Again and Again (5 page)

5

Mike

Cassandra and I had lunch with Sean and Scarlet. I really wanted to integrate Cassandra into our group because I fucking adored her. She was going to be a part of this family. It took some convincing to get Scarlet in New York, but she agreed when I said it was important to me.

I had my arm around Cassandra’s shoulders, and I glanced at her beautiful face every few seconds, making sure she was real. She wore a dark blue dress with silver jewelry. She looked good in bright colors. It really highlighted her eyes. She was the sexiest thing in the world. Now that I was in love, I wanted her all the time.

I looked across the booth and saw Sean and Scarlet. Sean looked out the window, ignoring her. There was a large gap between them. They weren’t touching each other. In fact, it seemed like they didn’t even like each other.

“Um…should I be worried?” I asked.

Neither one of them responded.

“Wow. A divorce a few months after marriage,” I said. “Pitiful.”

“Shut the hell up,” Sean said. “We aren’t getting a divorce.”

“Well, you shouldn’t stay together just for the kid…”

Sean glared at me.

Wow. He was on edge today.

“What’s going on?” I asked. “Can we help?”

“No.” Scarlet’s voice was quiet and passionless.

Cassandra cleared her throat. “It’s always good to talk it out…”

Neither one of them would be rude to Cassandra for any reason. They knew she was important to me. She was exempt from their shitty attitudes.

“Thank you for the advice,” Sean said politely.

“Yeah,” Scarlet said with a nod.

“Why can’t you be nice to me like that?” Mike asked.

“Because you’re an asshole,” Sean snapped.

It was like a 180.

“Okay,” I said. “What the hell is going on? You guys have been weird all week.”

Scarlet didn’t look at him. “Sean owes me an apology.”

“Ha,” Sean said. “I’m the one who deserves one—a big one.”

She shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

“It looks like we’re in couples therapy and I’m the psychiatrist,” I said. “Let’s start from the beginning.”

Scarlet told her side of the story. The fact she was honest about her mom and her roots was a testament to her confidence in my relationship with Cassandra. She was totally accepted into our group. Scarlet wasn’t open with just anyone.

Sean snapped and told his v
ersion. The redness in his face showed just how pissed he was about the whole thing.

“So, now we aren’t speaking,”
Scarlet said. “Not until he apologizes to me.”

Sean shook his head. “Forget it.”

“Well, I’m going to announce the ruling and you two are just going to forget about this,” I said.

“No,” Sean said. “You’re going to
take Scarlet’s side.”

“Because I’m right,” Scarlet snapped.

Sean glared at her but didn’t speak. He turned back to me. “You’re going to side with her because you two are so damn buddy-buddy.”

“Actually, I was going to side wit
h you on this one…”

Scarlet’s mouth dropped open.

Sean looked just as shocked.

I turned to
Scarlet. “Honestly, what else could he have done? He handled the situation as best he could at the time. And you can’t deny the underlying meaning to it. Everything he did, it was to make you happy.”

Sean smiled at me. “I guess you don’t hate me after all.”

“I think you’re a fucking jackass. I’m just being objective here.”

Cassandra chuckled.

Scarlet turned away, moisture in her eyes. “You don’t get it,” she snapped. “Ryan and I had everything taken away from us. My dad worked his ass off so we could have better lives, and we finally got the money my mom hung over my head every fucking day. Getting that back was a victory. It’s not about the money or what it could buy us. It’s my dad’s legacy. It finally got to his kids, what he really wanted.” Her voice broke with emotion. “And you just gave it back to her. It’s like it never happened.” She stood up from the booth then stormed out.

We all sat in silence, replaying the emotional words in our heads. I knew we hit a nerve.

Sean was glued to the spot.

“Aren’t you going to get her?” I asked.

Sean stared at the counter.

“Dude, you guys are having a kid together. Just apologize, even if you aren’t wrong, and be happy together. This is stupid.”

“I’ve always understood her point of view. That was never the problem. But she threw our past in my face, and she thinks I don’t put her first. I’m sick of it. She’s always getting mad when I do the right thing. I’m not budging this time.”

I shook my head. “You should still go after your wife.”

Sean didn’t move.

“Then I will.” I moved out of the booth then pulled Cassandra with me.

That got Sean off his feet.

We went outside and saw
Scarlet standing just a few feet away, trying to stop crying.

I came to her then placed my arm around her. “It’s alright.”

‘Take me home,” she said quietly.

“Of course.” I turned to Sean. “I’m taking her back to the house. Because you’ve abandoned your husbandly duties.”

Sean gave me the death stare.

We got into my Jaguar and drove back to the house. There was nothing to
o pressing happening at work anyway. It was nice being the boss. I could play hooky whenever I wanted. And so could my girlfriend.

When we came to the house, I walked Scarlet inside then sat with her on the couch. Cassandra rubbed her back but didn’t say anything. Sean came inside a second later.

I raised an eyebrow. “Come to your senses?”

“No.” He put his bag down then moved to the opposite couch, away from Scarlet.

“If you aren’t going to comfort her, why are you here?”

“Just because I’m upset with her doesn’t mean I don’t care. But I still want my apology.” He leaned back and didn’t look at us.

I rolled my eyes. “You guys are the weirdest couple ever.”

Scarlet leaned back on the couch then closed her eyes. “Thanks for taking me home. I didn’t want to sit in a car with him.”

“Understandably so,” I teased.

She smiled. “Cassandra is a lucky girl.”

