Forgotten Promise (Forgotten Series Book 2) (19 page)

He laughs it off.

But I’m completely
serious. I fold my arms over my chest and wait for him to listen.

“Oh, you were
serious?” He sits and appears to be paying attention.

“Okay, if you see me
cut my throat with my finger, it means: No, don’t do that. Or shut the fuck
up.”

Clayton nods his head
in understanding.

“If I tug on my ear,
that means you need to say something positive, and NO, Let’s go make out
doesn’t count.”

“It doesn’t?”

Jesus, what am I
doing? Am I insane to get in the middle of this? “Clayton, Google romantic
comments for woman, you know like you do with your stupid jokes.”

“They’re not stupid,
are they?”

I sigh. “If you get
it right, I’ll give you a thumbs-up.”

“Okay, throat, ear,
thumb…Got it,” he says.

“I’ll call Bryer and
arrange it.”

“Back to business,
which is why I originally came in, how’s Graham doing? Business in general, I
know I’ve been gone and trying to be present in two different companies, this
and M&M. Not to mention the drama behind the scenes.”

“It’s all good,
Nathan, I enjoy running the place. Graham has been my right-hand man, and
business is up.” We talk about the club’s future and his role. “I wanted to
talk about this personally before moving forward, but I wanted to make you
official partner. This gym is yours as much as mine, you deserve it.”

“Are you fucking
kidding me? No seriously?” Standing straighter, taller suddenly pride,
confidence pouring off him.

I regret not doing it
sooner by his reaction. “I guess you accept?”

“This is going to be
fucking epic.”

I smile at his
excitement. And we shake hands but he pulls me in for a bro-hug. “I’ll call Bryer,
on my way home. See what day works for all four of us to go out for dinner.”

~Bryer~

Arriving early, I
avoid running into Cash, if he’s here today, that is. This bullshit stress
every morning has to stop. I’m at a loss how to handle it without quitting,
which is on the table. I spend the first hour going over still more problems
that occurred during my time off.

When someone clears
his throat.

Cash places both hands
on the door jamb, with a patronizing smile on his face. “How was your
vacation?” he asks, not waiting for a response. “Sorry I wasn’t here yesterday
to welcome you back.”

“That’s completely
unnecessary, Cash, in fact it made my return easier without you here.” I’m
going for blunt.

“Play nice, Bryer.”

“Who’s playing?”
Looking into those amber eyes, everything about him screams trouble. He pushes
off the wall, calm as can be. Compared to my heart racing. And sits on the
other side of my desk, crosses his leg over his knee. But doesn’t say a word.

“Stop being so smug,”
I say, suddenly uncomfortable, he’s too handsome for his own good. It’s a shame
the inside doesn’t match the package. “What do you want, Cash?” Slithering
through the door.

“Friday we are booked
on a flight to Austin, you remember Austin, don’t you ,Bryer?”

My eyes widen in
shock. “The hell we are.” My voice a little louder than I intend.

“It’s happening,
Bryer, and I’ll get no argument from you.” As he places his hands on my desk
but remains seating.

As if he’s ready to
pounce. “What’s in Austin, and why am I involved, Cash?” The power of this
moment shredding me apart.

“Two things really, a
client I want you to impress, and some unfinished legal business concerning
your mother’s things, you never finalized.”

“Cash, be reasonable.
You can take someone else to Austin, and all paperwork can be done here.”

“Unfortunately that’s
not so. The buyers want to meet the creator of the exercise clothing line, that’s
you.” He waits a beat. ‘And the paperwork has to be notarized by an officer at
the firm, so you see, Bryer, you have no choice.”

“You have no claim on
me, Cash, you may think being my new boss…” Using air-quotes. “Gives you some
power, but I’ll walk away before I let you manipulate me.” Standing meeting him
face-to-face, I watch as he curls his lips with icy contempt.

“I wasn’t prepared to
show my hand this early, Bryer. If I was a betting man, I would have thought
your job meant more to you than that.” His eyes gleaming with arrogance.

“Cash, there’s
nothing left to say, if this is another attempt to trap me it’s too late. I
have a man that loves me, who I love back. Someone I can trust, and he had to
make up for your sins.”

“That’s harsh.”

“Then stop the
relentless pursuit, I’m married.”

“Ah…Yes, married,” he
whispers with a smirk I would love to slap away.

“What does that
mean?” Attempting to regain my composure, but failing.

