BWWM Interracial Romance 1: Professional Relations (7 page)

Bradley had held her tightly through the night, telling her over and over that she was the most beautiful woman, that if he ever met her ex-husband, he would plant a fist in his face for damaging her so much. Regina had felt so safe in his embrace that she fell into a peaceful sleep, waking the next morning with such an intense sexual appetite that she hadn’t been able to let Bradley leave right away.

Regina’s sense of apprehensive guilt began to rear its ugly head as she realized that she was developing actual feelings for Bradley. She had entered into the secret relationship with him because she wanted to get closer to him—to try and discover whether or not he was behind the slander that had been spread about her work ethic and attitude. Talitha had nothing positive to report when Regina asked her about it; only that the concerns continued to mount. “There will be a reckoning when the contract with Alistair-Pole-Richards comes to a close,” Talitha warned her. “The client representatives like you enough that it would be difficult for them to come down on you right now, but they’re talking about doing a major review of your work afterwards.”

Regina also felt guilty because she still hadn’t confided in her sister about her relationship. She put off Abigail’s questions about the difficulties she’d confessed to—saying that she was still keeping her eyes and ears open to find out more. As the weeks progressed into a month, and then longer, Regina knew that she couldn’t keep her sister in the dark much longer. Regina kept her misgivings away from Bradley, knowing that if she had misjudged his attentions to her, the depth of his affections, she would be tipping him off that she knew something—and he would increase his efforts to get rid of her.

Part of her mind insisted that the fact that the lies continued to circulate in spite of her romance with Bradley must mean that he wasn’t the one spreading them; another, more suspicious part of her mind, informed by years of backhanded dealing from her husband, said that his outward appearances had nothing to do with what he was capable of saying or doing behind her back. She couldn’t let herself trust him any farther than she could throw him. Regina knew that she would have to bring the matter to her sister; she couldn’t figure it out on her own. She dreaded confessing to the lie of omission, but before she let the relationship get any further, she had to know what Abigail thought—she had to get an outside opinion from the one person she could trust.

Regina had been seeing Bradley in secret for two months when she decided to finally tell her sister about it. Wednesday night she called Abigail to invite to their usual lunch date on Saturday, and then spent the rest of the week in a state of constant worry. Considering all of the changes that she had kept from Abigail, Regina knew that her sister would probably be more than a little upset with her. Regina hoped that her sister would approve of Bradley—that even though Regina had initially painted him as a bad guy and had told her sister about her suspicions towards him when she first heard the news about the upper managers’ doubts on her “fit” for the job. She hoped that Abigail could understand that Regina wasn’t making a bad choice.

Regina spent Friday night with Bradley, meeting him after she had one drink with her other coworkers, as had become her custom. The two of them stopped at Regina’s house for the night, and she told him that she was going to finally tell her sister about their clandestine relationship. “I don’t know how she’ll react,” Regina said, glancing away from Bradley’s face. She smiled slightly. “I didn’t paint you in the nicest terms when I told her about you before.”

Bradley grinned, running his hands over her body as they lay in bed together, and Regina wondered, watching the movement of his pale, articulate fingers against her darker skin, if she would ever get used to the contrast. For the first time since she had started contemplating telling Abigail about her secret office romance, Regina felt comfortable, relaxed. She knew that Abigail would probably take it upon herself to taunt her, and that Abigail, knowing her little sister so well, had probably privately predicted that Regina would fall for Bradley’s charms anyway.

Bradley left early Saturday morning to spend time with his daughter, and Regina saw him off with a cup of coffee, giving him a lingering kiss at the door. She smiled to herself as she took her time getting ready for lunch, humming and whistling as she made herself breakfast and ate it. She caught up on the news, feeling a little bit lonesome for Bradley’s company, but imagining him spending time with his daughter at the fair; he had mentioned that they were going, and had even invited her. “I do want you to eventually meet my little girl,” he told her shyly. “When we’re ready for it, I mean.”

Both of them had been careful in their developing relationship. It wasn’t just difficult for them professionally—Regina realized that they each had personal issues of their own that came into play. She understood now, knowing Bradley’s past a little bit better, why he was so reticent, why he devoted himself so much to his job. She didn’t know if there was any future in their relationship, but she appreciated the opportunity to get to know him better, to take a step outside of her comfort level and find that her initial impression of a person wasn’t always correct.

