7Present
We are in Santa Monica seated at a restaurant on Ocean Drive; it overlooks the beautiful Pacific. My mood and spirit lift at the sound of the waves and sea gulls that permeate the air.
The restaurant is a few minutes from my home, but I don’t dare mention that to him. It isn’t a big deal, yet, I just don’t want to tell him that. I know it will only take a phone call to know my information, but still.
We just ordered and are both quiet as we look out at the view of the beach. The silence is uncomfortable, to say the least. I remember Drake and I used to be very close. We were until I threw myself at him during New Year’s. To this day, I admit that I feel stupid for ruining my friendship with him. Yeah, he’s a jackass now, but he wasn’t before. Now, after eight long years of not seeing each other, there’s so much to say, but there’s nothing we want to voice.
The tension I feel coming off him is blatant.
Sighing, I cock a quick glance at him, catching my breath when I meet his eyes that are looking serious as hell. What the hell is he thinking now? I raise my brow in question to him, but he just keeps on staring, like I’m such a weird specimen.
“Darling, here you are!” A saccharine voice speaks behind me. I tense when I see Drake’s facial expression change and become guarded.
“What are you doing here?” Drake utters through gritted teeth.
When the woman in question finally stops at our table, I see a beautiful blonde with hazel eyes that are framed with the longest lashes I have ever seen. I suppose this is Drake’s girlfriend or fiancée… whatever the hell she is? I see her measure me up and down while smiling sweetly at me. That makes me not like her on the spot.
Fake. She’s a f*cking fake. I hate women like her.
I mean, what is the point in trying to be nice and all when you obviously don’t like the person? She rounds Drake’s side of the table and pulls herself a chair. Obviously, the faker wants to join us. How quaint. I simmer some more.
“Who told you I was here?” Drake eyes her with a hard stare when Shannon tries to get comfortable on her chair. Her stupid fake smile still plastered on her pretty face.
“I called the office, of course. Mindy gave me the information, albeit reluctantly.” Shannon pouts at Drake. Does her stupid fake smile and those stupid pouts always work? How cheesy is that of Drake? Triple ick.
“Did you need something? You could’ve called at least.” Drake’s tone is obviously hard and he’s not pleased, but that doesn’t seem to faze Shannon. Guess he’s not so easily won over, after all.
She looks at me then, still smiling, and speaks, “I know, Darling, but I wanted to meet your new assistant. When Mindy informed me that you took her out, I was… curious.”
Drake clears his throat and introduces us. I’m a little miffed that he doesn’t even mention that I’m a family friend or that we grew up together. “Do you not notice that I’m in a middle of a work day, Shannon? Couldn’t it have waited?”
Shannon places her coral lacquered nails on Drake’s shoulder and strokes it sensually. She purrs next to his ears. “Darling, Daddy wants you to call him. It’s about the wedding and the date. He was hoping you could fill the bill for everything. Now, go scoot and make that call, please?”
Drake curses and gets up to make a call to Shannon’s father. When Drake is nowhere in sight, the real woman comes out.
“If you’re thinking about bagging your boss, I will f*cking mess with your life. Drake’s mine, so don’t make the same mistake the woman before you did. I can get you fired in a blink of an eye. Drake loves me and he’ll do anything to please me. I will keep an eye on you, Lily.”
Shannon is dead serious, too. I want to laugh so hard, and yet, throw the entire glass of water at this yapping woman.
How in the world did Drake manage to be with this woman? Now I get what Patricia was talking about. Shannon is simply mental and off her rocker.
“I’m not interested in Drake. You can have him for yourself for all I care, but you, Shannon, need to watch your tongue because when I f*cking hit back, I f*cking hit you back hard. I’m not one for cat fights, but I can take you on. You threaten me and then expect me to just clamor up? You’ve picked the wrong woman to threaten and intimidate. I don’t give a rat’s ass about you, a wannabe actress, who wants to nab a rich guy. I don’t care, got that, blondie?”
