Is It Revenge Or Love?

Guest For Dinner

I watch him lean back in his chair, placing his hands on his armrests. “That’s interesting. She didn’t mention anything like that.” He shifts in his seat. “As a matter of fact, she said she was very single and looking for something long-term. If you two are supposed to be married, she doesn’t seem to know that.” f***k me! He’s really trying my patience right now. “Is this what you wanted to meet with me about, my having dinner with a beautiful young woman?” I gulp and bite the inside of my cheek.

“I…” He leans forward, placing his arms on his desk.

“I was under the impression that we had a business meeting. I thought you wanted to discuss a possible working relationship between our companies. Instead, you seem to want to involve me in your lover’s spat. I’m not really interested in being involved with that. If you and your, well, anyways, if you have an issue with the women in your life, you should handle that outside the office.” He stands and walks past me to the door. The door opens, and he stands next to it. “I think this meeting is over.”

I hurry to my feet, still trying to contain my anger. I stomp to the door and march out without looking back. I enter the elevator and press the button for the lobby. I let out a breath as the elevator descends. f***k, my father’s going to kill me.

~Monroe~

I have to say that the meeting went much better than I expected. I didn’t think he’d be bold enough to address the other night, but I was pleasantly surprised. I close my office door and sit back at my desk. “Well, I have to say I didn’t see that go that way.” I chuckle and pull a few files out of my desk.

“I didn’t either, but I love that it did. This is making my plan go very well, Dixon. That really couldn’t have gone better.” Dixon walks over to my desk, tapping away at the tablet.

“What do you want to do about Jaylene?” I drop the pages that I have in my hand. I lean back in my chair and close my eyes. That is a great question because I have no idea what to do about her. She's making this harder than I thought it would be, but I’m not one to give up easily.

“What would you suggest?” Dixon’s fingers stop moving. He looks up at me with a smirk on his face.

“Sir, you have the drive to accomplish anything you set your mind to. All you need to do is go harder.” Dixon is right. Now isn’t the time to take a step back. I need to push a bit harder to get Jaylene where I want her.

I lean forward and pick up my phone. Scrolling through my contacts, I land on her number. I hit the call button and listen to it ring. “Hello?”

“Hi, beautiful. I’ve been thinking about you. How about we have dinner tonight?”

“Uh, I’m a bit busy tonight.” Yeah, I’m pretty sure she isn’t busy at all.

“Sure. Forget dinner. I will be by later with dessert.” I end the call without giving her a chance to make another excuse. I will get Jaylene where I want her, no matter what.

~Deon~

I storm into my office, anger flowing out of every pore. How dare that bastard be so nonchalant about what I said. Jaylene belongs to me and is not available for him in any way. I punch the wall, causing a dent. I punch it again and again, my anger clouding everything else. “Son, what’s the problem?” I didn’t even hear my door open. I turn to find my father standing in my doorway. “How’d the meeting go?”

“It didn’t!” I plop into my chair and throw my head back.

“What do you mean? Did he have to reschedule or something?”

“No, Dad. He was there, and we met but didn’t talk about the businesses.” I hear shuffling in the room, but I don’t look to see what’s going on.

“Son, I don’t think I understand.” I sigh and tell him everything that happened in the meeting and what happened at the restaurant. It feels good to get it off my chest. “Have you lost your fu.cking mind?!” My head pops up, and I look at my dad in disbelief. “Damn, Deon! This meeting was important for our business. Do you know how many companies would kill to be tied to his?”

“What’s the big deal about his company? It isn’t like he’s the only one to do what he does. There are a lot of other companies that have been around a lot longer.” Dad’s hand slams on my desk, and anger radiates from him.

“He’s the leader in his industry right now. That’s major, seeing as how he hasn’t even been up and running that long. He created a foreign company that’s killing it in the States. If we were to get his partnership, we could expand our company to be bigger than it is now. You know the situation we are in, Deon. We need this.”

“I’ll get it.”

“How?! How do you plan to get him to work with us?” I sigh and wipe a hand down my face.

“I said I’ll get it, Dad. Let me do things my own way. The company is almost mine, and people need to get used to someone else’s way of doing things.” Dad stands and walks to the door. He sighs and shakes his head.

“I hope you know what you’re doing.”

~Jaylene~

It’s been a long day, and I can’t wait to unwind with a glass of wind and a long bath. I love working with these kids, but they can be so draining sometimes. I give their parents a lot of credit for doing everything they do for their kids. It takes a strong person to stick with this all day, every day.

I unlock the door and walk into the room. The aroma in the air makes my mouth water. I have no idea what it is, but I can’t wait to taste it. I hear voices from the dining room. Amber laughs, and I smile at the sound. She must have a dinner guest, so I will grab water and get out of her way.

I walk into the kitchen and grab a water bottle out of the refrigerator. I walk to the doorway that leads to the dining room and stop in my tracks. “Hey, beautiful. I decided to come for dinner after all.”