Well, if you told me you were drowning
I would not lend a hand
I’ve seen your face before, my friend
But I don’t know if you know who I am
Well, I was there, and I saw what you did
I saw it with my own two eyes
So you can wipe off that grin
I know where you’ve been
Phil Collins – In the Air Tonight
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His lips were so hot against her own, as he molded his lips to hers. They fit against her perfectly, and as the heat suffused her entire body, Geviana gasped. Without skipping a beat, Christopher slipped his tongue into the warm caverns of her mouth. Hot, seeking, and taking all that she had to give.
Geviana was completely still when Christopher had begun kissing her, but the second his tongue tongued tentatively against her own, Geviana felt something inside her snap. Instantly, her hands reached up to sift themselves through his darker than dusk hair that she had been dying to touch since the moment they had left the heat of one another’s bodies so many weeks ago. Obligingly, she tilted her head upwards, so that Christopher could have better access to her mouth.
Hot, wet heat swept into her mouth as he roughly kissed her, selfishly taking what he wanted, and in return, she did the same.
All the history, arguments, and people disappeared as the lust took over the both of them. Christopher groaned as her hands stroked through his hair, her fingernails raking his scalp gently. Her fingers moved down his jacket, stroking the hard muscle beneath, and his body pressed even tighter against hers.
He was burning her alive with every touch and stroke of his lips and hands. His fingers were now playing with the edge of her hips which were gently rotating against him. Through the thin fabric, his fingers seared her.
They broke apart like two hormone driven teenagers for breath before diving in for more. Christopher’s lips lightly traced a path across her neck, sucking and lightly blowing across the moistened skin. Geviana instinctively arched her back, bending her body, and in the process, bending Christopher’s.
She raked her fingernails across his back in that familiar feline way of hers, and like the first time, it felt too damn good.
Voices outside the door broke them apart. Christopher stood with his palms flat against the wall on either side of her head for support. He had to force his body from succumbing to the natural magnetism that gravitated his body toward hers. Both of them were panting heavily, and both still wanted more.
Geviana stared up at Christopher, small pants issuing from her parted, deliciously swollen, carmine lips, and slowly, Christopher moved away from her, his eyes focused on her lips with a possessive look in his silver eyes.
“What was that?” Geviana whispered hoarsely, finally finding her voice. Her voice sent tremors up and down his spine. If he liked the scratchy tone of her voice before, now he was in love with it. The breathy way she sounded after their kiss made him want to jump her bones all over again.
“What do you think?” Christopher replied, his eyes still focused on her lips. Self-consciously, she licked her lips, and Christopher’s eyes darkened.
“I-I thought you hated me,” Geviana whispered, still trembling slightly from the kiss. Never before in her life had she felt so out of control. Ever since she had me Christopher Ridgel, things were spiraling out of her reach more than she would have liked.
“Hate has nothing to do with this,” Christopher half whispered, his eyes running up the soft lines of her beautiful face. He did hate her, or at least, he should. She had called him his brother’s name during a moment when he was sure he had the most mind blowing sex with the most amazing woman he had ever met. She was his brother’s ex-fiancée. She flirted with his associates and distracted him with her every move. She drove him crazy with anger, desire, and lust.
“What does it have to do with, then?” Geviana already knew the answer. As if she could ignore all the angry looks he sent her way every time she spoke with Alex. As if she could ignore her own pangs of jealously every time he was with Alyssa. As if she could pretend like that kiss wasn’t exploding with unbridled chemistry and need.
In response, Christopher took another resounding step toward her, and Geviana could feel her heart skip with every step he took. His lips were coming closer again, and Geviana could feel herself edging upward to reach him when the jarring noise of Christopher’s cell phone went off.
Startled, Christopher fumbled for his cell phone and he called down at the caller ID irritably. Involuntarily, Geviana’s eyes trailed down to glance at the caller ID that had him so frozen up. She wished she hadn’t.
Lariza Ridgel.
Her name flashed like an ominous warning sign across his phone, and Geviana could feel her blood run cold.
“You’d better answer that,” Geviana said briskly, trying to get past him without touching him. Realizing there was no other way around it, she brushed past him, unaware of how provocatively her body was pressed up against his.
Gently but firmly, he gripped her hip as she slipped past. “I’m not going to answer it.”
“Good for you,” Geviana said icily. Inwardly, she scolded herself for letting her traitorous body react that way toward him. This was Christopher Ridgel. Her boss and her ex-fiancée’s brother. In what screwed up world would they work out?
