“I’m okay, just tired.”
She shook her head at me. “No arguments. Home. Now. I’ll see you Monday and only if you’re feeling better.”
“Marilyn.”
“If you’re office isn’t empty within the next ten minutes, I’m going to write you up.” She pointed a finger at me, shook it then left.
With a sigh, I saved my work and shut down my computer. Once I gathered my things, I left the office. Though I told my boss I could stay, I was grateful that she was sending me home. I was exhausted and emotionally wrung out.
I got to my apartment and stripped out of my work clothes, not even bothering with a t-shirt, and crashed. Though my brain wanted to continue its awful whirl, I couldn’t stay awake any longer.
I slept hard and deep, a pillow stuffed beneath my head and another clutched in my arms. I don’t know how long I napped, but the sound of voices, specifically men’s voices, woke me.
With blurry eyes, I rolled over and looked at the clock on my nightstand. I frowned at it. It was after six. Had I really slept that long?
I heard the murmur of the voices rise.
“And where exactly is Jena?”
Holy shit, that was Eric! I jumped out of bed and ran toward the door. I was just about to open it when I realized I was wearing nothing but a pair of panties. Quickly, I moved to the end of my bed, grabbed my sleep shirt, and yanked it over my head. Throwing open the door, I hurried down the short hallway.
When I reached the living room, I skidded to a halt. King was standing by my sofa, dressed in a black tee, jeans, and socks. His arms were crossed over his chest. Although he was shoeless, he looked like he could break Eric in half.
Eric was standing by the front door, a bouquet of red roses in his hand. He looked handsome and polished, every inch the sophisticated businessman.
Since I hadn’t eaten all day, a sudden wave of dizziness hit me and I swayed on my feet. Putting a hand out, I bumped into the wall, resting a shoulder against it.
The men turned toward me. King’s black eyes glittered with anger and Eric’s pretty hazel ones were confused and annoyed until they landed on me, then they became worried.
“Jesus, Jena, are you okay?” he asked, taking a step forward.
King moved to the side, putting his body between Eric and I.
I shoved my tangled hair out of my face and smiled weakly at him. “I’ve been better,” I answered honestly. “I’m sorry I forgot to call you. I wasn’t feeling well this morning and came home early from work.”
His face gentled and I realized that he was truly a nice guy. “I’m sorry.” He tried to shift by King, but King wasn’t having any of it.
Eric glared down at him. In his shoes, he was a couple of inches taller than King. “Move out of my way.”
“I told you she was sick. You wanted to see her and you saw her. Now, it’s time to leave.”
Though my head was spinning, I was done with this shit. “Oh, just shut up, King,” I snapped.
Both men looked at me, King’s brows lifted and Eric looked surprised too.
I stumbled to the couch and sat down.
To my surprise, King relented. “I’ll order a pizza,” he muttered, turning away from Eric and stalking into the kitchen.
Eric came over to the couch and sat down next to me, holding out the bouquet.
“Thanks.” I accepted the flowers and set them on the coffee table. “They’re beautiful.”
“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” he asked. His eyes flickered toward the kitchen. “With, uh, this King guy?”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“Um, I hate to ask since you’re obviously not well, but who is he exactly?”
“You mean is he my boyfriend?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
I knew then that Eric and I were never meant to be. Though he was direct, he was clearly a nice man, but too nice. As Justin so frankly put it in those videos, I was a ballbuster. I would chew him up and spit him out. It might take months, even years, but eventually Eric McCall would realize that I was too much for him to handle.
“We used to have…something, but that ended about six months ago.”
Understanding filled his features. “When we had dinner the other night, you saw him at the restaurant.”
I sighed and nodded.
“I see.”
“Well, I’m glad you do, because I seriously don’t,” I muttered.
Eric chuckled. “That’s because you’re not a guy.” He patted my arm and I knew that he recognized what I already had; this wasn’t going to happen. “I think it’s time for me to leave.”
“I understand. I really am sorry that I didn’t call you.”
He stood. “Bye, Jena.”
“Bye, Eric.”
I watched as he walked out of my apartment, and knew that I might see him at the office from time to time but that would be it.
When the door shut behind him, King came out of the kitchen and tossed his cell on the side table. “Pizza’ll be here in a half hour.”
Now that Eric was gone, I turned to him, my eyes burning. “How in the hell did you get in here?” I asked, my voice shaking with fury.
King shrugged but said nothing.
“King!” I snapped.
“Look, you weren’t answering your phone. I told you we were going to talk after you watched those videos. I assumed I’d hear from you last night. When I didn’t, I decided we should have another chat in your office.”
He stopped speaking, so I prompted him. “And?”
“And Marilyn told me you weren’t feeling well so I decided to check on you here. I knocked on the door for five minutes. I finally picked the lock because I was afraid your neighbors would call the cops if I stayed out there for much longer.”
I continued to stare at him. “As you can see, I’m fine, if a little hungry. As for our talk, we’ll have to do it another time. I can’t deal with you right now.”
“Jena-”
“King, seriously. I just found out last night that the man I thought was the love of my life fucked other women while we were together. Oh, and we were only together because you planned it. So, essentially, the two of you both fucked me in every way possible.”
He scowled fiercely at my words, but I didn’t care. I was angry and, goddammit, I was hurt. King and Justin had played with my life and my heart in an unforgivable way.
My voice soft, I stated, “Believe me, we’ll talk. I have things to say to you and questions to ask. You will answer them or so help me I’ll make your life hell.”
“Darlin’.” King’s eyes were intense as he looked at me, yet gentle.
“King, I can’t do it tonight,” I whispered. “It’s too much and I’m hanging on by a thread here.”
“Then we won’t talk about it tonight,” he stated. “We’ll eat pizza, drink some beer, and go to sleep. Tomorrow is Saturday. We’ll get up and have breakfast, then we’ll talk.”
“We?” I asked archly.
He shrugged in response.
“Listen, King, what you and Justin did to me…” I trailed off. Could I even come up with the words to describe it? “I can’t forgive you for that. You don’t deserve forgiveness.”
He leaned back on my couch and crossed his arms over his chest. “You don’t have to.”
I stared at him, momentarily speechless. When I found my voice, I asked, “What?”
One of his eyebrows quirked. I hated it when he did that because he looked smug. “You don’t have to.”
“Then why are you here?” My voice was low, dangerously so.
“There are things happening that you need to be aware of.”
I shook my head vehemently. “No, there’s nothing I need to be aware of. You made sure of that. Justin is dead. I don’t understand why you felt like I needed to know about why he was with me.”
Before he could answer, there was a knock on the door. I watched as he answered the summons and paid the pizza delivery guy. He brought the boxes to the coffee table in front of me.
I started to get up, but he pointed at me. “Sit. I’ll get what we need.”