The Rules In Paradise (Playing By The Rules) (23 page)

             
"You are beyond the most amazing person I've ever known," he said and kissed the top of my head. The song ended and we broke apart. He kissed me softly and we walked from the dance floor. We both grabbed a glass of champagne and sat together at the table laughing and talking. He was so carefree tonight and I loved every moment.

             
"I'll be right back, I'm going to run to the restroom," I said as I got up. I walked across the room toward the bathroom.

             
I walked out of the bathroom and nearly ran into Jason.

             
"I'm sorry, excuse me," I said as I tried to get out of his way. I realized it was Jason and suddenly felt extremely awkward. I stood there for a moment and regarded him. He looked like he was battling with something, trying to make a decision. His face looked panicked.

             
"Olivia, I'm glad to see you. I need to speak with you," Jason said. He sounded more frantic than angry.

             
"Ok?" I was extremely confused.

             
"Will you come outside with me, please?" His voice was almost pleading. I wasn't sure what to do. I glanced at the patio and saw many guests out there so I decided to go. We walked quickly and he pulled out a chair at one of the cast iron table sets.

             
"I'm sorry to do this and I might regret it when I do, but I believe that there are things you don't know that you should. You are seemingly the only thing that he can think of and I want to share some things so you understand where I'm coming from. I'm going to talk fast because if he sees me talking to you he'll know what I'm telling you." Jason took a deep breath, almost to steady himself.

             
"He hasn't been honest with you. At first I didn't think it was a big deal, but he's done so much for you that I know he's serious. I thought it was just some fling, but he's lost his mind over you. I figured he might forget about you once he got back to his life, but he hasn't. Olivia, none of this is going to nice for you to hear. My attitude has not been a reflection if how I feel about you. I actually really like you, but it is because of this that I have to share stuff I know Cole has kept you in the dark about."

             
I felt a cold chill overtake me. I felt nervous and anxious and glanced over my shoulder, making sure Cole was not there.

             
"I need to start at the beginning. Nine years ago Cole and I started this company. We both needed money, he has been extremely successful in a couple of sales jobs and I was trying to start my own design firm. Well we became what we are now. We were originally backed by a man, Don Fredericks. He provided us some start up money to get off the ground. He had been a client of Cole's when he worked for a bank. This was about ten years ago. He believed in Cole and knew he could make something out of nothing. Well Fredericks is a wealthy man. Very wealthy. With his money behind us it didn't take long for us to start getting some jobs. We both are good at what we do Olivia, very good. Most small business owners are, but they don't have the start up money to go to the big time. We did, we were good and we got more and more business. We tried on several occasions to start paying Fredericks back. We were doing well enough that we could start giving him some of that start up money back. He didn't accept, saying he would collect when we were well established. Little did I know that Cooper was screwing his daughter. That was fine, she was extremely attractive and he was unattached. Fredericks never collected and eventually Cole got serious with her. This was about four years ago.

             
Five years into our business venture and we were doing great things. We were making tons of money, Cole was happy with this girl, Vanessa, and life was good. We spent most nights out partying with the rich and famous, which was made possible by Fredericks. We could network because of him, which grew our business even more. Cole moves in with Vanessa two years ago. He designs this amazing and expensive house. They get engaged.

             
Olivia, we were in Mexico for Cole's bachelor party. He was supposed to get married the weekend you guys left." Jason finally took a breath.

             
I felt my heart drop. His bachelor party. The friends. It made sense.

             
"Well needless to say we got home that weekend and he called it off. He said he didn't want to marry her. He had met someone in Mexico and he was in love. Vanessa was devastated. I liked her fine but she was a rich brat. She ran to daddy. He's pissed Olivia. He's convinced almost every single one of our clients to go elsewhere. I've been literally fighting with one client, the mega job we got when we went home, to stay with us. Fredericks is spreading all kinds of lies about how we do business. He's powerful. He's trying to single handedly destroy our company we've worked hard to create. The problem is he's suing, saying we have done all of these things on top of not paying him back. He's backed Cole into a corner. He had to sell the house to Vanessa for literally a fraction of what it's worth. She lives there with all of their stuff. He's moved into a condo outside LA.

             
He's lied to you about so much Olivia, I wish that was it. When he came back he called the wedding off, like I said. There was instantly backlash. Obviously. Olivia, he moved out two weeks ago. He's been trying to soften the blow by getting back into her good graces since then, so she'd call dear old daddy off.

             
I have no doubt about his feelings for you, but he's a businessman. He has something threatening his business and he's fighting for it, unfairly. Basically Vanessa said he had to marry her if he wanted this whole thing to be over. That's finally what made him get out. She's crazy. She's definitely a woman scorned but she deserves to be. So do you. He knew what could happen if he chose you over her." Jason stopped talking, but he still looked gravely serious.

             
"So let me sum this up. Cole was getting married three weeks after we met. He was having his bachelor party. He leaves, breaks up with her. Sees that it makes waves at work and stays with her until she delivers the ultimatum. Did her dad cancel the lawsuits once he went back to her?" I asked. I was surprisingly calm though my blood was speeding through my veins.

