He's loyal, I'll give him that.
"Then, power through it and look on the bright side. Think of how exciting your new job will be."
He nods slowly and I laugh at his lack of energy.
"It's not funny."
"If you could see your face, you'd laugh too."
"When I went for the interview, Prescott died when I called him honey."
That actually makes me laugh. "Did you do it in front of anyone?"
"No. I'm not that stupid."
"Too bad. I would've loved that."
"Yeah, you would've." He smiles. "But that would've spelled disaster for me. He was a little crazy looking as it was, given his day."
Holding up my hand, I say, "Stop. I don't want any more information on him. But, hey, why don't I cook us dinner tonight?"
He sighs. "That would be so nice."
I look in the fridge and decide a quick trip to the corner market is in store. I run out and pick up a few items, and while I'm headed in, I notice a dark sedan parked nearby. I don't bother looking in to see who owns it, because I know.
The stalker has returned, but too damn bad. I pick up my pace and as I reach the door, I hear him call out my name, but too fucking bad. Maybe he should've thought about that before he stayed out all night with some skanky ho. I raise my hand in the middle-fingered salute and keep moving.
When I open the door to our apartment, that hand is shaking. Dropping the bags on the counter, I lean back and take long deep breaths. It pisses me off that he still has this effect on me. Traitor body.
He never bothered to call or text, but yet he shows up like I'm supposed to what exactly? "Oh, hi, buddy. It's great to see you." Excuse me, but hell to the fucking no on that.
Eric walks into the tiny kitchen. "Are you okay? You look like you've seen a ghost."
"I'm fine."
"Vivi. I'm not stupid."
"He was outside."
Eric chuckles. "I wondered how long it would take. A man who stared at you like he did wouldn't stay away forever."
"Too bad for him."
"Why don't you give him a chance?"
Turning to face him, I plant my hand on my hip. "Whose side are you on anyway?"
"No side. I'm just-"
"I vividly recall you telling me to give him a chance before. I did and look where it landed me. Eric, I adore you, but stay out of this. Prescott has earned his one and only chance with me. He fucked it up good."
I go back to fixing dinner.
"I won't say another word except have you ever thought that maybe something happened?"
"Yeah? Well, that's what phones are for."
He grumbles something and walks away. The truth is I'm weak where Prescott is concerned and I don't need to be around someone like him. Maybe he does have his own issues, but I don't need to add them to mine. I need someone who'll build me up and not crack me into tiny pieces and then watch them scatter into the wind. And he's proven, again, what type of man he is.
Chapter 27
Prescott
It's been over two weeks since I've seen Vivi. The apartment was empty when I got home and all that remained was a note from Regina along with Vivi's scent.
Inhaling, I let the fragrance coat my senses. Her image was vivid and sharp, almost as though she stood in front of me in reproach. I could hear her asking why I hadn't called and where I'd been. I could see doubt cloud her gorgeous eyes and her uncertainty over my flimsy explanation of where I'd spent the night. My gut burned with the acid of how I'd raised her suspicion in me. Why hadn't I texted or called her? What the hell had I been thinking?
How can I fix this? I'm the problem. Not her. I've probably destroyed what I'd built and her distrust in me will never allow her to believe what I tell her. Everything is ruined and I only have myself to blame. All because I was stupid and fearful of revealing the truth of my past.
Except, I don't even know my past anymore. I'm currently a man without a name. I'm not even Prescott Beckham. I don't know who the fuck I am. The irony of it all smacks me in the face.
Regina said if I needed anything to contact her. I arranged for her to be paid the entire sum for the two weeks. It wasn't her fault this happened. The blame falls on my shoulders.
My trip to Atlanta was pretty fucking miserable. Weston and Special tried to talk it out of me, but I didn't even tell them about my father. I didn't have it in me to bring the whole mess up. We took care of business and when I was leaving, Weston told me the door is always open. I knew that already, but it was good to hear the words.
Lynn is on my ass once more because every morning I smell like a bottle of bourbon again. She doesn't even tell me but hands me a toothbrush, toothpaste, and then says I need to chew some gum.
"Get some help, Prescott. I don't know what happened, but I know it has to do with Vivi. I hope you didn't hurt her."
"Lynn, I wish it were that simple."
"It's not that father of yours, because he's not here anymore."
I nod in silence.
"So?"
"I don't want to discuss it."
"Okay, boss, but I don't want to work for you if you're going to be like this."
She backs out of the office without another word. Who can blame her? No one wants an alcoholic for a boss.
We're in meetings all morning and afterward, Granddad stops by. He makes a suggestion that floors me.
"I think you should relocate, son. As much as this pains me to say, I think it's time for you to get out of here. You're a wreck and it's not doing our business any favors. Leaving here and running our ops in Denver might be the answer."
"Denver, huh?" I almost stagger to my chair and this time it's not because I'm hungover.
"Yes. It's a good fit, Prescott. They need your brilliant mind to pull in some deals over there. That group is performing, but not like I think it should. You could change that."
Moving to Denver. I love the city. It would be close to our resort in the high country where I could get a lot of skiing and snowboarding in during the winter months.
"Granddad, it sounds appealing, but I need to iron out some issues before I go."
"Prescott, I was thinking the first of the year. And I'll be truthful with you. I'm worried you're headed down a slippery slope. Your grandmother and I don't want to see you end up depressed like your mother or in need of rehab either."
I plunge my hands through my hair. Lynn better not have put this bug in his ear. "Has Lynn talked to you?"
"About what?"
Granddad is an open book with me. If she had, he'd say so.
"Never mind. I'm sorry you're so worried. I promise to do better. All that stuff about not knowing who my father is has gotten to me."
"I wish I had answers for you, I really do."
"I know. But thanks, as always, for your support."
That night when I go home, I make a decision to try to contact Vivi. Since I haven't called, there's no use starting there. Maybe if I try to see her, she'll listen to what I have to say. As I'm getting out of the car, there she is, walking home with a couple of bags from the local market.
When I call her name, she shoots me the middle finger and sprints inside. That tells me how much work I have in store just to get her to talk to me.
I wait a couple of hours and call. Of course she doesn't answer. Then I text about thirty minutes later. No response. Vivi is really going to make me work for it. Can I blame her? Hell no.
That night when I fall into bed, the sheets still smell like her. I refuse to let the housekeeper change them, who probably thinks I've gone mad, which I'm close to being. I count the number of texts I sent to Vivi and there are fourteen. She's most likely enjoying this. I can see the smart look on her face when she notices it's my number. Maybe I should call her from the office tomorrow. She doesn't know that number and maybe I'll luck out and she'll answer.
Then a thought hits me. I wonder if she's spending Christmas with anyone. It's creeping up on us. Eric is probably taking her home with him. Good for her and him. The holidays snuck up on me with everything going on and I haven't gone to any of the parties I usually attend. Our company Christmas party is this Saturday and I was sort of hoping I could talk her into going with me. Doesn't look like that's going to happen. Maybe I need to start from the beginning and send her cute things again.
In the morning, the first thing I do is call her from my office phone.
"Hello?" she answers curiously.
"Please don't hang up. I need to know if you're okay and I'd like to explain things." The words rush out of me.
"You should've thought of that before you spent the night with some skanky woman. Don't call me again." The line goes dead.
She thinks I was with another woman? Of course she does. How could I have been so fucking stupid? Wouldn't I have jumped to the same conclusion if I were her? I said I needed space, left her alone, ran out of the apartment, and then instead of coming home to talk, I just never showed up at all-and I didn't text or call her either. Not only do I need to find a way to explain to her about me and what's really going on, I need major damage control. Fuck me upside down.