“Jeff? What the fuck, man?” I approached him slowly, squaring my shoulders. I swore to God, if he hit on Tori, I’d kill him. “What the fuck did you do, Jeff?” I felt the anger start to sizzle in my gut and knew he was damn lucky that we were at work or I’d throw him to the ground right then.
Jeff finally looked up as he brushes his hands through his hair, taking a slow breath in and out through his perfectly-shaped nose that I was considering messing up. “OK, so don’t get pissed, but Tori came by earlier tod-”
“What the fuck did you do, Jeff!” I bellowed and got as close to his face as I could without head-butting him. I didn’t think he had ever seen me this pissed and he looked equal parts violent and anxious.
“I didn’t do anything, jackass. Get out of my face.” I took a step back but didn’t lay off the intimidation techniques. “She came by today asking about you and I told her a little bit about you. About how she’d be lucky to have you. How you had a rough past but you’re solid now. You’re a good guy. That’s it, dude. I swear.” He sighed out a long breath, clearly feeling slightly better after this confession. I sure as shit didn’t feel better, though.
“That’s all good shit, Jeff. That’s not going to make her stop wanting to be with me. What the fuck else did you say? Did you tell her about me going off the deep end in college? What did you say?” I emphasized the last question with a strong shoulder shove, making his head smack against the glass of his door. He looked like he was about to bash my head in for my efforts and I welcomed the challenge. Fucking fight me, Jeff. Bring it on.
He seemed to register that picking a fight with me would be a terrible idea and instead widened his stance and crossed his arms. “I told her that you had talked about her since Day 1, that you thought she was amazing. I said the only other thing you ever talk about that much is kids and how much you want a family… But really, man, there’s nothing else.”
Jeff spread his hands wide in attrition, not noting the spark of recognition that flared in me. Kids? Family? “Jeff… what exactly did you say to Tori about me wanting kids?”
“I said that the only thing you talked about more than her was having a family and how you’d always wanted kids of your own so that you could show them what love really was. That’s all good shit, Wyatt. I don’t get why that’d freak her out? Does she not want kids?”
“Fuck, Jeff! She wants a baby. Like right now! That’s what started all of this! She was going to a sperm clinic and I offered… an alternative. That’s why we hooked up. She must think that-”
Our discussion was cut short as Jeff’s door attempted to open and instead met squarely with the back of Jeff’s head.
“Shit!” Jeff exclaimed as he stumbled forward, rubbing the back of his scalp. The door attempted to open again and this time, it was Carter standing on the other side, looking pretty pissed off at being denied entry.
“What are you two ladies squawking about in here? Where the hell did Tori go?” Carter demanded, looking from me to Jeff and back with that steely, no-bullshit gaze. Carter’s eyes settled on me in a way that let me know that I was the prime suspect in Tori’s exit from the office. I cleared my throat and looked at a spot just over Carter’s shoulder because I was a total chicken shit.
“Sir, I’m not sure where she went, but she’s mad at me. I need to go find her, but I don’t think she’ll talk to me right now. It seems we’ve had a … pretty severe miscommunication, courtesy of my buddy Jeff over here.” I emphasized that last part by staring daggers at Jeff. He rolled his eyes and threw up in his hands in defeat.
“Carter, I guess I fucked up,” Jeff began, looking at his brother sheepishly. “Tori came to me today asking about Wyatt and I guess I said some things about him that freaked her out. I thought they were all good, braggadocious things would make him look good, but my friend here has just pointed out my huge mistake.” Jeff looked at his older brother, appearing a little childish in such close proximity to the alpha male that was Carter.
Carter looked between us again and bit out, “I don’t give a fuck about what you two are talking about, I care about my assistant. She has worked for us for a decade and I’m not letting a little boy ruin that for her or for us. Now what the fuck is the problem so we can get her back here?”
I was burning bright red, knowing that I was going to have to own up to fraternizing with Tori. I didn’t want to get her into trouble, but I wanted Carter to understand that I was not giving up on this relationship. There’s not a chance in hell.