Seducing My Assistant (8 page)

“You told him where you going?”

“No.” I shook my head.

“So how did he know where to find you?” He looked suspicious.

“I have no idea.” I bit down on my lower lip trying to remember if I’d told him anything about the location or the address by mistake. “I honestly have no idea.”

“Can I come in?” Shane said and I watched as he entered the house without waiting for an answer, a big bouquet of flowers in his hand. “There you are, Eliza.” He said with a huge smile as he saw me. He rushed over to me and swooped me into his arms. “I’ve missed you.”

“What?” I looked at him like he was crazy. “What are you doing here? And how did you know I was here?”

“I just had to see you again. I couldn’t be without you.” He gave me a loving look. “You know how I feel about you?”

“Shane, I told you I would speak to you next week. How did you know where I was?” My voice was angry and I could see Scott, Lacey and Henry staring at the two of us intently.

“Eliza, I love you. I want to marry you.” Shane pulled a ring out of his pocket and my jaw dropped as my heart sank.

“What?” Both Lacey and I exclaimed at the same time.

“I know, I know, this is a surprise, but I don’t want to spend another day without you. We’ve been apart for too many years now. I just need to be with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, like we promised each other all those years ago.”

“Shane, are you crazy?” I stared at him in shock. “And stop changing the subject, how did you know where I was?”

“I turned on the location services on your phone when I put my number in.”

“What?” I asked him. “You what?”

“It’s a GPS tracker.” He shrugged. “I figured if we’re going to be married then we should be able to know where we are at all times.”

“Shane, you’re crazy. You can’t just do that.” I shook my head at him, my voice rising. “And we’re not getting married. Look, I don’t know what you want or why you’re really here, but you’re freaking me out. This is too much, Shane. You’re acting crazy.”

“What are you trying to say, Eliza?” His tone changed and he sounded angry.

“I’m not trying to say anything. I’m saying that I’m not interested in you. I don’t want to be with you. You just need to leave me alone.”

“You said you would love me forever.” Shane said, his face all screwed up. “You told me that your greatest wish was to marry me.”

“We were teenagers when I said that Shane. Things have changed. You left me. You told me you never loved me. A lot has happened since then.” I sighed. “I’m sorry, but you can’t seriously think that I would just go back to the way things were, can you?”

“You stupid bitch.” His eyes narrowed as he looked at me. ‘You stupid lying bitch.”

I stared at him in shock, the vehemence in his eyes scaring me.

“You need to leave, now.” Scott said, his voice angry as he glared at Shane. “You need to leave and never come back again. And you need to leave Elizabeth alone as well.”

“Shut up.” Shane looked at him dismissively. “You fool, you have no idea what Elizabeth is capable of. She’ll break your heart as well.”

“Dude, I think it’s time to leave.” Henry spoke up now, his eyes dark and intent as he walked over to Shane. “This is my house and you’re not welcome.”

“Just leave, Shane.” Lacey spoke up, her face red as she glared at Shane. “Why can’t you just leave her alone? You broke her heart once. Why are you trying to do it again?”

“You know what, Lacey?’ Shane looked at her with a look of pity.

“What?”

“You’re the one I feel most sorry for. You’re the real victim here?”

“Excuse me?” She looked confused.

“You’ve always been such a good friend to Eliza, but she’s stabbed you in the back just as she’s stabbed me in the back.” He looked over at me and shook his head in disgust. “You really are a good actress, aren’t you, Eliza? You slut.”

“That’s it.” Henry grabbed him by the shoulder. “You need to leave.”

“Yeah. I’m going.” Shane shook Henry’s hand off of him and looked back at Lacey. “Looks like you’ve got a good one here, Lacey. A caring rich one.” He paused and chuckled. “You better watch your back. You don’t want Eliza to try and get him as well.” My stomach sunk at his words and he turned to look at me with a malicious stare. “I’m sure you’ll try and get your hooks into him as well, right? Maybe this time, the baby scare will be real.” And with that he turned around and walked out of the door, the flowers on the ground and silence filling the room.

“Well that was interesting.” Henry said as he closed the door behind Shane. “Are you okay, Elizabeth?”

“I’m okay.” I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I nodded, but I was determined not to cry. I looked over at Lacey who looked confused and she gave me a comforting smile.