             
"Yes. He said he would fix it all if Cole married Vanessa. He didn't do it though, he loves you I think. He asked Kyle to do some research, on what he could do to Fredericks because essentially it's slander. We've never been dishonest in how we've done business."

             
"It was her," I said.

             
"Her what?"

             
"There were times he would take a phone call, or frown at his phone, it was her," I sat back in my chair, shocked.

             
"Yes, probably so."

             
"He lied, I asked him if he had a girlfriend."

             
"Olivia, I don't know what he was thinking."

             
I looked at Jason and suddenly felt bad for the way I had treated him. I felt the pricking at the back of my eyes and struggled to keep it under control.

             
"I don't know what you want to do with this information. Even if you do nothing with it, I just wanted you to know. He really cares about you, I know that."

             
"Yes, he cares about me enough to cheat on his wife-to-be and then use her to not have to deal with the consequences. Jason, I'm sorry that your business and hard work are being effected here. What is he suing for?" I asked.

             
"He just wants to ruin us. He's asking for our start up money plus interest. He's trying to get all of our clients pulled out, he's also trying to mess with our new multi deal, the fourteen chains Cole told you about. If he wins he can ruin us."

             
I lowered my head. Cole had made a disgusting mess. He had lied to me in Mexico, he has been unfaithful to her, he had canceled the wedding just weeks before they were supposed to walk down the aisle and then decided to come see me at the time he was supposed to get married. It was all a lie. He had lied to me about her, and then pretended to stay with her to get out of his giant screw up. My head was reeling. I couldn't focus on much of anything. I felt increasingly sick to my stomach.

             
"I'm sorry, I had to, it wasn't right," Jason said.

             
"You didn't," Cole said, standing in front of the table, his shock clearly visible on his face. "Olivia, I'm sorry, please just listen." I stood up quickly from the table.

Chapter 17

             
I took a moment to take him in. He was standing there, looking just as handsome as before. Only this time his faced was completely different. The expression registered as a mixture between shock, hurt, confusion and awe. His face was lined, it aged him at least five years. He stood there, statue still, looking at only me. I felt the intensity that I had grown so accustomed to. This time I felt it had no power over me. I wanted it to be tangible so I could push it away. He didn't move a muscle. He didn't even blink. He was waiting for me to react. I hadn't decided how I was going to handle that part yet. His hands were nervously fumbling with the bottom of his suit jacket.

             
He finally blinked and looked at Jason with a look of disbelief. Jason hung his head, almost like an admonished child.

             
"She deserved to know, you know that," Jason said.

             
"Get the fuck away from her and I," Cole said. His voice was seemingly calm, but I could feel the tension radiating from him. He meant business and Jason knew it. He got up from the seat across from me and gave me one last look.

             
"I'm so sorry, you just deserved to know," he said softly. He walked away without a backward glance.

             
I sat there, staring at the table in front of me. There were millions of thoughts swirling around in my head. I felt like not only had the rug been pulled out from under me, I should have known. There were signs, but I was too blinded by how great it was to be around him to pay attention to them.

             
"Please say something," Cole said in a very small voice.

             
His voice was unlike I've ever heard. He sounded scared like a lost child. I stared ahead for a few moments. I heard him moving next to me and then he dropped into the chair that Jason occupied a few minutes ago.

             
"Olivia, I," he started, but I held up my hand.

             
"You don't get to say my name, or anything about me while we're at it. You made me out to be such a fool." I closed my eyes, willing my tears not to fall.

             
"I'm sorry, I swear I am. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping it from you."

             
I looked around at the people on the patio with us. They were all dressed nicely and were chatting amiably.

             
"You know what, I'm not doing this here. This is my best friend's wedding day and I refuse to be one of those people who makes a mess of the whole thing." I walked from the table and looked at him. He was sitting in his chair and his body was slouched. He looked small and scared.

             
"I'll be waiting, please give me a chance to talk," he said quietly. With that I turned and walked into the reception. I pushed everything as far from my mind as I could and pretended to enjoy myself for the next three hours.

             
I never went back to the patio. As everyone was packing up I hugged Kyle and Charlotte and told them how happy I was for them. I walked out front, and took a breath of fresh air. I was about to start digging for my cell phone to call myself a cab when I noticed Cole sitting on the bench in front of the building, a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. His head was down, almost between his knees. His hair was disheveled and his tie was untied, hanging from him neck.

             
"What are you doing?" I asked. Disgusted by the cigarette burning between his lips. He looked up, but didn't make eye contact.

             
"Old habits die hard," He said, taking another drag. "One person's nerves can only take so much before you need an intervention."

             
"I should agree." I took the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, stepping on it to put it out.

             
He sat silently, looking down at the ground again. He was hurting, I understood that. So was I, and he deserved every ounce of hurt he had.

             
"How are you getting home?" He asked.

             
"I'm going to call a cab."