Executive Decision by Mandy M Roth
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Excerpt from Executive Decision by Mandy M Roth
Dale nodded but held me to him. He pressed his mouth to my ear. "We didn't get a chance to finish our conversation."
"Huh?"
"Do you, Liz?"
I tilted my head so I could see his face better. "Do I what?"
"Do you honestly think what we did doesn't count as sex?"
Sorry I asked. again.
Opening my mouth, I tried to answer him but ended up closing it again. "I … err … I don't know. I didn't think you wanted Charles to know about your sex life and I'm fairly sure you'd rather Paige not hear it either."
"Yeah, maybe filing that incident in the bathroom away and keeping it between us is for the best. It would just make things awkward around everyone else and girls I date might get jealous because I'm still friends with you. Kind of messes with my image."
Girls he dates? Messes with his image?
I gripped his hands as I soaked in the words. It wasn't like I expected anything from him. We agreed to not let it change our friendship and I'd made sure to stay detached. Knowing all of this didn't make the thought of Dale being with someone else hurt any less. It was none of my business that he wanted to see other people.
"You know, come to think of it, it would be nice to find someone to take care of things for me the right way."
The right way?
The wicked bitch of the west branch just had the house drop on her. I stopped moving with him and he had to force me to go at all. There were so many things I should have said. I said nothing.
"It's a good thing that the one time we lose our minds was substandard to say the least. Can you even imagine if it actually ranked up there in our best of category? It'd be really hard to get over that." He pressed his mouth to my ear and whispered, "I can assure you that nothing will change between us because I'm over it. Thanks for the roll about though. It was amusing to say the least."
Substandard? Roll about? Amusing?
He let go of my hands and I stood still. I didn't let the anger in me surface. It was odd to feel so calm when I was so angry and so hurt. Turning, I looked at Dale. I carefully kept my face void of emotion. "Dale."
"What, do you disagree? Am I wrong, Liz? Let me know, I'd hate to piss you off." There was something in his tone I couldn't put my finger on. I didn't care to evaluate it. He wanted to pick a fight, and I wasn't in the mood to take the bait.
I locked eyes with him. "Dale, I'm not upset with you. I'm disappointed in you. Resorting to this isn't something I ever thought you would do. I am truly sorry that I was a 'lame lay' for you. And I'm sorry that I told you I wouldn't let it change things between us."
Dale moved to touch me, but I shook my head no. He stopped, but he wasn't happy about it. "You're disappointed in me? Huh, that's rich considering what you've been up to for a year."
"I'm not going to take the bait and argue with you. You're hurt and angry so you're lashing out at me. If you're having issues dealing with what happened and you regret me wasting your time that's fine. I don't share your opinion on it being substandard, but I'm biased, I'm the woman in question. You didn't hurt me tonight, you hurt us. I will move your things to Paige's tomorrow morning." I put my hand out to him. "I'd like my key back now."
His face fell. "Liz, are you throwing me out?"
"I'm simply helping you to eliminate all the substandard aspects of your life. Good luck with all you do."
Dale tried to pull me to him, but I backed away and put my hand out again. "My key, please."
He reached into his pocket and pulled his keys out. I watched with a stone face as he slid his key to my apartment off his ring. Looking down at my outstretched hand, I noticed the Gucci watch he'd given me. I brought my hand back and Dale looked relieved right up until I unclasped the watch and removed it from my wrist.
"Liz, that was a gift."
"I know and I loved it, but every time I look at it I'll be reminded of the ugly things you said to me. I trusted you and let you close to me. That was my own mistake. I should have learned my lesson the first time around."
"First time around?" Dale asked, slowly handing my key to me.
I ignored his question. He didn't deserve an answer. I took it and placed the watch in his hand. "I think it's safe to assume that I'm going home to Ohio alone. I do thank you for having offered. You didn't have to do that." I took a deep breath before I delivered the killing blow. "I'll speak with Charles about moving you off my team while I'm on vacation. I'm sure with the right persuasion he'll do as I ask and not think it substandard." I turned to walk away. Dale caught hold of my arm and held me in place.
"Liz, I didn't mean any of that. I was hurt. I don't think—"
Putting my hand up, I stopped him and peeked over my shoulder. "You said what you meant. I just find it funny that your anger for Charles started this between us and now he'll be the one to clean it up. And, Dale, he's never been anything but kind to me. Can you say the same?"