Regina made sure to arrive at the café early. She wanted to be waiting for Abigail, rather than the other way around. As Regina stood outside in the shade, glancing around to spot her sister, she went back and forth in her mind on the subject of whether she should or should not tell Abigail what she had been up to. Technically, Regina thought, she didn’t have to tell her sister anything; she could continue to leave Abigail in the dark. She was an adult, and her decisions were her own. She knew that Abigail would understand that rationale.

On the other side of the coin, though, Regina had always shared the details of her life with her older sister. The longer the relationship went on with Bradley, the more it felt like lying to not to share such an important detail. She also wanted her sister’s input on whether she should move forward with the relationship or not. While she had a lot of fun with Bradley when they spent time together, she had to admit that part of her persisted in feeling guilty over the fact that they were coworkers; and while she didn’t think that he was behind the negative sentiment towards her among the higher-ups, she didn’t know for sure.

Abigail arrived and Regina laughed at her shock that the younger sister was waiting for her, instead of vice versa. “You must have gotten up early this morning! No partying with your coworkers last night?” Abigail had been very much in approval of Regina meeting with her coworkers for happy hour; she had told Regina jokingly that she could probably find a new boyfriend that way.

Regina hugged her sister tightly. “I had a couple of drinks but I made it an early night.”

They went into the café together and Regina’s heart began to pound. She knew that she should tell her sister everything right away, but she couldn’t help feeling guilty at having hidden the details, and just generally having her “inappropriate” behavior on her conscience. No one was being hurt by her seeing Bradley, Regina told herself; they were equals in terms of their position, which meant that no one could claim she was getting preferential treatment.

She and her sister ordered their usual, and Regina tried to fight down her rising sense of anxiety. Abigail looked at her sharply. “Little girl, if you think after all these years I don’t recognize when you’re ready to confess something, you’re not as wise as you should be. What is it?”

Regina smiled slightly, taking a sip of her sangria to calm her nerves. “So, you know how you’ve been after me to start looking for a romantic relationship again?” she asked, glancing from her suddenly-fascinating wine glass to her sister’s face and back. Abigail raised an eyebrow, indicating for Regina to go on. “Well, I sort of… have been seeing someone. For a couple of months. It’s not serious, but...”

Abigail dropped her fork, staring at Regina in undisguised shock. “You’re seeing someone? And you’ve been keeping it from me?”

Regina felt the blood rushing into her face and swallowed against the tightness in her throat. “Well, I mean, it IS kind of private, you know,” she said, smiling slightly. “And I wasn’t sure if you’d approve.”

Abigail’s eyes widened. “You think I wouldn’t approve of who you’re dating? Oooh—this could either be really good or really bad. Spill it, Reggie.”

Regina took another sip of her sangria, wishing that Bradley was there to calm her nerves. “It’s the guy from work I told you about before… Bradley.”

Abigail half-choked on a sip of her own drink, setting it down as she wiped her lips. She took a deep breath after finishing the coughing fit that had come over her. “Little girl, are you sure you know what you’re doing?”

Regina shrugged. “I mean, I know there are a lot of sides to this, but let me tell you how it happened.” Regina explained about Bradley coming to her office after hours, the gift he had given her, the apology he had made. She told Abigail—who was admirably patient with her younger sister’s story—about the dates they had been on, and about finding out more of Bradley’s history, including his late wife and his young daughter.

“It’s all well and good that you found out he’s more than just a bully and a jerk,” Abigail said, waving the consideration aside for a moment. “And I’m glad you and he have had a good time, but Regina—you yourself told me you thought he might be the one spreading the rumors about you. If he’s poisoning your career, should you really be seeing him?”

Regina nibbled on her lower lip, feeling deflated and disappointed. “I mean… when we first started going out together, I thought I’d be better able to figure it out—one way or the other. But I haven’t gotten any closer to finding who’s been telling lies about me.”

Abigail nodded slowly. “And have the lies ceased?”

Regina shook her head.

“Then you can’t take him out of the running—you don’t know whether he’s covering his ass with you, so you won’t suspect, or if he’s just the kind of guy who would be two-faced like that. For all the time you’ve spent with him, I think you should really consider how well you really know him.”

Regina nodded slowly. “I’ll give it some thought.” She sighed. “Of course the first guy I go out with after my abusive ex…”

Abigail laughed. “Hey, I’m glad you finally got back in the saddle. Just think about backing another horse. Now you’ve got the shyness out of your system, you can find loads of guys who’ll want you to be their jockey.”

Regina laughed at her sister’s metaphor, but the idea of breaking up with Bradley stung nonetheless. She got through the rest of lunch with her sister and managed to laugh a few times at Abigail’s stories of her week—clients who were particularly ridiculous, her boyfriend’s ham-fisted attempts at romance.

