Sincerely, Up Yours: A Grumpy Boss Romantic Comedy, page 16
I blew out a breath. Reliving that moment had stirred up emotions I’d forgotten about for a long time.
“Jesus,” Darcy said softly. She reached over and squeezed my hand. “Nobody should have to hear that at any age, let alone six.”
“Yeah, well, my mom walked. About a year later she met a guy her age who was really into gardening and rock climbing. Now the two of them are living their best lives and kicking ass while my dad is still my dad. I wonder all the time what would’ve happened if she’d been able to keep custody of me and Percy. But Dad had a prenup, so she had almost no resources and his lawyers made sure she only had visitation rights. Dad made those visits so painful she eventually stopped making time for them. Now it has been years since I’ve seen her.”
“What? Really? Where is she now?”
“She lives in Florida last time I checked. I’m not sure if she’d want to see me, anyway. I think it’s easier to forget we ever happened. Seeing me just makes her think of dad and Percy, and both are their own kind of painful.”
Darcy looked like she was about to cry. I chuckled at her and gave her hand a squeeze. “Relax,” I said. “It’s old shit. I’m fine.”
“It would be okay if you weren’t,” she said. “You know that, right?”
“I’m fine. I’ve got new priorities and I’ve moved on.”
Darcy looked skeptical, but I appreciated that she didn’t push me on it. She just nodded and gave the table a little drum with her fingers. “Well, are you going to go for that run sometime today? Because I’m expecting pizza and rom coms today. In bed. And don’t try to tell me pizza isn’t allowed in your bed.”
I grinned. “If pizza in bed gets you in my bed, it’s allowed.”
“Good. So go on. Do your little running thing. I’ll be here when you get back.”
“You’d better be here. If not, I’ll come find you.”
“Don’t make it sound so dirty and fun or I’ll leave just to see you do it.”
I grinned. “Stay,” I said, pointing. “Or else.”
“Scary.”
I left her there at the table to get my shoes on and couldn’t help thinking how much things would change in one short day. Monday would come and my dad would be there at The Squawker. He’d be sniffing like a fucking hound dog for any sign of my weakness, and I wasn’t confident I could hide Darcy from him. Hell, he’d see her and probably already suspect I was attracted. How hard would it be for him to ask around and learn there was some obvious tension between us?
I tightened my laces and left the apartment. I needed to get all the stress and doubts out of my system, because I’d fully planned to enjoy the rest of today with Darcy. Besides, she thought she was too sore for more sex, but I was going to enjoy showing her there were ways to work around that soreness and still give her the orgasms she deserved.
26
DARCY
Dominic came back from his run and hopped straight in the shower. He left the door cracked open and had to know, but didn’t care, that I could see him stripping down. I was laying on the bed with my phone and had a straight shot of his firm ass and broad, tapered back. I could even see him scrubbing soap on his hard body in the shower for a little while until the glass fogged up.
I squirmed a little uncomfortably. I didn’t know it was possible to maintain such a constant level of arousal. I’d never come close to having sex like we had together. It was just… Different. Dominic seemed like he was completely in tune with every part of me. He knew when I was nearing the edge and he sadistically enjoyed bringing me right to the brink of orgasm and lingering there as long as he pleased.
He was also big. I could still feel the ache from where he’d taken me again and again. It wasn’t entirely unpleasant, but I really wasn’t sure I could handle him again today.
I was idly scrolling TikTok videos and watching one of a little kid who had an unusually strong love of corn–a food he described as a delicious lump with the knobs. I was grinning at the dumb video when an email came through from Jasmine. I tapped it and read the subject line, heart pounding.
Jasmine Marshall
Subject: Job Opportunity
Hey Darcy, I hope all is well. It turns out leaving The Squawker might have been the best decision I’ve ever made. Last week, I started working as a lead editor for The Union Coast. We just lost two long-time writers on my team to retirement and the bosses are looking for someone young and energetic with a strong work ethic. Sound like anyone you know?
Anyway, I think I can hold the position open for a couple weeks at most. The ladies who left knew they were on the way out for months, so they worked ahead and gave us some material to tide us over while we do a job search. It’s not completely up to me, but I’m sure I can get you in for an interview and I can put in a great word for you. Just let me know, okay?
I hope all is well with you (Just not so well that you don’t want to come join me!)
Xx
Jasmine
My heart hadn’t stopped pounding. I was laying there in bed like I’d just run a marathon–or at least like twenty steps with my cardiovascular system. My dad would’ve been over the freaking moon if I told him about this email. He’d have me doing mock interviews at the house immediately. He’d be calling all his friends to see if he could put in any additional good words for me.
I should’ve been thrilled, but…
Dominic came out from the bathroom wrapped in a towel with his hair wet. He used a smaller towel to rub his hair and leaned in the doorway, looking at me. “What is it?”
“Nothing!” I set the phone down beside me and tapped the power button to turn the screen off. “I was just waiting for you to finish.”
