17. Jenny
Walking into the rented kitchen space again was depressing, almost as depressing as going back to living in my tiny apartment, but both of those things weren’t nearly as bad as coming home the day after leaving Eaton’s to find all my product stacked back the way it was before my temporary stay at his house.
Now a whole week has passed, and I’m not only hurt, I’m pissed. He didn’t even fight for me. All that talk about soul mates and knowing I was the one for him the second he saw me was bullshit, and it pains me to admit that what he did hurt worse than any other breakup I’ve had. I dated Daniel for three years and didn’t even shed a tear. I dated Eaton for forty-eight hours and I’ve cried myself a river.
It takes three trips to get everything inside the kitchen. Even though he was only around to help me make the product once, I didn’t think I’d ever have to do it again at all, which made each trip more miserable than it was before. Putting my headphones on, I crank up my happy playlist and got to work, trying to trick my brain into thinking everything was okay.
After making the first batch of edible spunk, the music had almost done its job, and I decided dancing might push me over the edge into damn near joyful. As I measure out the ingredients for the body-safe lube, I shake my ass and really get into it. The heaviness in my heart doesn’t lift for even a second, but I’ve come to the conclusion that the only way I’ll move on is if I fake it until I make it.
I’m using a spoon as a microphone when I do a spin that has my dress swirling around me. In my periphery, I catch a glimpse of a man, and my heart falls to the floor, terror instantly flooding my bloodstream. I fist the metal spoon as I turn to face the intruder. The dark outline of a man standing just out of sight comes into focus, making my hands shake and my knees weak.
How could I forget to lock the back door? It’s usually the first thing I do, but I was lucky enough to snag a reservation in the middle of the day for once, and everyone knows bad guys only attack at night. Right? Someone better tell that fact to this stranger because he looks like he’s ready to pounce.
“Don’t come any closer. I’m armed,” I shout, seeing that my purse is on the table that’s closer to him than me and in it is my taser.
He doesn’t listen, and why would he? I’m armed with a spoon. He takes two steps into the harsh kitchen lighting, and the second I can make out his face, I breathe a sigh of relief that only lasts for two seconds before anger takes over.
“What the fuck are you doing, scaring me like that?” I point the spoon at him. “That was an asshole thing to do.”
“Sorry, Baby Cakes. I wasn’t hiding so I could scare you. I was hiding so I didn’t interrupt your dance party. Didn’t know you had moves like that,” Eaton says, his hands tucked in his pockets.
“How would you? You barely know me,” I grumble, turning back to my pot to hide the hurt expression on my face.
“That’s not true.” His voice is much louder now, telling me he’s moving closer. “I know a lot about you.”
“Which is probably why you dumped me.”
“I didn’t dump you.”
“Sure fooled me. Usually, when a man returns all your possessions, it means he’s done with you.”
“I only returned them because I knew you’d need them while I took some time to figure a few things out,” he says from right behind me. His hands settle on my hips, and I spin around, digging the spoon into his chest.
“You don’t get to touch me. Not after one simple warning from my ex not to hurt me had you running away with your tail between your legs.”
“That’s not what happened, and I’m hoping you’ll give me the chance to explain.”
It hurts to look into the whiskey eyes that fooled me into thinking this man was trustworthy. Clearly, he’s good at manipulation. “What’s there to explain?”
“A lot, actually.” He reaches over me and turns the burner off. “That looks about done. Why don’t we take a seat while it cools?”
“No, Eaton. I’m hurt, and listening to more lies will only make that hurt grow.”
“I never lied, Baby Cakes.”
“Don’t call me that,” I say, staring at the ground.
He tips my chin up. “Please just listen to what I have to say. If you don’t believe me or don’t like my explanation, then I’ll leave you alone forever.”
“Promise?”
He smirks. “Hell, no. I’ll continue to do whatever it takes until you forgive me. I wasn’t lying when I said you were the one for me and that we belong together, and until you believe it too, I’ll be at your side proving it.”
“That’s not okay, Eaton. No means no.”
His lips flatten to a straight line. “I’m joking. Mostly.”
I motion to the stools. “Say what you need to say so I can get back to work.”
He takes my hand, ignoring the stools in favor of lowering himself to the ground before tugging me down next to him. I know he’s trying to remind me of the day we met, and god, does it hurt.