“Have you spoken to
your new husband, Bryer, about M&M?”

Now I’m struggling to
breathe, unable to respond.

“I’ll take that as a
yes, darlin’.” Apparently assumed. “Funny how control changes everything, the
one left holding the cards wins. Or so they say.”

He leans over my
desk, inches from my personal space. His hands covering my paperwork. A look of
defiance as his shifty eyes travel my body. There was a moment when I knew
danger was imminent.

“You will go, Bryer,
you will keep this conversation between just the two of us, or the consequences
will be severe. If you love him, you’ll protect him.” His lips set in a grim
line.

I knew to fear the
worst. “Is that a threat?” Sorrow and disbelief consuming me, the fight fails
miserably. The fear of his dominant nature coming back to me in flashes of
memories I’d rather forget.

“I think you know me
well enough to answer that yourself, don’t you, Bryer?” He winks. “You’ll be
smart to remember that when you want to argue or attempt to find a way out.”
Arms over his chest in a stance of power, power over me. And a threat over
Nathan, his company and our future.

“If I do this, Cash,
I’m resigning when I return, and I want you out of our lives forever, do you
understand?” Nausea rising as I confront the man who’s taken me to hell and
back.

“I can live with
that.” And quietly leaves my office.

A never-ending
freefall, of indecision I can’t do this. Nathan won’t understand, there’s no
reason on earth that I could give that would make him understand. Lie? Would
that protect him? Protect his company?  The bastard’s won, the emotions
rise and fall. Tears spilling uncontrollably, as the rising anger fights for
dominance, a battle within me surging in opposite directions. Fear, anger and a
loss of control. How will I save his company and save myself at the same time?
How will I get him to understand without a lie, one that could bring us down?
My phone rings, and I quickly pull myself together as I see Nathan’s name on my
screen.

“Hey, baby,” he
cheerfully says.

“To what do I owe
this pleasure?” Not fucking proud that I can lie so well.

“A date, well a
foursome. Can you call Gen and ask if she wants to join us tonight for dinner,
in the city? Clayton will be there, you may want to give her a heads-up.”

Shaking my head back
into real life I take a cleansing breath. “I plan on leaving after lunch
today.” I just decided. “So I’ll convince her.”

“Great, see you soon,
love you, babe.”

“Love you more.” I
hear a chuckle, if he only knew.

I look heaven ward,
asking for guidance, from whoever may be listening. Knowing I can’t confide in
anyone. It’s leaving me hollow inside, and I’m scared, this could go wrong in
so many ways.

My nerves still on
edge when we reach the restaurant, Nathan making reservations for a private
booth in the back. Surprisingly it didn’t take much coaxing to get Gen to come,
even when I mentioned Clayton. I see Clayton walking in and wave him over. “You
look nervous, what’s wrong?” I ask, watching him take the seat closest to
Nathan.

“I’m trying to be
normal,” he says with a straight face.

“Oh, well good luck
with that.” Speechless and slightly confused.

Nathan just pats him
on the back and no words are exchanged. “Drinks?” Nathan finally asks.

I see Gen walk in,
beautiful, I might add. Her hair sleek tonight, falling down the middle of her
back, and those heels? No woman wears heels like that unless they’re trying to
impress a guy. Interesting.

“Lemon martini for
me,” she says, joining the table.

“Water all around,”
Nathan adds.

“Beer, Corona with a
lime,” Clayton answers, so far very
normal
.

As I watch Gen take
the seat closest to Clayton, it doesn’t go undetected by Clayton either. I
notice Nathan tugging on his ear and when Clayton notices, panic is written all
over his face, what the hell?

“You look beautiful,
Gen.” Clayton sincerely looks into Gen’s eyes.

I’m thinking wow, was
there a Clayton make-over I missed?

Nathan discreetly
gives him a thumbs-up.

It all comes
together. But I’m totally on board, Clayton needs a little help, and Nathan is
the perfect man for the job.

“Thank you, Clayton,”
Gen replies, a little shyer than I’m used to and she’s totally fixated on him.
The grin on Clayton’s face is priceless.

“I like your blue
shirt,” she replies.

“What else do you
like about me?” Clayton says.

Nathan giving the
cutting his throat move.

I’m on the verge of
laughing, A huge part of me is unable to let this go entirely. “You guys are
usually like watching
THE VIEW
  what’s up?” I ask. They both look
at me like they want to stab me with their fork.

