Hidden Truths (Violet Chain Book 2) (23 page)

Christopher was definitely driven, striving for success, but his people skills were absolutely horrible. He was very quiet and always had this really uptight expression on his face, like he was uncomfortable in his own skin. A woman smiled at him and he scowled at her like she was the devil.

I glanced at her and gave her an apologetic smile before leaning across the table and whispering, “Why did you do that?”

“Do what?”

“Give that woman a dirty look.”

“I didn’t realize I had.”

“Well you did, Christopher, and it was very rude. If you want to succeed in life you have to learn to be happy.”

He tilted his eyes up at me. “Why?”

“Well because you do.”

He shrugged. “I have had plenty of success without having to be nice to anyone. So what’s the point?”

He really wasn’t getting it, was he?

“Christopher, anyone can make money, that is easy to do, especially for someone as skilled as you are, but in order to have respect, true success, you have to develop good people skills. I want you to be successful, not only working for me, but as your own person. Plus I want you to be happy, meet someone—how are you going to meet a nice woman if you always look like your boxers are on too tight?”

He cupped his chin and tapped his finger on his lips. “What makes you think I want a woman?”

I shrugged. “Well you surely don’t want to grow old alone, do you?”

“I suppose not.” But even as he said the words, I could tell he was saying them only to appease me. I wanted to press on but I could tell by the way he kept shifting in his seat and twiddling his fingers, blinking his eyes, that he was desperate for a drink, so I decided to drop the matter.

I was very conscious of ordering non-alcoholic, to make the atmosphere temptation free. But it seemed non-alcoholic beverages were very filling and my bladder was begging for relief. I stood up.

“Excuse me, I have to use the restroom.”

I made my way to the bathroom and as I turned the corner, I saw Violet engaged in a kiss with Harrison. My first reaction was to bash his face in, to wipe the floor clean with his body. My second was to get him off of her lips, away from her. I was mortified when I realized she was kissing him back and thought for sure they had reconciled. It would have killed me if they reconciled. The last person on this earth that I wanted Violet to be with was that cheating, lying bastard. After I made a complete fool out of myself ripping them apart, Violet rushed off to the bathroom and I followed. That’s where I trapped her with my body. The contact sent me swirling into a pool of desire and I wanted her so bad, I could taste it. I missed her so much, it killed me to let her go again. But I knew I was doing what was best for her. I loved her. I needed to see her again and I made the mistake of inviting her back to my apartment. I didn’t think she would come and when she did I was filled with anger, anger that she had been with Harrison. It hurt so bad to know that he was the one holding her now, loving her, the way I used to. I wanted her to pay for what she did, so I used the one vice that always worked, sex. The minute my lips hit hers, I could feel her desire, her need and I used it to torture her, to make her feel the pain I felt when I saw her with him. It was wrong and I regretted it now. I had no right to interfere in her life, no right at all. I had let her go and she had a right to go on with her life and find happiness, even if it made me miserable.

“Chain,” a voice muttered, bringing me back to reality.

“Yes?”

Christopher smirked. “You’re thinking about that woman from the restaurant, aren’t you?” How the hell did he know?

“What?”

“That woman, the one you pulled that man off of.”

Why I smiled at his comment, I didn’t know. I suppose it was because Violet’s face flashed into my head.

“You saw that?”

He snickered. “The whole restaurant saw it. Who is she? She must be pretty important for you to make such a scene.” Good question. Who was Violet to me now? A friend? I glanced at Christopher, who was patiently waiting for an answer. “Just someone I used to know.” Loved, worshipped.

“Oh.” Christopher turned his eyes back to the blueprint and pointed to the small section near the top. “I think if we move this wall, you will have plenty of room to put a gate up so people can’t wander into the playscape.” I glanced down at the blueprint. He was right. How did I not see that?

I patted him on the shoulder. “Great job, Christopher, that is why you make the big bucks!” He rolled his eyes and mumbled something under his breath.

David rushed into the room in such a fury it caught both of us by surprise.

His jaw clenched as his eyes glared at me. “I need to talk to you,” he growled, his voice cracking as he tried to talk calmly. I nodded my head and followed him out of the conference room. I walked into his office and he slammed the door so hard, I jumped.

“What the fuck are you doing!” he screamed.

I was confused; I had no clue what he was talking about. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“Violet, damn it, why do you keep fucking with her?”

I scratched the side of my head. “She told you.”

“Told me? She was in tears when she came over last night. She told me that you made a scene at the restaurant.”

“I was just trying to stop her from making a mistake, that’s all, David.”

“Liar, you were jealous because she was with Harrison, just fucking admit it.” He was right, I was jealous—pissed off was more like it. I didn’t want that cheating bastard Harrison to get his hands on my Violet.

I cleared my throat. “No, that’s not true. My intentions were only to stop her from making a grave mistake.” I had to keep up the façade, even though I was lying through my teeth.

“And you invited her to your apartment, why?”

“I wasn’t thinking. She was upset, I thought she may need to talk, that’s all. I shouldn’t have done that, I know that now, it just led her on.” It was wrong for me to do that to her. I had let my anger and jealously get the best of me and I really regretted it. I would never intentionally hurt Violet, ever. The whole reason why I had broken up with her was because I loved her and wanted to protect her. But seeing her with Harrison brought the worst out in me.

“Led her on? She said you teased her, pretended that you wanted her.”

