THE MEETING
The one time Juliet managed to doze off, she was awakened by his voice. "Scream and be free," he breathed in her ear, his smooth skin untouchable, his soft lips unkissable. "Scream and be free."
Her eyes opened and she stared into space with a scowl. 'Stop missing him,' she commanded herself. 'Stop dreaming about him, he's no good. He hurt you. That's all he would ever do, just like all of them.'
She picked up her phone and turned off the alarm before it went off. She honestly didn't even remember setting it. Part of her didn't want to start her day. It was Monday. The start of a fresh work week. The beginning of brand new projects and ventures, just like every Monday was. But today was different. Today, she wanted to stay curled up on her couch and feel sorry for herself, but she was raring to go at the same time. Keeping herself busy was a good idea. Staying busy was always the best idea.
Staring at her phone again, her fingers worked before her brain did and, before she knew it, she was pulling up Gary Sterling's personal cell phone number. "Gary," she said when she answered, sitting up on the couch and tossing the throw blanket off of her. "You got any appointments today? How about showing me something your boys are working on?
**************
Nearly three hours later, Juliet stood with Gary Sterling in her heavy utility coat, purple hard hat, and steel-toed boots. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at Gary, who stood there in his business suit and shoes with his hard hat barely resting on his head. If he slipped and fell on anything, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stifle her laughter.
The workers that T&K Contracting had contracted out were putting up an apartment building where they stood. They were in the early stages, having just lain the foundation and, today, they were having the utilities installed. She had to admit, she wasn't exactly seeing what she wanted to see. When she'd told him she wanted to see something his boys were working on, she wanted to see structure. She wanted to see quality and workmanship. She wanted to see action.
"Gary," she said to him, shrugging her shoulders against the harsh city wind. "I was kind of hoping to see something..."
"To be honest, Miss Carson, this was the safest site I could bring you to."
"Well, I didn't ask for safe. I asked for your best work."
"I understand--"
"This isn't my first time on a construction site, you know."
Gary pursed his lips and he blinked his eyes. She was getting to him, but at this point, she didn't care. This day was already going nowhere fast. "I'm sorry," she attempted. "But you have to understand, this is my building. I plan to make this building my company's permanent home. You have to respect the fact that I have to be extremely particular with the work that goes into it."
"I do understand, Miss Carson. My apologies. While we're here, would you like a tour anyway?"
Juliet was reluctant, but she gave in and accepted. After all, the work that was going on today was the same work that would have to be done for her building, anyway. Before they could take another step, however, her phone rang. Intending to ignore the call, she saw Beth's office number and changed her mind. "Excuse me," she said to Gary. "I have to take this."
"Juliet," Beth said as Juliet stepped away by herself. "Where are you?"
"I'm at a construction site with Gary Sterling," she said quietly.
"What? Without me?"
"It was a last minute decision."
"Anyway," she said hurriedly. "You should probably go ahead and wrap it up and call it a day with him. Forever."
Juliet's eyes blinked into the air, stunned. "What are you talking about?"
"I got some information about T&K. And I researched it. And I don't think they're the ones for us."
"What--?"
"I'll text you the link. Read it and call me back."
Juliet's mouth hung open for a moment as she ended the call. Not one to wait, she turned on her heel and started toward Gary to confront him herself. She hadn't gotten very far, though, before her text alert went off and curiosity got the best of her.
Clicking on the link, she turned around and walked back to the spot she was standing in as she talked to Beth, her heart breaking with every word she read. "Lawsuit" was the one that jumped out at her the most. Faulty wiring, an entire building burned down--and every single person who erected that building, in and out, from start to finish, was contracted out by T&K Contracting. Shit happened, Juliet knew this. But, no. This wasn't going to fly. This was a little too much for her to bear and she was so disappointed because she had come to develop a relationship with Gary. She'd been so close to offering him a proposal. But now? The way he didn't even bother to mention any of this? All bets were off.
Juliet was prepared to react, but Beth was expecting a call back. "We can't have these guys even come within a five mile radius of our new property!" Juliet hissed into the phone. "How could he keep that information from us?"
"How did we not find it sooner?" Beth asked.
"I don't know what to do now," Juliet said. "I was banking on T&K, I didn't have a backup. We've been talking to them forever!"
"Well...I mean, there is that one company that's been bugging us for awhile. Reynolds Construction..."
"The one that doesn't have a website?"
