What Happened After Vegas? (Unexpected Love #2) (10 page)

"Who
all goes?" she asked.

"Anyone
in the company that wants to," he answered.

"How
many people go?" she asked.

"About
fifty people," he answered. "You're the golf champion. I
want you on my team."

"That
was just a joke," she said. "I've never golfed for real
before. I most definitely am not golfing on your team at a company
function. You're the damn owner of the firm. You need to find people
that really know how to play. I can't believe you even joke about me
being on your team."

"I'm
not joking. I really want you there with me," he said.

"Why?"
she asked. "Why would you want me there?"

Rachel
couldn't believe how worried she was at the thought of being at a
function for his company. What would people think, she wondered?
Would they think she wasn't pretty enough? Would they think she
wasn't good enough for him? Would any of them know who she was? Her
mind was spinning out of control.

"Stop,"
he snapped, pulling her from her thoughts.

She
looked over at him shocked.

"Why
wouldn't I want you there? I want you beside me at the outing because
I care about you and want to share the day with you. It's always a
lot of fun. I can't imagine how much fun it would be with you there
with me, on my team."

Cliff
put his sundae down, took her face in his hands, and looked into her
eyes.

"You
are the most amazing, beautiful, and challenging woman I have ever
met. There is nobody I would rather be next to, in front of all of my
employees, than you. Please be there with me. I don't care if we lose
the entire thing. That means nothing to me. There is one thing I am
sure of. If you're there, I will have the best time ever. You make me
feel things, Rachel. Things I never imagined I could ever feel. You
make me feel important and needed. You give me so much shit, and I
wouldn't have it any other way."

"Okay,"
she whispered.

"Okay,
you'll go?" he asked.

She
nodded her head as she took another bite of her ice cream.

They
spent the rest of the evening in bed, in the shower, and in the
jacuzzi tub. Rachel couldn't remember ever coming as much as she had
that night in an entire month. She was exhausted.

They
flew home the following afternoon. She was sad when he dropped her
off at her apartment. A place she was so excited to have on her own
felt lonely without Cliff there. She asked him to text her once he
was home. It was late and she was in bed waiting for his message. It
was so quiet in her apartment, and she drifted in and out of sleep.
He really had exhausted her. She heard the buzz of her phone and
picked it up half asleep.

Cliff:
I wanted to let you know I'm home.

She
typed back a response without thinking about it.

Rachel:
I miss you already. I wish you were here. It's lonely here without
you. What are you doing to me?

Cliff:
It's you that does things to me. I miss you too. Can we meet for
lunch this week?

Rachel:
Every day if you want. I don't know what I did to deserve to have you
in my life, but I am so glad you're here.

Cliff:
Me too. Sweet dreams, baby.

Rachel:
Please don't hurt me. You could crush me ten times worse than ever. I
don't know how I could be feeling these things so quickly. Please,
Cliff, don't break my heart. Goodnight.

When
Rachel woke up, her bedroom lights were on and her phone was next to
her pillow. What happened, she wondered? She turned on the screen to
see the last message she sent. Oh crap! She knew better than to text
when she was half asleep. What shocked her even more was his
response.

Cliff:
I will never hurt you. I will always be there to protect you. You are
mine! Goodnight, baby.

Neither
of them ever mentioned the messages. They talked each evening and
text throughout the day. He would text her if he was in a boring
meeting and tell her all about it. They met for lunch twice during
the week. She couldn't get enough of seeing him. As soon as they were
apart, she missed him. Everything was perfect.

Cliff
was taking her out for a nice dinner Friday night. She was dressed in
a very nice light color dress. Rachel made sure to have her hair and
makeup looking perfect. She wanted to show him she could relax but
she could also enjoy a nice night out as well. When the knock sounded
at the door, she felt excitement rush through her body. With one last
look in the mirror, she headed to the door and swung it open with a
huge smile on her face.

"Hey
handsome," she began, but stopped when her eyes scanned the man
in front of her.

"You
look beautiful. What are you all dressed up for?"

There
stood Jake leaning against her doorway, and he looked rough. If she
didn't know better, she would have thought he was drunk. That wasn't
possible. He didn't drink like that.

"What
are you doing here?" she snapped.

Rachel
stood waiting for an answer. She thought about how horrible he
treated her. The picture of seeing that woman riding him in their bed
popped into her head. As she looked at him, she realized how
different and amazing her life had become. Suddenly, she was thankful
that she had walked in on them. If not, she could have still been
stuck in a relationship that was no good for her.

Her
thoughts jolted her back to the situation in front of her, as Jake
brushed passed her and entered her apartment. She smelled the
disgusting smell of stale alcohol as he got closer to her. He was
wasted. Rachel couldn't believe what his life had become.

