tw//abusive behaviour
Samantha
I was back to staring at my closet.
What do I fucking wear this time?
I was hell-bent on impressing her.
Meanwhile, Alex was already in a suit, waiting in the living room.
I skimmed through some gowns before my eyes landed on a golden fit, decorated with a little bit of glitter but not too much. It was still classy enough.
"Will it fit though?" I said to myself.
That's when Alex had walked in.
"Maybe if you'd cut down on food like I keep telling you to, you wouldn't be this fat," he remarked.
"Fuck off," I replied.
He walked over to me and roughly grabbed my arm.
I looked up at him, meeting his gaze head on.
"You better watch that attitude once we get there," he whispered in my ear.
And then he let go of me and walked out. I saw that a bruise had formed on my arm.
Fuck. Now I have to cover this up.
But I decided to wear the gold gown anyway.
A coat is more than good enough to hide it.
I spent the next thirty minutes getting ready, doing my hair in a messy bun and wearing light makeup, nude lipstick. In the end, I stared at myself in the mirror, admiring my own work.
My eyes slid over the neat makeup and golden earrings. And then over the dress that clung to my curves.
He was right, though. I wasn't exactly thin anymore.
I let out a sigh.
Will she notice it, too?
But it was too late to change into something more loose-fitting. And so I decided to just wear my brown coat all night and not take it off.
I shrugged it on and hid my body with it, staring at the mirror once again.
This will do.
Putting on some gold pumps, I walked out.
***
We arrived at the hotel in time and stood at the entrance. Alex was waiting for some of his colleagues and friends, while I was waiting for her.
Not seeing her after a few tedious minutes of waiting, I walked over to the doorman and asked if he saw a businesswoman.
He said no.
I groaned and walked back to the front.
Alex was watching me, wondering who had me waiting.
I usually just accompany him and wait for us to leave. I'm usually never on my own. After two more minutes, I walked over to him and stood beside him and his friends, greeting them and making small talk to pass time.
"What's this I hear about a female businesswoman tonight?" Alex asked his friend, Tom, after a few minutes of idle talk.
"There's one coming tonight. Moved here from LA, apparently."
Hell, yeah.
"Oh, really?" I asked, pretending to be surprised.
"Yeah," he nodded. "I'm impressed with the work she does. Quite an empire."
Alex was nodding. He looked pleasantly surprised, which is surprising because he's a misogynistic asshole. I thought his reaction would be more along the lines of indignation.
"How much is she worth?"
"1 billion."
I turned around so quickly to face him, I almost snapped my neck.
A billion fucking dollars?
I looked over at Alex who seemed to be thinking the same thing.
"Who is this chick?" He laughed. But I could see the intention behind his laugh. He actually wanted to know. He saw an opportunity. An opportunity to make some money. A partnership, perhaps?
"Harley Gardner," Tom replied.
Alex froze.
I tried not to smile too much.
"Oh."
Oh, indeed.
"What? You know her or something? I think she went to the same school as you or something. I remember seeing it on her Wikipedia page."
Alex was still frozen. And then he looked back at me.
I tried my best to look as innocent as possible, pouting a little.
And then his eyes ran over my outfit. He knew I usually wasn't this concerned about what I wore to these things. But I guess he knew the reason now.
What can I say to that, in all honesty?
"Does she have a. . . um, boyfriend or something?" he asked Tom.
I guess he wanted to confirm if it was the same Harley.
"Oh no, she's a lesbian. A single one."
He nodded slowly.
"We were all friends back in the day," I cut in. Alex glared at me but I ignored him.
"Oh really?" said Tom, chuckling.
"Oh, yeah. Had a lot of fun, didn't we?" I said, smiling sweetly at Alex and then back at his friend.
He glared at me harder.
But that's when the car arrived. Or should I say, limo. A black, shining limo with "Gardner Co." written on the side in gold letters.
"I might as well go say hi, yeah?" I said, nodding at Tom and then making my way over, trying to contain my excitement.
And there she was. In a navy blue suit that clung to her figure and black stilletos. She was wearing dark lipstick and had her hair pinned back in a messy bun as well.
I stood in awe for a few seconds, unable to move any further, as she got out and shut the door behind her. She proceeded to say something to the driver and then stood up straight, taking it all in.
And then caught me staring and walked over.
"Hello," she said, smiling.
She looked good in the morning, but this was even better. I didn't know that was possible.
"H-hi," I stuttered.
Her eyes ran over my body and then she locked eyes with me again. I could feel all the other noises drowning away.
"You look great, Samantha," she said.
"Thanks, y-you too," I replied.
"Oh, and would you look at that, messy bun five," she said, chuckling, holding out her hand for a high-five.
I chuckled nervously and returned the high-five.
"Where's that husband of yours, hm?" she asked, looking around.
"Is it that one?" she suddenly asked, pointing right at Alex.
"Yep, that's the one."
"Damn. Hasn't changed one bit, huh?"
"Yep," I replied.