"You said so yourself, we don't have any other options as of late. And I've looked into them a little bit, they're not...bad..."
"Fine," Juliet spat in desperation, her anger beginning to grow inside her body. "While I'm out and about today, I'm going to stop by the realtor's office today and see what can be done about speeding up this process. I think I'm ready to just hurry up and get this done."
"Should I have Sheena call them and schedule an appointment?"
"Yes. As soon as humanly possible. The first opening they have. Let's just get this over with."
"Okie dokie," Beth's chipper voice said as she ended the call.
Glaring at the phone in confusion, she tucked it in her pocket and transferred that glare to the back of Gary Sterling's head. Making her way deliberately toward him, he cracked a smile upon her return but quickly wiped it off his face when he saw her expression. "When were you going to tell me, Gary? When were you going to tell me what an epic failure your company really is?"
"Um, excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb with me. The fire. The lawsuit. I know it all. And you were never once going to tell me. I was going to blindly lay my trust in your hands. Granted, maybe we should have done our homework just a little better, but it is still your responsibility to keep me informed."
"I beg your pardon, Miss Carson, but our company is not a failure--"
"It is a failure. One of your buildings burned down. Because one of your electricians fucked up. You hired a fuck up. I can't trust someone who fires fuck ups, Gary. Not with my building, not on my watch, not with my name, not with my money. I trusted you, Gary. I liked you. Deal's off. No dice. Done. Through. Finished. I don't know how many other ways I can say it, but don't you dare ever come knocking on my door again."
"Miss Carson, I don't think you're getting the whole story here. Every company has their problems--"
"No, Gary. They don't. Most companies have integrity and believe in the quality of their work. Most companies don't half-ass their shit. And I'm willing to bet that Reynolds Construction is just the company I've been looking for, for as long as they've been beating down my door. Maybe this is fate, Gary. Maybe this was for the best. An omen. Call me when this building burns down. I'll bring the marshmallows."
She left Gary Sterling as he muttered a string of curse words that caused a smile to cross her face. Juliet felt like a new woman again, just like she always did when she gave someone a good, healthy ass-chewing. Ass-chewing was therapeutic. It was cleansing. It was fun.
She just hoped she'd have better luck with these Reynolds guys.
__________________________________________________
Eric sat in his office in the late afternoon, making a list of places he planned to send Walt out to, to recruit workers. He'd been right when he'd looked over the project stats for the company. Having more workers in their back pocket was going to be necessary.
He'd been hunkered in his chair for a couple of hours, glasses on his face, blissfully sucked into his world of work, and glad for it. He didn't have time for his mind to wander. Not with his father coming to town, anyway.
He was startled when Kim, with her glasses and her brown ponytail, burst through the door of his office, out of breath. Intrusions like this one wasn't like her, and her sudden presence alarmed him. "Kim? What's going on?"
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Reynolds," she said, wiping a strand of hair from her face. "I didn't mean to burst in on you like this, but I was just so excited. I just got off the phone with Sheena from Carson Innovations." Her heels clicked against the floor as she trotted daintily to his desk and laid a piece of stationary down in front of him. The grin on her face lit up the entire block. "They want a meeting!"
His eyes widened at the paper, stunned for a moment. He was barely able to pick it up, reading the date and time that Kim had scribbled across it.
"Tomorrow morning at nine sharp," she said excitedly. "She advised that you not be late, Miss Carson doesn't like to wait."
"Me?" He said in confusion.
"Um..." Her confusion matched his as she fidgeted with her thumbs. "Aren't you in charge of this lead?"
Eric was suddenly brought back to reality. "Oh! Yeah. Yeah, I am, I--forgive me, I'm just a little shocked..."
"Me, too!" She said gleefully. "We've been chasing this for so long!"
"Tell me about it..."
"Okay. So, um, I actually have the revamped portfolio finished, I'm just going to throw it together and send it over so they have it in the morning. And...oh, she asked about a website..."
Eric looked up at Kim in question. "Website?"
"Yeah. Actually, I've been meaning to bring that up myself. She said that Miss Carson was a little put off by the fact that we don't have a website, but she's willing to work around that."
"Hm," he huffed in thought. "I never thought about that."
"Well, you know I'm great with computers. So, you know, if you ever decide to jump on the bandwagon, I'm your guy."
Eric smiled at Kim, her enthusiasm growing ever so infectious. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Uh, anything else I should know?"