“Mind letting go of me?”
“Don’t go out with Alex,” Christopher intoned, reiteration his point at the beginning of the whole ordeal.
In her head, Geviana knew that he had no reason to worry about that at all. She wasn’t in the slightest bit interested in Alex. What worried her now was standing right in front of her, gripping her hips with powerful hands.
Nonetheless, she scowled at his order. “Why shouldn’t I? Would you prefer I flirt and go out with you?” Geviana asked sarcastically, batter eyelashes up at Christopher who glared down at her in return. Instantly, he let go of her hips.
“Don’t flatter yourself. Don’t think for a second that what happened just now means I like you,” Christopher told her coldly. With Geviana, it was always an extreme. Either he detested her with a passion, or he wanted her like a desert traveler desired water.
“Likewise,” Geviana replied, suddenly feeling incredibly childish. Here they were, two full grown adults, huddled in a closet, exchanging barbs.
“This is ridiculous. I’m out of here. You don’t have to worry about me and Alex, he and I aren’t anything but friends.” A brief look of relief passed over Christopher’s face but it was too dark for Geviana to see. Suddenly, the whole atmosphere seemed much lighter, as the misunderstanding disappeared.
“So you can stop sulking like a girl,” Geviana smirked, her plump rosy lips suddenly looking very inviting again.
“I don’t sulk,” Christopher replied, unable to keep the grin from his handsome face.
“You were. You know, I didn’t peg you as the type to brood and keep it all bottled up.”
“I don’t brood and sulk. If I were, then what we doing in here?” Christopher deadpanned.
Geviana quirked her eyebrows and nodded her head, conceding, “True. We’ve met up in closets before. I think you know the drill on how to leave by now.”
Without waiting for a reply, Geviana left the closet as if nothing had happened at all.
**********************************************************************************************************
Ashley toyed with her bangs, wondering whether or not it was time to give them a trim, while popping her bubble gum in her mouth, making a succession of loud popping noises. Nell clucked disapprovingly at the amount of noise she was making, but couldn’t help but give Ashley a fond smile.
Ashley had come bounding up into the office that morning, looking for Geviana, but to her chagrin, her boss hadn’t arrived yet. Instantly, the two souls had bonded due to their excessive amounts of energy.
“Is my gum bothering you?” Ashley asked considerately, smiling at Nell.
“A bit,” Nell admitted. “But only because I don’t know how to do that.”
With identical mischievous grins, Ashley handed Nell a piece of gum, and they were both popping their gums in succession in no time. Lila had gotten annoyed with the excessive noise and had left in a huff to get an early lunch, leaving just the two to their own devices.
“What the hell is that noise?” Alex irritably came out of his office minutes later, but he softened considerably when he saw Nell laughing hysterically in a way she hadn’t in quite a while.
“Nothing!” Ashley and Nell said quickly.
Alex quirked his eyebrows at Nell, and gave Ashley a quick once over. “Hey, aren’t you that chick? The one with Geviana?”
Ashley instantly became defensive. Standing up from the corner of Nell’s desk, she smoothed out her gray pleated mini skirt. Instantly, Alex’s eyes went up and down the length of her legs appraisingly. Not bad. She was on the petit side and the top of her head barely came up to his shoulder, but her legs were long and smooth. Teenagers sure were growing up fast these days.
“The name is Ashley. And aren’t you that other guy? The one with Mr. Ridgel?” Ashley shot back, glaring up and down at him. She might have been short, and he might have been tall, but even she could see that he was a handsome devil. He had blue eyes that went perfectly with his sandy colored hair, and he seemed to know all too well his effect on women. Well, on this woman, he was going to be surprised.
Alex smirked, and distantly remembered how irked she was that he had thought she was younger than she was. “I get the feeling that we got off on the wrong foot.”
Giving her his most charming smile, he held out his hand. “I’m Alexander Reed, Vice President of Ridgel Finances.”
Slightly mesmerized by that disarming smile of his, Ashley quickly covered up her shock. Maybe he wasn’t so bad after all. “I’m Ashley Evens. Geviana’s assistant at Chrysanthemum.”
“Well, that’s nice. I bet you’re the envy of all your high school friends, since you work for such a prestigious company,” Alex told her, trying hard to keep a serious face as Ashley’s mouth dropped open dramatically.
“I am not –”
“So sorry I’m late! There was so much traffic on Wall Street.” Geviana said in a huff, pushing back a thick lock of ebony hair. She looked up to find a hysterical Alex laughing at a fuming Ashley.