“Do you want to talk?” She walked over to me and put her arms around me. “He really is a crazy bitter one, isn’t he?” She rubbed my back and I felt my throat catch. She really had no idea as to what was going on or what had gone on. I felt sick to my stomach, but I knew now was not the time to have a long conversation.

“Not now.” I shook my head at her. “I’m going to go to bed. You should go have that walk with Henry.”

“Ugh.” She made a face and I winked at her.

“Go and have some fun.”

“Are you sure you’re going to be okay?” She looked concerned.

“I’ll be fine.” I nodded. “I just need to talk to Scott. I need to explain stuff to him.” I sighed. “He most probably thinks I’m crazy.”

“I’m right here and I don’t think you’re crazy.” He came up behind me and I felt his hand on my back. “But yes, I would like to have that talk now, if you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind.” I laughed a little manically and looked back at him. “You deserve to hear some backstory as to everything. “I’ll be okay.” I said as I looked back at Lacey. “I promise.”

“Okay.” She smiled. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I said and gave her a big hug. “You’re the best friend a girl could have.”

“So are you.” She said and hugged me tight and that was when the first tears fell from my eyes. They fell because I knew in that moment that only one of us was right. She was the best friend I could ever have, but I was pretty sure that I wasn’t the best friend that she deserved.

Chapter Seven

Scott

I closed the door to the bedroom and watched as Elizabeth walked over to the bed and took a seat, tears streaming down her face. I stood there for a few moments, not sure what to say or what to do. I was still so confused and angry at Shane showing up. I felt like I was in the middle of a daytime soap opera and I had no idea exactly what was going on.

“Are you okay?” I walked over to her and sat on the bed next to her, worried that she wasn’t going to want to talk anymore. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could go through this craziness without getting any real answers from her.

“I’m overwhelmed.” She shook her head and I watched as she played with her hair before wiping her eyes. “You must think my life is a crazy mess.”

“No.” I lied as I gazed at her, not wanting to admit that that was exactly what I thought. “Well, maybe a little bit, but don’t worry about it. You’ve met my family members. Your life is no more crazy than any of the other Taylor’s. We all have craziness going on. I mean you worked for Aiden, you know what I mean.”

“Yeah.” She gave me a small smile. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better.” She reached over and squeezed my hand. “I guess I should start at the beginning.”

“If you want.” I sat back and loosened my tie. “Do you mind if I take my clothes off?”

“Of course not, I want you to be comfortable.” She shook her head. “I’ll put on some pajamas as well.”

“You don’t have to put on any clothes.” I winked at her and then froze. “Not that I just want to see you naked or anything. I care about more than just your body.” I added on awkwardly, hoping she wasn’t going to get moody and flip out on me again.

“I know.” She gave me a small smile. “Trust me, Scott. I know. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have flipped out earlier. It was a gut reaction related to my overall feelings of tension and insecurity. It really wasn’t because of you. I promise.”

“If you’re sure.” I said hesitantly as I took my shirt off.

“I’m sure.” She nodded and I watched as she pulled her top off and then pulled on a tank top. She rummaged in her bag for a pair of shorts and I watched as she changed, loving the way her body moved as she got ready. She finally made her way back onto the bed and crossed her legs and looked at me. She rubbed her fingers against her forehead and let out a few deep sighs and then cleared her throat. “So I guess everything really starts back at the beginning.” She spoke softly, her voice catching. “I don’t want to be one of those clichés. I’ve never wanted to be one, but I suppose I am.”

“Elizabeth, you could never be a cliché to me.” I walked over to her and pulled her off of the bed and into my arms. “I know we don’t know each other super well yet. And I know you’ve been hurt in your life, but I promise you that I would never think you’re a cliché. I understand we all have a past. And some of us have had worse experiences than others. Please don’t think I would ever look down on you for that.” It broke my heart to see fresh tears forming in her eyes at my words. I wish I knew what to say to take her pain away. I wish I knew what I could do to let her know that I was here for her, no matter what. Even if we didn’t end up together. I wish I knew how to tell her that she mattered to me. Really mattered to me. And her happiness was all I cared about. I wasn’t sure how to formulate the right words, so I just held her to me. I held her to me as tightly as I could, hoping that she could feel the vibes from my body flowing into her.

“Scott, you’re perfect.” She gazed up into my eyes in awe. “You know just how to make me feel better.”

“I’m not perfect, but I do want you to feel better.” I said as I reluctantly let go of her and sat down on the bed. “I don’t want you to hold back. Tell me everything that you feel comfortable telling me.”

