One Call, One Date
742 Words
The drive home was silent except for the faint hum of the engine. Vanessa Harris gripped the steering wheel tightly, her lips still tingling from Liam’s kiss.
The memory of it came in flashes his mouth on hers, the taste of him, the way her body had responded with shameful eagerness. She cursed under her breath.
It had been a mistake. A moment of weakness.
She wasn’t naïve enough to deny the truth: that kiss had been a long time coming. Years ago, she and Liam had danced around something dangerous. A fire neither of them had dared ignite. But now? With Marcus’s betrayal still burning in her chest, Liam’s charm had slid under her defenses too easily.
Vanessa pressed harder on the gas, jaw tightening. Not again. Not now. I can’t afford to get distracted.
She had to deal with Marcus first. Had to protect what she had built. Liam Winston and his smug demands could wait.
By the time she pulled into the driveway of their home, she had convinced herself of it. One problem at a time.
But the moment she stepped inside, a new wave of bitterness swept over her.
The house was dark, Marcus nowhere to be found. She glanced at the clock. Nearly 9 p.m.
Her hand hesitated over her phone before she dialed his number. It rang once. Twice. Then..
“Hello?”
Not Marcus.
The voice was female, light and breathless, like she’d been caught in the middle of something.
Vanessa froze. “Who is this?”
“Oh uh this is Mr. Marcus’s assistant,” the woman stammered, her voice pitched higher now. “He’s, um… in a meeting right now. He asked not to be disturbed.”
Vanessa’s blood ran cold. A meeting. At 9 p.m. And with his assistant answering his phone? The words were ridiculous. Insulting.
The faint sound of a laugh floated through the line a breathy giggle, half-stifled. Followed by a muffled shhh.
Vanessa’s stomach lurched. She didn’t need a camera, didn’t need proof. She knew exactly what was happening.
Her lips curled into a humorless smile. “Right. Tell Mr. Marcus his wife called.”
She hung up before the woman could respond.
For a long moment, Vanessa stood in the silence of her empty home, her phone clutched so tightly her fingers ached. The candles she had lit the night before were gone, the petals she had once spread with hope now rotting in the trash.
Marcus had chosen his w***e.
Fine.
He wanted to betray her? She would make him regret it. Every lie. Every stolen touch. Every plan to take what was hers.
Her chest rose and fell as her fury cooled into something sharper. Calculated. Cold.
If Marcus could have his distractions, so could she. She wasn’t hurting anyone. She wasn’t breaking any vows that hadn’t already been shattered.
And if Liam Winston wanted his date so badly… she would give it to him.
With trembling fingers, Vanessa scrolled to his name. For a heartbeat, she hesitated. Then, before she could talk herself out of it, she pressed call.
The line picked up almost instantly.
“Well, well,” Liam’s voice purred, smug and amused. “Miss Harris. To what do I owe this late-night call? Couldn’t stop thinking about me?”
“Don’t flatter yourself,” she said sharply, though her voice wasn’t as steady as she wished. “About that date. Tomorrow evening. Don’t be late.”
There was a pause, then a low chuckle. “I’ll take that as a yes. Finally.”
“Don’t push your luck.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it,” he teased. “Seven o’clock. I’ll pick you up.”
Before she could change her mind, Vanessa ended the call. She tossed the phone on the bed and collapsed beside it, covering her face with her hands.
What the hell was she doing?
Liam Winston was a distraction. A complication. He was arrogant, infuriating, dangerous.
And yet… part of her was already imagining his smile when she opened the door tomorrow. The heat of his kiss, the way he made her feel like she wasn’t invisible.
Vanessa turned onto her side, staring into the darkness.
If Marcus thought she would sit quietly while he destroyed everything, he was about to find out just how wrong he was. Even if it meant forming an alliance with an old flame what harm could it do to her..
- Writer
