Page 33 of Dirty Little Secret, Baby
"Dilara. I don't want to..." I begin abruptly as I open the door, then pause, because I had expected a lot of things. But not this.
"Like what you see?" my ex-assistant asks me. She's actually standing right outside my door with her breasts exposed, having apparently unbuttoned her blouse in the time it took Eric tocome get me. I guess a bra isn't required in Jake's office, and I'm pretty sure I know why.
"Put those things away and cut the drama," I say, gesturing to her breasts, which she had done back when she worked for me. That much is now obvious, as the pair of them seem to defy gravity. Strangely, I feel wrong looking at these breasts, but where else am I supposed to look when I open my own front door to send an uninvited guest away?
I turn to the side, pretending I can't stand the sight, and an image of Beth flashes before my eyes. Has she replied, maybe? And will she believe me when I tell her about this encounter?
"Alex. I want you," I hear her voice and see out of the corner of my eye, through the fingers of the hand I've put over my eyes, that she's coming toward me. Suddenly, I feel her pressing her tits against me.
"Are you out of your mind?" I ask her, instinctively pushing her away from me, and feel the anger boiling up inside me. I quickly glance around: is there a photographer anywhere to be seen? Is she supposed to take a few compromising pictures with me? What the hell is this all about?"
You didn't used to be like this. What's wrong, Alex? Why don't you want me?" Dilara asks, sounding almost hurt, now holding her unbuttoned blouse over her breasts as if she suddenly feels uncomfortable.
"Why did you come here and do this? Can't you just keep screwing Jake and leave me alone? Why don't you just go?" I snap at her irritably, pointing toward the exit.
"Are you afraid you might like taking me from behind? Is that it?" she asks, sniffling.
"Just so you know, I'm dating a woman right now. We went out to dinner last night and we're going out again tonight and..."
"The flower lady?" Dilara asks, the contempt in her voice unmistakable. "Did you kiss her? Or get her into bed again?"
"I don't see how that's any of your business. But if you must know, yes, we kissed." Then I pause. "How do you know..." I ask as it suddenly dawns on me.
She knows from Jake. Is she just here to snoop around and find out if Beth slept here?
"Get lost, Dilara. Now!" I say, and this time, there's no hurt or sadness in her face. As she turns without protest, I think I even saw a smirk. What is going on here? Is this another one of Jake's underhanded games?
I turn back, go into the kitchen, briefly scratch Cutie, who has just finished her meal and is trotting contentedly toward her bed, and glance at my smartphone.
Still no message from Beth.
Dilara's visit is making me nervous, and I wonder what Jake is planning.
"Eric," I call out loudly, and my assistant pokes his head through the door again a moment later.
"We're leaving. We'll swing by the flower shop on 4th Street on the way to the office. We'll discuss the meeting agendas on the way. You drive and wait in front of the flower shop."
"Alright, sir. I'll just quickly pack up and..."
"Hurry up. I think we should get there quickly," I say, and Eric nods, quickly retreating. I wonder what I'm going to say to Beth if we get there before Jake or Dilara. And even worse: if we get there after one of them has told her some nonsense.
******
"Wait here somewhere," I say as we pull up in front of Beth's flower shop thirty minutes later, which felt like an eternity. Of course, we didn't discuss a thing, and I just tried to reach Jake, who naturally didn't pick up, while feverishly wondering if I should just call and warn Beth. But what would I have said? Besides, her reply was still pending, and I didn't want to make things more complicated than they already were. Maybe it was a false alarm? There was always a chance. So better to let sleeping dogs lie.
"But where? All the parking spots are taken and..." my desperate-looking assistant replies, flinching as the cars behindus start honking because my Bentley is blocking the lane. He seems to be out of it today. He also got lost twice, forcing us to take a detour that cost us at least ten minutes.
"You'll find a solution. That's what I hired you for," I say gruffly, getting out and heading toward the shop's door, feeling my heart start to race.
Then the shop door opens. At first, I assume it's a customer, but when I see the familiar face with her now-buttoned blouse, I'm briefly at a loss for words.
Dilara is just coming out of the shop, giving me a wicked grin. "Good luck, sweetie," she says, winks at me, and saunters off without paying me any more attention.
"What did you do, you..." I yell after her angrily, knowing at the same time that it's pointless.
"Shit," I mutter, and with a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, I open the door and enter the shop.
"Well, look at you. I can't believe you have the nerve to show your face here," I hear Beth's voice before I can see her.