"Um...nope, I think that's it." Then she grinned and clapped her hands together. "Make sure you come straight back here and tell us all about it!" Then she grew serious and straightened her pencil skirt out. "Um, I mean, you know, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job..."
He chuckled at her in amusement. "It's okay, I get it. Will do. Uh, thank you for this. Thank you for all your hard work, I really appreciate everything you do here."
Kim blushed as she continued to smile. "Oh. Well. Thank you so much."
As she exited his office, Travis and Walt nearly fell into his door.
"Holy shit!" Travis called out. "Way to go!"
"We were eavesdropping," Walt said shamelessly. "How 'bout it, son! How'd you do it?"
"It just kinda happened..."
For someone who didn't give much of a shit about the company, Travis was much too excited. "This is fucking amazing, man. Fucking amazing!"
"Now you gotta know how to dazzle her," Walt said, pulling up a chair and making himself comfortable, as Travis eagerly took his usual seat beside him. "Let me tell you how to dazzle a businesswoman like Juliet Carson--"
"Uh, I don't think that'll be necessary," Eric smiled, his confidence returning in full force. "I mean, come on. Look at me."
"Takes more than a pretty face with someone like her."
"I beg to differ."
"Well, whatever," Walt scoffed. "I guess you're right, you're doing better than me. Whatever you did to convince that woman Saturday night was apparently convincing enough, just keep up the good work."
In all his happiness and celebration, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he slowly sank back into his chair. "Shit," he muttered. "We never talked business that night." He looked from Walt to Travis in sheer horror. "She doesn't even know my last name."
And just like that, the moment was over.
_______________________________________________________
Another sleepless night, another two cups of coffee to start her day. The Reynolds Construction portfolio lay on Juliet's desk first thing Tuesday morning and she couldn't even concentrate on it. This was probably the most unprepared for a meeting she had ever been.
After leaving Gary Sterling, Juliet had a relatively uneventful meeting with the realtor before coming back to the office to vent to Beth. Juliet decided they needed a new project besides this new office building. They had several proposals to choose from and she and Beth had spent the afternoon brainstorming on which ones to follow up on. By the time she got home and set foot in her apartment, she ended up having one of the worst nights of her life.
Everything hit her. All at once. Everything. It started with Eric and then it spiraled from there. She spent the entire night as an emotional mess, reliving her entire wretched life from as early as she could remember, all the way through foster care, through her abusive marriage, and everything leading up to Eric's betrayal and now Gary Sterling's. Every single bit of it was a hit. So many hits. So many blows to her ego and her self-confidence. She sat in the kitchen window and smoked cigarettes, one right after the other, until she made herself sick. Sleep was futile because every time she closed her eyes, a new memory invaded the darkness. Memories she had chosen to suppress. Memories that now came flooding out as if spending the night with Eric had opened up Pandora's box of hell.
There was no escape.
So she stood at her desk, scrambling to get herself together, when Sheena's voice came through on the small intercom. "Your nine o'clock is here."
Juliet checked the clock, reading eight-fifty, and she furrowed her brow. "Where's Beth?" She buzzed back.
"Um...I think...there's a lot of noise coming from her office..."
Juliet smiled and shook her head. Beth must have been late this morning, too. She was notorious for tearing up her office to gather supplies if she was in a rush. She knew she'd be along any minute. "Send him in," Juliet buzzed back.
Less than a minute later, she looked up into the doorway, stunned at the sight before her, angry at the way her heart broke all over again as she looked into his blue eyes. She hated him. She hated his kind face and his warm, comforting arms, and the way he wore that perfectly-tailored gray Armani, so sexy it made her weak at the knees. She had never hated another individual the way she hated him in that moment.
From behind him, Beth bustled in the door, clutching books and binders to her chest. "I'm so sorry, I'm running behind," she said sheepishly as she collapsed the items onto a nearby table.
"It's fine," Juliet choked through the sandpaper that was her throat. "You're actually early. He was just leaving."
Beth and Eric exchanged glances and, for the first time, Juliet noticed the thin briefcase he carried with him. Her horror knew no bounds.
"Uh, actually, we have a meeting." The comforting sound of his voice deliciously assaulted her heart and invoked a rage that she could hardly suppress.
Her eyes fluttered in shock as she glanced down at the portfolio on her desk, the betrayal seeping into her skin and flowing freely through her veins. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse. "You're..."
"My name is Eric Reynolds," he said gently. "My company has been trying to get a meeting with you for quite some time."
