Fight With Me (28 page)

He breaks the kiss on a groan and pins me with his raw gray eyes, his mouth open as he pants, and he pushes into me twice, three times, and then grinds his pubis against my clit as he spills into me, and I come apart beneath him, not taking my gaze from his, as my body shudders around him.

“Oh my God,” I whisper as my body calms.

He collapses onto me and buries his face in my neck.

“Hey,” he lifts his head at my voice. I kiss his cheek. “I love you, Nate.”

“God, I love you, Julianne.”

***

Work today has been… well, weird. Mrs. Glover keeps looking at me speculatively each time I walk past her desk, which makes me nervous, and curious as to what she’s thinking. I haven’t heard from Nate all day. I came to the office first while he went to the gym and followed me in about an hour later, as per our usual schedule. But he hasn’t sent me any work requests at all, nor have I heard from any of my colleagues.

So, I’ve been in my office for most of the day working on some reports that needed reworking and doing some research on a client that I know Nate is considering bringing on.

At two o’clock there’s a knock on my door.

“Come in,” I call out.

Mrs. Glover pokes her head in the door. “You are being asked to join a meeting in the conference room, Miss Montgomery.”

“Okay, thanks. Any idea what it’s about?” I ask as I gather my iPad and walk toward the door.

“No, but they’ve been in there all day.”

“’They’?”

“Yes, both partners, the CEO and the head of Human Resources.”

My stomach falls to my feet.

Fuck.

I follow Mrs. Glover to the conference room. She knocks on the door, and steps inside.

“Miss Montgomery,” she announces and ushers me into the room.

Nate and Mr. Luis are seated behind a long conference table, along with our CEO, Mr. Vincent and a woman in a black suit, presumably from HR.

Nate doesn’t meet my eyes when I enter the room.

“Miss Montgomery, please have a seat.” HR Lady motions to the seat opposite them at the table. Great, I get to sit by myself in front of all of them.

Shit.

I take my seat and lay the iPad on the table before me, then link my hands together in my lap, looking back and forth between each of the people before me. Their faces are completely impassive, not giving any indication as to why I’ve been asked in here, but I know.

Carly must have told.

“Miss Montgomery,” Mr. Vincent begins. I’ve only met him once before, but he seems like a kind man. He’s older with gray hair and kind eyes. His eyes are still kind as he looks at me, his hands folded on the table, leaning toward me. “I have a question for you.”

“Yes, sir,” I respond, proud of myself for sounding confident and professional.

“How long have you been with my company?”

I frown slightly and glance over at HR Lady. Surely they have this information?

“Three years, Mr. Vincent.” I respond.

“And in that time, have you been given information regarding our policies and procedures?” he asks.

“Of course.”

“Good.” He nods and looks down at papers spread before him. “So you’re aware that this company has a no fraternization policy.”

“I am.” I will not wilt and crumble before these people. I knew this could happen, and I took the risk. I feel all four pairs of eyes on me now and I look at each of them, Nate last. His face is cold, his eyes gazing at me with no emotion. It’s the way he looked at me for eight months, after the first time we made love in his apartment and until he talked me back to his place right before my birthday.

“We have received information that you have been involved with another member of this company.” Mr. Vincent continues.

“You must have received a statement from Carly this morning,” I respond coolly, not breaking eye contact. Mr. Vincent’s eyes widen, and then he frowns and looks at his colleagues.

“Actually, no. Why would you suggest that?” he asks.

I frown and immediately hate myself for my big mouth. “It was just a hunch.”

“So you don’t deny this?” he asks.

“No, sir.”

Mr. Vincent sighs and leans back in his chair. “Miss Montgomery, you have an excellent employment record here. You’ve done very well in your three years with us.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“But, policy is policy.”

I glance over at Nate and his demeanor hasn’t changed. Isn’t he going to say something?

“We know that you and Mr. McKenna have been seeing each other for some time now. As a partner, Mr. McKenna is too much of an asset for us to lose. Unfortunately, I can’t break the rules of this company and keep you on as well, Miss Montgomery.”

