DEFIANT (A WESTERN BAD BOY ROMANCE) (10 page)

T
he chopper lands
, and we all get out to stretch our legs. Katie walks off to make a call as Vince and I wait for Esther.

As soon as Katie is out of earshot, Vince grabs my arm and whispers, "What the hell is going on between you two?"

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, smartass. You and Katie."

I shrug in response. "What are you talking about?"

"I could practically smell the tension in the helicopter. Do you really have to go out and fuck every woman you meet? And couldn't you have gone and waited a few goddamn weeks, at least?"

Vince is pissed. I know I have to pass this off like it's nothing; I absolutely cannot create any kind of friction during a critical time for Seven. At the end of the day, I know none of this is my fault—how was I supposed to know Katie was working for us when we slept together?

"Yeah, I hooked up with her,” I admit. “But it wasn't anything serious."

"Bullshit."

"I had no idea she was working for us when it happened. Honest, Vince. It was the night before she got hired. Besides, it was just a one-time deal, like the rest of them. She was looking for it, so I gave it to her. Simple as that."

"That's not what it looked like ten minutes ago, when you two were fighting in the helicopter."

"Well, so what if we got in an argument? She's just another piece of ass."

I realize a second too late that Vince isn't looking at me anymore. He's looking behind me…at Katie.

A
sshole
.

It's what I wanted to say to Clif. There's no point in pretending I didn't hear every word he said. But at the same time, I need to stay professional. I kept my words to myself.

"Where's Esther?"

"On her way. We can wait in the terminal."

Clif and I don't look at each other on our way into the airport. I'm actually pretty flattered by how defensive he got, but he doesn't need to know that. I can't believe he actually
likes
me
after all those beautiful women who've been throwing themselves at him for years. What did I ever do to deserve his affections?

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not saying I’m won over by him or anything. He would be a horseshit choice for a life partner. Sure, I know he’s an o.k. guy, but that doesn’t matter in the least.

Because I still have a future with Noah, even if it’s up in the air while he works out his career.

Nevertheless, it's exciting that Clif thinks so highly of me.

At that moment a haughty snob of a woman with a tiny rat-dog tucked under her arm comes waddling into the terminal. I don’t need to be introduced to know it is none other than Her Spoiled Highness, Esther Simone.

“Oh my little booboo, don’t worry, everything’s going to be fine,” she babbles to her dog, jowls jiggling. “We’re going to be in this filthy, horrid place for just a short while. Then we’ll take a brief flight in the helicopter and we’ll back home in time for afternoon tea. Don’t you worry, pumpkin.”

The three of us share a mirthful smirk. Vince is the first to walk over and introduce himself: “Good afternoon, Ms. Simone. Vince Cullen.”

With beady eyes the dog yaps vociferously. “Good day, Mr. Cullen.” She holds up a white-gloved hand as if expecting Vince to bow and kiss it. Vince bends slightly at the waist and shakes it awkwardly.

Gesturing towards us he says, “And this is my partner, Clif Jackson. And our communications officer, Katie Fischer.”

After exchanging how-do-you-dos, Vince guides Esther to the helicopter. At first sight the tiny canine begins to squirm wildly and yap obstreperously. “We’re not flying in that thing, I hope?” Esther declares, placing her free hand over her chest dramatically.

“That’s the same thing I said,” I laugh.

She looks at me with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry, Ms. Simone,” Vince reassures her. “It’s perfectly safe. We’ll be back on the ground before you know it.”

“Oh my oh my, my little snookums,” she frets to the rat. “I know, I didn’t think we’d be flying in anything so barbaric, either.”

All three of us roll our eyes in unison. She’s the one who asked for it—the poetic justice of it all makes me feel a tad calmer.

We board, and soon we’re up in the air traversing high above the snowy valley. The dog barks hysterically throughout, and I can tell Vince is aggravated by its presence.

As Clif points out to Esther where everything's going to be built, I do my best to affably contribute to the presentation, even though I'm secretly seething inside that this wacky woman kept me from visiting my ailing father.

It’s not long, however, before we are back on the ground and inside the terminal, headache fully established. Esther says, "Well, we’ve got a lot to think about, don’t we, my snooky wookums? Yes we do.” Then she turns to us. “Thank you for the seminar, gentlemen and lady. Could one of you see me to my chauffeur?" she calls back, her rotund body already a few paces ahead.