“I know,” Cassandra said.

I wrapped my arm around my girlfriend. “You like her, Scarlet?”

“I think she’s perfect.”

“I do too.” I kissed her forehead then held her close. “I’m taking her to meet my parents soon.”

“Oh god,” Scarlet said. “I’m so sorry.”

Cassandra laughed. “You aren’t making me feel better about this.”

“I’m not trying to,” Scarlet said firmly. “Just concentrate on Andrew. He’s the sweetest man in the world. He’ll make you feel comfortable. And just go along with whatever Diane says. And be stuck up and snotty. The ‘classier’ you are the better.”

Sean shook his head but didn’t say anything.

“And if she doesn’t like you, don’t let it bother you,” Scarlet said. “Because everyone else thinks you’re fantastic.”

“Okay,” she said. “I guess I feel a little better now.”

“And I’ll still love you anyway,” Mike said.

“Because I give you sex,” she teased.

“Really good sex.”

She blushed at his words and looked down.

A knock on the door caught all our attention.

“Who comes over in the middle of the day?” I asked.

Scarlet shrugged. “I don’t know. It might be Monnique. She refused taking a key.”

Olga answered the door then my dad stepped inside.

“Howdy,” he said.

Sean im
mediately stood up and greeted Dad. I did the same and hugged him.

My dad stared at both of us. “Working hard, I see.”

Sean shrugged. “We took a long lunch.”

“I called the office and they said you were both out. I figured Sean was here with his wife, and I didn’t want to drive all the way to the city to see Mike.”

“What’s up?” I asked.

“We’re having a gala for the company. We haven’t formally announced it, but I wanted to give you two a heads up.”

“Why the hell are we doing that?”  I asked. “And what’s a gala?”

“It’s basically a fancy party for all the employees,” my dad said. “There will be
anice dinner, booze, and prizes. It’s just to show our appreciation to the workers.”

“Do we have to go?” I asked with a disgusted look on my face.

My father gave me a stern look but didn’t answer the question.

“What do we need to do?” Sean asked, always the professional one.

“Nothing. Just show up,” my dad said. “But you’ll need to make a speech, saying how much you appreciate everyone’s hard work.”

“You got it,” Sean said.

I made a face. “This blows.”

My father did
n’t berate me. He was used to my shitty attitude. He let it slide because he knew I only acted this way in private.

He looked over my shoulder and spotted Cassandra. “Who’s this lovely lady?”

“Oh.” I grabbed her by the hand and pulled her to my side. “This is my girlfriend, Cassandra.”

My dad took her by the hand. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m glad my son isn’t gay.”

I glared at my dad. “Shut the hell up.”

He laughed. “
Well, you never bring anyone around.”

“Because none of them meant anything to me.” I held Cassandra close to me. “But Cassandra is very special.”

Cassandra blushed. “It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Preston.”

“Andrew,” my dad said. Then he turned to me. “Now another one of my sons is in love.”

I didn’t deny it.

“I’m very happy to hear that,” he said with a fond look. “Very happy.”

How did my dad make such a normal scene into such an emotional one? Every time he showed how proud he was of me, it meant the world to me. He was discreet but intentional at the same time.

“Bring her over to meet your mother,” my dad said. “We’ll have dinner.”

“Definitely,” I said. “If she doesn’t scratch her eyes out.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t even get me started on that.”

Scarlet came to us. “We all love Cassandra, so if Diane doesn’t, oh well.”

I loved that Scarlet was making such an effort to make Cassandra feel welcomed,
especially since she wasn’t having the best day.

My dad nodded. “If Mike loves her, I have no doubt she’s perfect.” He clapped my shoulder. “I need to hit the
road. I hope your lunch break is over.” The threat was in his voice.

“Yes, sir,” Sean and I both said at the same time.

He left the house.

I turned to Cassandra. “My dad is cute, right?”

“Very cute,” she said with a smile.

“But don’t get any ideas,” I said firmly. “Scarlet has the hot
ts for him too.”

She shrugged. “I’ll try to keep my hands to myself.”

“You better.” I pulled her to the door. “We’re gonna get back to work.” I turned to Sean. “You coming?”

Sean glanced at Scarlet but she didn’t meet his look. “Yeah.”

I shook my head. “Dude, just let it go.”

“Stay out of our fucking business,” he snapped. He grabbed his bag then stormed out the door.

I turned back to Scarlet. “You’ll be okay?”

“I’m fine.” She walked up the stairs without look
ing at us.

When we got back to work, I went into Sean’s office. His shoulders sagged and he had a pissed look on his face. He’d been sour all day.

“You’re being a jackass, you know that?”

He glared at me. “Me? First, you agree with my side of the story but then you call me a jackass?”

“This is Scarlet we’re talking about. Don’t just shut her out.”

“Why don’t you save the relationship advice for your own girlfriend?”

“I won’t need to. Having her in my life reminds me what it was like when she wasn’t there. If we fight, I’ll always cave. Because having a happy girlfriend is far better than protecting my pride.”

“It’s not about my pride,” I snapped. “She needs to acknowledge that I do everything for her. I breathe for her. I’m sick of being called a fucking asshole for doing the right thing. Decisions aren’t always easy, but I do the best I can. I always put her first but she acts like I don’t give a shit. If it’s not this fight, it’s a different one. When I took her to the doctor, she yelled at me for cutting in line, along with countless other things. I just want her to understand that. That’s all. Scarlet can be ridiculously stubborn, but so can I.”