"You used me," she whispered, suddenly unable to control herself. Her body began to tremble with painful nerves. "How could you...?"
"I tried to call--"
"Lies," she interrupted, her eyes darting around the room in thought, her horror only growing worse. She blinked the tears away. "All of it. Lies. The restaurant...I saw you at the benefit and then my part--how could you?"
He narrowed his eyes at her softly. "You remember the restaurant?"
"I hope it burned down," she spat.
"Look, I think we need to--"
"You abandoned me," she whispered, her chest beginning to heave with her building rage. "You took what you wanted from me and then you left me..."
He narrowed a pair of skeptical eyes at her. "I didn't do anything that half the assholes in New York haven't done."
Her jaw dropped, the tears brimming her eyes. "Yes, you did..."
Juliet had forgotten Beth was in the room until her voice reminded her. "I think that, uh, this meeting--"
"There is no meeting," Juliet spat out. "Not now, not ever."
"At least let me explain," Eric protested.
She glared hard into his eyes, pain melting away to make room for her anger. "I owe you nothing. I want nothing from you. You stalked me, you used me, and you abandoned me. How dare you have the audacity to show your face in here?"
"I shouldn't have left the way I did. I know. But if you had read the note--"
"Note? A fucking note? Are you seriously going to bold-faced lie to me like that?"
"It's not a lie--"
"It is a lie! There was no fucking note. There was nothing but an empty bed and my god damned vulnerability! And if you had to leave, fine. But what man, in their right mind, doesn't at least wake someone up and say goodbye? Notes are for whores and cowards!"
"Juliet, you were sleeping so good--"
"Fuck how I was sleeping! And fuck you! Why the fuck are you still in my office?"
"Because we need to talk."
"Did you really think you were going to come into my home--into my bed--use me up like some cheap tramp, and then actually take what you wanted from my company? Did you not rape me enough already?"
"Don't you dare use that word," Eric's voice seethed through his teeth. "Don't you ever. I am not the monster he was and I will not let you refer to me like I am."
"You did rape me! Maybe not physically, but you did everywhere else! You raped my emotions, you raped my heart, you raped...my god damned soul, you took it all and then YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY! YOU DID! I told you things, I--I gave you my body and let you touch me in ways that NO MAN IS EVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH ME! I told you secrets--deep, dark secrets that my closest friends don't even know! And you took that from me! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!"
"Juliet, it's not like that and you know it. I didn't take anything that you didn't give me and I know you can still feel it, I can tell. You feel it right now and so can I--"
"I feel nothing."
"Please just hear me out. I never meant to hurt you, I can't stop thinking about you--"
"You stopped thinking about me the morning you disappeared--"
"I did not disappear--"
"YOU DID DISAPPEAR! AND THEN YOU WENT TO YOUR OFFICE AND GATHERED YOUR PAPERWORK AND CAME HERE LIKE I WAS GOING TO FORGET? GOD DAMN IT, ERIC, I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN TWO DAYS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WHEN I WAKE UP, YOU WON'T BE THERE!"
Eric's mouth hung open and it was then that Juliet realized that he'd done it again. He'd torn her wall down and allowed her to openly pour her heart out--and he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve anything that her heart had to offer.
Finally, Beth found her voice again. "What in the hell happened after I left that apartment?"
"Nothing," Juliet spat. "Nothing happened."
"That's not true," Eric said softly.
"It is now."
Eric looked at Beth, unable to speak. When Juliet saw the hurt and the helplessness in his eyes, she couldn't take it anymore. Tired of yelling, exhausted by her emotions, she picked up the Reynolds Construction portfolio off of her desk and handed it to Beth. "Get rid of that. I want no dealings with Reynolds Construction. Not now, not in the future, not ever."
"Juliet," Eric quietly objected.
"They're not to be trusted," she stated directly into his eyes. "Beth, please show Mr. Reynolds the door."
"Please," he pleaded with a whisper.
"We're finished here," Beth said solemnly. "Um, right this way, Mr. Reynolds."
Juliet watched Beth escort Eric out the door and gently close it behind them. She patiently waited for the click before she dissolved into a fit of painful sobs. She had never felt more worthless and wretched in her entire life.
The one time Juliet managed to doze off, she was awakened by his voice. "Scream and be free," he breathed in her ear, his smooth skin untouchable, his soft lips unkissable. "Scream and be free."
