Forever and Always (14 page)

“
Well, he is using
Janice,” he said. “He lives on the other side of the country. This
obviously isn’t going to go anywhere.”

“
I don’t think he’s using
her. I can tell he really likes her.”

Cortland sighed. “Then he’s setting
himself up for heartbreak. They just met—she’s not going to move
for him. And Ryan can’t leave Seattle—he’s got you and the
shop.”

“
You’re right,” I said.
“Why does Ryan finally like someone that he can’t have?”

“
It always works out that
way.”

I turned on my side and closed my
eyes. The sound of their love making stopped and I finally felt
relaxed enough to fall asleep. Cortland said something, but I
wasn’t listening. I was already asleep.

13

The next morning, Ryan and Janice
walked out of her bedroom, dressed and ready for the day. Janice
was wearing a tight dress that made her look slim and beautiful.
The earrings she wore highlighted her eyes and made her look
glamorous.

“
You look hot,” I
said.

She smiled. “Got to make sure Carl
can’t resist.”

“
Well, that definitely
won’t be a problem.”

Ryan poured a cup of coffee then
handed it to her. He kissed her on the head before he made his own
and drank it black. I’d never seen Ryan so attentive to a woman
before. When that other girl came to the apartment, Ryan blatantly
ignored her until she left. With Janice, Ryan was a whole new man,
tender and gentle. Cortland caught the exchange from his seat at
the kitchen table.

“
Did you have fun last
night?” Cortland smiled.

Ryan smiled and Janice blushed. “A lot
of fun,” Ryan answered.

I fixed my hair in the mirror then
turned to them. “Let’s go,” I said.

Janice sighed and placed her purse
over her arm. It was obvious that she was nervous and frightened
about the plan. I didn’t blame her. We left her apartment and took
a cab to the front of R and R. We stopped when we were outside the
doors.

I looked at my brother. “You can’t
hurt him, Ryan. Just pull him off and keep Janice safe—that’s
it.”

“
As much as I enjoyed Sean
beating the shit of him, I don’t want you to get in trouble for
assault either,” Janice said to Ryan.

Cortland raised an eyebrow. “Sean
attacked your boss?”

“
What is she talking
about, Scar?” Ryan asked.

I sighed. “Long story short, when Sean
found out what that creep did to me, he beat Carl up in his own
office and sent him to the hospital for a week. Sean didn’t tell me
anything—Janice did.”

“
Sean just snapped—he was
livid,” Janice said.

Ryan said nothing for a moment. “Well,
I respect him for that, despite what he did to you,
Scar.”

Cortland nodded. “Me too.”

“
It doesn’t matter,” I
said. I turned to Janice. “Are you nervous?”

“
Yes,” Janice said. “I’m
scared.”

“
My brother would never
let anything happen to you.”

“
I know,” she
said.

“
Let’s get this mother
fucker,” I said as I walked into the building. Because it was the
weekend, the lobby was deserted, and we had no trouble getting into
the elevator and to the twentieth floor. When we stepped out of the
elevator, Janice checked to make sure the office was empty before
she ushered us in. Cortland made a hole in the wall of the cubicle
that was across from Janice’s desk and had the camera ready for
Carl to make his move. Ryan and I hid in a cubicle on the other
side of the room so we could hear everything without being
seen.

Ryan was breathing heavily next to me.
I knew he was angry that this was happening to Janice and had
already happened to me. The relationship between him and Janice was
still in a gray area, but I could tell that he cared about her in a
profound way. She wasn’t just a fuck-buddy. Ryan would never hurt
my best friend and make it awkward between us, despite the fact
that I had done it to him when I slept with Cortland. Even though I
hurt Ryan more than once, he would never betray me in any way. I
didn’t deserve his love.

Janice was typing on the keyboard,
working like any other day, when I heard the sound of heavy
footsteps thud down the hall. Without looking, I knew it was Carl
by the shuffle of his lazy feet.

“
You are here late,” I
heard Carl say to Janice in a sleazy voice. It sounded like he was
trying to be flirtatious but he was failing miserably. Ryan locked
his gaze to mine and I nodded, silently confirming Carl’s voice.
Ryan clenched his fists together and his veins popped on his
hands.

“
I like a woman who works
hard for her money,” Carl said as he stepped closer to her. The
anger rushed through my body at his words. I had heard him say
those very words to me on countless occasions. The fucker was too
lazy to come up with new lines. “You look beautiful this
evening.”

“
Thank you,” Janice said
calmly. “I’m just finishing my work and I’ll be out of your
way.”

“
I don’t want you to
leave,” he snapped. His voice turned suddenly cold and hard, like
he was trying to control her with his words alone. “I think you
have another responsibility that you’re forgetting.”

The sound of a belt coming loose could
he heard as it dropped to the floor. Ryan tried to sit up, but I
steadied him. “Not yet,” I said. “She’ll be fine.”

“
I love working here, Mr.
Rogers, but I feel uncomfortable by the sexual advances that you
continue to make at me and the rest of the staff. Please let me
finish my work. I already said I’m not interested.”

Janice kept her voice calm and strong,
and I was mesmerized by her strength. I would have already been
crying at that point. The sound of a struggle could be heard and I
knew Carl was advancing on her. Ryan tried to get up again, but I
held him back.

“
Wait,” I said.

“
Stop it,” she screamed.
“You’re hurting me! I said get off of me!”

I released Ryan’s arm and he bolted
from the cubicle, running down the walkway as he charged Carl. I
stood up and looked over the wall as Ryan grabbed him and kneed him
right in the testicles.

“
Get off of her!” he said
as pushed Carl.