Shannon’s eyes become so dark they’re almost black. Her neck is turning red and I can see it is starting to creep up all the way to her cheeks. If she is going to have a heart attack right now, I will probably just sit back and watch her drop on the floor without a tinge of a muscle to help. Wretched bitches don’t deserve pity. I can be a cold-hearted bitch if I want to. Sadly, it was Drake who taught me to be one.
She is almost tomato red. I can see she wants to kill me, but Drake chooses that moment to rejoin our party. His eyes swing back and forth, noticing his fiancée’s beet red-colored state. My eyes never leave Shannon. What comes out of her mouth isn’t a surprise. “You’re fired, Lily. You can kiss your job goodbye and go back to wherever shady part of town you came from. No one gets to talk to me so disrespectfully and get away with it.”
I bite my lip as I look at her with amusement, trying to hold back my laughter.
Drake interjects, “What the f*ck’s going on here? You can’t fire her—”
“Of course, I can. We’ll be married soon and the company’s going to be part mine.” Shannon directs her gaze at me. “What are you still doing here, looking amused? You can leave now. You’re not needed.”
That does it.
I roar in laughing hysterics. I start to cry tears of joy when I hear Drake join in. Goodness this woman takes delusional to another level. To think that Hugh would hand her a partial part of the company is unrealistic. The man worked hard to get where he’s at in his life. He’s not going to risk being a pauper by giving some of those riches off to some gold-digger.
The horror on Shannon’s face is beyond ridiculous.
After a good few minutes of barking my amusement, I use the linen napkin to wipe my tear-stained face. “I can’t fire Lily simply because mother hired her. Second, if I do choose to fire her, my parents will disown me in a heartbeat. Third, Lily doesn’t live in a shady part of anywhere. She inherited half of her father’s worth when he died.” Drake clears his throat and looks at Shannon. “I think you better leave. You can move out of my home while you’re at it. Leave the keys on the kitchen counter. Bye, Shannon.”
She stands instantly up in rage and slaps Drake on his cheek, leaving a red spot. “You, son of a bitch! You’re not going to get away with this.” Shannon threatens before she scampers out of the restaurant in furious haste.
I gasp and stare at Drake while he rubs his cheek. “So, that was Shannon, huh?”
Drake’s eyes twinkle. “You find this funny, don’t you? Just as well. That woman was becoming a nightmare.”
Interesting. Wasn’t he planning to marry her? “Um, so I guess there’s no wedding then?”
Drake sighs and looks away. His eyes seem distant as he watches the beach. He looks sad. If Shannon meant so much to him… then why break up with her?
“I never wanted to get married… well not right away, and especially, not with her,” Drake says, breaking the silence.
He waits until the waiter is done placing our food on the table before starting again. “Four months ago, Shannon was pregnant. I know it’s not enough reason to marry someone, but I want to offer my child the same childhood I had, with two loving parents. My parents didn’t know that she was pregnant. I was going to tell them, eventually, but there was never a right time, you know? Shannon miscarried during her sixteenth week. I was going to tell her that the wedding was not going to happen, but each time I tried, she would go into a crazy meltdown. She almost killed herself once. After that incident, I was complacent and told myself that I will wait for a few more months before I break it off with her. I wanted her to seek professional help, but she insisted that she was fine. Anyway, that’s the story behind Shannon and me.” Drake takes a lengthy sip of his water and starts to eat his meal.
I stare at him in astonishment. How could he just eat after the shocking information he just bombarded me with? “What if she tries to kill herself again, what are you going to do?”
“That’s her family’s problem now. Her parents know how their daughter is, but they just brush it off. If they can do that, so can I. Shannon used her pregnancy and miscarriage for far too long. I am well over it.”
“I’m sorry about the baby,” I murmur.
He shrugs. “Yeah, but it was for the best. I don’t honestly think she and I would’ve been any good as parents anyway. I can always be grateful for that, I suppose.”
I’m still reeling from all the insane information. I can barely even manage to put the food in my mouth, let alone swallow it. Drake, a father… it’s the most bizarre thought. He’s never been keen on kids. I mean he finds them cute, but he stays away from them like they were diseased or something. I guess that was the old Drake. The new one might actually love to have babies. I suppose I really don’t know this man anymore.