Her eyes opened and she stared into space with a scowl. 'Stop missing him,' she commanded herself. 'Stop dreaming about him, he's no good. He hurt you. That's all he would ever do, just like all of them.'
She picked up her phone and turned off the alarm before it went off. She honestly didn't even remember setting it. Part of her didn't want to start her day. It was Monday. The start of a fresh work week. The beginning of brand new projects and ventures, just like every Monday was. But today was different. Today, she wanted to stay curled up on her couch and feel sorry for herself, but she was raring to go at the same time. Keeping herself busy was a good idea. Staying busy was always the best idea.
Staring at her phone again, her fingers worked before her brain did and, before she knew it, she was pulling up Gary Sterling's personal cell phone number. "Gary," she said when she answered, sitting up on the couch and tossing the throw blanket off of her. "You got any appointments today? How about showing me something your boys are working on?
**************
Nearly three hours later, Juliet stood with Gary Sterling in her heavy utility coat, purple hard hat, and steel-toed boots. She fought the urge to roll her eyes at Gary, who stood there in his business suit and shoes with his hard hat barely resting on his head. If he slipped and fell on anything, she wasn't sure if she'd be able to stifle her laughter.
The workers that T&K Contracting had contracted out were putting up an apartment building where they stood. They were in the early stages, having just lain the foundation and, today, they were having the utilities installed. She had to admit, she wasn't exactly seeing what she wanted to see. When she'd told him she wanted to see something his boys were working on, she wanted to see structure. She wanted to see quality and workmanship. She wanted to see action.
"Gary," she said to him, shrugging her shoulders against the harsh city wind. "I was kind of hoping to see something..."
"To be honest, Miss Carson, this was the safest site I could bring you to."
"Well, I didn't ask for safe. I asked for your best work."
"I understand--"
"This isn't my first time on a construction site, you know."
Gary pursed his lips and he blinked his eyes. She was getting to him, but at this point, she didn't care. This day was already going nowhere fast. "I'm sorry," she attempted. "But you have to understand, this is my building. I plan to make this building my company's permanent home. You have to respect the fact that I have to be extremely particular with the work that goes into it."
"I do understand, Miss Carson. My apologies. While we're here, would you like a tour anyway?"
Juliet was reluctant, but she gave in and accepted. After all, the work that was going on today was the same work that would have to be done for her building, anyway. Before they could take another step, however, her phone rang. Intending to ignore the call, she saw Beth's office number and changed her mind. "Excuse me," she said to Gary. "I have to take this."
"Juliet," Beth said as Juliet stepped away by herself. "Where are you?"
"I'm at a construction site with Gary Sterling," she said quietly.
"What? Without me?"
"It was a last minute decision."
"Anyway," she said hurriedly. "You should probably go ahead and wrap it up and call it a day with him. Forever."
Juliet's eyes blinked into the air, stunned. "What are you talking about?"
"I got some information about T&K. And I researched it. And I don't think they're the ones for us."
"What--?"
"I'll text you the link. Read it and call me back."
Juliet's mouth hung open for a moment as she ended the call. Not one to wait, she turned on her heel and started toward Gary to confront him herself. She hadn't gotten very far, though, before her text alert went off and curiosity got the best of her.
Clicking on the link, she turned around and walked back to the spot she was standing in as she talked to Beth, her heart breaking with every word she read. "Lawsuit" was the one that jumped out at her the most. Faulty wiring, an entire building burned down--and every single person who erected that building, in and out, from start to finish, was contracted out by T&K Contracting. Shit happened, Juliet knew this. But, no. This wasn't going to fly. This was a little too much for her to bear and she was so disappointed because she had come to develop a relationship with Gary. She'd been so close to offering him a proposal. But now? The way he didn't even bother to mention any of this? All bets were off.
Juliet was prepared to react, but Beth was expecting a call back. "We can't have these guys even come within a five mile radius of our new property!" Juliet hissed into the phone. "How could he keep that information from us?"
"How did we not find it sooner?" Beth asked.
"I don't know what to do now," Juliet said. "I was banking on T&K, I didn't have a backup. We've been talking to them forever!"
"Well...I mean, there is that one company that's been bugging us for awhile. Reynolds Construction..."
"The one that doesn't have a website?"
"You said so yourself, we don't have any other options as of late. And I've looked into them a little bit, they're not...bad..."
