Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
T he following week, Audra walked out of the building with her co-workers. To keep her mind off Damon, who she hadn’t heard from in several days, she agreed to go out for drinks with Claudia and Kyrie, one of the guys from the mailroom.
However, Claudia received a call from Kent. He had popped in for a couple of days to surprise her. Her friend didn’t have to say a word. Both Kyrie and Audra waved her off to go be with her man, laughing as she practically ran across the street to collect her car and go home.
“He better marry her,” Kyrie said.
“Agreed. Because boy, does she love that man.”
“Did you still want to go grab drinks? You can cancel if you want,” Kyrie said.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?” Audra asked, narrowing her eyes with playful suspicion.
“No way. I’ve been looking forward to this all afternoon.”
“Same. A couple of hours tossing back drinks and eating fatty food that’s no good for me is exactly what I need.”
“Same. Today was rough, wasn’t it?”
“It sure was.”
All the execs were in a bad mood as they worked on a multi-million dollar deal. Negotiations with their partner in Argentina were tense, and an agreement seemed on the verge of falling apart. Audra didn’t know much about the details because she wasn’t privy to them, but she’d overheard Benicio and Thiago talking about the issues, and they both planned to fly down to South America to smooth the negotiations if they couldn’t come to an agreement within a few days.
She and Kyrie walked a couple of blocks to a small tapas place nearby. When they entered the restaurant, the hostess seated them right away, and they ordered drinks.
Kyrie sighed as he sipped his frozen margarita. “Damn, I needed this,” he said.
Audra indulged in a huge sip of her chocolate martini and sighed too. “So good,” she whispered.
As she replaced the drink on the table, her eyes landed on a sight she never expected: Damon, walking toward them.
Her breath caught, and her heart knocked against her chest as she drank him in, eyes absorbing every inch of his tall, athletic frame in a long-sleeved white shirt and charcoal pants.
He stopped beside their table and locked eyes with her. “Hi,” he said.
“Hi.” She swallowed and shot a look across the table at Kyrie, who appeared confused.
“We need to talk,” Damon said.
“Right now isn’t a good?—”
Slamming a hand on the table, Damon leaned toward her, giving his back to her co-worker. “Don’t play games with me, Audra. You haven’t responded to my last two texts, and I know you got them.”
“Now is not a good time, Damon.”
“Well, since I can’t reach you to set up another time, right now will have to do.”
“Hey, what’s your problem?” Kyrie asked.
Hand still resting on the table, Damon shot a glare at him over his shoulder. “I don’t have a problem. Do you?”
Kyrie’s frown deepened. “Do I know you?”
“No, you don’t.” Damon returned his attention to Audra. “Can we go somewhere and talk?”
“I already ordered?—”
He leaned closer. “Or do I have to haul you out of here?”
By the look in his eyes, she didn’t doubt he meant the threat, and the last thing she wanted was to make a spectacle of herself. Several customers nearby were already turning around and whispering, having recognized him.
“Fine, I’ll come with you.” She tossed an apologetic look across the table to Kyrie. “I’m sorry, I need to go. When my food comes…”
She rummaged in her bag for her purse, but before she could pull out any cash, Damon dropped two bills on the table. “That should cover whatever she ordered and your food too.”
Then he took her arm and pulled her none too gently from the chair.
“Excuse you,” Audra muttered out the side of her mouth as they walked briskly toward the front door, her shorter legs barely keeping up with his.
He didn’t say a word. He kept walking and didn’t release her until he’d exited the building and marched her in front of the window of a closed store next door that sold trinkets and home furnishings.
Audra rubbed her arm. “You didn’t have to grip my arm so hard.”
“You’re fine,” Damon said dismissively, which infuriated her.
“You behaved like a caveman. I’m not fine.”
He flicked his gaze over her appearance. She was wearing her hair straight and sleek today, one side tucked behind her left ear. She had kept her makeup to a minimum but added a hint of color to her lips. Her outfit was simple but molded to her figure—plaid pants and a bright-colored top.
“You look beautiful. You’re fine,” he remarked.
Her face heated up, and she mumbled a "thank you," then mentally kicked herself. She didn’t need to thank him for anything. She was mad at him.
“What do you want?” she asked.
“To talk. To explain about Nami.”
“What is there to explain? You were on a date with a Victoria’s Secret model, weren’t you?”
He looked frustrated. “I already explained we weren’t on a real date.”
“Right. I forgot.” Audra crossed her arms over her chest.
“Nothing is going on between me and Nami. Nothing happened that night. Do you forgive me?”
His voice was antagonistic, as if she’d done something wrong.