“I see you two have met,” Geviana said dryly, a grin formulating on her face.
“Unfortunately,” Ashley muttered beneath her breath, shooting Alex a dirty glare out of the corner of her eyes. He caught the look and her comment, and merely smiled back at her cheekily, his dimples creasing the side of his roughened, stubbly cheeks.
“Well, that makes everything a lot easier then! Ashley, I was thinking of letting you decorate Alex’s office.”
Ashley’s large doe eyes widened considerably. This would be the first time that Geviana would let her decorate on her own. “Really?” Ashley squeaked gleefully. The fact that it was Alex’s office was a bit of a minor setback, but really, the pros outweighed the cons.
Geviana nodded, taking in the look of pure happiness that had come upon her small friend’s face. She was glad that Ashley was so happy, but at the same time, she had her own ulterior motives for letting Ashley decorate freely for once.
“Just don’t go crazy, alright? We’ll set some guidelines later. Are you okay with that, Alex?”
Alex shrugged casually, “I guess I don’t be seeing as much of your pretty self in my office anymore, but hey, I like to do my part to help out the youngsters. This will probably look pretty good on your high school resume, eh?”
“First off, asshole, I turned twenty in a few days, alright? Besides, now that I’m decorating your office, maybe you should treat me a little better. I don’t think pink and lavender are exactly your colors.”
“Sweetheart, I could take pink and lavender and make those colors look manly,” Alex shot back confidently. Ashley rolled her eyes, but Geviana laughed. If there was anyone who could make that statement true, it was Alex.
“I don’t know, that’s kind of a stretch, even for you, man.”
Geviana’s smile froze in place as Kyle’s voice permeated her consciousness. There they were, the Ridgel brothers, walking to their office side by side, each carrying identical paper cups of Starbucks. Geviana had successfully managed to avoid Kyle of the past week, but still, once in a while, they would pass each other in the halls, and he would give her an awkward smile as way of greeting.
“Hey, everybody,” Kyle said weakly, noticing who else was in the office for the first time.
Christopher stood by his brother, taking a sip from his coffee, holding one of the paper cartrideges which held four drinks.
“Here’s your drink, Alex.” Christopher handed over a drink, completely oblivious to the awkward tension that had just sprung up. Christopher paused for a second as he handled the next drink.
“You like chai lattes, don’t you, Geviana?” Christopher asked her, his slate colored eyes meeting hers. Her breath caught in her throat, as his eyes captured hers in a tender gaze. The look was so sensual and soft, like the say his lips that caressed hers the other day.
“Yeah,” Geviana said breathlessly, forgetting for a moment that there were others in the room as she took the proffered drink from Christopher, their fingers brushing for a mere fraction of a second. It was enough to sky rocket her pulse.
It was now that an awkward silence fell over them. Kyle was watching Geviana out of the corner of his eyes, Christopher was watching her, Geviana was trying her best to avoid everyone’s gazes, and Alex and Ashley seemed oblivious to it all.
“Are you the other C.E.O of this place?” Ashley asked meekly, disrupting the silence.
Kyle’s gaze snapped to Ashly, who was looking at him with unrestrained curiosity. “Yes, I’m Kyle Ridgel, President of Ridgel Finances.” Cordially, he held out his hand and shook hers.
“Oh! I’m Ashley Evens, Geviana’s assistant,” Ashley introduced herself, and Geviana prayed her thanks to the Gods that she had been blessed with such a girl to work with.
“She’ll actually be decorating you and Alex’s offices. She’s well qualified, and since she’s an intern, it will be a good experience for her. I assure you, your office is in safe hands with Ashley decorating.” Geviana cringed inwardly at how formal her words sounded, and everyone else seemed to notice as well.
“Oh, I see,” Kyle said finally, breaking the silence. His eyes were downcast. It was natural that she didn’t want to see or decorate his office, but for some reason, the taste burned his mouth. He didn’t like that she was going to such lengths to ignore him. He’d prefer anything else but the pure indifference she was giving off.
“So are you decorating my office, too?” Christopher asked Ashley, before another hush could descend upon them. Ashley shrugged and turned to face Geviana.
“No, I’ll be decorating your office and the waiting area here,” Geviana told him, carefully avoiding his gaze.
“Hmm,” Christopher mumbled, shifting slightly. He nudged his brother, “Well, we’ve got work to do, see you two later,” Christopher said softly, trying to usher his brother out of the way. Kyle snapped out of his trance, and gave Geviana a sad wave. He needed to talk to her, but how would he go about getting her alone when she was so intent on not letting that happen?