"Fine," Juliet spat in desperation, her anger beginning to grow inside her body. "While I'm out and about today, I'm going to stop by the realtor's office today and see what can be done about speeding up this process. I think I'm ready to just hurry up and get this done."
"Should I have Sheena call them and schedule an appointment?"
"Yes. As soon as humanly possible. The first opening they have. Let's just get this over with."
"Okie dokie," Beth's chipper voice said as she ended the call.
Glaring at the phone in confusion, she tucked it in her pocket and transferred that glare to the back of Gary Sterling's head. Making her way deliberately toward him, he cracked a smile upon her return but quickly wiped it off his face when he saw her expression. "When were you going to tell me, Gary? When were you going to tell me what an epic failure your company really is?"
"Um, excuse me?"
"Don't play dumb with me. The fire. The lawsuit. I know it all. And you were never once going to tell me. I was going to blindly lay my trust in your hands. Granted, maybe we should have done our homework just a little better, but it is still your responsibility to keep me informed."
"I beg your pardon, Miss Carson, but our company is not a failure--"
"It is a failure. One of your buildings burned down. Because one of your electricians fucked up. You hired a fuck up. I can't trust someone who fires fuck ups, Gary. Not with my building, not on my watch, not with my name, not with my money. I trusted you, Gary. I liked you. Deal's off. No dice. Done. Through. Finished. I don't know how many other ways I can say it, but don't you dare ever come knocking on my door again."
"Miss Carson, I don't think you're getting the whole story here. Every company has their problems--"
"No, Gary. They don't. Most companies have integrity and believe in the quality of their work. Most companies don't half-ass their shit. And I'm willing to bet that Reynolds Construction is just the company I've been looking for, for as long as they've been beating down my door. Maybe this is fate, Gary. Maybe this was for the best. An omen. Call me when this building burns down. I'll bring the marshmallows."
She left Gary Sterling as he muttered a string of curse words that caused a smile to cross her face. Juliet felt like a new woman again, just like she always did when she gave someone a good, healthy ass-chewing. Ass-chewing was therapeutic. It was cleansing. It was fun.
She just hoped she'd have better luck with these Reynolds guys.
__________________________________________________
Eric sat in his office in the late afternoon, making a list of places he planned to send Walt out to, to recruit workers. He'd been right when he'd looked over the project stats for the company. Having more workers in their back pocket was going to be necessary.
He'd been hunkered in his chair for a couple of hours, glasses on his face, blissfully sucked into his world of work, and glad for it. He didn't have time for his mind to wander. Not with his father coming to town, anyway.
He was startled when Kim, with her glasses and her brown ponytail, burst through the door of his office, out of breath. Intrusions like this one wasn't like her, and her sudden presence alarmed him. "Kim? What's going on?"
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Reynolds," she said, wiping a strand of hair from her face. "I didn't mean to burst in on you like this, but I was just so excited. I just got off the phone with Sheena from Carson Innovations." Her heels clicked against the floor as she trotted daintily to his desk and laid a piece of stationary down in front of him. The grin on her face lit up the entire block. "They want a meeting!"
His eyes widened at the paper, stunned for a moment. He was barely able to pick it up, reading the date and time that Kim had scribbled across it.
"Tomorrow morning at nine sharp," she said excitedly. "She advised that you not be late, Miss Carson doesn't like to wait."
"Me?" He said in confusion.
"Um..." Her confusion matched his as she fidgeted with her thumbs. "Aren't you in charge of this lead?"
Eric was suddenly brought back to reality. "Oh! Yeah. Yeah, I am, I--forgive me, I'm just a little shocked..."
"Me, too!" She said gleefully. "We've been chasing this for so long!"
"Tell me about it..."
"Okay. So, um, I actually have the revamped portfolio finished, I'm just going to throw it together and send it over so they have it in the morning. And...oh, she asked about a website..."
Eric looked up at Kim in question. "Website?"
"Yeah. Actually, I've been meaning to bring that up myself. She said that Miss Carson was a little put off by the fact that we don't have a website, but she's willing to work around that."
"Hm," he huffed in thought. "I never thought about that."
"Well, you know I'm great with computers. So, you know, if you ever decide to jump on the bandwagon, I'm your guy."
Eric smiled at Kim, her enthusiasm growing ever so infectious. "Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. Uh, anything else I should know?"
"Um...nope, I think that's it." Then she grinned and clapped her hands together. "Make sure you come straight back here and tell us all about it!" Then she grew serious and straightened her pencil skirt out. "Um, I mean, you know, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your job..."