"Get
out of my apartment, Jake," she snapped.

"I
love you," he said. "I've come for a second chance. We were
good together once. I want that back. I want you to move back into
the house with me. We need to pack your stuff."

"Do
you honestly think that I would move back in with you, Jake? You have
no idea how it felt to walk in on you having sex with your secretary
in the bed we shared together. I had given up having children for
you. Do you remember throwing that in my face? Do you remember
fighting me for a year for every single thing we had together? I
learned so much about you during the divorce. I learned that you were
no longer the man I fell in love with. Maybe you were. Maybe I was
just to dumb to see it at the time. I can guarantee that we will
never be together again."

"I'll
take you out. I'll take you on business trips with me. I'll do
whatever it takes to get you back. I know I made mistakes. I'll buy
you everything you want."

"If
you knew me at all, you would know that I don't give a shit about
material things. Where's your secretary now? How are you this drunk
after just getting off work?"

"We
aren't together anymore. I realized that you were who I wanted and
broke it off with her. I didn't work today," he said, as he
walked toward her.

What
a lying asshole, she thought. There was no way she would ever take
him back, even if she hadn't met Cliff. Jake did things before and
during the divorce that were unforgivable.

"You
need to leave," she yelled, as he got closer.

Rachel
found herself backing toward the wall behind her. Jake's eyes were
dark and serious, and she was nervous. He kept moving until she was
against the wall. He put one hand on each side of her face and leaned
in close. Jake was much taller than her. As bad as he hurt her in the
past, he never put his hands on her in a mean way. What the hell was
going on with him, she wondered?

"I'm
not leaving here without you," he snapped, as he grabbed the
back of her head and crashed his mouth against hers.

She
held her mouth shut as she struggled against him. With his hand in
her hair and his other hand against the wall next to her head, she
couldn't move. His leg pushed between her knees, as he held her in
place. Rachel pushed against him as he continued to kiss her. Her
lips remained sealed, as he grabbed her lip between his teeth and
pulled to open her mouth to his. Her arm went up to the side to break
his hold against the side of her head, and she sent a picture
crashing from the wall to the ground.

"Get
off of me," she growled.

"You
know we can have what we had before. I love you, baby," he said
breaking contact with her mouth.

"Do
not call me that," she demanded.

There
was a knock at the door. Rachel felt relief run through her veins.
Jake released his hold on her and walked over to the door.

"Are
you expecting company? He asked, as he opened the door with a smile.

Rachel
looked up to see Cliff standing on the other side of the door. She
knew he couldn't see her from where he was standing. The door was
blocking his view.

"What
are you doing here, Jake?" Cliff asked.

"I'm
here to take my wife back home with me. She's giving me a second
chance. Actually, you just interrupted us making up. We were in the
middle of a very passionate kiss. So, I guess I should be asking what
you're doing here," Jake said in a stern tone.

When
Jake turned back around and gave her a smile, she saw her lipstick on
his mouth. She heard Cliff take a deep breath.

"I
had no idea the two of you were together," Cliff said in a sad
but angry tone.

Shit!
His wife had cheated on him, Rachel thought. Did he really think she
would do the same? She knew she had to do something. There was no way
she was letting Jake control her life any longer. It was time to take
her life back from his greedy, lying ass.

"No,"
she snapped. "We are not together."

Rachel
moved to step around Jake, but he held his arm out so she couldn't
get passed. She knew Cliff had caught a glimpse of her.

"Move
your fucking arm now, Jake. Do not stop her from moving passed you,"
Cliff growled out.

She
pushed against Jake.

"I
thought it was you at the door, Cliff. He pushed passed me into my
apartment before I could stop him. When he shoved me against the
wall, I tried to get away from him. He grabbed my hair and kissed me.
I struggled to push him off of me. I broke a picture, and there's
glass on the floor. He's fucking drunk and talking crazy about me
being with him."

Cliff
grabbed Jake and shoved him against the door. He looked into Rachel's
eyes. There were tears streaming down her face. She knew her hair was
a mess from Jake putting his hands in it. Rachel felt embarrassed
that Jake had been able to do that to her. What if Cliff hadn't shown
up on time, she thought? Fear of what could have happened began to
take her over. Cliff was right to be worried about Jake. She had
assured him that Jake was all talk and there was no way he would have
hurt her. How wrong was she? What would he have done to her? What
kind of man was he turning into?

"You
fucking put your hands on her when she asked you not to," Cliff
yelled.

Rachel
snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the anger in his voice. It
was the first time she had seen him upset like that. He still had
Jake against the door by the neck.

"She's
my wife," Jake barked back. "Why are you here?"

"I
came to pick up my date," Cliff said through clenched teeth.

"What?"
Jake asked with realization setting in on his face. "She's the
one that told you."