Chapter 9

DREW.
Standing by my kitchen island, I shoved a spoonful of cereal into my mouth. No sooner had I placed my phone on the counter when it started ringing.
I picked it up, seeing it was an unknown caller. I chewed voraciously, trying to clear my mouth as I answered the call. The caller didn't speak so I kept quiet too. "Fucking speak. "
I heard the person breathing rapidly, then, "Hello, Mr. Rutledge. "
"Assistant? " I asked without thinking, partly because I was so shocked and because I didn't remember her name.
"Yes, it's me. " she said ruefully.
"How the hell did you get my number? "
"I... Uh.... Saw it in one of the files. Anyway, so, listen, will you be attending Sue's baby shower? "
Wait. What the hell? She got my number from my personal files and proceeded to call me to ask whether I was attending a fucking baby shower?
"What were you doing going through my personal files anyway? "
She didn't say anything.
"Assistant! " I yelled.
"I can hear you, sir. " she said finally.
Have I been working with a lunatic? I realized it was pointless asking her how she got my number so I switched to why she called me instead.
"Why did you call me? "
"I wanted to make sure you don't forget to attend Sue's baby –"
"No. You called to know if I was going so you'd go too. " when she remained silent, I snapped, "What the hell is your problem? "
She sighed, "I'm very sorry if this was a disturbance to you, sir. "
"It was. "
"So are you going? " she asked, hopefully. Realizing I didn't have to deal with this, I proceeded to end the call but something stopped me. Sue was Kate's boss. That meant Kate would be sure to attend. And did I want to go just to see her? Hell yes.
I almost dropped my phone in shock. It was amazing how I'd answered that question without the slightest hesitation. Fuck. Was I breaking?
My assistant didn't take my silence well, "Mr. Rutledge, are you there? "
Keeping my best, nonchalant tone, I asked, "Will her assistant be attending? "
"Yes, I'm certain of that. " she said with a hint if confusion.
"When does it start? "
"Oh. It started an hour ago. "
"Hmm. " Thank God I'd already had a shower.
"Mr. Rutl–" I ended the call and dashed into my walk-in closet for something to wear.
••••••
Sue Montgomery lived in a quaint one-storey house. It was beautiful and surprisingly homey. Everybody stared wide-eyed as I went inside the house. I mean, I knew I rarely –never– attended these things but they didn't have to be so obvious about it.
There were balloons everywhere and everything was decorated in pinks and blues. I sat on a wooden chair, nursing a drink in silence. My eyes darted around, searching for Kate but I couldn't see her anywhere. Was my assistant wrong about her attending?
I messed around on my phone to while away time then I saw a figure approaching me. My heart skipped. Was it Kate? I lifted my head and was incredibly dissapointed to see it was Sue. She had a look of shock on her face.
"Oh, what a delightful surprise. So it is true? "
"What is? " I asked.
"There's been quite a buzz around here that you came and I had to see for myself. " she beamed.
Oh. I shrugged it off, "It's no big deal. "
She shook her head, that smile still on her face, "Oh, it is. You never attend these events. "
I shrugged again, feeling uncomfortable. Jesus Christ. Could they tell I actually came here for another reason? "Might as well attend one."
"Of course. "
When it became apparent that the conversation was over, I figured I hadn't said anything about her pregnancy and I had to since that's why I was here. Right? "Congratulations though. " I pointed at her huge stomach bump.
She smiled, showing all her teeth. Her cheeks must hurt from smiling so much. "Thank you. "
"Sue, there's a couple asking for you. " came a familiar voice to my right. I turned sharply and there she was. The reason for my presence.
Her eyes, which had been fixed on Sue, flared with shock when they landed on me. We stood there, staring at each other.
"I'd better be on my way. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting. " Sue said, breaking my trance, "Enjoy yourself, sir. " then she glided away, leaving me and Kate alone.
She looked uncertain for a second then I saw her square not shoulders, muttering something before she took a step towards me. This girl had balls the size of a watermelon. "I didn't know you attended these. " she waved her hand around.
"I don't. " I said, not giving away anything.
