Betrayed by Trust (13 page)

“I’m not sleep,” Blake cried out.

“I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to disturb you.”
Caitlyn turned back around and entered the room.

He patted the bed. “It
’s big enough for the both of us.”

“No buddy. I’m not falling for that trick.”

“I couldn’t do anything even if I wanted to. This medicine makes me feel groggy and when we do it for the first time, I want to be one hundred percent.”

“Keep on fantasizing because we won’t be doing it.”

“We’ll have to see about that.”

Before
Caitlyn could respond, Anthony walked in holding a tray of food. “Yours is downstairs. I didn’t know if you wanted to eat in your room or at the dining room table.”

“I think I’ll eat at the table.”

Caitlyn left him and Anthony alone. “She’s a keeper,” he commented.

“Yes, she is. Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

“That’s what you pay me for,” he responded.

“Times like these I miss Uncle Jack.”

“He was a fine man. You’re growing into a fine one yourself.”
“You’re not just saying that because I’m sitting here in this bed are you?”

“Now, you should know I don’t ever say something I don’t mean. Never have and never will.”

Anthony soon left Blake alone with his thoughts. He wasn’t hungry but knew he needed to eat to keep up his strength. He soon found himself dozing off. When he woke up, he was surprised to see Caitlyn laid across the bed typing on her laptop.

“I didn’t disturb you, did I?” she asked, as she faced him.

“No. This medicine has me sleeping one minute and needing to run to the restroom the next.”

He got out of the bed to head to the connecting bathroom. When he returned, she was sitting up in the bed.
Caitlyn’s actions showed him she cared more about him than she wanted him to know.  Once he was back to full strength, they were going to have the conversation Blake had been avoiding. He would reveal to Caitlyn his feelings and he hoped she would admit to feeling the same way. 

The next few days went by fast.
Caitlyn stayed around to make sure he was okay. His recovery was due to her attentiveness. Once he was able to sit up longer than an hour at a time, he had Joan set up conference calls with his staff.   Joan stopped by a few times to check on him, but he assured her that Caitlyn and Anthony were taking good care of him.

By the end of the week,
Blake was back to his old self. He felt a dose of cabin fever. Caitlyn was in his den on a conference call. He got out one of his golf clubs and practiced hitting a ball. He was in mid-swing with the golf club, when he heard Caitlyn clear her throat. “Caught you.”

He barely missed hitting the lamp shade. He knew the moment
Caitlyn realized it, she would be leaving. He pretended to be weaker than he actually was. He had been caught. “I…I” he stuttered.

“You’re fine and I’m going home tonight.”

He ran behind her. “Please don’t go. Stay one more night.”

“I miss my bed.”

A disturbance downstairs stopped them from continuing their conversation. “I know he’s here. I heard about his accident and I just wanted to stop by.”

Blake
heard Anthony reassure the unwelcomed guest he would deliver the message. Caitlyn looked at Blake. “Looks like you have company. Good thing too, because I’m leaving.”

She walked down the stairs.
Blake followed Caitlyn and unfortunately, Samantha caught a glimpse of him and pushed past Anthony. “I’ve been so worried about you. I would have come sooner, but I didn’t want to intrude.”

“Like you’re doing now,” Anthony stated.

Blake said, “Anthony, I got this.”

Anthony’s
frowned. “If you need me, I’ll be in the kitchen.”

He grabbed Samantha’s arm and led her to the front door. “You need to leave.”

“Why? Because your fiancé’s here. I saw the trick’s car outside.”

“Don’t talk about my baby like that.”

“I can’t believe you. Does she know you’ve been sleeping with me up until a couple of weeks ago? Does she?”

“I thought you got rid of the trash,”
Caitlyn said, as she walked down the stairs.

“Yes, your man’s been sleeping with me,” Samantha yelled.

“That may have been the case, but what’s important is he’s not sleeping with you now. So like he said, I think it’s time for you to leave.”

Blake
opened up the door. “Sam, thanks for checking on me. As you can tell, I’m just fine.” He pushed her out the door as she protested and closed it.

Caitlyn
laughed. “I have to give it to her. She doesn’t give up.”

“She should. I have who I want,” he said
, as he wrapped his arms around her. Blake kissed her, lifting her off her feet.

She pulled away. “
Blake, we shouldn’t do that again. It’s making things complicated,” she stuttered.

“Do you want me
Caitlyn?” The fire beamed through Blake’s eyes.

“
Blake. Let’s not.”

Blake
didn’t wait for her to complete her sentence. He pulled her back towards him and this time, his tongue invaded her mouth and Caitlyn temporarily relinquished control. The kiss ended. Caitlyn wiped the lipstick from Blake’s mouth with her fingers and answered Blake’s original question. “Yes. Yes, Blake Banks I want you.”

Life for Caitlyn could be described in one word – hectic. Between trying to prove she deserved her promotion to working with the wedding coordinator for her upcoming wedding, she barely had time to breathe. She had just hung up the phone with Bridget and was on her way out the door when Tasha walked in.