“Thanks.” She nodded and sat back down next to me. There was silence in the room for a few minutes and I watched as she played with her fingers and stared down into her lap. It broke me that this was so hard for her, but I wanted to be patient. I didn’t want to push her, so I just sat there.

“My mom, my mom, she had a bad childhood growing up.” Her voice trailed off. “She was abused as a child. She never told anyone. She pushed it to the back of her mind. She tried to live her life. She met my dad.” She paused again and I watched as she swallowed hard. “She fell in love with my dad at first sight.” She blinked rapidly. “He was a handsome guy, charismatic, my mom never had a chance. They hooked up that first night. She got pregnant with me that first night. My dad, he didn’t care about her. It was just about the sex to him, but I suppose he wanted to be a good guy. So he tried to be there for her.”

“He married her for you then?”

“No.” She sighed and looked at me with sad eyes. “He never married her. I tell people that because I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed of it all, and maybe I want to pretend that I had a normal childhood at one point, but no that’s a lie. He never married her. He did move in with her for a bit. It didn’t last long, even though she desperately wanted it to work. She wanted him to marry her. She wanted him to love her. She even gave up drugs for him. She tried to get her life in order, but it didn’t matter. He never loved her. And eventually he left.”

“How old were you when he left?” I asked her softly, my heart breaking for her and her mom.

“I don’t even remember him. I never remember ever being with him. I couldn’t have told you what he looked like if it wasn’t for photographs.” She shrugged.

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Her lips trembled. “I didn’t care when I was younger. Or at least I pretended I didn’t care. I mean I didn’t know any better, right? He was never there, and so you don’t miss what you never had.”

“But every girl deserves a dad to love her and protect her.” I said softly. “Everyone deserves to have the unconditional love of two parents.”

“Yeah.” She mumbled. "It was hard. It’s hard for me to talk about it even now. I feel so closed off. It’s so hard for me to be expressive with anyone.” She looked up at me and I could see the pain and fear in her eyes. She looked like a little kid and I just wanted to hold her close and tell her that everything was going to be okay. She looked so broken and it scared me to see her like that. I’d never seen anyone looking so sad before. “You see, when I was a kid I used to listen to my mom crying every night in her room, a bottle next to her bed, a joint in her hand. I used to sit outside the door and just listen, and peek in a couple of times. I used to sit there feeling immobile, not knowing what to do. I used to want to go into the room and hug her, tell her everything was going to be okay. But I couldn't move. That's when I was six. I would sit there until I heard the bottle clanking down into the floor. That's when I knew she'd fallen asleep. I'd creep into the room, lean down to make sure she was still breathing and when I saw her chest rising I would creep back out of the room and head to my bed. Then I'd grab my teddy bear, hug it close and cry myself to sleep." Elizabeth paused and looked over at me. I can only assume she wanted to see how I was taking everything. My heart broke for her as I listened to her story. The pain was palpable and I could picture her as a confused hurt little girl, sitting there wanting to help, but having absolutely no idea what to do.

“That must have been really hard.” I said, my words sounding hollow and not enough.

“It was.” She nodded. “She loved my dad so much. She never got over him not loving her. She never got over him leaving. She blamed herself. And then she blamed me. She thought that I’d be a way to hold onto him. He’d have to see his daughter. But he didn’t care about me either. He never asked to see me. He never loved me. He never cared about me. And she let me know that. Every time she got upset and drunk. She’d scream at me. Call me fat. Call me ugly. Call me a bitch. Call me worthless. I was a little kid. I didn’t understand it was the alcohol. I didn’t understand that she suffered from a mental illness. So I took it all on and it just filled me up inside. It filled me up until I felt like I wanted to break.” Her voice cracked and I watched as tears streamed down her face. I grabbed a hold of her hand and just held it and let her cry. It killed me to see her cry, but I knew that crying and letting it out was good for her. I knew that that was part of the healing process. “It made me doubt myself.” She continued. “It made me start to feel like I was empty inside. I had to be that way to survive. I found it hard making lasting friendships. I found it hard to open it up. And I never dated. I never got close to anyone. Some girls in that situation, they go wild. I was the opposite, I retreated. It wasn’t that I didn’t want friends or a boyfriend, but I was too scared of rejection. Too scared of being turned away. Not being good enough.” She sighed. “And then I met Lacey. And she changed my life. She swept me up into her life and into her family and she accepted me for who I was. Never questioning me. Never making me feel not good enough. She took me in, almost like she was my guardian angel.” Her eyes were brimming with tears and she let out a small scream.