He chuckled at her in amusement. "It's okay, I get it. Will do. Uh, thank you for this. Thank you for all your hard work, I really appreciate everything you do here."
Kim blushed as she continued to smile. "Oh. Well. Thank you so much."
As she exited his office, Travis and Walt nearly fell into his door.
"Holy shit!" Travis called out. "Way to go!"
"We were eavesdropping," Walt said shamelessly. "How 'bout it, son! How'd you do it?"
"It just kinda happened..."
For someone who didn't give much of a shit about the company, Travis was much too excited. "This is fucking amazing, man. Fucking amazing!"
"Now you gotta know how to dazzle her," Walt said, pulling up a chair and making himself comfortable, as Travis eagerly took his usual seat beside him. "Let me tell you how to dazzle a businesswoman like Juliet Carson--"
"Uh, I don't think that'll be necessary," Eric smiled, his confidence returning in full force. "I mean, come on. Look at me."
"Takes more than a pretty face with someone like her."
"I beg to differ."
"Well, whatever," Walt scoffed. "I guess you're right, you're doing better than me. Whatever you did to convince that woman Saturday night was apparently convincing enough, just keep up the good work."
In all his happiness and celebration, the realization hit him like a ton of bricks and he slowly sank back into his chair. "Shit," he muttered. "We never talked business that night." He looked from Walt to Travis in sheer horror. "She doesn't even know my last name."
And just like that, the moment was over.
_______________________________________________________
Another sleepless night, another two cups of coffee to start her day. The Reynolds Construction portfolio lay on Juliet's desk first thing Tuesday morning and she couldn't even concentrate on it. This was probably the most unprepared for a meeting she had ever been.
After leaving Gary Sterling, Juliet had a relatively uneventful meeting with the realtor before coming back to the office to vent to Beth. Juliet decided they needed a new project besides this new office building. They had several proposals to choose from and she and Beth had spent the afternoon brainstorming on which ones to follow up on. By the time she got home and set foot in her apartment, she ended up having one of the worst nights of her life.
Everything hit her. All at once. Everything. It started with Eric and then it spiraled from there. She spent the entire night as an emotional mess, reliving her entire wretched life from as early as she could remember, all the way through foster care, through her abusive marriage, and everything leading up to Eric's betrayal and now Gary Sterling's. Every single bit of it was a hit. So many hits. So many blows to her ego and her self-confidence. She sat in the kitchen window and smoked cigarettes, one right after the other, until she made herself sick. Sleep was futile because every time she closed her eyes, a new memory invaded the darkness. Memories she had chosen to suppress. Memories that now came flooding out as if spending the night with Eric had opened up Pandora's box of hell.
There was no escape.
So she stood at her desk, scrambling to get herself together, when Sheena's voice came through on the small intercom. "Your nine o'clock is here."
Juliet checked the clock, reading eight-fifty, and she furrowed her brow. "Where's Beth?" She buzzed back.
"Um...I think...there's a lot of noise coming from her office..."
Juliet smiled and shook her head. Beth must have been late this morning, too. She was notorious for tearing up her office to gather supplies if she was in a rush. She knew she'd be along any minute. "Send him in," Juliet buzzed back.
Less than a minute later, she looked up into the doorway, stunned at the sight before her, angry at the way her heart broke all over again as she looked into his blue eyes. She hated him. She hated his kind face and his warm, comforting arms, and the way he wore that perfectly-tailored gray Armani, so sexy it made her weak at the knees. She had never hated another individual the way she hated him in that moment.
From behind him, Beth bustled in the door, clutching books and binders to her chest. "I'm so sorry, I'm running behind," she said sheepishly as she collapsed the items onto a nearby table.
"It's fine," Juliet choked through the sandpaper that was her throat. "You're actually early. He was just leaving."
Beth and Eric exchanged glances and, for the first time, Juliet noticed the thin briefcase he carried with him. Her horror knew no bounds.
"Uh, actually, we have a meeting." The comforting sound of his voice deliciously assaulted her heart and invoked a rage that she could hardly suppress.
Her eyes fluttered in shock as she glanced down at the portfolio on her desk, the betrayal seeping into her skin and flowing freely through her veins. Just when she thought it couldn't get any worse. "You're..."
"My name is Eric Reynolds," he said gently. "My company has been trying to get a meeting with you for quite some time."
