Chapter 42
“Edward. What’s goin’ on, man?”
Edward had never liked hearing Joseph’s voice as much as he did in that moment.
“It’s good to hear from you.”
“What do you mean? I’m a call away. You know that. What’s going on? You okay, man?”
“No, not really. I need to get out of here.”
“Mi casa es su casa. When are you gonna make that a reality anyway? I know a lot of people down here that are asking about you. You are missed, my friend.”
“I think I am going to pack up and head out by tomorrow.”
“Good to hear, good to hear. Listen, I’ll be waiting. Let me know when you break out of there.”
“Will do. Thanks, Joseph.”
“You got it.”
Edward spent most of the afternoon preparing to leave Oxford for good. He was ready to go back to his normal life. It might not be the happiest life, but at least it was stable and he knew who he was supposed to be. He picked up the bracelet Eva made for him and gave him the day at the park. He ran his fingertips over the woven material and felt her aura flow through him.
We were so right together, he thought, clenching his jaw. He looked at the image in the mirror and tried finding himself looking back.
“I don’t know how to let go of you, Eva.”
He turned away when tears threatened to surface as if he couldn’t allow his image to see his vulnerability. He pulled his clothes from the dresser and started to put them into his suit case. He stopped, his hands pulling out the jeans he bought in Paris. He grabbed the white t-shirts, the jacket and everything else he purchased there. Looking down into his almost empty suitcase, he clenched the pile of clothes he held, then walked to the trash can and dropped them in.
When he crashed on the couch just after midnight, he had the terminated lease on his desk, ready to hand to the landlord, he had the car rental agreement and a check for the amount due to be turned in once he arrived back in Brighton, and he had the key ready to be put back in the mailbox as instructed by the landlord. He wanted to leave as soon as he was ready, but he knew he wouldn’t make the two-and-a-half-hour drive without sleep threatening him.
As soon as the sun peeked into his window, he was up and out the door.
Brighton had never looked so good to him. Six months away from everything he knew was too long and to Edward, it felt like years. He let himself into his apartment and took a few minutes to look around. He left Joseph in charge of keeping it up while he was away and surprisingly, he didn’t use it for his own party pad, or at least it didn’t look like he did anyway.
After a long shower and a quick look in the mirror, Edward was beginning to see his old self again. He didn’t quite feel the part, but the surroundings and business suit helped.
After he took care of the car rental, he popped into Joseph’s office unannounced.
“Hey, hey, hey! Look who it is.” Joseph stood up and slammed his hand into Edward’s. He pulled him in and bear hugged him. “Let me take a look at you. Make sure you still have all your working parts and this girl didn’t steal more than your heart on you.” Joseph said with a serious attitude. “You okay, man?”
Edward nodded. “Yeah. I’m good. It’s good to be back. This is what I need. I guess I never should have left. Everything still looks in tact. That’s a good thing.”
“You expect anything different? Man, wait til I show you the new company. You are going to flip.”
By the end of the week, Edward was brought up to speed on everything and working diligently as if he had never left.
“I like these numbers,” he said as he went through the monthly report. This all happened since you started the company?”
“Naw man, this all happened this month.”
“Are you kidding?”
Joseph shook his head, a smile on his face.
“At this rate, the new company will be bigger than Caldwell and Johnson by the end of the year.”
“That’s what I am banking on.”
“I’ve got some great ideas in a few of the areas I saw some weakness in. I want to schedule a meeting and go over them. I’ll work on the details over the weekend so we can start fresh Monday morning.”
“Oh, no you don’t,” Joseph said, shaking his head.
“What?”
“You aren’t wasting your first weekend back, working. I have plans for you.”
“Joseph. No. I’m not up to….”
“It’s not negotiable,” he interrupted. “You have no choice in the matter. I have it all set up.”
“What do you have set up? Don’t tell me you set me up with someone?”
“I did exactly that. She’s sweet. Trust me, you’ll like her.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.”
“It’s time for you to get back into the swing of things whether you like it or not.”
Edward smiled, knowing his best friend, and knowing he wasn’t going to win the fight. “When are you picking me up?”
“That’s better. Be ready by nine.”
Edward worked as long as he could, knowing full well that if he went back to his apartment until they went out, he would dwell on things he didn’t need to dwell on. He wished he could forget about the last six months of his life, but knew it was impossible. Second best thing to do was to stay busy so he didn’t think about the best thing in his life that he lost.
By nine o’clock sharp, he was reading a text from Joseph asking him if he was ready to go. He walked out of his apartment to a waiting red Lamborghini, the engine revving it’s V12 impressively. He climbed in and let Joseph whisk him away to the bar scene he hadn’t been in since he left over six months ago.
“I see nothing has changed,” said Edward when they walked into The Pryzm. The first group of women they walked toward started ogling them and thrusting their hips out to show off their barely there outfits.
“Hellooo, ladies.” Joseph kept his eyes on them the whole way by.
“Nothing at all,” reiterated Edward, shaking his head.
“Grab us a couple of drinks. I’ll get us a table and look around for our dates.”
“Who are we supposed to be meeting here anyway?” Edward asked, nonchalantly. He didn’t really care who they were. He was just playing the part, half hoping his date was as disinterested as he was and he could gracefully bow out early. Joseph could have said they were meeting Jack and Olaff and Edward would have nodded and smiled, agreeing that they would all have a good time. He felt like he was just there, going through the motions.
Edward ordered two beers and paid the bartender well before setting off to find Joseph. When he finally found him in another part of the bar, he was quite busy with a woman in a very short and very form fitting red dress.
“Ahem.” Edward cleared his throat loudly after setting the beers on the table and smiling awkwardly at the woman with her arms crossed. She obviously felt out of place as her girlfriend accepted Joseph’s entire tongue into her mouth. “That… is my friend, Joseph, right?” he asked the woman.
“I hope so, otherwise Ruby is making out with the wrong guy,” she smiled.
“I’m Edward,” he said, holding his hand out formally.
“Hi. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Bethany.” She walked around the table and stood next to him.
“What brings you out tonight?”
“Not small talk.” She slid her hand up Edward’s arm and cozied up to him, much like women did when they wanted him for what was inside his pants rather than what was inside his mind.
Just go through the motions, Edward. It’s nothing more than a good fuck. You are used to this. Just go with it.
“Well then. Why don’t you come a little closer? Let’s see what we can accomplish.”
He was surprised at how easily it was to switch back into Edward The-Ladies- Man Caldwell. The only difference this time was the anger and vengeance he held in his heart.
He let his cock lead him through the night as the bartender set up another round of drinks. That and a few shots in between, got Edward feeling a little too good for his own good. His date reminded him too much of Eva, with the same color hair and complexion Eva had. She was nowhere close to her in attitude but that, along with the alcohol caused him to speed things up and get what he wanted.
“Drink up, darlin’,” he said as he pulled her body into his. He leaned down into her ear and whispered, “It’s time to fuck.”
Eva would have slapped a man for saying something so vulgar to her like that. Bethany giggled and wiggled her perfectly sculpted twenty-two-year-old body as she downed her mixed cocktail so fast it ran down her chin and dripped onto her chest.
“Let me get that,” he said, and he leaned in, licking the alcohol from her tanned skin as she giggled some more.
The bartender delivered a bottle of whiskey to the table as requested by Edward and he downed his beer after giving her his credit card.
“Pay the tab,” he said. He looked at Joseph and watched as his tongue found its way around Ruby quite nicely. As soon as his card was returned to him, he grabbed the bottle and took Bethany by the hand, pulling her away from the table.
“Let’s get out of here.”