Frustrated, Kyle left to his office to call the one woman he knew he could always rely on.
Geviana let out a sigh of relief that she had been holding as Kyle had left. It took so much effort to stay calm whenever he was around. She could feel her palms sweating with perspiration, and her legs were slightly shaky.
Meanwhile, Alex’s eyes were locked on her, while Ashley was still basking in the afterglow of her newfound responsibilities.
“You okay, babe?” Alex wandered over to Geviana and placed a hand gently against her cheek. The playfulness that was usually apparent in his eyes was replaced with a surprisingly tender and concerned look. This should have tipped her off, but her nerves were too frazzled to comprehend it.
Slowly, Geviana nodded her head, closing her eyes, and letting the warmth of his hand wash over her. “Just exhausted.”
Ashley watched the two of them with unrestrained curiosity. Coughing, she and Nell disrupted the moment. “Alex, dear, perhaps you should go with Ashly and discuss the arrangements,” Nell suggested tersely. The way Alex was looking at Geviana made her nervous. Alex had hardly ever talked to a woman that way without some sort of secret agenda.
“Yeah, I’ll be there in a second. Go on without me, Ashley.” Alex made a few motions with his hands, indicating for her to go in, and when she did, Alex turned his attention back to Geviana. “If you ever need me, you know where to find me. Let me take you out to dinner sometime, Geviana.” With those parting words, Alex reluctantly left the waiting area.
Her legs feeling like jello, Geviana sink into one of the plushy loveseats in the waiting area. Why was it that every meeting with Kyle felt like she had just come from a battle scene?
***********************************************************************************************************
Hours later, Geviana hadn’t moved much from the loveseat where she was lounging, but at least she was being productive. She was sketching the expanse of the large waiting room, taking in the bright bay windows that covered one entire wall. The loveseat faced the windows, so she couldn’t see anything that was happening behind her, and the room was so huge that if she slouched low enough, no one would even notice her.
Geviana took a quick glance at her silver Gucci watch. It was almost six. Kyle had left an hour ago. She was safe to go.
Her stomach grumbled as she got off the couch, stretching her arms above her head.
“Hungry?” a soft voice asked.
“Starving,” Geviana answered, turning around. Her eyes widening as she sees Lariza standing right in front of her, wearing a gorgeous blue sundress that set off those sapphire eyes of hers.
“We should get something to eat, then,” Lariza continued softly, her eyes boring into Geviana’s.
Geviana shook her head vehemently. Screw propriety and politeness. She would not go eat with Lariza.
“Please, Geviana. We’ve got a lot to talk about.”
“I disagree. There is nothing I want to discuss with you,” Geviana said shortly, stuffing her sketch pad into her large Louis Vuitton bag rougher than necessary. Lariza’s face fell for a moment, but she took a deep breath. She was expecting this, and her shining blue eyes held firm resolve in them.
“Geviana, please,” Lariza whispered once more, grabbing onto the sleeve of Geviana’s Marc Jacobs cropped jacket. Geviana halted momentarily, slightly stunned by the sudden contact, but her face instantly hardened.
“Lari, you better let go of me right now.” Geviana’s voice was cold and Lariza inhaled sharply. Instantly, Lariza’s hand fell away. There was no ounce of warmth in her voice, and it shook Lariza to the core. But nonetheless, Geviana had called her by her old nickname. That had to count for something.
“You hate me. I understand completely, but you’re working here now. So can we just be adults about this?” Lariza tried a different route. She could feel her eyes begin to water at how awful this whole situation was.
“Why? Afraid I might steal Kyle from you? Don’t worry, Lari. Unlike some people, friendship means something to me, and I honor that friendship, even if it’s been dissolved,” Geviana sneered, and Lariza couldn’t stop herself this time. She burst into tears.
“You were my best friend and still are my best friend. If you honor what used to be our friendship as much as you say you do, please. Please, just listen to me,” Lariza said between watery sobs.
Geviana wanted to throttle her. How dare she cry? How dare she act like she was the one who walked away scathed in all this?
“Just hear me out, Geviana.”
“What’s there to listen to?” Geviana said through clenched teeth. “You were my friend –”
“Ah! Mrs. Ridgel, are you looking for your husband? I think he left an hour ago, dear,” Nell’s clear voice said, cutting through the tense atmosphere like a sharp knife. The elderly woman had just walked in, and upon seeing the two ladies chattering, thought nothing of it. But now that they were both staring at her, Nell could see the clear anxiety and tension in Geviana’s face, and the watery tears of Mrs. Ridgel.
