6 – BRYNLEE
My back rests against my closed office door. Closing my eyes tightly, I try to force the memory of that day away. Initially, I’d hoped she was lying, and maybe he’d just cheated, which was bad enough. I wouldn’t forgive him for that, but knowing there was evidence of his infidelity, living and breathing, was another battle altogether.
Damn, she was the cutest kid, though. Why the fuck did I have to be the one in this situation? Working with the man I’d loved for as long as I can remember who also broke my heart is bad enough, but today, I came face-to-face with the two main reasons for that heartbreak; his daughter and his wife.
Looking that bitch in the eye when she opened that door, I only wanted to punch her in the throat. I saw the malicious, vindictive gleam in her eyes when she smirked, looked me up and down, and then referenced me as the “pretty little secretary.”
If it hadn’t been for his kid standing there, I would’ve shown her who the pretty little secretary was. Bitch!
I walk back to my desk and plop down, trying to regain my temper. Pressing my hands against my temples, I hear a chime on my computer and look up. A smile graces my lips as I recall the site I only recently discovered, Boss Be Damned.
I click into the chat “How to Resist Your Boss.”
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: I was late today, and SellingBS chewed my ass out again. He says this is my third time being late in one week. ?? It’s his fault. I dream about him! The struggle is real. I wake up late every morning with wet panties!
@Tortured_Admin: How?
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: He gives me suggestive looks, watches my ass when I leave the room and says shit like, “are you juggling too many ?s?” All I want to say is that I only want to juggle his?s. Why can’t he bend me over his desk ?? me already?”
@Tortured_Admin: I’ve told you to quit playing and tell him what he’s doing to you.
@ Undercover_Math_Scholar: I’ve got a ???????.
@Perfect_Storm: It sounds like you need to quit your ?? or ???????.
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: That’s the problem. I need my ?? &??????? to pay my bills.
@Perfect_Storm: Sounds like both the wrong ?? & ???????.
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: Maybe. ??
@Tortured_Admin: Well, my?????keeps suggesting that I quit.
@Perfect_Storm: Why?
@Tortured_Admin: So, we can be together. He says he’ll take care of me. I’m an independent????.
@Perfect_Storm: My ????? boss, #MasterPunisher is an a$$hole. ??
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: How?
@Perfect_Storm: Unforeseen circumstances led me to work for a ????? man I once dated.
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: Oohhh! Juicy! ??
@ Tortured_Admin: ??
@Perfect_Storm: Bingo! He broke my??& he wants me to forgive him. I can’t.
@Tortured_Admin: Is he fine?
@Perfect_Storm: Hell yeah!
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: Good in bed?
@Perfect_Storm:??
@Tortured_Admin: Lots of ???
@Perfect_Storm:??! He’s a ??!
@Tortured_Admin: Can you overlook it for the sake of good ???
@ Undercover_Math_Scholar: Is he good in bed with a little???
@Perfect_Storm: @Tortured_Admin, No! @Undercover_Math_Scholar, I wish! He cheated, got her ??& then??she showed up with the????. I can’t forgive him, especially after coming face to face with the reasons for our breakup.
@ Tortured_Admin:?????♀?! Sounds like drama!
@ Undercover_Math_Scholar: Sounds like you need to quit your ??!
@Perfect_Storm: Not in this lifetime! I’ve worked too hard to get where I am. Besides, there’s some other ??going on here, @mafiadomain, that I need answers to.
@ Tortured_Admin:??!Don’t end up??!
@ Undercover_Math_Scholar: Yeah, screwing with the mafia will get you??!
@ Perfect_Storm: I’m always careful. Gotta go...someone’s at my ??.
@Undercover_Math_Scholar: Stay ???, Sis! Resist the??!
@Perfect_Storm: @Tortured_Admin, LOL!!!
Fear and adrenaline race through my veins, working to stake a claim on who will be the first to send me into cardiac arrest. Fear over being caught like a little kid with their hand in the cookie jar prompts me to shut down my computer. And the adrenaline over the hopes that Ambrose is knocking on my door since most office workers have left for the day.
I know that I shouldn’t be excited anticipating his presence especially after being confronted with the reason for our breakup all those years ago. I can’t help it though. My heart still beats erratically whenever he’s in my presence, and disappointment still fuels the anger within over his lies.
I jerk the door open, and a smile graces my lips.
“Pleasant surprise seeing you two here.”