When she went home, Regina’s mind was spinning. She knew that her sister was right; Abigail had yet to lead her astray in terms of offering advice in her life. But, part of Regina’s mind said that there was a first time for everything, that Abigail didn’t know Bradley as well as she did. But the fact was that she didn’t actually know him that well. She had to acknowledge that when it came right down to it, she had no idea whether Bradley was the kind of person who could sabotage a woman he was dating—or date a woman he was sabotaging.

He sent her a text message in the late afternoon, commenting that he missed her, and Regina stared at her phone for a long moment before putting it down. She would give it a little time, send him an innocuous response, and wait until she had a chance to see him in person. Regina didn’t really want to break up with him, but she knew it was the smart thing to do.

Another text came through and Regina jumped at the sound of the alert, snatching up her phone in anxiety. Instead of Bradley, the message was from her sister.
Hey, little girl. I know it’s a difficult decision, but I hope you’re seriously considering breaking things off with that Bradley guy. I was thinking about it some more, and you know that if you let things get serious with him you’ve got a lot to lose. Wish things could be different. Love you.
Regina frowned at the message and sighed.

She slept fitfully that night, after responding to the few texts she received from Bradley as briefly and neutrally as she could. Regina couldn’t quite rid herself of her growing sense of resentment she felt towards him. While she didn’t know for sure that he was the one telling lies to the upper management about how much she worked, she also didn’t know for certain that he wasn’t. Until she got to the bottom of the mystery, she would have to keep a distance from Bradley. She thought with cold comfort that if her initial assumption was correct—if it was Bradley—that he would likely double down on his efforts to ruin her career when she broke things off with him, which would prove things rather handily.

Regina was jumpy when she returned to work, startling whenever someone knocked at her door, yelping whenever her phone rang. The projects she was working on alongside Bradley were entering a much more time-sensitive phase, a little beyond the halfway point—she was needed for meetings, for phone calls with the client, for consultations and more. She didn’t want to break the news to Bradley while they were at work, so she knew she would have to wait until they were on their weekly date.

The week seemed to drag, with Regina’s upset mental state only increasing every day. She cried at her desk on Wednesday, her tears inspired by nothing more than a romantic video someone had sent her. She managed to straighten her makeup and go through the rest of the day without anyone having a clue how depressed she was, but as Thursday and then Friday rolled around, she felt worse and worse. She knew that Bradley was looking forward to their date; he texted her—the best method of private conversation they had—little flirting comments and pleasantries. Regina didn’t avoid him around the office, but she found it difficult to be around him, knowing that she was going to break up with him so soon.

While Regina was getting ready for her date with Bradley her hands were shaking and her eyes kept tearing up. She had to wipe off her makeup and re-apply it three times, growing more frustrated with herself each time. Then she started to feel frustrated towards her lover instead—the fact that she didn’t know whether or not he was sabotaging her must mean that there was something wrong with him. Regina knew that she was being illogical, but in her stress and depression, she didn’t care. She had to get through the next moments, she told herself over and over again. She had to get through the breakup, and then things would get better. Not right away, but eventually.

They met at a restaurant that Bradley had introduced Regina to. Before she met him, she had never really been interested in trying Thai food—but when he discovered that she had a deep-down love of spicy food, he insisted on bringing her to his favorite restaurant. The complex sour-sweet-spicy food had been intriguing, and Regina thought with regret that if nothing else, her relationship with Bradley had introduced her to many things that she would love for her entire life.

It was difficult for her to hold her silence on the subject of their relationship through dinner; Bradley mentioned his daughter’s success in a school competition, and mentioned once more that he wanted Regina to meet her. Regina nodded at the hint, forcing herself to smile so as not to open the first volley in what would likely cause a scene in the restaurant. She tried not to make her preoccupation obvious, trying to maintain her normal level of interest and enthusiasm; Bradley noticed that she didn’t eat as much of her food as she usually did, and Regina passed it off as a mild stomach ache.

They went back to her house, and Regina knew that the time had come. As Bradley was kissing her hungrily, his hands gliding along the curves of her body, seeking the zipper on her dress, she broke away, stepping back from him and taking a deep breath to steady herself. “Bradley, I need to talk to you about something,” she said. She sat down heavily on her couch, and Bradley, alerted by her tone, sat with her, looking into her face with such tender concern in his eyes that Regina felt tears starting to sting her own.