“
Where are you headed?” Tasha asked.

“I’m meeting Bridget at Club Royale. I don’t feel like going, but she insisted I come.”

“Count me in.” Tasha decided to invite herself along.

“I’ll be ready in a few minutes. I need to log my computer off.”

A few minutes later, they were in the parking garage. “I’ll follow you to your place and then we can drive over together,” Tasha stated.

“Sounds like a plan to me.”

An hour later, they were pulling up in the parking lot of Club Royale. There were quite a few cars. Tasha opted to use valet. “I don’t feel like walking in these shoes,” Tasha said, as the valet opened up their doors.

“I’m looking for Bridget Toliver’s table,”
Caitlyn told the person working at the door.

“Right this way.”

The music boomed through the place. “Girl, all the staff are men.” Tasha observed.

“And good looking to boot,
” Caitlyn responded.

The worker opened the door and
Caitlyn jumped as the crowd yelled, “Surprise.”

Bridget stood in the center. “We couldn’t let you get married without a party.”

Caitlyn stood in shock. She knew Bridget wasn’t fully supportive of her upcoming marriage, so for her to throw a party meant a lot. Tasha pulled her in toward the crowd of women. “Come on. You know how we do.”

Bridget placed a tiara on her head. She hugged her. “I know this might not be your last marriage, but it is your first
, and I want you to have some good memories.”

Caitlyn
wiped her eyes. “You’re going to make me cry. I can’t believe you have me crying.”

Tasha
pulled them apart. “Let’s party.”

Caitlyn
mouthed the words thank you and got led into the center of the room. She sat in the decorated chair and looked around. Several of her friends and a few relatives adorned the room.

Bridget yelled to get everyone’s attention. “We would normally play some games but since this isn’t a normal party, we wanted to get right to the action.”

Tasha added, “Yes. And first up is Fire Marshall Thor.  Come on and put out my fire."

A noise sounding like thunder erupted and
Caitlyn mouth watered at the sight of the six feet buffed man with short blond hair making his way towards her chair. “Are you the one getting married?” he asked, as he gyrated his body in front of her.

She didn’t have to answer because
Tasha said, “Yes” for her.

Caitlyn
sat back and enjoyed the show as several other dancers made their way into the room. The crowd was pumped up throwing dollars everywhere.  In between watching the dancers and eating, Caitlyn enjoyed herself.

She went up to Bridget and hugged her. “Than
ks for the party. It’s been wild.”

“Only the best for you
baby girl.” She held up her glass of soda and handed her a glass. Their glasses clicked.

Tasha
yelled from across the room. “Okay, everyone it’s time to open up the presents.”

Two hours later,
Tasha and some others were loading her presents in Tasha's car. “You could have told me what Bridget was planning,” Caitlyn said, as they drove to her place.

“And have your sister beat me. I don’t think so.”

They both laughed.

Tasha
helped her carry the things to her apartment. Once she had left, Caitlyn took the time to let the night’s event soak in.

“I’m getting married,” she said, as she went through the gifts again. She had plenty
of sexy lingerie. “Too bad I won’t be using it.” She held up a see through red one piece. “Then again, I just might.”

She closed her eyes and imagined wearing it. She imagined
Blake’s response. How he would drool and couldn’t resist taking it off her. How he would slide it off her shoulders and kiss her neck. How his lips would trail up her thighs. She blinked her eyes a few times bringing her back to reality. She folded the lingerie and put it back in the box. She picked up the edible body paint and read the ingredients on the jar. She forced herself not to go back into her fantasy world.

One of her rules was no sex, but she didn’t know how long it would be before she broke it.  Her original plan seemed to be lost in the wind.
Her feelings for Blake had her caught up in her own web of deceit.  Her need for Blake’s love overshadowed the need for revenge. She had decisions to make. Maybe, she was crazy for going along with Blake to save his company. Who was going to save her from the heartache if things didn’t work out when the year was up and they had to go their separate ways?

“Man, I can’t believe I let you talk me into coming here,” Blake said, as he walked in to a local strip club with Trent.

“This is your last weekend of freedom, so I thought I would treat you. Don’t know when we’ll get to hang out again.”

A few half naked women danced near them. Conversation seized between them as they watched the display. “What were you saying?” Blake asked.

“How I’m glad I’m not giving up my single life.” Trent pulled out some money and placed it in some of the ladies
thongs.

Some mutual friends of
Blake and Trent showed up and they partied until the break of dawn. Blake’s head felt the full effect of his night of drinking the next morning. He staggered to his medicine cabinet and located some ibuprofen. He took a few and gulped down some water. He did a double take as he saw his reflection in the mirror. His bloodshot eyes stared back at him.

The phone rang. He jumped. The noise seemed a little too loud. “Coming,” he yelled out as he stumbled towards the phone.