"You used me," she whispered, suddenly unable to control herself. Her body began to tremble with painful nerves. "How could you...?"
"I tried to call--"
"Lies," she interrupted, her eyes darting around the room in thought, her horror only growing worse. She blinked the tears away. "All of it. Lies. The restaurant...I saw you at the benefit and then my part--how could you?"
He narrowed his eyes at her softly. "You remember the restaurant?"
"I hope it burned down," she spat.
"Look, I think we need to--"
"You abandoned me," she whispered, her chest beginning to heave with her building rage. "You took what you wanted from me and then you left me..."
He narrowed a pair of skeptical eyes at her. "I didn't do anything that half the assholes in New York haven't done."
Her jaw dropped, the tears brimming her eyes. "Yes, you did..."
Juliet had forgotten Beth was in the room until her voice reminded her. "I think that, uh, this meeting--"
"There is no meeting," Juliet spat out. "Not now, not ever."
"At least let me explain," Eric protested.
She glared hard into his eyes, pain melting away to make room for her anger. "I owe you nothing. I want nothing from you. You stalked me, you used me, and you abandoned me. How dare you have the audacity to show your face in here?"
"I shouldn't have left the way I did. I know. But if you had read the note--"
"Note? A fucking note? Are you seriously going to bold-faced lie to me like that?"
"It's not a lie--"
"It is a lie! There was no fucking note. There was nothing but an empty bed and my god damned vulnerability! And if you had to leave, fine. But what man, in their right mind, doesn't at least wake someone up and say goodbye? Notes are for whores and cowards!"
"Juliet, you were sleeping so good--"
"Fuck how I was sleeping! And fuck you! Why the fuck are you still in my office?"
"Because we need to talk."
"Did you really think you were going to come into my home--into my bed--use me up like some cheap tramp, and then actually take what you wanted from my company? Did you not rape me enough already?"
"Don't you dare use that word," Eric's voice seethed through his teeth. "Don't you ever. I am not the monster he was and I will not let you refer to me like I am."
"You did rape me! Maybe not physically, but you did everywhere else! You raped my emotions, you raped my heart, you raped...my god damned soul, you took it all and then YOU THREW IT ALL AWAY! YOU DID! I told you things, I--I gave you my body and let you touch me in ways that NO MAN IS EVER ALLOWED TO TOUCH ME! I told you secrets--deep, dark secrets that my closest friends don't even know! And you took that from me! YOU TOOK EVERYTHING!"
"Juliet, it's not like that and you know it. I didn't take anything that you didn't give me and I know you can still feel it, I can tell. You feel it right now and so can I--"
"I feel nothing."
"Please just hear me out. I never meant to hurt you, I can't stop thinking about you--"
"You stopped thinking about me the morning you disappeared--"
"I did not disappear--"
"YOU DID DISAPPEAR! AND THEN YOU WENT TO YOUR OFFICE AND GATHERED YOUR PAPERWORK AND CAME HERE LIKE I WAS GOING TO FORGET? GOD DAMN IT, ERIC, I HAVEN'T SLEPT IN TWO DAYS BECAUSE I KNOW THAT WHEN I WAKE UP, YOU WON'T BE THERE!"
Eric's mouth hung open and it was then that Juliet realized that he'd done it again. He'd torn her wall down and allowed her to openly pour her heart out--and he didn't deserve that. He didn't deserve anything that her heart had to offer.
Finally, Beth found her voice again. "What in the hell happened after I left that apartment?"
"Nothing," Juliet spat. "Nothing happened."
"That's not true," Eric said softly.
"It is now."
Eric looked at Beth, unable to speak. When Juliet saw the hurt and the helplessness in his eyes, she couldn't take it anymore. Tired of yelling, exhausted by her emotions, she picked up the Reynolds Construction portfolio off of her desk and handed it to Beth. "Get rid of that. I want no dealings with Reynolds Construction. Not now, not in the future, not ever."
"Juliet," Eric quietly objected.
"They're not to be trusted," she stated directly into his eyes. "Beth, please show Mr. Reynolds the door."
"Please," he pleaded with a whisper.
"We're finished here," Beth said solemnly. "Um, right this way, Mr. Reynolds."
Juliet watched Beth escort Eric out the door and gently close it behind them. She patiently waited for the click before she dissolved into a fit of painful sobs. She had never felt more worthless and wretched in her entire life.