer from him. Tilting my head back, I finished it off.
~
I sat at my desk trying to concentrate on the contracts in front of me but I was too anxious about my plan. I kept looking at my watch, when I saw that it was four in the afternoon I called Dixon.
"You're crazy," Dixon answered.
I smirked.
"So do you think it will get her to at least talk to me?" I said through my small smile.
"That or she will think that you are an even bigger stalker," he laughed and I frowned. "You still there?"
"Yeah," I breathed out. "You think that it was smart to not go with roses?"
"Definitely. Very smart move on your part, she would’ve thought you were really crazy if you had done that," he chuckled.
"You sure? Because I am trying to make—"
"Aidan, stop. Lilli isn’t a roses kind of girl. Walking into a room full of flowers is going to overwhelm her enough." I could almost hear his eyes rolling.
"Okay," I still felt nervous.
"Calm down. I’ll talk to you later."
"Yeah, later." We hung up.
I sat wondering if this would work.
~
Lilli
Having repeated nights of not getting enough sleep, I headed straight for my room when I got home after class. Thankfully, my classes for the semester would be coming to an end then I would just not register for the next semester. I would pick up another job but was hoping to just find a more full-time, better paying, Monday to Friday day job. I could catch up on sleep during the weekends.
When I opened the door I was assaulted by a strong floral smell, the kind of smell you experience when you enter a flower shop. My room looked like a blanket of white and pink petals. Vases filled to the brim with Peonies sat on my desk, bedside table, dresser and floor.
I shook away the shock clouding my head and stepped to the middle of my room. Spinning in a circle, I took it all in, catching sight of a large white envelope, my name written in perfect black script.
Opening the crisp white envelope, I pulled the obviously expensive note card from within. 'Forgive Me' in large silver and blue calligraphy decorated the front.
It couldn’t be.
I flipped it over. In neat handwriting, I read the note.
Lilli,
Please forgive me for being so inconsiderate of your feelings. I was a selfish asshole who deserved more than a slap in the face. Thank you for taking it easy on me.
My intentions were good but I failed miserably at being respectful and good to you.
Please forgive me and give me a chance to explain.