Page 28 of Between Desire and Denial
“He’s probably busy.” I shrugged and looked over at the staircase. “I’m guessing there are guestrooms up there, if it’s okay with you, I’ll stay there for the week.”
He ignored my questions and kept trying to convince me. “Come on, it’s clear Lucille wants you here for longer than that. According to the board, the next meeting is in a month and a half.”
“It’s also clear I can’t be here that long.”
“Explain to me why you can’t again.” He stepped close as he waited for a response, and I sucked in a breath at his proximity.
“I have obligations back in—” I didn’t even know where at this point, but surely there was somewhere I belonged.
Dimitri didn’t give me time to dwell on it. “Kee isn’t an obligation anymore. Only your thesis. Take a job with HEAT.”
I threw up my hands. “That’s hardly what this would be.”
“I’ll pay you double your old salary with Kee.”
“I don’t need a salary. So your bribe is shit.” It was a snotty thing to say, so I normally kept it to myself, but my bank account had always held more than enough in it. My mother made sure of it before she passed, and Kee also paid me well.
“It still provides you with purpose. You need something other than ‘assistant to a celebrity’ on your résumé if you want a job apart from that. Unless you plan to follow her around for the rest of your life?”
“So what? I’m going to add ‘fake long-term girlfriend’ to it instead?” I held up a hand so I could finish. “Also, I was never following her around. I resent that. And you know what? I’m not going to entertain this conversation any longer. You can do whatever the hell you want the next few days. I’ll talk to my parents and Lucille for you, but then I’m gone.”
He stood there in his perfect suit with a look of determination not resignation. “You so afraid to spend a little time with me?”
“Afraid ofwhatwhen it comes to spending time with you?”
“You know what.” He looked me up and down, and suddenly my body heated like a match thrown on hay.
I blamed it on the fact that without Dimitri, I was practically experiencing the definition of a dry spell now that there was no Rufford.Andafter sleeping with Dimitri twice, I’d been having dream after dream about him. “You’ve lost it, I swear.”
I stormed past him, but he grabbed my elbow. “Have I though? Because I don’t recall you blushing like this when you’re simply frustrated. I must have missed it all these years.”
“I’m not blushing. And I’m also not frustrated. So, you’re missing a lot.” I stepped back and away from him quickly. His touch was electrifying; it sparked a yearning in me I didn’t know existed before. “I’m done with this conversation. I need to go”—I hesitated, trying to think of an excuse to get away from him—“visit my family. I’ll be home later.”
“Want a ride?”
I stumbled toward the door like it was a damn fire escape. “No. I’ll walk.” The fresh air would be nice, anyway, after feeling the heat of our tension.
When I got to my parents’ house, I didn’t even attempt to walk in. Instead, I sat down on the porch and dialed the number I knew by heart.
“Olive, it’s three o’clock. I’m still at work. Can I call you back?” My stepmother answered without even a hello.
“I know, Georgette. I’m in Paradise Grove though. I thought I’d maybe stop by…”
“Oh. You’re here?” she screeched into the phone. I heard rustling and then, “Well, I wish you would have given us more notice. Your father is on a work trip, and your brother has been having a lot of anxiety lately. I have a million calls to still make today and—”
“I don’t have to stop by.”
“The front door camera alerted me that you’re on our porch.” The annoyance in her voice was palpable. “I’m in the home office. I’ll be busy for another fifteen minutes, but you know where the spare key is. Why don’t you see if your brother is up for a visitor?”
She hung up before I could respond, and even though I knew it was a silly situation to have affect me in any way, my gut still twisted.
I took my time lifting the flowerpot to grab the spare key underneath it and then unlocked the door to walk in.
The entryway with its large staircase and extravagant Greek god statue was a statement to those entering that we kept upappearances, or maybe that we cared a bit too much about appearances. It wrapped around the chandelier hanging from the cathedral ceiling, and I took the oak stairs two at a time to go knock on my brother’s door.
I heard his grumble first and then, “Come in.”
Maybe I expected at least a smile. Or a hug. What I got was a painful reality shot at me like a bullet ready to kill.
