Chapter 10
I wake up to find Colin’s arm still around me, and I can feel the rising and falling of his chest against my back. I moan, realizing how sore I am all over, but I’m also totally relaxed, like I’ve just received the best full-body massage of my life.
“Good morning,” Colin whispers. “Are you awake?”
“Yeah,” I whisper back. “Are you?”
He chuckles and pulls his arm away. I mewl in disappointment, so he puts it back, laughing some more. “We have to get up, baby.”
“No we don’t. Never getting up.”
He kisses the back of my neck, then sits up. “We can get brunch if you get up.”
That does sound tempting, but not enough. “Nope. I’m too comfortable.”
“Oh, well why didn’t you just say so?” Colin gets up and rips the blanket off us in one pull, exposing me to the room’s cool air. I’m wearing my panties but am otherwise still nude.
“Oh, God, what the hell?” I shout, covering my chest, but I can’t say it without laughing. Colin hops back on the bed and begins tickling my sides. I howl uncontrollably and escape by hurling myself out of the bed. “I can’t believe you did that!”
He holds his hands in the air with his fingers crooked. “Oh, I’m not done.”
With a scream, I jump back in bed and cover myself in the blanket. Trying to ward off his hands, I laugh so hard I don’t hear a knocking coming from the door until it sounds like a battering ram.
“Colin Legend! Open the goddamn door!”
My blood runs cold. I know the voice.
“What the hell? Who’s there?” Colin asks.
“It’s my father,” I say, scanning the room frantically for my dress.
“Legend, open up! I know you’re in there with Susie. Get out here, now!”
“How did he get in here?” Colin mumbles, quickly getting dressed. I get the impression it’s not the first time he’s been in this kind of situation. “And I hate to ask this, but does he own a gun?”
I snort. “No. But I haven’t heard him this angry before, so…”
He kisses me, a quick peck on the cheek, and says, “Even if he shoots me, this was worth it, okay? I just want you to know.”
I’m not sure if he’s kidding.
“All right, all right,” he yells, then swings open the heavy, oak door. My dad is really there, and he looks furious. Thankfully, he’s not armed.
“Susie, get dressed,” he says. “Colin, a word.”
“Daddy, what are you doing here? Colin and I-”
“Stop,” he interrupts. “I’m not mad at you.”
“Gee thanks, dad!” I snarl, my heart racing.
Dad doesn’t rise to match my vitriol. “We’ll talk on the way home.”
“Whatever.”
Colin shuts the door behind him as he exits. As I put on my dress, I listen as hard as I can. Though my dad is barking loud, the walls are so thick I can’t make out the words. I don’t hear Colin shouting back. He’s much more composed than me. I don’t think I’ve ever been angrier in my life.
Why is Dad even here?
It didn’t make sense to me. While I understand Colin wants to do business with him, it’s not like I’ve had anything to do with it. I hadn’t even told dad who I am seeing. And how did he even get into the building in the first place? Colin has as much security as I do.
After a few minutes, my dad opens the door and hands me my coat and purse. “Let’s go,” he says.
Colin is standing, watching us as I’m ushered away. “Susie, I love you,” he says. “I’ll see you soon.”
I try to turn around, but Dad stands in my way, blocking my path and sight. “I love you, too!” I shout back, stumbling over my own feet. “Goddammit, Dad, this is ridiculous!”
“Not now, Susie. Come on.”
We ride down the elevator in angry silence. It’s not until Packer has us on the road home that either of us speak.
“How did you get into his place?” I ask.
“I told his staff we had a meeting and that no one was told in order to prevent leaks to the press,” Dad explains. He grins, a little proud of himself.
“Real slick,” I grouse. “You didn’t have to do that. You could have just called me.”
“No, I had to see Mr. Legend, and what I had to say had to be said in person. Susie, I want to make this clear: whatever you and he were up to, that’s your choice. You’re an adult. But it’s my job to try to keep you from making mistakes, and Colin Legend is without a doubt a big mistake.”
“How can you say that? You don’t even know him. I’ve been seeing him a lot-”
“You met him less than two weeks ago, Susie,” he cuts in.
“But we’ve gone out, like, every day since then. The only people I know better are you and Allison, okay?”
Dad shakes his head. “I just don’t think you know him as well as you think.”