"Let's go then, come on," she said, smiling and holding her arm out for me to take. I stared at her wide-eyed and then back at Alex who was watching us.
And then I took it. And we walked over to him.
"Hi, Goldman," she said, still smiling.
"Hi," he replied, his eyes cold.
"It's such a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Gardner," said Tom, stepping forward and holding out his hand. "I'm Tom."
She shook it and nodded. "Same here," she said.
"Maybe we should all go inside, yeah?" said Alex, cutting in.
***
We spent the evening talking, eating, drinking, making connections, the usual boring stuff that goes down. Harley was on her own, mingling with people and impressing them, which is something I found impressive because of how shy she was all those years ago.
Maybe she has changed more than I would know.
I had to stick with Alex for the evening, smiling and nodding at random strangers, as he made his way through the crowd.
Eventually, we settled down for dinner at a pre-booked table.
What we saw a little later was the plaque for Harley right beside my seat.
"Maybe I should sit there, hm?" Alex said.
"Oh no, that's fine, this one's comfortable," I replied. He grumbled something under his breath and sat down at his seat.
Harley arrived a little later and locked eyes with me, smiling slightly, before sitting down beside me.
"Didn't expect to see you there," I remarked, trying to act cool.
"Oh, yeah? Me neither."
"The waiter told me it got booked fifteen minutes ago. You did not look at the seating chart before making the arrangements, did you?"
"What? No, of course not," she said, looking back at me and then at the floor. I caught a hint of a blush but I ignored it.
"So, Harley, what did you major in?" asked Alex.
"Business, obviously. I was never really interested in anything else, to be honest."
"Mm," he said, nodding, pretending to be interested. I looked at him in disgust but then covered it up with a fake smile.
"I was wondering if we could discuss the Chicago Assignment. I heard you joined as well."
"Oh, yeah, that. Of course."
"Mm. So, how much would you be investing?"
"Maybe around three million. Doesn't seem all that worth it, to be honest."
"But wouldn't it be better if we had a solid investment? At least a ten should ensure that we get more out of-" I interjected only to be cut off by him.
"Yes yes, but I don't think it's worth it."
"When I did the research-"
"Maybe we should just try moving it to Ohio. It seems to have more scope there."
"But there's this-"
"Or even right here in New York. We have the best investors here."
I gave up and looked down at my lap, embarrassed.
I could feel Harley's gaze on me but I was too embarrassed to meet it.
"Maybe you should let Samantha finish, Alex? I feel like she was about to make a valid point."
"Oh, that's fine. She likes to talk. Not much that she knows. She's a journalist, for God's sake. Not much experience in our field."
I looked over at Harley who was glaring at him. He didn't notice, as he'd gone back to eating his food, pleased with himself.
She was about to say something back but I cut her off.
"Nice food tonight, huh?" I said, louder than necessary.
She looked over at me, raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, it's great," replied Alex, nodding, digging in.
I laughed nervously and went back to eating. She didn't say anything after that and dinner was over in silence.
We were once again back to talking and drinking. I was back at Alex's side, waiting for it to end.
That's when Harley walked over to me.
"Hey, wanna come over to the roof with me?"
"The roof?" I said, chuckling at the idea.
She smiled at my reaction.
"It has a nice view. Thought you could use, um. . . " She looked over at Alex. "A break."
I nodded slowly. "Alright, let's go."
She giggled a little and grabbed my hand, guiding me out of the crowded hall and into the elevator. The rest of the hotel was relatively calm and empty.
It felt nice to be away from all the noise and chaos.
We made our way to the roof, still chuckling here and there.
The roof was empty and what we saw before us was the beautiful New York night-life. Lights everywhere, everybody on the move, everywhere. Staring down at it from such a height was calming in a way.
I didn't notice that she'd let go of my hand.
I didn't notice that she was watching me.
"You like it?" she asked softly.
I looked over at her and smiled.
"Yeah," I replied.
"That's good," she said. "Why don't you take off the coat for a bit? The wind's nice. Chilly, but nice."
"Oh no, that's fine. Not really a fan of cold wind."
"It's just that you've been in that thing all night. Isn't it stuffy?"
The truth was that it was too stuffy.
But then I remembered Alex's words.
Maybe if you'd cut down on food like I keep telling you to, you wouldn't be this fat.
"I. . . It's fine. I like the coat," I said, pulling it over me more, folding my arms in an attempt to cover myself.
I could feel her staring at me again.
"God, you've changed," she said, her voice even softer now, sending a shiver down my spine.
"It's been a long time, Harley. I'm sure you've changed, too," I said, my tone coming off colder than intended.
She simply chuckled at that, unaffected.
"Name one thing you've noticed. Other than my job obviously."
"You've started talking more," I said.
"Well, my job demands it. I hate the interacting, trust me."
"Okay, maybe you've had a bunch of girlfriends."
She chuckled.
"How many do you think I've had?"
"I don't know, four, five, six."
"Can I tell you the truth?"
