Elliot #2
Standing from his chair, he leans forward against his desk, his eyes penetrating mine.
“It would serve you well to remember who owns this firm and has the authority to make decisions that affect not only you, but other people.” I don’t respond.
“Now, did you speak with Tori like I told you to?” I let my silence bear my response.
“That’s what I thought. You need to talk to her, Elliot.
Everyone makes mistakes, and Tori’s eager to right her wrongs. ”
Fighting to keep my voice level, I reply, “This wasn’t just a mistake, Dad. She agreed to marry me, I put a goddamn ring on her finger, and then she walked out on our wedding day with the boss she’d been fucking behind my back.”
“Thank you for the vivid recap,” he says dryly. “Good to know your gift for theatrics extends beyond the courtroom.”
Blowing out a breath, I reach up to push a hand through my hair, but the gel slicking it back makes that task virtually impossible. “She broke me…”
“And don’t you think hearing her out might help repair what she broke? Maybe give you two a second chance?”
“Ha!” My fake laugh earns me a glare from my father. “If you think there will ever be a second chance between Tori and me, you’re sadly mistaken.”
“She was everything you wanted, Elliot. Obviously, there was a reason you wanted to marry her…”
“Yeah, delusion.” I turn on my heel and leave my father’s office, heading straight toward mine. The second I’m inside, I lock the door and start pacing the floor, wondering how on earth I got here.
I know one thing for certain—there is no way in hell I’d ever entertain a relationship with that woman again, and I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure there’s no doubt in anyone’s mind about it.
Yup. Over my dead fucking body.
***
The next morning, I enter the office hoping that the nightmare from yesterday was just that—a nightmare. I debated texting the boys to let them know about Tori’s return, but part of me is in denial and wants to see if she even chooses to stick around.
The front receptionist desk is empty when I walk through the front doors, a wave of relief rushing through me as I greet one of the paralegals at her desk and then make my way down the hall toward my office, eager to get lost in work so my mind has something else to focus on.
But when I get there, Tori is standing right next to my desk, placing a cup of coffee by my computer.
“You must be lost.”
She jumps, clearly not expecting me. But she’s in my office, a place she is no longer welcome and never will be again. “Elliot. I, um…”
“You can go.” Sidestepping around her, I wait for her to move from my desk before placing my briefcase on top of it. Nodding toward the coffee, I say, “And you can take that with you.”
“But it’s just the way you like it…two sugars, no cream.”
“If you think bringing me coffee is going to fix things, you’re just as delusional as I was, Tori.”
Her brows lift. “So, are you saying there’s a chance we could fix things?”
My mouth drops open with shock. “Did you hit your head as you fled from our wedding and forget what you did to me?” Her bottom lip starts to tremble. “Save your tears, Tori. They aren’t going to undo the damage you’ve caused, the damage I’ve been working to repair. Now leave, please.”
I see one tear fall down her face before she spins around and rushes out the door. Letting out the breath I was holding, I shake off our encounter, turn on my computer, and log into my emails, blocking out her existence until I know how I’m going to handle this.
That woman cannot work here. Honestly, I can’t even wrap my head around the fact that my father either doesn’t see or doesn’t care how this will affect me.
I understand that people make mistakes, but what Tori did wasn’t some careless lapse in judgment.
It was life-altering, and somehow my own father can’t see the potential damage that forcing her back into my life could cause.
I’m so lost in thought as I read through emails that I barely register someone entering my office until I hear their voice.
“What’s up, Grumpzilla?”
My eyes land on Dilynne standing in front of my desk, Bites & Bliss Bakery bag in hand, smacking her gum.
Her red bandana is tied around her head, she has on black overalls today with a white tank top underneath, and her lips are covered in that deep cherry red lipstick that makes me wonder what it would look like smeared all over my cock.
None of that this morning, Elliot.
“Can I help you?”
Her head tilts to the side as she studies me. “Be careful there, Thorne. You keep scowling like that and you’re gonna need to start using that face cream Laney is getting all of us hooked on.”
“I am not in the mood for you today, Dilynne. What the hell do you need?”
She dramatically widens her eyes and places a hand to her chest. “Damn. Someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin today.”
“Tell me why you’re here or get out.”
She sticks her tongue out at me and tosses the bag on my desk, landing with a thud. “Jesus. Are you on your man period? Good thing I brought you sugar then, huh?”
“Sadly, even one of Carolina’s creations isn’t enough to make today even remotely better.”