“Elizabeth?” I asked her shocked. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t know if I’m ever going to be okay?” She shook her head. “I’m a horrible person.” She looked away from me then. “I met Lacey and she made me believe in myself and I started to think that I could have a normal life. And then, then I started to have dreams, dreams and hopes that it didn’t have to be alone forever, that I wasn’t unlovable. That maybe my life didn’t have to be the way that it was before.”

“It doesn’t have to be that way.” I said. “No-one’s life has to be that way.”

“I always wanted a love of my life.” She gazed into my eyes with a wistful expression. “I always wanted a great love. Someone that would love me, all of me, for everything that I am. Someone that would see me, really see me, inside and out. Someone that could see all of my flaws. Someone that would understand. That would know. Someone that would feel what I felt. Someone I'd have a connection with. A connection that would last for all time. A connection that told us both we were soul mates. A love that was epic.” She smiled then. “I told you I’m a dreamer.”

“That’s a good dream to have.” I said, wanting to tell her that I always wanted a love of my life as well, but she started talking again.

“And then I met Shane.” Her voice grew softer and she looked away. “He swept into my life like a beautiful sunrise. He was handsome. Sweet. Loving. Right off the bat.” My heart constricted at her words and I could feel jealousy stirring through me, but I stopped myself from saying anything. I didn’t want to hear about Shane and the love that she’d had for him, but I knew that I was being selfish. I needed to listen to her. I needed to ignore my own insecurities at this point and be her friend. “I thought Shane was the love of my life. I thought I had found something that would take away all the pain I’d suffered previously in my life. I thought I had found real true love. I felt it in my heart and in my soul. I thought I'd met someone that could take all my pain away. And for a while, it felt like he had. In the beginning when it was good. I confided in him, told him about my past, my pain, about my dad. How I’d always wanted to know my dad. And he’d listen to me night after night. And he’d go with me when I wanted to try and meet my dad. He was good to me in the beginning. He was a good boyfriend. And then our relationship started to go sour. He stopped calling. Barely texted. I never saw him. And then he’d come back after a few weeks and pretend like nothing had happened. And I would forgive him because I needed him so badly. And then one day he left for good. He cheated on me. Told me he didn’t want me anymore. Told me he didn’t love me. Told me he didn’t want to deal with my issues anymore. He almost killed me.” She paused then at the look in my eyes. “Not literally kill. I mean, he almost killed me inside. I started to have suicidal thoughts. I called him, begged him to give me another chance. I begged him to stay in my life. To be my best friend. To explain. To love me like I loved him. And it meant nothing to him. He walked away without a backwards glance.  He didn't even care. That was what hurt the most. He walked away from me and he didn't look back. He didn't care. And I felt lost and alone and I wanted to die. I just wanted to crawl up and die.” Her voice caught and I could feel my heart constricting and jealousy taking over me; almost consuming me. She was talking about Shane. She was talking about Shane and it was pissing me off. I didn’t want to hear about how she’d loved him with all her heart and soul. I didn’t want to hear that he’d meant the world to her. I didn’t want to hear anything about him. He was a shithead. An asshole. He wasn’t me and I wanted to tell her that I would never have treated her like that. I never would have left her. I never would have done that to her.

“So I made up a lie.”

“Oh?”

“I pretended I was pregnant.” She made a weird noise and closed her eyes. “I pretended I was pregnant and I told him that I needed him to be there for me and the baby. I told him that he couldn’t do what my dad had done. He had to really be in the kid’s life.”

“Wow.” I stared at her, not knowing what to say. I was shocked at the lie that she’d told. That was really crazy.

“And then he found out I was lying.” She said with a sigh. “He found out and of course he was disgusted. I was totally ashamed of myself. As soon as it left my mouth I was ashamed. I knew it was horrible. I knew what I’d done was horrible, but I’d just wanted him back so badly. I tried to apologize to him. I went over to his place. And I caught him in bed with my roommate.” She sighed. “And I lost it.”

“Oh.” I stared at her for a few seconds and then I heard a knock on the door. It opened slightly and I saw Lacey standing there. I was about to tell Elizabeth that Lacey was standing at the door, but she continued on talking before I could say anything.