I laughed. “The only reason she came over to my house was because she thought I was going to have sex with her.” That wasn’t true; I knew she had come over to talk. But I had to keep the charade up. It was important that David knew I had no feelings for her.

David stood silently and I could tell he was contemplating what to say next. “I see, so you didn’t want that. You have no desire for her anymore?” Desire? I was burning for her so badly I had a huge case of blue balls the rest of the night. Even though I scratched one off, it still didn’t replace the feeling of being inside of her, of touching her, of feeling her, of loving her.

“Nope, it’s all gone,” I lied.

His lip quirked up on the side. “So if she left with Harrison, you would have been okay with it?”

Irritation crept into my bones as he said those words, but I kept my cool. “I just told you that she would be making a mistake if she got back with Harrison. But if you want my honest opinion, if that is what she wants then there isn’t much I could do to stop her.”

“Oh I see. So it wouldn’t bother you if I told you that after she left our house, she spent the night with Harrison.”

I could feel the anger swell within me and I had to bite the side of my mouth to keep calm. “Nope, not at all.”

“Good, because she called Harrison last night and told us she planned on going over there to talk and she would be back later, but she never came back. Callie thinks they got back together last night. So I don’t think you have to worry about her coming around your apartment anymore.”

The blood drained out of my face as the hurt surrounded me. I plopped down on the couch and I was on the verge of tears as the thought of her being back with Harrison crushed me.

“It hurts you to know that she is with him, doesn’t it?”

I was so choked up I could barely release the words. “Of course not, I let her go, remember, why would it hurt? I’m just disappointed in her, that’s all.”

David sat on the couch across from me, leaning forward, his hands folded together on his lap. “Why, Chain, tell me, why are you disappointed in Violet?”

“Because she deserves better. Harrison cheated on her, why on earth would she go back to him?”

“That’s not the answer I am looking for and you know it. Just admit it to me and yourself.”

“Admit what?”

“That you love her. Say it.” I shook my head and looked down. “Fucking say it, Chain, you love Violet more than anything in this world. You let her go for no good reason at all and now she is back with Harrison and it bothers the fuck out of you.” I wished that David would just shut up, stop. My hands began to shake. She was mine, not his. She was mine.

David stood up and began to pace. “Doesn’t it bother you that she is fucking him? That she is lying down in the very bed you lay down with her in, probably right now, screwing his brains out?”

I ran my hands through my hair frantically as I dropped my face into my hands. “Stop, David, please.”

“They’ve been apart for months now. I’m sure they had a lot to make up for. I hear make-up sex is the best. I bet you she was screaming his name all the way—” I couldn’t take it anymore. I bolted off the couch and pushed him down on the ground. I had had enough.

“Fucking shut up, can you please stop talking about it. Fuck, David, can’t you see it is ripping me to shreds!”

David laughed as he got to his feet, straightening his coat. “Why, Chain, why is it ripping you to shreds?”

“Because I fucking love her, okay. Damn it, I love her. There, I said it, are you satisfied?”

He patted me on the back and I had to fight the urge to punch him in the face. How could he do this, put me through this agony?

He exhaled before saying, “Violet didn’t go to Harrison’s last night, she stayed with us. She left early this morning to go back to her apartment to get ready for work.”

I clenched my fists. “You fucking put me through all this shit for no reason?”

“I did.”

“Why? Why would you do that?”

“Because I needed to know how you felt.”

“You’re a bastard.”

He grinned. “Love you, buddy.” That son of a bitch. But he was right; I probably never would have admitted how I felt about Violet if it hadn’t been dragged out of me. I sat back down on the couch, stretching my neck.

David sat next to me and tapped me on the shoulder. “So are you going to tell me why you broke it off with Violet? Because I know it’s not because you didn’t love her.” He had me there. But how could I tell him that in order for me to keep Violet safe, she couldn’t be in my life? He wouldn’t understand any of it until I divulged my secret and I wasn’t willing to do that.

“Chain,” David repeated.

I stood up and exhaled. “I can’t tell you why, David.”

“Why not, Chain, you said you could tell me everything.”

“I know, but not this. All I can tell you is that I am doing this because I love her.”

“Hurting someone is not love, Chain.” I knew that and it killed me to know how much she was hurting. If I had known that this would turn out the way it did, I would never have started up with Violet. I breathed in. Like I had any control over it. When I saw her for the first time, I knew she was the one. She would always be the one and as much as I yearned for her, wanted her, I had to do the right thing. I loved her and us being together would only put her in danger. No matter what, I had to protect her, keep her safe, even if it meant giving her up.

“Please, give me something.” I had to tell him something, he was practically pleading.

“I did something, David, something unforgivable.”

“What, fucking tell me!”

“I will tell you this, I’m protecting her. Trust me, David, I want to tell you the reason, but I can’t risk putting Violet in danger, so please just let it go.”

Before he could comment, I walked out of the room.

Chapter 7.5 – Violet

It wasn’t going away, it wasn’t getting better. If anything it was getting worse. I thought that time would heal the pain in my heart, but it didn’t. With each day I was apart from Chain, my depression only deepened. That’s the funny thing about true love—it’s your one and only, forever, something not easily dismissed. It’s like a death—you learn to live with it, but in your heart, you never get over it.

I was well experienced in heartbreak, well versed in being hurt. You would think this would be so easy for me. I got over Harrison and we were together four years, surely I could get over a man I was with only months! But Chain wasn’t like Harrison; the way I felt about him was so different.