He stops talking and all four of them stare at me. The only person who has spoken since I came in the room is Mr. Vincent. They are all so calm, impassive. Cold.

Especially Nate.

I look at him again and stare at him for a long minute. He doesn’t flinch. He doesn’t waiver. He’s not going to defend me, or offer to quit. And that hurts more than the fact that I’m losing my job.

“We have drafted up your final paycheck, cashing out your vacation and sick time, and Mr. Vincent has approved three months’ severance pay. You’ll be receiving information on rolling over your 401k at your leisure in the mail.” Miss HR speaks for the first time and hands me the check. “You have fifteen minutes to gather your things.”

Seriously?
My eyes haven’t left Nate’s while she speaks. I stand and turn to leave, but Mr. Vincent’s voice stops me and I turn back to the table.

“Miss Montgomery, you have truly been an asset to this company. I will personally be happy to write you a letter of reference should you need one.”

I nod at him. “Thank you.”

I walk on numb legs to my office and shut the door. 
Holy fuck.
Did that just happen? Did I just get fired and my boyfriend did nothing about it? He just sat there and looked at me like I’m a stranger?

Like he hadn’t been inside me less than six hours ago?

I’ve never kept many personal items in my office, so I grab my purse, throw in my iPad, phone, a tube of lip gloss out of my desk drawer, and my coffee mug, and walk out of my office, mentally congratulating myself for keeping it together.

“Miss Montgomery,” I turn at Mrs. Glover’s voice and see Nate standing at her desk, staring at me. His jaw is clenched, but that’s the only emotion on his face.

“Best of luck to you, dear.”

And that’s all it takes to bring tears to my eyes. I don’t respond, I just walk straight to the elevators and push the call button. Carly appears at my side.

“Oh my gosh! I just heard the news. Are you okay?”

She had to have been behind this, had to have reported what she saw to HR first thing this morning, probably while Nate was making love to me.

I don’t look at her. I just watch the numbers above the elevator doors. I feel Nate’s eyes on my back.

Fuck him.

Fuck all of them.

“Jules, are you okay?” Carly asks again in her disgustingly fake sweet voice.

The elevator pings and the doors open. I step inside and turn around, my eyes meeting Nate’s and I answer Carly without looking at her.

“Fuck you.”

Chapter Thirty

“Hello?”

“Will, it’s Jules.” I clear my throat and change lanes, heading toward my house.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I need to come stay with you for a while.”

Silence.

“What’s going on?” Will’s usual happy, flippant voice has lowered, and I know he’s ready to kick ass for me.

“I just got fired, and lost my boyfriend in the process. I need to get away and get my head on straight. Can I crash with you?”

“I’ll put clean sheets in the spare room. Are you okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I think I’m still in shock. I’ll fall apart when I get to your place.”

“I’ll get the Kleenex ready too.  Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up and call Natalie. I need to get the phone calls out of the way now, before the tears start. Because once they start, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop them.

“Jules?” Nat answers. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“I got fired.”

“Fuck, someone found out.”

“Yep.” I pull into my driveway, cut the engine, and stride quickly into the house and up to my bedroom.

“You sound calm.”

“I’m pissed as fuck, mostly at Nate. He didn’t get fired, and when I was in front of him and the other members of the firing squad, he didn’t exactly defend me.”

I hear Olivia fussing in the background. “Do you need me to come over?” Nat asks.

“No, I’m packing. I need to get away for a little while.”

“Come here,” Natalie offers, but I know that’s not an option either.

“Thanks, but I’m going to Will’s. I really want to go off the grid for a while and figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Nat.” I feel tears starting, but I swallow them down and focus on throwing clothes into my biggest suitcase. I’m taking just about everything because I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.

I’m tossing toiletries into a smaller suitcase when I hear my front door open and slam shut and heavy footsteps running up my stairs, two at a time. Suddenly Nate is in my doorway, panting, his hair down, in just his white button down shirt and slacks. He eyes my open suitcases and then pins me with his narrowed gray eyes.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“None of your business.” I turn to go back into the bathroom, but he lunges for me and grabs my elbows.