He blows out a steadying breath, not releasing my hand even when I try to tug it away. Nothing has changed, he’s still an overbearing asshole, but I have changed, and I won’t be so quick to believe his bullshit this time.
“You know Daniel called while you were in the shower the night you left.” It’s not a question, so I just nod. “What he said changed things, but not in the way you think it did.”
“You flipped a switch and went from begging me to be in your life to ignoring me and treating me like I didn’t belong,” I say, tears filling my eyes against my will.
“Oh, Baby Cakes.” He cups my cheeks, brushing away the tears with his thumbs. “I’m so fucking sorry that’s how I made you feel. Daniel gave me a lot to think about, and I was so wrapped up in it I didn’t stop to think about how that would affect you.”
“It was shitty of you.”
“It was, but you have to know that wasn’t my intention. Daniel told you something completely opposite of what he told me.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“I don’t expect you to, not until I tell you everything.” He lowers his hands to mine, where they’re resting in my lap. “He told me if I didn’t back off, he’d fire you from your own company. He said you signed the paperwork giving him majority control.”
“And did I?” I ask, unsure if I want to know the answer because it would be another example of how dumb I am.
“Unfortunately, yes. You trusted him, and he took advantage of that.”
I look up, a steady stream of tears falling now. “I’m such a fucking fool.”
“No, you’re not,” he says adamantly. “You trusted someone you were in a relationship with for a long time, and he betrayed that trust.”
“The same way you did.”
He flinches. “You’re wrong. I made plenty of mistakes, but I’d never trick you.”
“Sure.” I huff.
“Hold your judgment, Baby. Please.” He doesn’t wait for a response to continue. “He also said he never had any intention of helping you succeed with I Can’t Believe It’s Not Jizz. Matter of fact, he was going to make it look like you ran it into the ground so you’d give your dream up and return to being his respectable girlfriend. One who didn’t sell fake jizz.”
“Is that true?”
“I swear to God, Jenny. So you can see why I was caught up in my own thoughts. I was trying to figure out a way for you to keep your company and for me to keep you. I never wanted you to leave, not for one second.”
“Then why did you send me back all my stuff?” I croak.
“Because I had to figure things out, and while I was doing that, you needed to continue working. I knew that even if I offered, you’d never use the setup I created for you.”
As much as it pains me to admit it, that makes sense. “So, you’re here to tell me you figured out a solution and that I should come back like nothing happened?”
He blinks as if I stole his thunder. “Well, I mean, yeah. Kinda.”
“It doesn’t work like that.”
“You haven’t heard my solution yet.”
“I’ll listen, but I don’t think there’s anything you can say to make me trust you again.”
“I can at least try.” He shoots me a wink, and my insides melt. “Ever since you left, I’ve been spending all my free time trying to secure your company. Obviously, Daniel refused to let me buy it, but the thing about assholes like him is that they always have a price. I just had to find his.”
“What was it?”
“Porn stars.”
I choke on my own spit. “I’m sorry?”
“I hired a private detective to find some dirt on your ex, and one of the things he found was that Daniel really liked porn stars, specifically someone named Anita Dickenmee.”
“Daniel gave me up for a porn star? Not that I care because I’d never go back to him anyway.”
“Essentially, yes. When I told Anita about what happened, she was all too eager to volunteer her services. An hour after presenting the offer, I had papers in hand that revoked his rights to I Can’t Believe It’s Not Jizz.”
“I have so many questions.”
“Hit me with them.”
“How do you know a porn star?”
“One of my loyal customers is a porn producer. Furniture that can withstand bodily fluids and be sterilized easily is always needed.”
“One of your clients is a porn producer?” I deadpan. “And she’s having sex with Daniel in exchange for my business?”
“Yes and no. Sex in exchange for money or anything that has monetary value is illegal, but she’s giving him the backstage experience on one of her films.”
“He traded the future he thought he was going to have with me and my company to watch a porno being filmed?”
His gaze locks on mine with such intensity that my breath hitches. “He’s a fucking idiot. He gave up the most beautiful, kind, generous, and sexy woman twice, even if one of those times was only in his head. I won’t make the same mistake, Jenny.”