He nodded and came in to lay on top of the covers beside me. He stared ahead, jaw muscles ticking and brow furrowed.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked. “You look stressed.”
“I’m fine,” Dominic said.
“Okay.” I curled up beside him, resting my head on his bare shoulder and breathing in the scent of his freshly cleaned body. Something was definitely wrong, but I didn’t think pressing him on it was going to help get the truth out of him. “Hey,” I said. “I really want some pizza today. Pizza and a rom com. That would be the perfect day for me. Oh, and a box of wine.”
He turned, momentarily pulled from his funk to stare at me. “Pizza and rom com. Yeah, I get that part. But boxed wine? You realize I can afford to get the good stuff if you want it, right?”
“No,” I shook my head, smiling as I sat up cross legged on the bed beside him. “I want the cheapest, greasiest pizza we can find. And I want boxed wine. It’s what me and Charleston used to have on weekends back in high school.”
“You’re sure you two never fucked?” he asked.
Normally, I found myself getting annoyed quickly when guys were jealous. But with Dominic, it felt more like possessiveness than jealousy. He wasn’t so much worried that I would have feelings for another guy. It was more like he had decided I belonged to him and he wanted me all to himself. I could picture Elizabeth or Charleston debating me on how those two were basically the same thing, but they weren’t. I kinda liked feeling like I was his, so his question made me smile.
“You have nothing to worry about,” I said. “I may not know what this thing between us qualifies as, but I know I like it, okay? And even if you did have something to worry about, it definitely wouldn’t be from Charleston. He’s literally like a brother to me. There’s nothing there.”
Dominic held my gaze for a few moments, then nodded. He gently took my chin in his upturned hand, tilting my face up toward his. “I don’t know what we are, either. But I know I don’t want to share you. Understand?”
I nodded.
“Good girl.” Dominic kissed me softly, smiling with a sinister edge. “You’re mine until told otherwise.”
“Bossy,” I said, smiling back up at him.
“So why did you two drink boxed wine? Normal high schoolers steal beers or liquor.”
“My dad always kept a few boxes in the pantry for cooking. He said you couldn’t tell the difference between the boxed stuff and the good stuff once it cooks down. But it also meant he never really kept tabs on how much went missing, so Charleston and I had free dibs on as much as we could drink when my parents went out. We’d get drunk on the stuff, even though it always gave us headaches. We got this terrible greasy pizza from a local place and ate it right out of my bed while we watched old rom coms.”
“Threat or not, if I ever find you and this guy in your bed, he’s leaving through a window.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “We were kids. Charleston is an entrepreneurial badass now. We haven’t hung out like that in ages. Now we just meet for lunch when he can squeeze it in. In a public place,” I added.
“Good. Well, what kind of boxed wine do you want? I’ll go pick everything up.”
“I’ll come with you.”
“You stay here and rest.”
I grinned. “You fucked me really well last night, but I can walk, Dominic. Get over yourself.”
He chuckled. “I was thinking about your ankle, but fine. You’re still not going out with that on. I can see your nipples, and those are just for me.”
I looked down at the dress shirt he’d let me borrow. Sure enough, my nipples had been standing at attention ever since Dominic started talking like I belonged to him. “Okay, but my clothes from last night are dirty. We could swing by my place.”
“I’ll go. You wait here.”
I sighed. “Are you just dead set on going and fetching something for me? Is that what’s going on here?”
“Yes,” he said, smiling slightly. “So give me your keys and I’ll go pick you something out.”
I folded my arms. I couldn’t remember how much of a mess my place was, but I didn’t take Dominic for the type to be scared off by that sort of thing. I grabbed my bag from the nightstand and fished out my keys. I texted him my address and gave him a little smack on the ass to see him off.
Once I was alone in his place, I couldn’t help but imagine how strange it would be to actually be his girlfriend–to live in an apartment like this. I wondered if he’d expect me to lay around all day in sexy lingerie with the crotch cut out. Maybe he’d want me to feed him grapes while my perfectly curled hair dangled over his face. Or would he want me to get implants and lip filler so I could prance around his apartment like some kind of trophy prize?
I found myself grimacing. I had no reason to think Dominic would expect any of that, so why were the thoughts circling my brain? Was I looking for an excuse to run already?
I shifted uncomfortably. Running was what I did when it came to relationships, wasn’t it? I was more than happy to let things get started, but when the faintest whiff of commitment came up, I vanished faster than that werewolf guy from Twilight’s acting career. In high school I’d bailed on my first serious relationship when he started talking about whether I’d consider applying to the same colleges as him. In college, I’d had a little fun here and there, but I always ended up cutting things short when I had a big assignment coming up. Even after college, I’d been putting off relationships because I was too busy with The Squawker.
My dad had said you take care of yourself first and worry about everyone else later. That’s all I’d been doing. I picked at some of the threads on the shirt Dominic had given me but the damn thing was too fancy and none of them even came loose. I got up in a huff of sudden frustration and opened his fridge, not even knowing what I was looking for.