"Hm?"
"None."
I froze.
"What?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.
"None, Sam."
Sam. She called me Sam.
I looked out at the skyline again.
"Why not? Any girl would be lucky to have you," I remarked.
"I just never felt interested."
I felt another shiver go down my spine.
"R-right."
"Sam?"
"Yeah?"
"Why won't you take it off?"
"W-what?"
"Your coat. You've looked uncomfortable all night. You were squirming in your seat. I even caught you fanning yourself an hour or two ago."
"Like I said, I like it," I said.
"Don't lie."
I let out a sigh.
"My, um. . . "
"Hm?" she prompted.
"My dress is too tight."
"What do you mean?" She genuinely looked confused.
"I didn't really. . . um, like how I looked in it."
"But why would you think that? You look great."
"But that's 'cause I've been wearing this coat and you haven't seen the rest of it."
"I'd love to."
I paused, let out a shaky breath.
"Fuck. Harley, I'm too fat."
I looked over at her to gauge her reaction.
She simply stared back at me, her expression strange and inexplicable.
She stepped forward, moving in front of me, blocking my view.
"I suggest you take it off and stop worrying about what people think about you. Besides, what does being fat have to do with beauty?"
"I just- I look bad, Harley."
I stared into her eyes. They were heartbreakingly sincere.
I slowly took it off, chewing on my lower lip nervously.
Her eyes ran over my body and I flinched.
"I have no idea what you're talking about because you look amazing," she said.
I looked up at her again, emotion filling me up. We locked eyes, the wind blowing this way and that.
She moved forward and placed a hand on my waist, making me shiver again.
She then pressed a kiss near my lower lip. I inhaled sharply, my body tightening, my eyes falling shut on their own.
And then she pulled away. I almost had to hold on to something to stop myself from collapsing.
I slowly opened my eyes to catch her looking at my arm.
Fuck. The bruise.
"What's this?" she asked softly, her one eyebrow raised.
"I, um. . ." I looked around at the ground, trying to come up with a lie.
"Did he do that to you?" she suddenly asked, moving to touch it.
I pulled away from her hand.
"It's n-not that big of a deal," I stuttered.
She watched me as I regained my stance.
"It's nothing."
There was silence for a bit before she broke it.
"Why are you still with him?" she asked.
"I. . . I made a promise to my dad. He may have been a homophobic piece of crap, but he's still my dad," I said, my eyes filling up.
Fuck. I can't cry right now.
"What was this promise?" she asked, scoffing.
"To marry him, let him inherit the business."
"Isn't that already done? He owns it. From what I've seen so far, you have no damn say in it." I could see that she was trying to suppress her anger.
"I. . . I just. . . "
"Why would you stay?"
"I didn't know what to do once I left him," I said, folding my arms again. "I'd be too. . . alone. I'd have nobody. Ivy moved away. My parents died. I tried searching everywhere for you the first seven years. But it's like you'd ceased to exist. And I just. . ."
I started crying.
Fuck. I hate myself for this. Stupid tear ducts.
She pulled me in for a hug in silence. I cried into her shoulder.
"I'm here now, aren't I?" she whispered into my ear.
I shivered and held onto her closer, feeling myself calm down slowly.
"Sam?"
"Hm?"
"Maybe you should leave him," she said.
I looked up at her. She was staring back down at me, her arms around my waist, her eyes exploring my features.
"N-not for me if you've, um, moved on, or whatever, but I can be there for you," she suddenly added.
Moved on. What a fucking joke.
"You think I've moved on?" I asked, my voice curious, soft.
She stared at me for a bit.
"You did stay married to Alex for eight years. Even though you did it for the money or your promise to your father and stuff, there must be something you see in him," she said, staring at the ground. Hard.
She's feeling insecure, I realized.
I cupped her face.
"You have no idea how much I've missed you, huh?"
"And you have no idea how much I've missed you either."
With that I pressed my lips against hers, letting her wrap me up in her arms and deepen our kiss. I moaned, smiling into it, against her smooth lips.
It was just like the first time. But maybe even better. Fireworks going off in my brain. My skin on fire from her touch. My body tingling with excitement.
The noise around me drowned away into nothing. It felt like I was in heaven.
All those years without her melted away along with the noise. It was like I was back at that lake, kissing her for the first time, her warmth engulfing me.
"F-fuck," I let out as she began attacking my neck, peppering it with soft, passionate kisses.
"S-sam," she stuttered, slowly putting me down.
"Why'd you stop?" I asked, moving to touch her again.
She kissed me one last time by cupping my face before slowly pushing me away.
"We might get caught. Also, divorce Alex if I am what you want. I don't want you to cheat," she said. "Even though he's already cheating."
I nodded, catching my breath.
"Let's get back to the party, yeah?" she asked.
I nodded, smiling. She held her arm out for me and I took it as we made our way back.
***
Hey guys!
Hope you liked this chapter!
Lemme know what you think :)
Love,
queenred