She doned a small smile, "Did your coming here have something to do with me? "
"Don't flatter yourself. " I snapped, and it came out sharper than I wanted it to. Fuck.
Her smile fell and she took a step back, "Sorry, I was just kidding. " she stood there, wringing her hands.
I took the time to drink her in. She was wearing blue ripped jeans and a black long-sleeved sweater. The jeans hugged like it was made just for her and without a doubt, I knew the view from her back would be mouth-watering.
When she saw I wasn't going to say anything, she turned around to walk away and I groaned, running my hand down my face. I was right. The view from the back was divine. I was too engrossed in how she looked, it took me a while to realize she left. Why was I such an asshole to her even when I didn't want to be? With her, it was like I didn't have to force my asshole nature.
I got up with a decision to look for her but I got stopped by many employees who seed to think I had any interest in what they had to say. When I finally did see her, she was at Sue's counter, which now served as a bar, chatting animatedly with some guy.
The scene was all too familiar as it took me back to that night when I first met her. Except this time, she seemed to be enjoying the conversation. I felt something ugly crawling inside me. Was this what jealousy felt like?
I stalked to the bar and collected a beer, drinking more than half the thing. I glanced at them again and saw she was hugging the guy. What the fuck?
Ignoring the anger burning inside me, I took a leisured gait over to them, leaning on the counter beside Kate who still hadn't noticed me.
Swallowing down the vile words I wanted to throw at her, I stated calmly, "You're a natural at this. "
She jumped in shock, turning to me, "Jesus Christ, how did you get here? "
I stared at the guy, ignoring her rhetorical question.
"Natural at what? " I turned to her and saw she looked genuinely confused.
Oh, sweet Kate, you're about to blow a casket.
I tilted my head at the guy who looked confused as hell standing in front of her. "Hustling for customers. " I stated.
The man's eyes flared then darted nervously between me and Kate –who was about to explode. I watched with rapt attention as red moved up her neck and rested on her forehead, like a crown, her chest moving up and down with her laboured breaths.
The fucked up thing was that I was getting hard watching her get angry.
But the explosion I was waiting for didn't come. She grabbed a drink from the counter, downed it in one gulp, then turned to the other man. "Excuse me. I need to use the ladies room. " then she walked off, leaving me standing there with the asshole I wanted to pummel into the ground.
"Well that was awkward. " he stated.
I hiked a brow, surprised the asshole had it in him to address me.
"I want to ask a question. Promise not fire me? " I just stared at him. "So I'll take that as a yes. " he said undettered. "How long have you had a crush on her? "
"Go fuck yourself. " I told him then stormed after Kate. The fool's laughter followed me as I turned the corner, trying to find the restroom.
I was in the mood to get burned.
Kate.
I splashed water on my face then stared at myself in the mirror, giving myself a pep talk.
"Drew is nothing. He's an asshole. In fact, don't think his name. He's going to hell and he's not going to get this ass. That's punishment enough for him. " I smirked, like I knew something the whole world didn't and I guess in a way I did. No one else knew Drew wanted me.
I dried my hands on a piece of tissue and dropped it in the waste bin, about to leave when the door to the restroom going open and Drew stepped in.
Couldn't stay away from me too long?
Not in the mood to deal with him, I sidestepped him but he blocked my way. I sidestepped him again and he stood right in front of me.
"Get out of my way, Drew. "
"Why? "
I had opened my mouth to curse him to hell and back but now I was dumbfounded. "Why? " I asked, confused.
"Yes. Why? " he repeated.
I looked up at him and saw he had a glint of amusement in his eyes. Drew Rutledge playful? Next thing, I'd hear he was married.
Married. Who was the girl he was with that night and why was I even indulging him when I was supposed to be thinking about my sweet Trent?
"I don't have time for your crap, Drew. " I walked around him and gripped the doorknob when I felt him grab my hand. Shockwaves moved through me at the contact and I was unable to stop the shiver. He just had to see it.
I turned to him, dreading the mocking smirk I'd see on his face. What I didn't expect to see was shock. Like he'd experienced something he didn't think was possible. He ran his thumb in circles on my forearm, staring at the spot like there was something captivating about it, then he looked up at me and I came undone. He looked.... Lost.