“Who’s hungry?”
Nathan pokes me in the side. As he waves the waitress over, as if nothing
happened.

“Do you have any
questions about the menu?” The waitress asks,

I nod looking at the
others.

“What kind of font is
this?” Clayton smiles and it’s contagious. “The least I can do is be
entertaining.” He smiles.

Thumbs-up again.

Our dinner arrives,
our plates set in front of us. My steak looks incredible. So does Nathan’s.

“What is this?”
Clayton raises his hands palms up at the waitress.

We all look at his
plate.

“It looks like shit
on a stick.”

I see Nathan using
the universal sign cutting his neck several times.

“I ordered Kabobs,”
Clayton continues, not giving the waitress a chance to get a word in.

“Oh it can’t be that
bad.” Gen looks at the waitress, then Clayton.

“Let me bring you
something else,” she suggests.

“Fine, I’ll have what
they’re having.” Pointing at our plates.

I see Nathan shaking
his head in defeat.

“I know I say the
stupidest things sometimes. I may annoy you, but you’ll never find anyone who
wants you more.”

Clayton bears his
soul, right here, right now, in front of everyone. The table goes silent, and I
notice Nathan is confused what sign to give him. I want to say, WOW.

“Well don’t sweat it,
cowboy,” Gen answers with a cute new nickname, and a pat on the hand.

I see Gen share her
plate with Clayton while he waits for his re-order.

“So, what about
vices, what are yours?” he asks between hand-fed bites from Gen.

“That’s hard,
shopping probably. Watching Goanna Pulling.”

My mouth hangs open,
I notice I’m not the only one, who will ask? My mind already going places I
shouldn’t.

“What’s Goanna
Pulling?”

Figures Clayton would
be all over that.

“It’s like tug of
war, with your head. The participants, two people face each other with a heavy
strap joining them around their necks, then they pull. Whoever crosses the line
wins.”

“You are not serious,
Gen,” I argue, “This is the first time I’ve ever heard of it, let alone it
being an interest of yours.” Laughing at her. “Now you’re just making shit up
as you go.”

“Maybe we can watch
it on cable some time,” Clayton offers.

Am I in a twilight
Zone episode or something?

Thumbs-up from
Nathan, I smack him on the arm, confused by his rating.

“He’s being
supportive, Bryer,” Nathan whispers in my ear.

Clearly, I’m the only
sane person here.

Clayton’s plate arrives,
and I notice he shares it with Gen. Okay thumbs-up on that one.

“I dreamt about you
last night,” Clayton says, touching Gen’s hand.

I’m squirming in my
chair, this could go two ways. Really bad or not so bad. I’ll give Clayton
credit, for distracting me after the day from hell.

“We were dancing to a
slow song,” he starts, Gen looking into his eyes, buying it hook, line and
sinker. “I held you close as we swayed to Adele’s new song
Hello
.”

“Shut up, that’s my
favorite song,” she blurts out.

I’m feeling a little
a voyeur again, I think they can handle it from here. Our work here is done.

“We are taking desert
home if you two want to stay.” Finally my husband speaks.

“Yeah, sounds great.
I got the check,” Clayton offers.

After our thanks and
goodbyes, we are alone in the car driving home.

“What was that?” I
ask.

“The start of
something special, I hope.”

Nathan seems
unaffected by tonight, my head is spinning. Letting it go for now, I feel my
mother’s journal calling me, and I know what I’m doing when we get home. A
fire, a glass of wine, her words wrapping around me, and my husband close by. I
have yet to decide what to do about Cash, and maybe her words will inspire me.

This is becoming a habit, losing
you and finding you. I enjoy going back and reading the first of the entries.
Bryer’s growing so fast, she’s five and soon will be going to kindergarten. The
good Lord has yet to bless us with another child, but we don’t talk about it.

I will be working in David’s office
as soon as Bryer’s school starts. I’ve trained with him part time for the past
year, and we both feel I’m ready. It makes me feel confident to dabble in
investments, life insurance, planning people’s future and our own.

The only negative is my parents, we
hardly see each other. I gave my mom an ultimatum leave him, come leave with
us, or there will be minimal contact, I just can’t expose Bryer and my family
to the abuse. And it breaks my heart to see her die a little each day. I get
updates from neighbors, the police were called. Once she had to go to the
hospital, I showed up but she still wouldn’t listen to reason. I feel like I’m
banging my head against the wall.