“Yeah, well, we’re heading out for dinner, and this one thought you might want to tag along,” Brayden says, pulling Shayla closer.
She smirks at him and looks back at me. “Just wanted to catch up and see how things are coming along. I’ve been buried in cases, and I know you’ve been busy, so I just wanted to see you.”
I know what she really wants to know, and I shoot her a look with a smirk before saying, “Let me grab my purse, and I’m ready to roll.”
“Okay. My guy’s name is on the office door next to yours. He’s moving up in the world with a corner office,” Brayden says.
“You should stop by and say hi,” Shayla encourages.
“No! Don’t...um, he had an important teleconference and said he didn’t need any distractions. The call just started a little bit ago,” I lie, grabbing my purse and rushing to the door.
The last thing I need is to come face-to-face with Ambrose in front of my brother. I’m not sure I can hide all my emotions now.
“Oh...okay. I’ll drop by another time.”
“Yeah, do that,” I say smoothly, closing and locking my office as I lead them down the hallway.
I keep praying that Ambrose and his daughter won’t pop up until after I’m in my car, following my brother and his girlfriend to the restaurant.
“Those are the cutest little kids. I can’t wait to start a family,” Shayla says, watching two toddlers at the table across from ours. She turns and smiles at my brother.
He leans over to kiss her before resuming eating his dinner.
“Speaking of kids, guess whose kid I met?”
“Who’s?” Brayden asks, turning to me.
“Ambrose’s.”
“Really?” he asks, smiling. “Cee-Cee is hellfire, and she’s going to give him a run for his money the older she gets.”
“How’d you see her?” Shayla asks.
“His wife popped up at the office with her unexpectedly earlier.”
Shayla gazes at me with concern, but I turn my eyes back to my plate.
“Ex.”
“What?”
“He divorced her. The smartest thing he ever did was to get rid of that manipulative, evil bitch,” Brayden says.
That comment snaps my head up. My brother never uses that term. He never calls women out of their names.
“Bray!”
“Nah, Bryn. You don’t get it. She deserves to be called worse than that.”
“Why? What did she do?”
My heart is pounding hard as I wonder about my brother’s rage. His eyes meet mine, and I see disgust and anger, but heartache lurks behind those emotions.
“Let’s just say that Cee-Cee wasn’t a mistake. Her conception wasn’t consensual.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You know how a woman has the right to say ‘no,’ or according to YouTube these days, you have to specifically say ‘yes’?”
“Um, sure...”
“Well, he didn’t say yes or no, but it damn sure wasn’t consensual. Sexual assault can happen to a man, not just a woman. We don’t discuss it because people don’t take it as seriously. How can a woman possibly do to a man what he can do to her?” he scoffs.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’ve said more than I have the right to, but let’s just say old girl put a Mack hand down, got a baby, and locked my boy into a marriage right after getting him a sixty-nine-million-dollar deal with Nike.
We grow silent for several moments until Brayden breaks the silence.
“Screwed with his head. He’s been whoring around ever since.”
Sickness overwhelms me, and I can no longer pretend to be okay.
“Excuse me. I need to use the restroom.”
I push through the doors, and Shayla’s hot on my tail.
“Girl, what’s wrong with you?”
I drop my face into my hands and groan.
“Bryn, talk to me,” she says, clamping her hands on my shoulders.
Looking up at her, I swallow and say, “I’m falling for him again, Shay.”
“How is he feeling?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I know the attraction is still there, but I’m not sure beyond that.”
Shrugging, she says, “I knew it.”
“Knew what?”
“When you first told me about you two, I knew you still had it bad for him. It was in your eyes, voice, and smile. Whenever you talk about work now, you only complain about him and say nothing about anyone else.”
“Does Bray know?”
She shakes her head. “Girl, no. You heard that saying, ‘Don’t shoot the messenger?’ I don’t plan on taking any chances. You know how your brother is about you with his friends. Hell, you just heard him at the table.”
“Yeah, feels he has to stand in Dad’s place since he’s all the way in Charleston.”
“It’s your life. Brayden might be upset, but you and Ro must decide what you want from each other. If you decide to be together, don’t let anything stand in your way. Bray will get over it in time. Just prepare for the initial fallout and decide if it’s worth it.”
Sighing, I agree. “You’re right.”
We return to our dinner and enjoy the rest of the night despite the gloomy air that clings to me.