“Certainly. I will,” volunteers Vince, striding after her.

Rrgh! I can’t help but be frustrated—seems like she just wanted a fun afternoon of flying, and showing us what a big shot she is. She barely asked a question or drilled us on any specifics—I certainly didn’t need to be here, that’s for sure.

She waves goodbye and dawdles away, Vince at her elbow, to her Bentley waiting curbside.

And just like that, Clif and I are alone again, waiting for Vince to return so we can head back home.

What am I supposed to say to him? Things are getting complicated fast.

He’s the first to speak. "Katie, I'm sorry about what I said earlier."

"That's alright," I say blankly, pretending to be interested in with my phone.

"No. It wasn't professional; and it also wasn't nice."

"It's okay." I smile and try to brush it aside. "You didn't know I was there."

Vince is hurrying towards us. “Man, what a piece of work.” He shakes his head.

N
o words are exchanged
on the three-hour flight back—thankfully the noise of the whirring engine is enough to fill the silence.

We both have some unfinished business to attend to back at the office, so even though it’s 5pm when we get there, we sit down and get to work.

I type a memo while half-listening to Clif make a few phone calls down the hall. At about 7:30 I wrap up what I’m doing and prepare to head out the door. He catches me right as I'm leaving, walking past his door.

“Good night, Clif,” I say as I walk past his office.

"Katie,” he calls.

I stop. "Yeah?"

"I meant what I said earlier. I shouldn't have talked about you that way."

"Well, so what if I'm just piece of ass? I didn't fall in love with you, either, after one night. I'm over it. Really, don’t worry about a thing."

"I’m done here myself. Come have a drink with me. Call it a peace offering. Sorry, all I’ve got here is Whiskey," he says, holding up a bottle and two shot glasses.

I shift my weight to one foot and adjust my shoulder bag. I look at my watch and sigh, "Okay. Just one."

He pours the drinks. I take the glass of whiskey and follow Clif out to the balcony. I don't know why he keeps pressing the issue.

"What I said wasn't true. You are gorgeous and smart and have a ton of other great qualities; any guy would be lucky to have you. I don't think you know how unique you are. It was wrong for me to come out and say something so...uh, crude. Even if I am crude."

"Apology accepted."

Even though I should still be irritated with him, I’m not. I’m really not the kind of person to hold grudges and be negative; I’m apt to give people the benefit of the doubt and I want people to like me; and this has nothing to do with Clif, per se. It’s just how I am.

Maybe it is a good time to talk about Noah. Got nothing better to do at home anyway.

I lean against the railing and look out at the mountains, barely visible at this dark hour. "I know you want to know about Noah, so I’ll just come out and explain it. He called off our engagement a little over a month ago when he had to move to LA for his career. I had to stay in the Bay Area to take care of my father."

"Then why aren't you there right now?"

"Medical bills don't pay themselves and they were piling up fast, still are. It's up to me to take care of him, whatever that entails. My old job wasn’t cutting it, so I shopped around and determined it was in our best interest to come out here, so I did."

"And Noah just up and left you in the middle of all that?"

"Yes. He works in movie production. It's not easy to find good-paying work in that department. Hollywood came calling, and he had to jump on the opportunity. I really do understand: it was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. A major break for his career."

"Sure, I get that he's got a career…but why put the engagement on hold?"

"He says the shooting schedule's so hectic he can barely keep up. If he doesn't have time to devote to our relationship like he used to, then he doesn't want to commit to me, at least not yet. And I respect that. He wants to be there 100%."

Clif is shakes his head. "Katie, he's playing you."

"What?! You don’t know that.”

"I’ve used that tired old line myself. Believe me, I used to live five blocks from Rodeo Drive. I know what a scene it is. Chances are he found someone new, just keeping you on the backburner until he finds someone better or some major life-altering change occurs. Believe me, I've been playing the game for a while now, I know the ins-and-outs of these sorts of things."

"You don’t know anything about Noah,” I snort, defending him “He wouldn’t do that. He’s not that kind of man." I slam back the rest of my drink. I’m getting pissed.

Or would he? It never occurred to me that Noah might be lying. I feel my chest tighten. It's like Clif just pulled the rug out from under me.

