Chapter 7
SEVEN
LOURDES
Hell was a place on earth, and it was called corporate America. Four days into what I thought was my dream job, I was ready to call it quits.
My number one reason for not doing so was currently making her way toward me. Pricilla loved walking up to my desk at least once a day. She loved to look down at me while she asked to speak with her son, who was above me on the corporate ladder.
“I’m sorry, but Mr. Caldwell is in a meeting. He can’t see you right now,” I told her before she could begin with her digs at me.
Pricilla’s lips curled in disgust at using Neo’s actual surname. She could try and pretend the mockery of their scandal didn’t happen, but just because we didn’t talk about it, it didn’t mean we didn’t know.
“That is not his name,” she barked at me.
“Oh, my apologies. Since your sugar daddy was still gracious enough to let him use it in high school, I keep forgetting.”
Something had to be said about my ability to court death because Pricilla looked ready to jump over my desk and strangle me.
“Why, you little?—”
“Mother.” Neo stepped out of his office before Pricilla could finish her sentence. “I didn’t realize we had a meeting.”
There was an edge to Neo’s tone. Maybe he was just as annoyed as I was about Pricilla’s visit. I could deal with each of them independently, but if they teamed up on me, I was afraid it would be an all-out bloodbath.
“She didn’t,” I replied all too happily. “If she keeps coming down here unannounced, people might get the wrong idea that you need Mommy holding your hand while you work.”
“I have a job?—”
“Everyone knows how much you love helping the elderly…”
“Enough,” Neo spat at both of us. His eyes went toward the other employees. He knew damn well we were one shout away from laying our dirty laundry at everyone’s feet.
“I’m taking my lunch now. I want the reports on last week’s sales on my desk before I return. Don’t forget I have a meeting with the board tomorrow.”
I bit my lip in hopes it would stop my mouth from getting ahead of me. That last bit he threw out was a warning that tomorrow he would give the crusty men at the round table a report on how I was doing.
When I become head of this company, I will fire them. I don’t know what loopholes I have to find, but I will find them—hell, I am not afraid of blackmail.
An idea instantly popped into my head, but before it could fully form a loud tap to my desk pulled me back from my thoughts.
“I don’t pay you to daydream,” Neo bit out.
I smiled up at him.
“Good thing my grandfather pays us and not you.”
Neo just rolled his eyes, but instead of continuing our little spat, he held out his elbow for his mother to take.
“Better hurry along, Pricilla. I do believe they are still doing senior discounts.”
She scoffed but didn’t bother engaging me any more, and it was probably for the best. I never knew when to hold my tongue.
If I was being honest, working under Neo wasn’t all that bad. I mean, we all had to suck it up to our superiors, it just made it all that much worse that my superior wasn’t someone I was too keen on being on my metaphorical knees for.
My mother always told me pride was one sure way to get us killed. And although my pride had taken a hit this past week, I was determined to learn all I could. Every defeat was a learning opportunity, and what better way to know my enemy's weakness than right under his nose?
I took a day to wallow in self-pity when I realized that I had never been in a position to study Neo. He was like a figment of my imagination, just coming in and out of my life as he pleased. Our interactions had been minimal, and now, thanks to him, I got to be around him all the time.
I would destroy Neo from the inside. The only thing of my family he would have would be our last name, and I would make sure he would come to regret that.
By the time lunch had ended, I had my reports done and figured I might as well put them on Neo’s desk before he returned. Just as I got up from my desk, my cell phone rang.
Mierda. Shit.
Good thing Neo wasn’t here. I was usually good with having it on silent mode, and the last thing I wanted was for him to berate me for being unprofessional. The caller ID said that Clove was calling me, and since she knew I was at work and wouldn’t call me unless it was an emergency, I decided what the hell, it couldn’t hurt.
“I’m working,” was my greeting.
“I know, bitch, but there’s a huge party tonight. We have to go.”
The only reason I didn’t roll my eyes was because she couldn’t see me. I took my reports and went to put them on Neo’s desk. I was about to leave when I noticed his wallet on his desk.
With cell phone pay, I guess it was an easy mistake to make unless he was making Mommy pay, but I doubt he would do that to her.
“Whose party?” I asked, remembering that Clove was still on the line.
“That doesn’t matter. I’m sure he’s friends with Tatum, so your brother will probably be there.”
I almost gagged when she called Neo my brother, but the fact that I was now snooping through Neo’s cards stopped me.
“Yeah, I’ll go,” I told her, mostly to get her off the line before Neo returned.
The reports I left on his desk were forgotten as I held various bank card in my hands. Neo Caldwell was a thing of the past, as his cards had now all been changed to my family’s last name. Taking his black Amex would have been very obvious, so I settled on the next best thing. A giddy feeling went through me as I walked out of his office with it.
Why did I agree to go to a party on a Thursday night? I knew I couldn’t back out now because Clove would be on my ass. It wasn’t her fault our London branch was suddenly in chaos. Neo had come back in a mood after lunch with his mother, and I decided I had poked the bear enough.
Every time he called me, my stomach was in knots, thinking I had gotten caught stealing his credit card. Once the day ended, I felt like I had gotten away with it. I was biding my time, and then I would decide when to strike.