After that eventful lunch, Drake hands me a spare key for his house and gives me some other important details that are essential for me to know, like where he gets his dry cleaning done and so forth.
When the clock hits five pm, I get up and gather my belongings. I glance towards the door when I hear a knock.
It’s Drake.
“There’s an event tomorrow night. I will send a car at six to get you.”
Um, you mention this now? “Do I have to be there? I don’t think I’ll be necessary.” I don’t want to be an idiot accessory, either.
“It’s work related. You will meet a lot of our contacts and it’s good for you to know who they are.” Sigh. Of course he brings up work.
Shit.
I nod. “Okay, six tomorrow night.” I get up, sort out my things, and shove whatever it is that I need in my tote purse. When I hear him clear his throat, I’m a little startled. He didn’t leave yet? I thought he left already.
“Yes?” I ask, not glancing in his direction.
“I won’t be here tomorrow, so I will see you at the event. Mindy will have all the information on your desk tomorrow morning. She already picked up the dry cleaning, so you don’t have to do it any longer.”
Thank God for Mindy. I totally forgot about his other demands. He also added that Skull was already taken care of. Okay.
“So, I guess I will see you tomorrow night?” He lingers longer.
Does he plan to leave any second now?
“Yes, Drake, I will be there tomorrow night.” I gather up my things and stride towards the door. I frustratingly halt when he blocks my passage.
I groan. “What now?”
“Do you need a ride home?” he whispers sultrily at me. His eyes focus on my lips.
I need to get out of here, NOW! “I drove here. I have to go. I have things to do. Will you move out of my way, Drake?” I try not to look at him directly. I simply can’t. I don’t have it in me to do so.
“You have plans tonight? A date with that boyfriend of yours, perhaps?”
“What is this, twenty questions? You already know that I do. Drop it, will you? You’re starting to get on my nerves!” I exclaim with passion, but the man is being infuriatingly dense.
“I was just curious, Lil. I haven’t seen you in almost a decade. I suppose you can say that I miss making you blush. You’re blushing now and I must say I like this look better on you.” A devilish grin suddenly emerges as he eyes me closer as if in inspection, again.
Not today, Drake, or ever AGAIN will I succumb to you. Once was lesson enough.
Without blinking, I speak with utmost certainty. “I am not interested, Drake. So, please, do us both a favor and drop the Mr. Seduction act because it will never work on me.”
Drake moves closer, our chests touching. I instantly try to pull away, but he has my shoulders on lockdown. “Why do you tense up when I’m close to you, Lil?” Drake painstakingly brushes my cheek and I look away and try to avoid his touch. “Or why does your breathing become shallow…” Drake whispers as he draws himself closer. All air leaves me when I feel his hot breath against my ear. “You still want me, but you’re fighting it.”
Fine, maybe I still do, but that doesn’t mean I’ll act on it.
“Dream on, Drake.” I forcefully push him aside and stride out of my office. It doesn’t take him long to catch up with me as I wait for the elevator.
The man is beyond exasperating! He makes me want to commit bloody murder.
I don’t acknowledge him when he jumps next to me inside the elevator.
“Do you want to go out for dinner?” Drake annoyingly asks.
For the love of God! Leave me alone! I want to scream, yet, I hold myself in check. I can’t lose my temper on my first day of work. Although, I’m tempted… oh, so tempted.
“Nope, I’m going out with Jared. Remember?” I almost feel triumphant when I don’t hear a smart comeback. It only lasts briefly.
“Is Jared staying over at your place, too?” he finally speaks, his voice low, but succinct.
I glare at him. With both of my hands on my hips, I tell him off. “My sex life is none of your business. Who I f*ck and don’t f*ck is irrelevant. This interrogation ends now.”
“For now,” Drake states in a matter-of-fact tone, but I completely ignore him.
I don’t even bother to respond because the elevator doors open. I hurriedly scramble out and into the lobby and race towards the parking structure.
Once I’m in traffic, I begin to fume some more. “F*ck you, Drake Tatum.” I swear. Drake is royally screwing with my head and I hate it.