Black: Part 3 (Black Series) (2 page)

I’ve lived the last few years thinking that I had completely fucked everything up. That I’d blown my one shot at true happiness. But now Sofie is back in my life, and I’m getting another chance to make things right.
 

I’m not going to fuck it up again.

Calvin

It’s later in the evening and I’m sitting in my office when I get another unexpected visit from the person who is quickly making herself a nuisance. Charlotte barges in and slams the door behind her—she doesn’t even do me the courtesy of knocking this time.

“We can’t keep going on like this,” she says, as she marches up to my desk.

I take a deep breath and settle myself back into my chair.

“What are you talking about?”

She doesn’t bother stopping in front of my desk. Instead, she marches around it and stands in front of me. She’s wearing a black skirt that hugs her shapely hips and a black shirt that buttons up in the front with a light pink v-neck beneath it. The black blouse is buttoned tight—her breasts strain against it.

“You know exactly what I’m talking about.” She puts her hands on her hips and narrows her eyes. “You think you can just have bimbos sneak into your office for some fun whenever you feel like it and I’m not going to find out?”

I cock an eyebrow.

I have no idea what she’s talking about, but she might take that admission as a sign of guilt. Or denial. It’s better to use a different approach to control the situation. And besides, it’s about time I set her straight.

She needs to understand that I don’t answer to her. I never have, and I never will.

“It’s my office, I’ll do whatever I damned well please.” She’s about to say something, but I hold up a finger to cut her off. “And furthermore, there are going to be a few rule changes around here going forward.”

She gives me a disgusted look.

“Rule changes?” she says, practically spitting the question at me.

“That’s right… rule changes.” I give her a playful little smirk. She’s not going to like what I’m about to say, but I’m going to thoroughly enjoy every moment of it. “First off, there will be no more barging into my office. I think you’re starting to think a little too highly of yourself.” The disgusted look on her face twists into something worse. “Secondly, you will start treating me with a little respect. I’m your boss, and it’s time that you start acting like it.”

“
My boss?
“ she repeats, indignantly. “Is that all this comes down to? I’m just some kind of worker bee and I’m supposed to do everything that you say?”

“Yes, that’s usually how this kind of arrangement works out.”

She glowers at me for another moment before an eerie smile turns on her face.

“Well, I’ve got a different arrangement for you,” she says. She takes a tiny step closer—if she gets any closer she’ll practically be in my lap. “How about you fuck me right here and now on your desk, and I won’t file a sexual harassment lawsuit against you…”

My heartbeat kicks up a notch, but probably not for the reason she wants it to. How dare she come into my office and threaten me like this? Who the fuck does she think she is?

I rise out of my chair and stand at my full height. Charlotte is slight and I tower over her. But she doesn’t shy away.
 

“I’ve got a little counter proposal for you…” I begin. “How about you get out of my office and get back to work, and I won’t fire you and have you escorted out of the club. That seems like a much better arrangement to me.”

The eerie look on her face hardens for a moment, then she gives me a playful smile.

“Now, now, Calvin. There’s no need to get all bent out of shape.” She leans herself back against the desk and starts unbuttoning the top of her blouse. “What’s one more time? Just for old time’s sake. One more time so we can get each other out of our systems and move on…”

She pulls the top of her shirt down, revealing her immense breasts. Her nipples are hard.

I eye them distantly, but my focus remains on her as she scoots back on the desk and spreads her legs. She’s not wearing any panties again—I’m starting to think that she doesn’t own any—and she’s already dripping wet for me.

“What do you say?”

Normally I wouldn’t even hesitate at the offer. Normally I’d pull my cock out and slam it into her without even thinking about it. But that part of me is starting to feel more and more like a distant dream. And like all dreams, it’s starting to lose its grip on the real world.

The man in that dream wasn’t the real me. That man was a coward. He wasn’t ready to face up to what was really going on in his life. The real me wants nothing to do with the woman standing in front of me.