“Oh, yes. I was just…” Lariza’s voice trailed off mysteriously, and Geviana inwardly seethed, knowing how this must look. Here the two of them were, Geviana with an angry look on her face, and Lariza on the verge of tears. Nell’s face said all too well that she was putting two and two together.
“We were just going to go out to eat,” Geviana said decisively, putting on the face smile she knew so well. Geviana could feel all eyes snap to her.
Nell raised here eyebrows suspiciously, “Really? Is that so, Mrs. Ridgel?”
Quickly, Lariza composed herself and nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. Yes we are. It was lovely to see you again, Nell.” Lariza walked up to Nell and gave her a short kiss on the cheek, before gesturing to Geviana to follow her to the elevators.
Silence stalked them as they traveled down the glass elevator. Quit trailed them like a lost puppy as the two former best friends walked to the coffee shop. Seating themselves at a small table in a corner, the two attracted must attention with their striking good looks and somber expressions.
Lariza looked visibly distressed, wringing her hands, and biting her lush lower lip. Geviana, on the other hand, was calm and collected, but her eyes glimmered with unbridled rage.
“So.” Geviana stated impatiently, almost enjoying the way Lariza flinched in her seat. Had her best friend always been so spineless?
“I know this is cliché, but I swear I never meant to hurt you,” Lariza began, before Geviana interrupted.
“Oh, that worked out well, didn’t it? Yes, I think I’ll run off with my best friend’s husband on her wedding day. She won’t be hurt at all by that. Nope, not at all. Really, I’m doing her a big favor here,” Geviana deadpanned.
“We weren’t thinking.”
“Obviously.”
“Please. Just let me talk,” Lariza intoned, her eyes watering once more, but Geviana blazed forth, her eyes hard.
“Oh, your waterworks aren’t going to work on me Lariza. It only makes me hate you more because it makes you out to be the weak, spineless bitch you are. If you’re trying to explain away you and Kyle’s actions, don’t fucking bother. I don’t need your excuses a year later. We wouldn’t even be having this conversation if I weren’t working with him, so don’t bother trying to act all conciliatory either. You sure are an excellent actress, aren’t you? I thought I was good, but no, you take the cake.”
Lariza was quiet for a long time before finally opening her mouth. “I’m everything you say I am. I’m a spineless bitch. I probably wouldn’t be here if you weren’t working with Kyle because I’m a coward like that. But I’m not an excellent actress. My tears are not fake. I’m not doing this to earn your sympathy because I know I’m the last person who deserves it.”
Lariza paused for a moment, making sure that Geviana wasn’t going to interject another cold comment before forging on. “But you have to believe me when I say if there was any way I could have done this without hurting you, I would have. I was selfish, and I only thought of what I wanted, and for that, I know you can’t forgive me. I love Kyle, and I’m sorry for taking him away from you. I know he was the best thing that ever happened to you, and I took him for myself.”
Geviana bit down hard on the rush of tears that were going to fall at any moment. That aching feeling of loss was coming back to her in full force. It was all too much.
“I know you hate me, but God, please, if you can someday just find it in your hear to forgive me and Kyle for doing this to you. I’m so sorry that I took him from you Geviana. I know you still love him.” Lariza’s tears were rolling down her beautifully pristine face now. Slow rivulets of clear tears that magnified her wide blue eyes. Geviana could feel herself cracking. Her throat tightened, and Geviana let out a strangled cry. She was going to break down any second now.
She would not allow the remains of her dignity to shatter. Standing up, Geviana’s legs were shaking.
“I never want to see you again, Lariza.”
With those parting words, Geviana fled the coffee shop, Lariza’s sobs echoing in her head. Pulling off her Christian Louboutin’s, she ran. Harder than she ever had before in her life. So hard that she was sobbing when she had finally come to a stop.
Choking sobs engulfed her. Great, racking cries that shook her entire body. Darkness was descending on the city of New York rapidly, but the cold lights of the city flickered on. She was so empty and so cold. When Kyle and Lariza had betrayed her, they had ripped out Geviana’s heart and watched it bleed. Now, a year later, they thought they could mend it. it was far too late for that.
With teary eyes, Geviana realized she was standing right in front of Ridgel Towers, the place where her feet had unconsciously led her to. And as fate would have it, one flickering light at the very top floor stood out in particular to her.
Without a second thought, Geviana entered the building.