Yanking my arm free of his grasp, I walked back towards the entrance. I not only needed air now, I needed to apologize to Charles and be sure Dale's job was secure. I made my way out of the front door and stepped to the side. Unzipping my handbag, I grabbed my phone out and turned it back on. It took a minute for it to sync up with the satellite. Scrolling through missed calls, I found Charles' number and hit the enter button.
"I was wondering if you'd call back," Charles said as he answered. "I thought you might."
"You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" I asked in a playful tone.
"I'd like to think I do. Now, do you want to tell me what's wrong?"
"Charles, we both know you don't care … hey, how did you know something is wrong?"
He chuckled and I could just imagine him laying back on his bed, half out of his suit as he talked to me. "I know you better then you like to believe, Elizabeth."
"I guess so." I laughed and twisted away from the door more to be able to hear Charles better. "I'm sorry I had to cut you off earlier. It was a little hard to hear."
"I had no idea Corbin could be that loud."
"Ignore him, we all do." I did a silent prayer that Charles would let the Dale situation go.
"We? So, you're out in a group?"
"Yep, I have three of my girlfriends and one of them, Paige, is Corbin's sister." I could almost hear his relief over the phone. "I told you that before. You just don't listen to me."
"I'll admit I was a bit concerned you and he were an item."
I picked at the brick next to me and thought carefully about everything I was saying. When I realized I was ruining my French manicure, I stopped. "Ah, no, Corbin, as you like to call him, and I have never been an item–we were close friends at one time but a difference of opinions ended that. I'll be honest, I thought for a brief period there that there was something more but he made it abundantly clear I'm not his type. Everything happens for a reason. The only reason I'm telling you this is so you don't dare fire him or take out your anger on him. He can be an ass at times, but he doesn't deserve you gunning for him for no reason."
Charles laughed from the gut. "I can't believe you're not his type. I've just gone from being jealous to feeling bad for him." He was quiet for a moment. "Did it upset you that you weren't his type?"
I stood there thinking about Charles' question. "Promise you won't use anything I say against him and then I'll give you an honest answer."
"I promise."
"Yes, I think I did wish I would have been his type. But you can't force what isn't there. Well, I should get back into Fever and find my friends before they get paranoid and have the DJ page me."
"Elizabeth, come over tonight. Stay with me. You've never spent more than a few hours here."
"Charles, not tonight. Thanks for asking though. I think I'd like to just spend the evening with the girls. We could meet for coffee in the morning if you want. I'm going shopping with the girls to find a dress for my reunion and I'm having dinner with everyone later." I leaned against the wall and clicked my heel nervously on the ground. Someone laid on their horn and I flinched. Gotta love New York.
"Coffee sounds perfect."
"Hey, before I hang up. Thank you."
"For what?"
"See you in the morning." I hung up and looked out into the night. It's true what they say. The city never does sleep. There were as many people out and about as there was during the middle of the day.
As I turned to go back into the club, I ran smack into Dale. I looked to find his face blank. Wonderful, I loved emotional crapshoots. "I had a feeling you were coming out to call him."
I tried to side step him and failed. I thought about stomping on his foot but liked his black leather boots too much to cause them harm. "Excuse me please, I have nothing further to say to you."
"But you have plenty to say to him."
Was it wrong that I no longer wanted to hit him, now I wanted to kick him?
I resisted the urge to injure him. Instead, I did something neither of us expected. I ran my thumb or his lip and cupped his cheek as I looked up at him. "Just because you think I'm barely worth a quick roll in the bathroom, doesn't mean I think that of you. I called Charles to ensure you had a job Monday morning, Dale."
"You didn't ask him to move me off your team. Why?"
"Because when I meet him for coffee in the morning I'm going to put in my resignation and recommend you for my position." I tried to move again, only to find myself being pulled into his arms.
"Dammit, Liz, I know I screwed up and you're mad but don't destroy your career over it."
Pushing on his chest, I put distance between us. "How is finding a new position ruining my career? I should have never gotten involved with my boss. Regardless of how hard I work people believe he plays favorites. I'll start over. Wipe the slate clean. Hopefully it will be somewhere close but honestly, I'll go wherever the wind takes me. Now move."
~*******~
