Chapter 13 – Blake
I stayed back in the hotel suite pacing back and forth. I had wanted to go with Talia to her meeting so badly, but I didn't want to hovering over here while she was handling her business. I was happy that she had wanted me to come along at all, so I didn't want to make her regret her decision by crowding her space.
But, that didn't keep me from worrying about her. It was late and anything could happen to a single woman in the city.
I kept checking my phone to see if she had tried calling me. Nothing. I dialed Jensen's number just to make sure that my phone was still working.
"Hello?" he answered, sleepily.
"Hey, Jensen," I said, sheepishly. "I'm just checking to make sure that my phone is working. I'm in town for a bit."
"Yeah, I heard," he said. "Everything alright? You sound a little worried."
"No, I'm fine," I said. "I'm just sitting at the hotel right now."
Jensen was silent.
"By yourself?"
"Yeah," I answered.
"What happened to Talia?" I could hear him beginning to worry. That was the last thing that I wanted, for him to come rushing out in the middle of the night because he was worried about me being worried.
"No, everything is fine," I said, not wanting to get into the details. "I just haven't been landside in quite some time and hadn't used this line. I just wanted to make sure that it was working. Thanks, Jensen. Have a good night. I'll call you tomorrow."
I hung up and sunk down into an arm chair.
Relax, I told myself, rubbing my temples. I knew that I was overreacting. I clicked on the TV to see what was going on in the world. That probably wasn't the best idea because the first thing that appeared on the screen was a news report of a woman who had been found after being lost for a week. It was showing a team of police officers removing her mangled body from a forest preserve where her body had been recovered. I shuddered.
Just as I got ready to change the channel, Talia came barrelling through the door, her makeup smeared. She had been crying and was visibly upset.
"What a fucking asshole!" she yelled, throwing down her purse and collapsing onto the couch. She started crying so hard that I thought that she was going to choke.
"Whoa! What's going on? What's wrong? What happened?" Even though I had been worried that something was going to happen, I had hoped that everything would have been okay. I immediately felt guilty for letting her leave without me.
She sat up, still crying, trying to calm herself so that she could tell me what had happened.
"For some reason, my friend Allison decided to tell everyone about our arrangement. Well, Harvey caught wind of it and decided that, since I had sold myself to you, that I must be for sale so he made a pass at me. When I refused him, he called his assistant and told her to throw my paintings in the alley and said that I'm no longer going to be in the showcase."
After she finished talking, she let out the most gut-wrenching cries that I had ever heard. I was so furious. I wanted to find Harvey and make him feel every bit of the pain that she was feeling. Men like him disgusted me. They were so hellbent on having their own way that when they couldn't get it, they reacted like toddlers having temper tantrums.
"Stay here," I told her, grabbing my coat and walking toward the door. "I'm going to go have a heart-to-heart with Harvey. I'm sure he'll have a change of heart."
"No, don't do that," said Talia, jumping up and standing in front of me, her eyes full of fear. "He is a very powerful man and could make real trouble for you. I would hate for you to have to pay for what's going on with me. You have a great job and I would hate for you to lose it."
For a minute, I was confused. Then, I remembered the story that I had told her about me being an employee on the island.
I needed to tell her the truth. But, when I opened my mouth to speak, she burst out into tears all over again.
"I just can't believe how close I came to finally having my dreams come true. And to have it all snatched away all because he looked at me as some sort of whore. I...just...I don't know what to think about any of it. I feel so stupid, like I've thrown away my entire life. My reputation is shit now. I will forever be the whore of the art community."
The heart-wrenching tears that wracked her entire frame was enough to send me into a rage. I wanted to find Harvey and rip him to shred piece by piece. I wanted him to suffer the way that she was suffering, but worse. He shouldn't be able to make her feel like this. And it made me feel powerless to help her.
"Let's get you undressed and into bed," I told her, moving to wrap my arms around her.
"Don't you get it?" she said, pulling away from me. "My art career is probably over and it hasn't even really began. And all you can think about is getting into bed?"
She gave me the most disgusted look and turned and walked in the direction of the bathroom.
"I meant to get you into bed for you to rest," I told her evenly. "There's no sense in losing sleep over this prick. Let's get ready for bed, relax, try to enjoy our stay in this nice suite, and then figure things out in the morning."
She nodded, her bottom lip trembling as she fought back more tears. I could tell that she was trying to be brave and it made me admire her strength even more. I went to the bathroom and ran a hot bath for her. The steam from the tub filled the bathroom and made it hot. Once the tub was full, I led her to the bathroom, undressed her, and told her to get into the tub. She did so wordlessly, with a very sullen look on her face. I grabbed the bar of soap and washed her slowly, letting the water cascade from her shoulders. She sighed heavily, leaning her head back inviting the streams of hot water that were flowing down her chest and back.
"Can you get in with me?" she asked. Without hesitation, I nodded, slipped out of my clothes, and got into the tub with her. The water felt warm and comforting. I held her in my arms as she leaned against my chest.
"I'm sorry," I said after a while, not quite knowing what else to say.
"It's not your fault," she said. "But, thank you. You have been exactly what I have needed. Thank you for being here for me."
I kissed the side of her neck tenderly. I wanted her to feel the depth of my feelings for her. We sat in the tub until our fingers got all wrinkled and then got out. We didn't bother putting clothes on, but we dried off and climbed into bed, burrowing down together into the thick down comforters.
"I just wish that I could have been appreciate for my art," she said sadly. She was so talented. That was obvious. But, beyond that, she was passionate about her art. One of my favorite things about watching her create art was seeing how it lit her up from the inside out. It was magnetic. I wanted her to keep that always. But, hearing the uneasiness in her voice, like she wasn't sure if she was good enough, broke my heart. I could tell that, despite her talent, she doubted herself. I felt like she had turned a corner in that regard by finishing the pieces. And now, after one interaction with this asshole, all of that was coming apart. It was such a shame.
She cried long, hard sobs against my chest. I didn't say anything. I just held her, slowly rubbing her back, sheltering her in my arms. I wished that I could take the pain away from her. I wanted to see nothing but smiles on her face all of the time. That had been my driving force for the past few months in having her on the island. At first, it was just about me and wanting sex and companionship. But, it changed. I started wanting to see that fire grow within her. And I felt like it had started to flourish.
I was determined to bring back that fire and make it even bigger.
While I held her there in the hotel suite, listening to her sobs turn into whines and then watching her slowly drift off to sleep, I became determined to make sure that that smile never left her face. I wasn't quite sure how I was going to do that, but my mind went to work to put together a plan to make it happen.
Talia would have the joy that she deserved, even if it was the last thing that I would do.