"Noah wouldn't do that," I repeat, more to myself than to him.

"Don't tell me you've never strung someone along. What's it like when he calls you? What does he say? How does he sound? Does he talk about ‘us’ or does he just talk about himself."

“No, I have never strung anyone along! It’s rude and, quite frankly, unethical!” I’m really upset now. I've only slept with Noah, one other boy, and now Clif. This is all too much to absorb. But deep down, I’m starting to wonder. I
can’t
justify Noah’s behavior. Call?? He never calls. I can lie to Clif but I can’t lie to myself: seeds of doubt have been firmly planted.

Or rather, perhaps the seeds of doubt have been there all along.

Clif is unrelenting: "If he really wanted to make it work I don't think he would have broken off the engagement. In fact, I know he wouldn’t! I certainly wouldn’t do that. Would you?" He seems almost as angry as me.

I squeeze my glass tightly and stare at nothing in particular, fuming.

Maybe he’s right. If I were in Noah’s position I wouldn’t have called off the engagement—I would have merely taken the job. I think that’s why I felt so destroyed when he called it off: I knew deep down something was fundamentally amiss.

I turn around and walk back inside. All I can do is close my eyes and breathe. I can feel the hurt in my heart, a sick emptiness. I begin to cry.

"Katie. I'm sorry," he says softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. "I shouldn't have said anything."

I fall into his chest. He pulls me in and holds me, brushing my hair. I wrap my arms around him, and we stay that way for several minutes. I realize that, all along, Clif has been on my side. And that Noah has played me. Clif’s unusual outburst that morning in front my place was yet another sign that he has feelings for me; if he really didn’t care, he wouldn’t have gotten so angry.

“No. You’re right, Clif. God I feel stupid,” I sniff, wiping my eyes. "Can you stay with me a minute?” I sit down in the reception area, feeling pitiful.

"As long as you want." He takes a seat next to me, propping his feet up on the coffee table.

"I guess Noah's history."

"Well, now hold on a minute, Katie. You can’t just jump from one extreme to the other. At least try to talk to him about it. I don’t mean to sabotage your relationship. Just…just talk about it first, that’s all."

He’s backpedaling, clear as day. "What relationship? No, you are absolutely correct in your assessment of us. I should have seen this coming. Actually, I did…I just didn’t want to admit it."

I don't know what to think anymore. I guess that make-believe future I hoped for is gone for good. It's scary, not having something to hold on to anymore. And at the same time, it's oddly…exhilarating. I'm free to do whatever I want. Damn if I know what to do with that freedom, but...

"Can you get me another drink? I’ve got a headache."

"Sure thing." Clif takes my glass and walks back to his office. I'm standing when he presses the drink into my hands.

"Thanks."

The moment stretches on.

And then I kiss him.

Because I can. Because ultimately I’m free to do whatever I want now.

And just like that, we're in each other's arms. When we finally stop to breathe, I can't help thinking I haven't made out like that since I was a teenager. Clif's hands run over my curves. God the way he makes me feel.

"You're ruining my life," I exhale. And then I kiss him again. Clif's hands grip my ass and lift me up, and I wrap my legs around him.

At that moment loud footsteps come quickly pounding up the stairs.

“What the hell?” Clif exclaims.

I release my legs from around his waist and slide off.

A second later Vince bursts through the front door, out of breath.

“Great! You’re both here! Get your things. You’ve got to go.”

“Go?! Go where?!” Clif demands rebelliously.

“Back to Coal Butte to put out a fire. The city council and mayor are under investigation for campaign fraud by the attorney general himself. There are lots of rumors swirling, one of them being that the Seven Group paid off the city council to push our project through. I’ve got to stay here to meet with our lawyers first thing in the morning. The AG is going to be in Coal Butte tomorrow—you guys have to be there to answer any questions and help provide any information you can to the investigation. He’s going to go through the city council’s ledger looking for fraudulent activity, personal bank accounts including campaign donations to the mayor and other high-ranking officials. Katie, I want you to write up a press release denying any wrongdoing on our part and our associates.”

“What?! That’s absurd!” Clif laughs. “We’ve done no such thing. Search all they want, the only thing we’ve given them is coffee and donuts.”