Since I was tired, and I was going mainly for Clove, I showered and changed into a cream-knitted dress, black pantyhose, and black chunky boots. I was dressed up enough for a work night out. Not that the majority of the people in attendance had any real responsibilities.
I was constantly on a double-edged sword that none of my friends had ever understood. If you were a person of color, you had to look put together all the time. We didn’t have the grace of the clean-girl aesthetic. Now, don’t get me started on having to look put together all the time just because you weren’t thin.
Putting my issues aside, I headed toward my car, glad my father nor Pricilla were around. The house was big enough that I didn’t have to run into them, but lately, I was considering moving into my own place.
Pride was the only thing keeping me in the house. I didn’t want to ask my father for a bigger allowance just so I could move out. I didn’t get access to my full inheritance for two more years.
Clove came down looking as flawless as always.
“How was work?” she asked as she got in the car.
“Meh, I don’t want to think about Neo. It’s enough I see him daily now.”
“At least he’s fucking sexy.”
I gagged.
Clove rolled her eyes. “Pretend all you want. You thought so too in high school…and besides, he’s not your real brother.”
“Gee, he annoys me like a real one,” I said as I played a song to stop her from mentioning the enemy.
The party was at someone’s penthouse, it was the same shit, different day. People were getting drunk on expensive champagne, bragging about their newest jewelry or cars that they had added to their collections.
Maybe it was the fact that my mother raised me with different values, and she cared more about charities and sitting on philanthropy boards, that I didn’t see the appeal of a lot of materialistic things. I loved a good collector’s item as much as the next person, but I didn’t find joy in bragging about it.
While Clove went ahead to get us some drinks, I looked around to see whom I tolerated enough to go have a conversation with since I knew Clove would mingle before she would swarm back to me.
I smiled to myself when my eyes landed on Wes. He was chatting up someone, no Neo in sight, which was a plus, and maybe the asshole wouldn’t come out on a work night since he was more anal about work than I was.
“Hey, you.” I bumped his shoulder when I reached him.
When Wesley turned around, I instantly recognized the woman he had been talking to. She was the same woman who had been Neo’s date a few years ago. He only brought her once and did not bring her around anymore.
“Lou.” He got up and instantly wrapped his arms around me.
As he did this, I could see the woman’s face sour.
“Caitlyn, you remember Lou?” Wesley reintroduced us.
So that was her name? Caitlyn smiled, and it was the kind of smile that was dipped in venom, so I braced for what would come out of her mouth.
She looked me up and down before she spoke.
“How can I forget her? Lou has such a large presence.”
Bitch.
I smiled back at her, tired of playing word games this week.
“It must suck, having no personality, and it makes it worse by lacking tits and ass.”
Wesley, the gentleman he was, tried to cover his laughter with a cough. As for Caitlyn, her face reddened, but she downed the rest of her drink, probably trying to collect herself.
Maybe I was a bitch, but if people wanted to use my body as a weapon, I would not shy away from their petty insults. If they wanted to spar, so be it, I could hold my ground.
“Laugh all you want. At the end of the day, I’m the kind of woman men will settle down with.”
“Oh, darling, at least you know you’re being settled for.” I took Wesley’s drink from his hand, toasted it toward her, and then took a sip.
“Who’s getting settled?”
I almost choked on Wes’s bourbon. One, because I didn’t like bourbon, but I was making a statement, and second because Neo spoke.
“Neo,” Caitlyn said, his name all airy and shit. “You never call anymore.”
“He lost his phone and never found it,” I couldn’t help but engage.
Neo looked at Caitlyn, then his gaze slid toward me, then the amber liquid in my hands, and lastly, Wesley’s hand that was slung over my shoulders. His eyes went to Wes, and all he did was raise a brow—probably because he was fraternizing with the enemy.
“I’ve been busy.” Neo shrugged without looking at her.
Apparently, that was where Caitlyn drew her limit and left.
“She’s a bitch. Why would you talk to her?” I asked Wes as I handed him his drink back.
“Hey, Neo is the one that dated her.”
“Neo lacks class,” I said.
“I was fucking her, not dating her,” Neo added, and I couldn’t help but look at him at his statement.
A foreign emotion went through me as he said this. It made my stomach coil, and that annoyed me.
“Maybe you should take a point from Mommy and be a bit pickier about who you fuck.” I regretted the words as soon as I said them. It was one thing for us to pick at our wounds, to flay each other open because it was just something we did alone and never in front of others.
“Lucky for you, guys aren’t picky, otherwise you’d have no one to fuck.”
My cheeks flamed, and I wanted to retaliate, but I bit my lip because I had crossed an invisible boundary we both had set.
“Lucky me,” I managed to choke out.
Puta mana de tener la ultima palabra. Fucking habit of always having the last word. My voice sounded weak even to my own ears. Neo’s eyes darkened, and his jaw clenched.
“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go find my friend.” Wesley nodded, probably feeling awkward, having been caught in the middle of another round between Neo and me.