I found a jar of pickle spears and opened it up, snacking with a glazed over look on my face. I had a million-dollar view of the city. I was wearing my ridiculously hot boss’ shirt because he’d let me borrow it after fucking the living shit out of me. Hell, I was practically standing bare foot in one of my daydreams and I still couldn’t stop myself from wondering if this was all a mistake.
What was wrong with me?
27
DOMINIC
I didn’t usually eat greasy pizza, drink boxed wine, watch rom coms, or do any combination of the three in my bed. But there I was with a pizza box on my lap and a bendy slice of Darcy’s request–caramalized onions and ground beef–dangling from one hand. The acrid aftertaste of the boxed wine was in the back of my throat, and my TV screen was lit up with an attractive couple looking dreamily into each other ’s eyes in the middle of a snowstorm.
“What is this one called again?” I asked.
“Snowy With A Chance of Love,” Darcy said around a mouthful of food.
“Charming.” We were about halfway through the movie and it was everything I expected a rom com to be in the worst ways. The guy ran his family’s inn. It was a small mountain town and the girl was driving through to get to a wedding venue to marry a guy she had doubts about marrying. She stayed the night at the inn, got snowed in, and wound up having nobody for company except the handsome innkeeper and their fireside chats. We were at the part of the movie now where the snow storm was projected to clear the next day and her old life was calling.”
“I hate this part,” Darcy said.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because she’s going to be stupid and leave Salem behind at his inn. But she knows she loves him, not Harrison.”
“Hmm,” I said.
“What? You think she should go back to him? He was an absolute prick.”
“No. I don’t think she should. But I’m guessing this gives Salem a chance to make some grand gesture to win her back, right?”
“Of course it does, but she should’ve just stayed. They both know it’s right.”
“People are stupid,” I said with a shrug. “And from my experience, they are the dumbest when something good is staring them right in the face.”
Darcy had been about to take a bite of her pizza, but she gave me a funny look, hesitating with it in her hand.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.” She wolfed down the rest of the pizza and sat back, dusting the crumbs from her hands over my comforter.
As predicted, the movie ended with an over-the-top race to stop the wedding from Harrison and somehow managed to make Darcy tear up, even though she claimed to have seen it half a dozen times already.
I took our trash to the kitchen and left Darcy on the bed with a balled up tissue and a longing look in her eyes. What was it about women wanting tragedy to preceed their happiness? Would it be so bad to simply find the right person and skip all the drama?
I shoved the remains of our pizza in the fridge.
People didn’t work like that, though, did they? People were messy and stupid and short-sighted. Maybe tragedy always came before the best love stories because if the feelings were strong enough, it was impossible to be smart. People in love did stupid things, I guessed.
I caught a glimpse of Darcy on my bed from the kitchen. The white light of the screen was flickering across her features and the wall behind her. She saw me and gave a tearful smile and double thumbs up. I smiled back and something inside me felt like it moved–something in a place where I hadn’t felt anything move in a very long time. I wanted to go over there and put my arms around her–to tell her I’d never make her cry like that movie did. I wanted to protect her from everything that might ever hurt her feelings.
I desperately wanted to cling to whatever was growing between us, but I wanted to promise myself I wouldn’t sacrifice everything I’d worked for, also.
Tomorrow, I had to go back to work. Tomorrow, we both went back to the real world. We went back to The Squawker. But this time, my father was going to be there.
If I knew the man at all, he was going to fuck everything up.
28
DARCY
I was still riding the high of my weekend with Dominic when I got back to work. There was a pleasant buzz at the back of my mind and smiles were coming easier than they should’ve. Elizabeth picked up on it almost immediately when we ran into each other coming in the lobby of the building. The building was still used as apartments on the first floor, even though I’d heard rumors that Dominic, Marcus, and Tristan were making plans to buy the whole place out and expand the space. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. It would be like my little family turning into some kind of circus act.
“How many?” Elizabeth asked casually as we waited for the elevator.
“How many what?” I asked.
“Orgasms. How many orgasms did he give you this weekend?”
I glared at her.
“Don’t be mad that I can see right through you, dude. You’re fucking glowing. How many was it, like fifty?”
Something like that, I thought. But I shook my head at her, feeling guilty. I’d told her if there was anything to tell about me and Dominic, I’d tell her. Instead, I found myself reflexively lying. “If any orgasms came, they were at my own hands. Okay?”
“Well, good for you, then. Self care is the best kind of care. That’s what my grandma always said, at least, and now I’m wondering if my sweet little Grandma Bobo was diddling her dingleberry every night at the retirement home.” Elizabeth looked distant for a moment, then shivered. “I hope she washed her hands regularly.”
We stepped into the elevator. “So did you hear Dominic’s dad is supposed to be here today?” I asked.
“What? No. Where did you hear that?”
Stupid. If I was going to be a shitty friend and a liar, I needed to do a better job of not letting privileged information slip. “Oh, I’m not sure,” I said. “Maybe in the break room last week?”
