Business and Pleasure SLASH, MxM

Chapter 12

Patrick strode into his apartment with all the energy of a broken hearted man. He was, in every since of the word, livid. So the last thing he wanted was to find Claudette in his apartment yakking away on her phone.

"Oh yes. Of course I heard about her. I mean, who hasn't?" She was on his coach, legs crossed. Her phone was held between her cheek and shoulder as she rummaged through her purse. “No, no. She didn’t do that. She stopped taking the pill… No I’m not lying. She told me... Of course it’s his! Why wouldn’t it… Oh my god you’re right… I wouldn’t put it past her… Her figure is going to be ruined though, poor girl.” She glanced at the door and saw Patrick standing there. “Sorry Tracey. I gotta go. Bye.” She hung up and put her phone back into her purse, smiling up at him.

She got up and smoothed the front of her skirt. “Patrick! You’re back early! Good, I swear if I had to listen to Tracey gossip I was going to die."

It was in that moment that Patrick saw her for the first time. Not ever. But the first time he truly saw her. From her bleached blonde hair to her pointy shoes. From the thick charcoal that lined her eyes to the condescending curve of her mouth as it twisted into a grin.

It was the first time he saw her and he didn’t like what was there.

“Anyway, so listen. I was talking to Anne earlier and I was thinking…”

Just hearing that woman’s name made anger surge through him and he exhaled through his nose. He looked at this strange woman he let into his life and into his home and he shook his head. “No.”

She stopped and looked at him. She raised a perfectly arched eyebrow at him as if he was the one to have lost his mind. “I didn’t even get to finish my sentence. Are you feeling ok?”

No. He felt angry, annoyed, bretrayed and he wasn't even sure he even had the right to feel that way. But he wouldn't tell Claudette that of all people. He took another deep breath. "Get out. You're fucking irritating and I'm not in the mood for your shit right now." He had always thought she was annoying but seeing her there, in his apartment, the only place where he could unwind, made everything come to a head.

 The shocked look on her face wasn't surprising. She looked flustered and just about as angry as he felt. She just opened her mouth to speak before he beat her to the punch. "You know what?" He said, waving a finger in the air. "Let me tell you something else before you go. Just a little tidbit. You are the most vapid, ignorant woman I have ever met. You're condescending, vain, and... God. A total fucking bitch.  And I just can't ignore that anymore.”

Claudette did a grand impression of a fish out of water. “You—I—How dare you! After all I--!”

“Just get the fuck out of here.” Patrick said, exasperated.

---

Marshall got home when he said he would and unsurprisingly, Anne was there. She was sitting at the kitchen table with her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes were vacant as she wrung her hands together staring at the glossy finish that covered the table. Marshall shrugged off his coat and draped it over the back of a chair before having a seat down next to her. Her eyes flicked to him before she scowled.  Silence lingered between them and the air was thick with tension.

“You wanted to talk. So talk.” There was a bite to Anne’s words like none Marshall had ever heard before.  He wanted to say something back that would include the fact he didn't want to talk. He had to. What he wanted was to never speak of it again and pretend it never happened. Unfortunately that only worked with arguments or altercations or embarrassing memories, and didn't extend to pregnancies.