I shake my head.

“That’s not going to happen.”

A flash of anger disrupts the casual way she’s admiring me. It’s only the briefest of flashes, quickly replaced by another seductive look, but I notice it all the same.

“Here, let’s get you a little more comfortable…” Suddenly, she reaches out and grabs the base of my tie, pulling it loose from my neck. My eyes widen in surprise, but before I can react, she keeps going. “Your pants look a little tight.” She grabs my belt buckle and yanks it loose, tugging me toward her at the same time.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I demand, anger and hatred filling my eyes.

Charlotte lets out a laugh and lays back on the desk, spreading herself wide in front of me. Offering herself to me.

She looks so desperate I almost feel bad for her.

“Take me, Calvin!” she exclaims. “Take me like I know you want to.”

Somewhere off in the distance there’s a movement that catches my attention. It takes me a moment to realize exactly what it is, but when I do my heart nearly stops beating entirely.

Sofie
.

She’s standing in the doorway, staring at the two of us. She must have been the bimbo that Charlotte was talking about. Sofie had told me that she might show up sometime, unannounced, so we could talk. I’ve been waiting all week for that time. Hoping for it. Longing for it. But when Charlotte had mentioned someone being here to see me I’d been too cocky and irritated with her to make the connection.

I’m such a fucking idiot.

“Incredible,” Sofie says. The pain in her voice doesn’t even compare to the pain I’m feeling inside. “I guess some things never change.”

Without waiting for me to respond, she turns and walks out of my office.

And out of my life.

Forever.

Sofie

I can’t believe I fell for this shit again. I can’t believe I let myself get pulled into this. What did I think was going to happen? Did I really think that Calvin had changed? Am I really that foolish?

Tears are rolling down my cheeks despite my furious attempts to wipe them away. I make it out of Calvin’s office and am nearly all the way out of the administrative area and back into
Club Addiction
before I hear the sound of footsteps coming behind me.

“Sofie, wait!”

I can’t do this. I can’t deal with this right now.

Calvin Black is the last man I want to see or talk to. But there’s no way I can get away from him. Not in his own club. Not with him chasing me down.

“Sofie, please!”

The footsteps get louder, until they’re right behind me. They come to a stop at the same time that I do. I wipe away more of the tears, wishing they weren’t flowing so fast.

Calvin steps in front of me. I keep my eyes fixed a the ground, refusing to look him in the face.

“What do you want, Calvin?”

I wish I sounded more composed. It sounds like I’m about to fall apart.

“Sofie, I know what you must be thinking. But what you saw back there—”

“—Is none of my business,” I say, cutting him off.

“It wasn’t what you think,” he continues. “That woman, she was out of line. I didn’t want any part of what was going on in there.”

I shake my head, disbelievingly.

“You don’t have to make excuses, Calvin. You’re a free man and you can do what you want. It’s not like anything ever stopped you before…”

He takes a deep breath before he responds.

“Sofie, I know I fucked up before and you have every right to be mad at me. But I’ve wanted nothing more than to see your face and hear your voice since you told me that you would come talk to me. I’ve been locked in that office all week just hoping that you might show up.”

I pull together the strength to look him in the eye. His face has haunted my dreams for longer than I care to remember, but right now I want nothing to do with it.

“You always were a smooth talker, Calvin. But I’m not going to fall for your lies this time. I’m not going to let myself keep making the same mistakes with you.” I fix him with a hard look. “So go have your fun… don’t let me stop you.”

I try to push past him, but he grabs my arms. The touch of his hands on me sends an electric shock running through my body, stopping me in place.

“What happened all those years ago was a mistake, but I need you to know that I
never
slept with Renae.”

My mind reels when it hears the woman’s name on his lips. Renae Wallington—Calvin’s
business partner
that he was working with down in Charleston when we met. She was the woman that I caught him with that one awful night. I’ll never forget the twisted smile on her face when she saw that I’d walked in on them.