Dilynne moves her eyes around the room. “You’re already having a bad day? The day just started…”
“Trust me, I know.”
“Well, Carolina made a fresh batch of shortbread cookies, so naturally I had to bring you some.”
My eyes drop down to the bag. “And what insults did she write on them today?”
Dilynne smirks as she crosses her arms over her chest. “You’ll just have to open them and see.”
I’ve told her to stop bringing me pastries, especially since my waistline has seen the effects of the extra calories. But telling Dilynne Clark not to do something is like telling a lion not to chase a gazelle.
That is, it’s not going to happen.
And even though I’ll never admit it, I look forward to what insults she comes up with for Carolina to write in frosting. It’s gestures like these from her that make the unorthodox feelings stirring inside of me even more uncomfortable to deal with.
Which is why she really needs to fucking stop this, especially after today’s reminder of what those feelings can result in.
Rolling my eyes, I lean back in my chair. “I appreciate the gesture, but—”
“You know what, Elliot?” Tori storms into my office before I can finish my thought, drawing Dilynne’s attention as she twists around to come face to face with her.
Dilynne’s eyes practically fall out of her head as she looks at Tori like she must be a figment of her imagination.
Trust me, Dilynne. I thought the same thing. She’s real.
“Dear God. What horrible human lifted the house off of you and let you free?”
Tori rears her head back. “Excuse me?”
Rolling her eyes, Dilynne looks Tori up and down before muttering, “Of course you don’t know any Wizard of Oz references.” Then she turns to me. “Makes her nickname all the more perfect for her, don’t you think, Elliot?”
I ignore Dilynne’s jab and focus my attention back on Tori. “What do you need, Tori?”
“Well, I came back in here to finish our conversation, but…” She glances over at Dilynne. “What the hell are you doing here?” Tori bounces her eyes back and forth between Dilynne and me, settling on Dilynne as she waits for her reply.
“Funny how you think we owe you any explanations after what you did to Elliot.”
Tori’s jaw clenches, but she stays calm. “That’s between Elliot and me.”
Dilynne takes a step toward Tori, forcing her to crane her neck back since Dilynne is several inches taller than her.
“No, Triple W. What you did to Elliot is my business too—since you infiltrated our entire group, our family, and hurt one of our own. So, if you don’t want to have a conversation with my fist next, back the hell out of this office and stay as far away from both of us as you can. ”
“Kind of hard to do when I work here now,” Tori fires back, crossing her arms over her chest while keeping eye contact with Dilynne.
Dilynne spins back to me. “She works here now?”
“Trust me, no one is angrier about that fact than me.”
Tori’s smile is smug as she arches a brow at Dilynne.
“Yup, which means you can’t keep me from talking to Elliot.
” And then she turns to me. “And we are going to talk. That I’m sure of.
” She leaves, and as soon as Dilynne snaps out of her shock, she shuts the door to my office and looks at me like she was just asked to send a rocket to the moon.
“What in the actual fuck, Elliot?”
“Say that a few more times and you might be where I’m at mentally.”
She pushes herself from the door and points beyond my office. “That witch can’t work here!”
“Well, unfortunately, my father is the one who makes that decision, not me.”
“Have you talked to him about it?”
I flash her a deadpan stare. “You know my dad isn’t one to have conversations, Dil.”
“Well, this is all kinds of fucked up!”
“Thank you, but I don’t need you to remind me of that. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.” I direct my eyes to the computer screen, but Dilynne slaps her hand on my desk.
“Why on earth would your dad hire her?”
Sighing, I lean back in my chair again. “The fuck if I know, Dilynne! But Jesus, it’s not your problem, okay?”
“Yes, it is. That woman is back in your life, which means she’s back in all of our lives, Elliot—Fletcher, Henley, Rhonan, Laney…”
“No need to name everyone in our friend group. Thank you.”
She flips me off and then plants her hands back on her hips. “Does your dad honestly think that her working here is a good idea?”
Lowering my voice, I say through clenched teeth, “Look, that’s what I said, but he wants us to talk, tried to lecture me about mistakes and shit…”
“What that woman did is more than just a mistake.”
“I agree.”
Dilynne chuckles. “Oh shit. We’re agreeing on things again. Someone call a doctor!” she mocks, yelling toward my office door as if someone outside will listen.
“Don’t worry, I’m sure it won’t last long.”
“I sincerely hope not,” Dilynne mutters.