I can barely stand to look at my dad right now, so I turn to look out the window at the traffic.
“I know he came to my charity so that he could try to get an advantage with you. He confessed to that.”
Dad nods. “Interesting. Good for him. I wouldn’t have thought. But even then, he’s still trying to land this deal with me, and I find it hard to believe he didn’t have that in the back of his mind the whole time.”
“Maybe,” I admit. “But I know what we have is real. You’ll see.”
“Yeah, maybe. Do you want to know what I told him?”
I roll my eyes. “Sure.”
Dad waits until I turn back to give him my full attention. “I gave Colin Legend a choice,” he says. “I would offer his company the deal, but only if he stayed away from you.”
“That is not fair,” I seethe. “There is no good reason one should have anything to do with the other.”
Now Dad starts to lose his calm. “No, there’s a really good reason, Susie: you. I’ve dealt with men like Legend my whole career. They use people, they act selfishly. They care more about business than people. I’ve been worried since the day you were born that you would end up with someone like him.”
“Colin is not like that. He’s made mistakes in the past, he told me. He’s wanted to have it all, and it didn’t work out. This time will be different.”
“Susie, I hope you’re right.” He reaches for my hand, and I let him take it. He gives it a mild squeeze, and his face softens. “I just don’t want you to get hurt. For your sake, I really do hope I’m wrong about him.”
I inhale deeply and let it out. “Thanks,” I say. It’s true, he always watches out for me. I’m sure in his mind I’m still a little girl, but I certainly don’t feel like one. Not anymore.
“Either way, we’ll know soon. I told him to think about it and call tomorrow. And if I was wrong, you can gloat about it relentlessly.”
I give him a weak smile, then turn. Gloating sounds good… but what if he’s right?
—
After going home to clean up and change, I take a ride to the center. I debate texting Colin, but I decide against it. As angry as I still am at my father, I do want to wait and see. I want to give Colin the chance to make the right decision on his own.
At the center, I see the finished bookshelves he made the day before. After everything that’s happened, yesterday feels like weeks ago. Still, the shelves are bare; the staff has been too busy to unload the boxes of books.
I open one of the boxes and breathe in the aroma. It smells of old books, of course, but also of Colin. Maybe that last part is just my imagination. I don’t know, but I don’t care, either. The center is mostly empty, so I get to work unpacking the boxes.
Searching through his collection, I imagine him reading each of the books. He has an incredible variety — in one box I find biographies of great historical leaders, and in another there’s hundreds of number one bestsellers from the past twenty years. Together, they paint a fascinating picture of who he is. I can understand why he’d want to read Sun Tzu’s “Art of War,” but then also everything from The Da Vinci Code to The Notebook.
While I work, I text with Allison, updating her on the situation.
I get it, she writes. If he was only with you to help his business, you have the right to know.
But we’ve been through this, I reply. I already know it’s not what he wanted.
There’s a long delay before I hear back from her, but finally she says it: And what if he got what he wanted last night?
Remembering what it was like, I realize that this is the least of my fears.
Oh, he got what he wanted. Now he’s coming back for more.
Giving Allison the dirty details, I relive every second of the experience. I can remember everything, and doing so stokes my desire. Feeling myself through my yoga pants, I groan a little, then force myself to stop.
God, what’s wrong with me?
There’s nobody around, but I still feel paranoid. Not wanting to stop, though, I call for a ride. A member of Packer’s staff picks me up and drives me back, and all through the ride, I force myself not to think of Colin.
I refuse to recall the way his sculpted body looked in the candle light.
I will myself not to feel the way his cock felt when it entered me again and again.
I do not acknowledge the heat in my core that rises up when I saw him in bed next to me smiling, or when his lips pressed hard against mine.
Nope. I don’t think of any of that.
—
I barely sleep that night, unable to stop thinking about Colin and what he’ll do the next day. While I know he told me he would pick me if forced to choose, being put to the test will reveal who he really is — and my dad is right about me really not knowing him for very long.
Doubts creep in, despite telling myself I need to sleep.
What if Dad and Allison are right?
Then an even worse idea invades and refuses to let go: what if Colin chooses the deal, and then Dad actually goes into business with him? How could he do something like that?