“I saw you, Calvin,” I say, my tone suddenly much harsher. “I saw you with your pants undone and your dick in her mouth.”

He closes his eyes and lets out a breath as his head hangs low. His entire body sags as though he’s suddenly filled with remorse. Or shame.

A short moment passes before he finally looks back up at me with resolve in his blue eyes.

“That’s true, and I won’t deny it. But it’s not the whole story.”

His sudden admission causes a renewed pain to ache through my body. It’s as if, all at once, the fight inside of me is deflated. I feel like my lungs are sucking for oxygen that just isn’t getting to them. I guess I always expected him to tell me another lie, not own up to the truth, no matter how distorted.

I give myself a shake, trying to make sense of everything. A million questions are all racing through my head—questions that I’ve been waiting for years to get the answers to.

But I don’t get the chance to ask them…

The sound of heels clacking on the floor echoes from behind me. I glance over my shoulder to see who it is. My stomach goes into a free fall.

It’s the brunette from Calvin’s office. She’s put her ugly tits away and closed her slutty legs and she has a sour look on her face. It’s shallow of me, but that look on her face makes me feel a little better.

“I can’t believe you, Calvin,” she says when she gets to us. “You try to tell me you don’t have any girls coming to your office when you’ve practically got them lining up!” She points her finger at me, as though I’m nothing more than a prop in her story. “How do you explain
her
?”

The diminished look in Calvin’s posture from just seconds earlier is gone. He lets out a soft breath and blinks slowly before responding in a way that I never see coming.

“Charlotte, you’re fired. Now get the fuck out of my club.”

Sofie

The woman’s mouth drops open and she gives him a wide-eyed stare of shock and disbelief. A tense silence passes between us as she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. She’s clearly as dumbfounded as I am.

“You can’t fire me, Calvin. I have a
contract
.”

If there’s any bit of doubt or resistance left inside of her it’s deflated by what he says next.

“Charlotte, if I ever see you here again I’ll call the police and have you arrested for assault. You have two minutes to get your things and get out of my club before I call security and have you escorted from the premises.”

The hallway gets so quiet that if the music from the club wasn’t still playing in the background I would swear I’ve gone deaf.

The girl—Charlotte—gapes at him. She huffs twice, and for a moment looks like she’s going to make some kind of retort. Calvin’s eyebrows rise as though he’s daring her to actually say something. The look he gives her is so intimidating that it even catches me off guard. She stares at him, defiantly, for a few more seconds in an attempt to save whatever’s left of her dignity, but finally she spins around and marches toward the club without another word.

Calvin watches her as she walks away. The sound of her clacking heels fading into the distance sends a nervous chill throughout my body. After she’s gone he turns to face me. The hard features on his face have softened once again.

“Assault?” I prompt, still surprised by what he said.

He gives me a determined look and nods.

“It’s like I said, Sofie. What you saw in there wasn’t what you thought… it wasn’t consensual. She’s been throwing herself at me and she was pissed that I keep turning her down.” He heaves his shoulders in a shrug. “I guess she just couldn’t handle it any longer.”

My brow scrunches tightly as I begin to understand what he was getting at.

“So you two weren’t…”

He shakes his head again.

“I haven’t been able to even
think
about another woman since the night I saw you in here.”

I frown. My head is swirling. None of this adds up. It doesn’t make sense.

“What happened with Renae?”

The question seems like an impossible one to ask, but once I start it comes out easier than I had expected.

“She and I were never together,” Calvin says. “Not the way you think…”

“Then, in what way were you together?”

His lips purse together for a moment as he gives me a solemn look.

“We were
just
business partners…” he begins.

“Bullshit!” I cut him off, my temper immediately flaring.

But Calvin keeps his cool and holds a hand up, indicating that he wasn’t done with what he was going to say.

“We
were
just business partners,” he says, changing the inflection in his tone only slightly. “We were doing a deal together, and she knew that I needed her if I had any hope of it succeeding.”