Two couples came toward them. When they had passed, Damon lowered his voice. “I didn’t cheat on you.”
“That’s the thing, Damon. I don’t know if you did or not. You say that night was all orchestrated for publicity, but how do I know that?”
“Because I’m telling you. You have to trust me.”
“No, I don’t have to trust you. That’s where you’re wrong. Trust has to be earned, and?—”
“What have I done that suggests you can’t trust me?”
“Are you serious? Let’s forget about the fact that you didn't do commitment and were technically a mistake for other women—your words, not mine. Every time I try to have a deep conversation with you about your past or your family, you clam up! So no, I don’t completely trust you because you act like you’re hiding some deep, dark secret. For all I know, you could be involved in criminal activities.”
Shaking his head, he bit his lip as if biting back words of anger. “You don’t really believe that.”
“No, I don’t, but that doesn’t change the fact that you keep parts of yourself from me.”
“So because I don’t tell you my deepest, darkest secrets, you think I’m lying about Nami?”
“I’ve been here before. I told you about my ex, remember? Kerilyn’s father.”
“I’m not him!”
“That doesn’t mean I don’t see the signs and recognize similar behavior. The problems start like this, with a perfectly reasonable explanation that makes it seem as if I’m overreacting, but the truth is, I’m not. If you cared about me—about us—you would have told me about the deal with Nami ahead of time.”
“I told you that I couldn’t. I can’t tell you about every single move I make before I make it.”
“We talk almost every day!” Audra screamed, frustrated.
“Time.” Damon slammed the back of his right hand into his left palm. “I didn’t have time to tell you before she and I went out.”
“Time.” Audra slammed the back of her right hand into her left palm. “You should have made the time to tell me. A text would have been enough!”
He looked like he wanted to throttle her, but she stared him down, unintimidated.
“I told you from the beginning there’s a lot of bullshit I have to put up with from the media—innuendo, lies, gossip.”
“And you used it to your advantage in New York. But here’s the thing, Damon, you say you want to be in my life, but do you really? You can’t continue doing things like that. I will not be embarrassed on a national stage.”
“That’s what this is about? You’re embarrassed?”
She shook her head in disgust. “No. It’s about trust, and I cannot trust you right now. You keep things from me, but more than that, before you and I started seeing each other, there were already so many women in your life. I was a fool to think you would settle down and want to be with one woman. You’re young and having the time of your life.”
“I have the time of my life when I’m with you. Why can’t you see that?”
“I’m convenient.”
“That’s not true,” he grated.
“Why deny it? Enjoy your freedom and your ability to attract women. You’re young and rich, and you should enjoy yourself. But I want more.”
She hadn’t realized how important it was to her until she said the words out loud, and her heart seemed to swell in her chest—the pain of knowing they weren’t on the same page tearing through her. She did want more. She deserved it.
She deserved the husband and the kids and all the things she wanted. She recalled her mother’s words. There’s much more in store for you than this moment of pain.
“I don’t want to see you again.”
He stared at her in shock. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Sometimes the wrong person has to come along to make you aware of what you truly deserve…
That didn’t only apply to her. It applied to him too.
“I mean it. Go live the life you want, and eventually, you’ll find your person. We both will.”
She tried to walk past him, but he grabbed her arm.
“I don’t want anyone else.”
Audra yanked her arm away. “Stop!” He seemed surprised by her anger.
She had never given Kerry the verbal thrashing he deserved, mainly because he was Kerilyn’s father, and she wanted to maintain a good relationship with him so her daughter would have him in her life. So, a small part of her needed this outlet—needed to let off steam and yell and give Damon a piece of her mind.
Resting a hand on her hip, she glared at him and jabbed her finger at his face. “I will not, I mean absolutely not turn a blind eye to your indiscretions. You want to hoe around while in a committed relationship, look elsewhere. I am not the one.”
“So that’s it. We’re done? You’re going to walk away from us—after months of being together. Okay, Audra, cool, but you’re making up excuses, and you know it.”
“I am not making up excuses. I told you?—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know you have trust issues. You think you’re the only person in this relationship with trust issues? You think you’re the only one who’s ever had people you care about hurt you? You know what, fuck you, Audra.”
Her mouth fell open. “Fuck you, Damon. And go to hell!”
“No, you go to hell.”
They glared at each other, chests heaving, their angry curses hanging in the air between them.
Then the gravity of the situation hit her. They were through. Done. Kaput.
“Don’t ever call me again,” Audra said in a choked voice.
The angry mask slipped from his face for a fraction of a second, and he swallowed hard before the mask slipped back into place.
“I won’t.”
Audra spun on her heel and rushed away as fast as she could so he wouldn’t see her burst into tears.