Clove was leaning against the kitchen counter, talking to some guy. I didn’t want to kill her vibe, so I searched for a private place to gather my thoughts. I knew she would leave with me if I asked that of her, no questions asked.
I just needed a moment to myself.
That’s how I found myself on a lovely terrace with some people smoking on the other end of the balcony. What was it about Neo that got my blood boiling? Why did I keep provoking him, knowing he had the power to destroy me?
As I was lost in my thoughts, I faintly heard the rushed footfalls of people retreating. Good, I could use the space to myself.
“Aw, Lou, aren’t we lucky today?”
The teasing tone instantly grated on my nerves.
“Go away, Tatum,” I said between gritted teeth without turning around.
“Aw, don’t be that way, love.”
Eww, he sounded corny as fuck when he said that. Before I could berate him again, the hairs on my nape rose as I felt him stand behind me.
“What the hell are you doing?” I demanded as I tried and failed to turn around.
Tatum had pressed his front against my back, his hands resting on my hips.
“Let. Go. Off. Me.”
Once the shock wore off, I began to wiggle, trying to get free of his grasp.
“This whole playing-hard-to-get act is getting old, Lou.”
I couldn’t help my scoff.
“What act, you fucking loser?”
This seemed to spur him on. The more I tried to get out of his hold, the closer he seemed to be pressed up against me.
“Yeah, love, keep wiggling that ass against me.”
Bile rose to my mouth as his words registered. I kept trying to break free while a part of me still thought this was some sort of fucked-up prank.
“This is not funny, Tate.”
Shivers went down my spine as I felt his pointy chin dig into my shoulder blade. When he spoke, I felt his breath on the shell of my ear, making it worse. I felt like a deer caught in the headlights. A part of me knew what was going on, but another part of me was frozen in disbelief that it was happening to me, along with a crippling anxiety of why this was happening. Fear surrounded me, but it wasn’t the main thing—at least not yet.
“You’re always teasing, love.” His words were harsh. “Aren’t you tired of it?”
My first instinct was to tell him he was wrong, but I managed to hold myself back. If he was already delusional enough to get to this point and begin to assault me, my contradictory words were not the answer.
“Why don’t we talk about this?” I choked out, sounding calmer than I felt.
“We’ve done enough talking,” he murmured, leaning toward my face. That was when the smell of alcohol and tobacco hit me. If I had to guess, I would say he was also on something. “Always prancing around in those tight fucking clothes.”
“Please stop.” My lip quivered as I pleaded with him.
He didn’t answer me. Instead, I felt his lips begin to slobber over the exposed skin on my neck. I closed my eyes as the hands on my hips moved lower until they glided under the hem of my dress.
When his hand curved around my thigh, I snapped out of my shock. It was sad and crazy how high the statistics on sexual abuse were. How they surprised the victim and doused us in shock, fear, and shame.
“Get off me,” I yelled as I tried to wiggle free.
Tatum seemed to get off on it. I could feel his hardness pressed up against my ass crack. The hand on my thigh moved higher while his other one covered my mouth.
Fuck.
Mierda.
How the hell does this happen to me?
Tears pricked my eyes as Tatum’s hand cupped my pussy. How long until he tore through my pantyhose?
I tried harder to get away from him, and it fucking killed me because the more I wiggle, the more his filthy hand rubbed me.
“Lourdes!”
The sound of someone calling out for me gave me hope. Tatum was so busy feeling me up that he didn’t notice someone was looking for me.
“I bet you’re fucking wet for me already,” he groaned as he pressed his erection harder against me.
“Lourdes.”
I never would have thought I would feel relief hearing Neo’s voice. Since I couldn’t talk, I tried harder than ever to shake Tatum off of me.
“Tate.” Neo’s voice was low…cautious.
Upon hearing Neo call him, Tate lost the grip he had on my mouth.
“Get off me!” I wheezed.
As soon as my words were out, Tatum’s presence disappeared. With my hands clutched to my chest, I turned and watched as he staggered against the wall.
“What the fuck is going on?” Neo’s voice was cold.
I glanced up at him, and if I thought I had riled him up to the point of losing control before, I was wrong. The Neo before me was terrifying and beautiful. Fury emitted from his every pore. His jaw was clenched, there was a vein throbbing in his forehead, and one of his hands was clenched at his side while the other pointed a finger at Tatum.
Tatum straightened up, ran a hand through his hair, and laughed the whole thing off.
“Relax, man, we were just playing around.”
“Lou,” Neo called out my name softer than ever. I couldn’t help but look up at him and noticed his eyes had softened while looking at me.
I took a step closer to him. Despite our differences, all our verbal sparring, and how much we cut each other with our words, I knew he would never physically hurt me.
Neo extended his arm toward me, and I didn’t let myself think twice as I rushed to him. As soon as I was near him, he pulled me into his chest.
With his arm around me and his body heat enveloping me, I felt myself relax even further. Now that my body and mind weren’t on overdrive did I take note of the moisture in my eyes, and the way my body was shaking.
“Lou,” Neo called out for me once more.
I furrowed my head into his chest, and I spoke softly. However, I knew he heard me when his body became still.
“It didn’t feel like playing around when he put his hand between my legs and molested me.”