“Open up your front door,” Caitlyn said, from the other end of the phone.

“
Today’s not a good day,” Blake responded.

“I’m outside your door, now open up,” she yelled.

He pulled the phone away from his ear. He found his shades and put them on. She looked radiant on the other side of the door wearing a tight pair of jeans and bright yellow shirt and holding a few bags. “What are you doing here?”

“We have a few things to go over before next week.”

“I forgot. Sorry. I had a long night.”

“I can tell.” She fanned in front of her nose. “You might want to go take a bath and what’s with those shades.” She reached up and removed them.
The sight of his blood shot eyes made her say, “Ugh. Put them back on.”
“My boys had somewhat of a bachelor party for me.”
“Ewww. You definitely need to take a shower. Are the exotic dancers still here?” She walked past him as if she was looking for someone.

“I’m saving myself for you,” he said, as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

She pulled away. “Get a bath and a toothbrush and I might kiss you.”

Blake
took her advice. About forty-five minutes later he returned back downstairs. She had a table of food spread out on the dining room table. “Smells good in here,” he said, as he took a seat.

“I’m almost through making the salad and then we can eat.”

“So what did you do this weekend?”

“Oh nothing. Got together with my sister and some friends on Friday night.”

“Any male dancers involved?” he was curious. He didn’t want his woman. Yes, he thought of Caitlyn as his woman, around half naked men.

“If you disclose what happened at your little boys get together, then I will tell you about mine,” she said, as she placed salad on two plates.

“That’s not fair.”

She winked at him. “I can tell you this, I got a lot of sexy lingerie.”

He licked his lips. “I can’t wait to see you model them for me.”

“Keep dreaming baby. I plan on taking those things back and exchanging them for something else.”

“See that’s not fair. Those women spent their hard earned money trying to find something to please me and you’re going to take it back.”

She sat down across from him. “There is this one outfit I think you would absolutely love.”

“Describe it to me.”

“It’s see through.”

“Love it already.”
“I haven’t finished.”

“I can’t get past
the see through. You and see through. Somebody pass me some water, because it’s hot in here.”
“You’re so silly.”

“You bring it out of me.”

Caitlyn and Blake took turns passing each other dishes as they piled food on their plates.  They barely talked, until Caitlyn asked, “When can I start moving my stuff in?”

Blake
looked up from his plate and answered, “Anytime. Just let me know when you’re ready to have the movers come by to pick up your stuff.”

“I need to decide what’s coming and what stuff I’ll be giving away, so the first of next week should be fine.”

“I’ll get Joan on it.”

They ate in silence.
Caitlyn broke the silence by saying,  “I would like to re-decorate. I will be the lady of the house and I feel it should reflect my tastes.”

“Some things belonged to my parents or my uncle, so before you go getting rid of things, you’ll need to consult me.”
“That’s fair.”

“What? No attitude. No objections.”

She tilted her head before responding, “I’m not all bad.”

He laughed. “Baby, I’m just kidding. Calm down.”

“I’ll be calm once this wedding is over with. We should have just eloped to Vegas or gone to a justice of the peace.”

Blake
disagreed. “I’ve always wanted a wedding so we might as well do it up.”

“I
’ve wanted a big wedding too, but this is different.” Caitlyn frowned.

Blake
put his fork down and reached his hand across the table and placed it on top of Caitlyn’s. He looked her directly in the eyes without blinking. “I hope by now you know I care about you.”

Caitlyn
looked away. “Blake, you don’t have to pretend. It’s just the two of us.”

“This may have
started off as a business deal, but it’s more than that to me.”

“
I wished I could be sure of that.”

“You can be. All you have to do is trust me.”

Caitlyn laughed. “Blake, let me tell you a little about my history. Something you didn’t find out in your background check.”

“You had to bring that up again didn’t you?”

Caitlyn took a sip from her glass. “My track record with men isn’t too good. You know about Charles and how that turned out. Let me go back to the first time I got my feel of men lying. I met this guy in college who I thought I was going to marry.”

“You’ve been engaged before?”
Blake seemed to hold his breath waiting for her answer.

“No, we weren’t engaged, but I thought we were in love.”

“I can’t say I’m sorry it didn’t work out.”

Caitlyn
rolled her eyes. “Anyway. I caught him in bed with this other girl and since then, it’s been hard for me to trust men.”

“So besides this guy and Charles, you haven’t dated
much?”

“
No, that’s not it. I’ve had my share of dates. I’m just cautious on who I let into my heart.”

“So do you think you could ever let yourself fall in love with me?”

Caitlyn didn’t answer. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

Blake
tried to assure her. “I’m not like those other men.”

“That remains to be seen,”
Caitlyn responded.

“
Cat, you can trust me. I’m not your enemy.”

She looked him directly in the eyes for a few seconds before responding.
“Most men have hidden agendas, but at least yours is all out on the table right?”

Blake
stared back without flinching. “I know you care but I’m patient. Time is all I have.”