Carl was on the ground with his knees
to his chest and his dick still hanging out. He started moaning in
pain. Ryan turned to Janice and grabbed her arm. “Are you
okay?”

She nodded, too frightened to
speak.

“
Let’s go,” he
said.

Ryan and Janice walked away and I
followed behind them. Cortland emerged from the office a moment
later and we left the building quickly. I was certain Carl hadn’t
seen us because he was still paralyzed by the pain in his groin. We
jumped into a cab and returned to the apartment.

“
Did you get it?” I asked
Cortland when we walked into the living room.

“
Yes.” He smiled. “I got
the whole thing. The audio came out perfectly. I can hear every
word they said. Cortland opened his computer and sat on the couch,
watching the video again. I sat next to him and smiled when I saw
the footage. It was perfect.

The sound of Janice sniffing caught my
attention. I looked up to see Ryan cupping her cheek as he kissed
her tears away. He grabbed her face and kissed her gently, and I
was moved by his affection. It reminded me of Sean. When I realized
I was intruding on their privacy, I looked away. Ryan’s gentle
touch amazed me. I had never seen him that way with anyone—ever.
Now that I knew they were serious, I wasn’t sure what it would mean
for their relationship because they lived three thousand miles
apart.

14

The next morning, we took a cab to the
office and stood outside for a moment. Ryan was holding Janice and
whispering to her, and Cortland and I were standing beside them
awkwardly, waiting for them to finish their goodbye. It was obvious
that Ryan was in love with Janice. I could hear it through her
bedroom wall.

“
He won’t touch you,” Ryan
said to her. “There will be too many people around.”

She nodded. “You’re right.”

“
And if he does, I’ll kill
him.” He smiled. “Then the problem will be solved.”

She smiled. “Okay.”

Ryan kissed her for a long moment then
pulled away. “I’ll be in the lobby the whole time.”

She nodded. “Okay,” she said. “Thank
you so much.”

Ryan kissed her again. “Now go to
work.”

Janice turned away and walked into the
building. We waited for her to disappear in the elevator before we
went inside. We sat in a chair behind a pillar and Cortland opened
his laptop.

“
I have to get onto their
server, but I don’t have a username. What’s your boss’s full
name?”

“
Carl Rogers.”

“
Okay,” he said as he
typed quickly. “Are you assigned a password here?”

“
Yes.”

“
Okay,” he said
again.

Ryan and I sat beside Cortland while
he worked for the next half hour. He insisted that uploading the
video as a virus would ensure Carl was dismissed and there were
legal consequences if it was broadcast in such a public way. Also,
it humiliated him, which was a bonus for me.

“
They will realize where
the virus came from eventually, but at that point, it won’t
matter,” he said. “We’ll be gone.” He clicked on a few screens then
eventually removed his hand from the keyboard. “It’s ready.” He
smiled. He turned the laptop towards me. “Scarlet, will you do the
honors?”

I smiled at him. “I would love
to.”

“
Press enter.”

I stared at the button for a moment as
I relived the night he attacked me. It was one of the worst nights
of my life. Never had I felt so weak and vulnerable. When Carl came
at me, I didn’t fight until the last moment, and after he chased me
from the building, I still didn’t seek justice. Since I was such a
coward, Carl had taken advantage of Janice, my best friend, and
violated her. My hand shook as I reached for the key. I was
overwhelmed that this moment of retribution had finally arrived. I
felt like I was about to press the button on a bomb, blowing Carl
into oblivion. After I took a deep breath, I placed my finger over
the button and pressed enter.

The video popped open on the screen
and began playing. Cortland closed the laptop and shoved it into
his bag. “It will keep playing over and over until someone stops
the virus,” he said. He stood up and we followed him. “Let’s get
out of the building.”

We walked outside the entryway and
stood in front of the doors, waiting for something to happen. I
opened my phone and texted Janice, asking her what was going on.
She told me that the video was playing on every
computer.

I smiled at Cortland. “It
worked.”

He nodded. “I knew it
would.”

I text Janice again, but she didn’t
say anything. I assumed her silence meant she was being questioned
by security or human resources. Two cop cars pulled up to the curb
outside the entrance, and I felt my heart jump with joy. The police
officers walked into building to retrieve Carl. I was practically
skipping with happiness. When the cops returned to the lobby with a
man handcuffed between them, my heart raced. They opened the doors
and Carl noticed me standing off to the side and his eyes widened
with recognition. He glared at me for a moment as he was escorted
to the car and placed in the backseat. Carl continued to stare at
me through the window. I smiled at him, enjoying the sensual taste
of retribution. The cars pulled away from the curb and sped down
the street. I watched until they were out of my sight.

Janice came out of the building and
ran to me, hugging me tightly for a long moment. “Thank you so
much,” she said. She turned to Cortland and hugged him tightly,
making him cough by the force of her constriction. He patted her on
the shoulder. “Thank you,” she said. Then, she turned to Ryan and
kissed him.

“
Are you getting just as
sick of this as I am?” Cortland asked with a smile.

I watched my brother embrace Janice,
and my heart ached. It reminded me of Sean. I felt the tears bubble
to the surface as I remembered our amazing relationship. He was the
love of my life, but I would never be with him again. I missed him
so much and that just made me feel worse. I should be over him.
Cortland caught my look and he sighed, feeling bad for inflicting
the emotion. He wrapped his arms around me and held me tightly,
letting me dissolve inside of his protection.

“
It’s going to be okay,”
he whispered.

I pulled away from him and wiped my
tears.

Janice was still talking to Ryan.
“I’ll see you after work,” she said.

“
My plane leaves at
seven,” he said. “What time are you off?”

“
Five,” she said. “I’ll
try to leave early so I can go with you to the airport.”