“Let’s talk about this, Julianne.”

I pull out of his grasp and wrap my arms around my middle, so livid, so hurt, so confused.

“Don’t touch me. There is nothing to talk about, Nate. You threw me under the bus.”

He steps toward me again, but I back away and he plants his hands on his lean hips. “That’s not what happened.”

“You sat in that room and let them fire me without saying one word in my defense.”

“You weren’t in that room all morning when that’s exactly what I did. I offered to quit if they’d let you stay.”

“But you didn’t threaten to quit if they fired me.”

His jaw clenches shut and he runs a hand through his hair.

“I didn’t think so,” I mutter and stalk into the bathroom, gathering my shampoo, razor and shower gel out of the shower and dump them into the suitcase with my makeup bag.

“Julianne, it doesn’t do us any good if we’re both unemployed.”

“Fuck that! Nate, I knew when I stepped foot in your apartment for the first time that this could happen. I
knew
what I was getting myself into. And you know what? I chose you. I CHOSE YOU!” I poke my finger into his chest and pace around the room. I am on fire. “If those people had asked me, I would have told them that I loved you and they could kiss my ass if they didn’t like it. I didn’t lie when he asked me about our relationship. But you sat six feet away from me and didn’t even show any goddamn emotion!”

“Jules…”

“No,” I interrupt and pace back toward him. “I don’t give a fuck about that job right now. I’ll get another. What I care about is that I didn’t even know you today. The man who defended me with every fiber of his being Friday night wasn’t there. The man who makes sure I don’t get hit by cars in downtown Seattle and makes me feel safe, wasn’t fucking there.”

“Goddamn it, Jules, what was I supposed to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something along the lines of, “It takes two to tango?” or “If you fire her, I’m out too?” I throw underwear and shoes into my bag, not even caring to see which ones they are exactly, and I zip the bags shut.

“If you’ll calm down, I’ll tell you what happened before you came into the damn room, Julianne.”

I take a deep breath and hang my head and rub my forehead with my hand. I love him so much, and feel so betrayed by him. I know that I can’t be around him right now.

“I have somewhere I need to be.” I pull the suitcases off the bed and pull up the handles to drag them behind me.

“Where are you going?” he asks again, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry about it, Nate. Just forget about me.” I start to move past him but he steps in front of me, blocking the way to the door.

“I will not forget about you.” His eyes are feral, his face taut in pain, and it hurts to look at him. Everything just hurts. I close my eyes and feel a tear escape down my cheek. “Baby, don’t cry.”

Nate leans down and kisses me softly, and I let him, knowing that this is our last. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him to me, putting everything into this kiss. I run my hands through his hair, and finally pull away, brushing my fingertips down his face, memorizing everything about him.

“You and I were probably never meant to be,” I whisper, staring into his beautiful gray eyes, “but I loved every single second that I spent with you.”

I pull out of his arms as he swallows hard and I cup his palm in mine, laying the silver heart he gave me at the beach in his hand. I grab my bags and walk out the door, down the stairs and out to my car.

“Julianne, wait.”

“Just lock up when you leave, Nate.”

“Goddamn it, wait!”

I push my bags into the backseat of my car and open the driver’s side, and suddenly Nate is next to me. “Look at me.”

I raise my tear-filled eyes to his and swallow. His gaze lingers over my face, his eyes are sad, and he starts to say something, but stops himself. Finally, he kisses my forehead and whispers, “I love you.”

I don’t respond as I get behind the wheel and pull away.

***

Will opens his front door and pulls me into his arms, hugging me close. All of my brothers are tall and muscular; we come from the same extraordinary gene pool, after all. Will has dark blonde hair and sapphire blue eyes, and is only two years older than me. He and I have always been very close.

I take a deep breath and let him hold me in his doorway, my cheek nestled in his soft Seahawks t-shirt, and the enormity of this afternoon’s events wash over me. I feel the tears, and honest-to-God temper tantrum start to surface, so I step back and murmur, “bedroom.”