Without thinking, I wrapped my hands around him in a hug. He jerked, his hands landing on my shoulders about to push me away so I braced myself for rejection. He did the unthinkable. He started massaging my shoulder blades slowly, then he slid his hands down slowly and finally hugged me back.
He groaned, resting his chin on my head. "Why? " his voice came out hoarse.
"You needed it. " I replied quietly.
We stayed like this for some minutes before I rested my chin on his chest, staring up at him. I counted twenty seconds before he looked away. I smiled.
"What is it? "
I shrugged as best as I could in a hug, "I like looking at you. "
His eyes returned back to mine, shocked and wary. He breathed, "Fuck. "
He dipped down and kissed me. I exhaled into his mouth, expecting it to be a soft kiss but I should've known Drew didn't do gentle. He slid his tongue into my mouth, feasting on it. I tried to kiss him back exactly how I wanted to but I couldn't. The height difference was frustrating, our lips barely touched.
He applied pressure on his hands at my waist and I briefly remembered how he'd pushed me off him that day. What if he did that to me again? His rejection hurt me ten times worse than the words my ex-boyfriend used to tell me. I didn't want to experience that again.
I wrenched my mouth away from him, taking a step back. I shook my head at him when he gave me a confused look. Understanding flared in his eyes and he, too, took a step back. I smiled wryly. Thought as much.
It wasn't until later when I was helping Sue clean that I thought about Trent. What was I doing? Why couldn't I stay away from Drew? It wasn't fair to Trent that while he was being faithful I was Cheating with Drew. We started the relationship just three weeks ago for fucks sake.
I was going to talk to Bailey tonight about the whole thing. I was so confused and I didn't have the strength for drama in my life right now. I couldn't even deal with Drew's mood swings. What was I getting myself into?
"You seem preoccupied. " Sue commented.
I glanced at her. I'd forgotten she was even there, lost in my thoughts, "Just thinking about random stuff. "
She assesed me with shrewd eyes, "Hmm. If you say so. "
We continued working in silence then she started again. "So, Drew coming tonight. That was strange. "
"It really was. " I agreed.
"He never comes to these events. It was quite shocking to see him here today. "
"Yeah, it was. " I said, picking up disposable cups from the ground.
"I wonder why he came though. " she said pointedly at me.
I paused then stared up at her, "Are you going somewhere with this? "
She shrugged, resuming what she was doing, "Not at all. "
I collected all the cups and dropped them in a big polythene waste bag, then took off my hand gloves, wiping my forehead with the back of my hand.
"Is there anything you want to talk about, Kate? "
Oh. I was so over this, "Why don't you just come right out and say what you want to say Sue? " I crossed my hands on my chest.
She smiled sheepishly, "Oh, I just noticed you guys going into the restroom that's all. "
I frowned, "Were you spying on us? "
She waved her hands, "No, no, no. I just happened to see you guys. "
I glared at her then turned, looking for something else to do before I went home. I arranged the dishes in the sink for washing then stared into space.
"So, what's happening between you guys? " she asked again.
I was beginning to get irritated at her questions and I was sure it showed, "Nothing. "
"You're really not going to give me anything? " she asked somberly.
I snapped, "Mind your own business, Sue. "
The silence that followed my outburst was uncomfortable and it made me finally turn to look at her.
"I'm sorry, this pregnancy is just making me nosy as hell. " she apologized.
I instantly felt bad. I sighed, "No... I'm just going through a lot right now, Sue. And I'm not in the right head space to talk about us. If there's an us. I don't even know what we're doing right now. " I tried to explain, massaging my forehead.
She smiled briefly then came around the island to hug me. She pulled away and ran her right hand through my hair, "Believe me when I say that man has real feelings for you. "
I laughed despite myself, "What you're seeing aren't feelings. "
She shook my head, smiling a secret smile, "Let's make a bet. " I said, then took the dishes from the dishwasher and dried them.
I needed to sort the clusterfuck that was my life.