Page 21 of Losing the Forbidden
“Do you think that was the best idea?”
The last thing I need right now is having her questioning me and making me feel like a kid again. I haven’t had to answer to anyone but myself for years, and I’m not intending to start now.
“Fuck knows, but it’s happened now, hasn’t it?”
Her chin drops at my harsh tone, and I make my escape. I’m thankful that she looked better than she did yesterday, but selfishly, she isn’t my main priority right now.
Hanging around the house all day feeling sorry for myself isn’t an option.
Once I’m showered and dressed, I make sure Mum’s okay and apologise for snapping at her this morning before heading towards the office. There’s plenty to do to keep me distracted.
I wasn’t really expecting Lauren to be here, but I’m kind of relieved when I see that I’m right. She obviously needs time to get her head together after what happened. I might not feel guilty about us spending the night together, but I’m sure as shit that she does.
The moment I walk in, Erica is up from her chair and heading my way. She has a weird look on her face as she approaches. She shocks the shit out of me when she doesn’t stop at a reasonable distance and instead slams into me and throws her arms around my waist.
I return the gesture and carefully guide her into the office, away from prying eyes.
“Erica, are you—”
I don’t get to finish my question because she pulls away from me and looks up. “I’m sorry for going off on you like that the other day. It wasn’t fair for me to blame everything on you. It’s just…I missed you.” She whispers the last bit, her cheeks heating with embarrassment.
“Aw, you missed me?” She laughs as I ruffle her hair like a little kid, but a strange tension continues to radiate from her. Falling down into the office chair behind the desk, I watch as she wrings her hands in front of her and shifts from foot to foot. “What’s wrong?”
Her eyes find mine and I swallow when I sense the seriousness of whatever she’s about to say.
“You slept with Lauren. What were you thinking?” My eyes widen. I was not expecting those words to fall from her lips. “If it was that she’d have one roll around in the sack with you and forget all about what happened, then you’ll be bitterly disappointed, Ben.”
“I know, it’s just…I saw her withhimyesterday and…”
“And?”
“I just couldn’t fucking stand the thought of his hands on what’s mine.”
“She’s not yours. She hasn’t been for a long time. You gave that up the minute you walked away. Joe’s been there for her when she needed someone the most. He’s a good guy.”
Guilt finally starts to niggle at me. I’ve no doubt that he’s a good guy. If Lauren thinks he’s good enough for her, then he probably is. “Is that meant to make me feel any better?”
“No. I’m just telling you how it is. She’s been living with him for a while now. I haven’t seen her so happy for a long time.”
“This isn’t helping.”
She shrugs and watches as I power up the computer. “So what’s the plan?”
“With Lauren? Fuck knows.”
“No, I meant for this place.”
“Business as usual, I guess. It shouldn’t take me too long to get back into it, especially when I’ve got seasoned pros around like you, of course.” The more I say, the paler Erica’s face gets. “Now what?”
“How much do you know about the state of the business?”
“Not much, but there’s more staff on the payroll than I ever knew and looking at some of the jobs running and the profit margins, things appear to be good…but I’m sensing that might not be the case?”
Erica looks like she’s about to throw up. Dread fills my stomach for what’s about to come. “Yeah, that’s how it looks.”
“Go on…”
She lets out a breath, then looks behind her to make sure the door’s shut. “I don’t think I need to spell out to you what kind of man Nick was.” When I don’t respond she lowers her voice and continues. “The business is in real trouble, Ben. There’s no money.”