Maybe Dad will back out of the deal if Colin doesn’t choose me, I reason. I don’t think Dad would do that to me, would he? So does Colin realize this? Does he realize that if he tries to have it all, he could wind up with nothing?
And what if this is it for me and Colin? What if he doesn’t choose me, and then I’m back to square one when it comes to men. Sure, I won’t be a virgin anymore, but that doesn’t mean I want to start dating just anybody. I’m still not going to date any Kens or Daniels. But if I have to add Colins to that list, what will it take to find a decent man?
Thankfully, I manage to drift off sometime in the night. I wake up to my cell phone ringing.
“Hey Dad,” I say. I’m groggy only for a second, then everything that happened yesterday comes back to me. “What’s going on?”
“I’m on my way over. I’ll bring breakfast. What would you like?”
“Blueberry bagel with light cream cheese and a large coffee.”
“OK, see you soon,” he says.
Twenty minutes later, he arrives as promised.
“Dad, what’s going on?” I ask as he sets our breakfasts down on my kitchen table. “What are you doing here so early?”
He laughs and looks at his phone. “Susie, it’s half past 11.”
“Yeah. On a Sunday.”
Sighing, he breaks the seal on a bottle of fresh-squeezed orange juice. “Look, I feel bad about what happened yesterday. I expect we’re going to hear from Mr. Legend today, and if things don’t turn out the way you’d like, I just wanted to be here to… try and make things better, if I can.”
“Thanks, Daddy,” I reply. He means well, at least.
We put on The History Channel while we eat but I can’t get into it. My mind is elsewhere.
Anything yet? Allison texts.
No.
I catch Dad checking his phone once in a while, and his enthusiasm slips away each time. As if he knows a bomb is going to drop, and there’s no time to get away.
So when his phone finally does ring, we both shoot up out of our seats.
Dad holds his finger to his lips, then answers it. “Hello, this is Leonard Lexington.”
“Mr. Lexington, it’s Colin Legend.” The voice comes out over the speakerphone, and I nod to my dad, hand over my mouth.
“Mr. Legend. I can guess the nature of your call. Tell me what you’ve decided.”
I quietly lower myself onto the couch, then lie down and bury my head in a pillow.
“Fine. From one business owner to another, I’m sure you understand that as the CEO, I have a fiduciary responsibility to my company and shareholders to secure new sources of income and deliver on the goals set forth by me and my board of directors. An arrangement for wide media distribution would prove very beneficial to my company and its clients.”
Oh, God. Tears start forming as my stomach lurches.
Colin continues, “So, in making my decision, I was forced to weigh my own interests against those of hundreds of employees and investors, and I ultimately concluded that, unfortunately, I may cause some people I care about to feel they’ve been betrayed.”
This can’t be happening.
“Mr. Legend, I understand the position I’ve put you in, but I hope you understand I had to consider the well-being of my daughter,” Dad says.
“Of course, Mr. Lexington. I agree with you, and that is why I have decided to formally withdraw my offer to do business with you at this time. I will seek new distribution channels elsewhere, and I wish you the best of luck in future endeavors.”
Wait, what? I twist around on the couch and sit up. Did I just hear…?
My dad has the same reaction. “Mr. Legend, does that mean…?”
“That’s right, Leonard. I choose Susie. She means too much to me. I love her.”
“Colin!” I shout. “I love you, too!”
“Susie?” he asks, his voice cracking. “You’re there?”
“Yes!” Now the tears are coming, but I couldn’t be happier. I turn to my father. “I told you so! I freaking told you!”
Colin laughs, and even Dad smiles sheepishly. “Yes, I guess so. But Mr. Legend, what are you going to tell your board? They might just sue you for this.”
“So what? They can sue me, they can remove me as CEO, they can try and take away my board seat — none of that matters, as long as I can be with Susie.”
Dad sighs and paces back and forth. “The press is going to go to town on this, you know.”
“I’m used to it,” Colin replies.
I grin like a conspirator and think about the tawdry headlines. Whatever. “I don’t care, either,” I add.
Seeing the wide smile on my face, Dad sits down next to me on the couch. “If this is what you want, I support you, honey.”
I hold open my arms for a hug. “Thanks, Daddy. You’ll see, Colin’s great.”
“I promise, sir, I’ll treat her right,” Colin says.
Dad clears his throat. “You better, Mr. Legend.”