Insufferable Proximity 2 (32 page)

Well—something worse.

Tears sprang to Clive’s eyes as he dropped to his knees. He began to hyperventilate as he picked up his discarded hair. He would get Julian back for this. Now, it was game on.

***

Julian went directly to his father’s office and barged in without being announced. He sat in the seat across from his desk.

“I just broke a vase of flowers on Baker’s desk.”

Ayden laid down his pen and sat back in his chair, “Why?”

“He has a bad habit of buying things for Heaven. Under the guise of his appreciation, no less. He’s pushing my buttons.”

“I see.”

“I also cut off a chunk of his hair.”

“You cut his hair? That’s unusual.” Ayden nodded while trying to keep his smile in check.

“And irrational, but I couldn’t think of anything else to do with his scissors. We need to end this deal between Heaven and Baker. I don’t know how to control what I’m feeling yet; this shit is too new and too raw. I can’t take much more. I think I’m starting to lose it.” Julian was having trouble explaining what he meant, but Ayden understood.

“I’ll do whatever I can to speed this along.” Ayden realized the seriousness of the situation; he could see that his son was suffering. Julian was not accustomed to being jealous, and like all of his new adventures, he was taking it to the extreme.

“Thank you,” Julian said before he stood up and left the office.

***

After work, Clive went straight to his favorite place in the world—his hairdresser’s.

“What did you do to your hair?” Juan, Clive’s hairdresser, snapped as he put his hand on his hip.

“This asshole I work with, he thinks I’m after his girlfriend.”

“Well, are you?”

“Of course I am; the girl is amazing.”

“Amazing is a strong word,” Juan purred as he assessed Clive’s hair.

“When I first started working there, all I heard were horror stories about her; I’ve even heard a few of the secretaries call her a bitch. Their nickname for her is Ms. Devil. I haven’t seen that side of her yet. She doesn’t seem to be a bitch, she’s just aloof. It’s like she’s not there. I try to talk to her, but she’s not the least bit interested in anything I have to say. She shows no emotion; it’s almost as if this mask comes over her. She’s most interesting.”

“So basically, it’s the chase again. You always like the ones who aren’t kissing your ass.”

“She definitely doesn’t kiss my ass; she doesn’t kiss anyone’s ass.”

“Well, I’m glad that she’s amazing, and I hope she’s worth it,” Juan said as he popped his gum. “I’m telling you right now, you are not going to like your hair when I’m done.”

“I know.” Clive frowned. He was obsessive when it came to his hair; he always kept it the same length and same shade. He paid careful attention to the tousled curls in the front; each one of them had a designated spot. Now one was missing, and Clive was livid.

“How are you holding back the anger? I remember when my assistant accidentally went too dark with your hair, and you freaked right out on him.” He blew a small bubble, which was coated in his lip gloss. “You ripped out all of his extensions; I thought for sure you were going to kill him.”

“Oh, trust me, I’m angry, but Julian is a prick, and I know how to handle pricks. You hit them where it hurts the most.”

“You’re going to hit him in the balls? I thought you said you refused to fight for fear of damaging your perfect face? Don’t forget how much you spent for that chin implant.”

“I’m not going to fight him,” Clive snapped.

“You’re going to take his girl, aren’t you?” The hairdresser smiled widely, still managing to pop his bright turquoise gum.

“I sure am; I have all intentions of fucking her as quickly as I dump her. That will hurt Mr. Julian King worse than any punch. Now fix me up the best you can, as I need to look my best while I’m seducing my fellow lawyer. We have another meeting tomorrow.”

Jealousy Reaches its Peak

Heaven insisted on heading to work early the next morning. She had another appointment with Susan Lawrence. Heaven wanted to get every bit of information that she could as she didn’t want to keep being the go-between. She spent the better part of the morning going over every detail that she could think of. Susan was very co-operative, but hesitated when it came to intimate details. Heaven eventually worked them out of her.

That was the easy part. After she finished the interview, she would need to relay all of that information back to Clive Baker. It was irritating, but she would do what was necessary to guarantee a win and help her friend. If her irritation and discomfort meant that an innocent woman was set free, then so be it. She would just have to deal with it.

Heaven walked to Clive’s office, although she was not looking forward to their meeting. She was thankful that Ayden would be there. Clive opened the door to greet her before she reached for the handle.

“Good morning, Ms. Deville,” he said, and smiled as he waved her in.

“Where’s Mr. King?” Heaven asked as she walked into his office.

“He should be here any moment; I think he’s just running a little late. How did everything go with Mrs. Lawrence?”

“It went well.”

“Did she clam up on you or were you able to get some valuable information?” he asked with a smile.

“She was co-operative,” Heaven said as she sat down at the small table.

When the office door opened, Heaven expected to see Ayden walk in. She was surprised to see one of the waitresses from the café.

“I took the liberty of ordering you coffee from the coffee shop down the street,” Clive said when a woman wearing the company’s shirt walked into his office.

“Your order, sir,” the girl said as she set the decorated box on the table.

“Thank you.” He tipped the girl before she left and grabbed one of the large cups of coffee.

“I didn’t realize they delivered,” Heaven said.

“For the right price they do.” He chuckled smugly. “Extra sugar and cream, correct?”

“Yes,” she answered.

“We share the same cafeteria; it’s hard not to notice all the sugar you pour in your cup every morning,” he joked. “In case you were wondering how I knew.” He sat down in the chair right next to her.

Heaven remained stoic while Clive smiled as if he had just won a Nobel Prize. She had wondered how he knew, but she didn’t care enough to ask.

***

Julian was going to the cafeteria to order food and decided to drop off that report to his father.

“Give this to my father when he gets back.” Julian handed the folder to his father’s secretary.

“He hasn’t left yet,” she informed him.

Julian’s cheek twitched as he headed into his father’s office.

“I thought you were sitting in with Heaven and Baker?”

“Baker rescheduled until after lunch. He said the interview with Sevigne and Mrs. Lawrence was taking longer than expected. I guess she’s being difficult.”

“Okay.” Julian managed to stay calm until he shut his father’s door. Once he was in the hallway, he stormed towards Clive’s office. If Clive had rescheduled with Ayden because Heaven’s meeting with Susan was running late—then why was Heaven in Clive’s office?”

***

“I know I’ve already thanked you.” Clive was trying to be sexy.

“At least a dozen times,” Heaven replied dispassionately. She was never prepared for so many compliments. Unless they were from Julian, but that was entirely different.

“Well, I’d like to thank you again.” He grabbed her hand and pulled it up to his lips.

“There’s no need,” Heaven gasped when his lips touched her hand. She was actually paralyzed with shock; she had never experienced that before. She was slightly enraged by his audacity, but too stunned to react immediately. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable as his lips lingered on her hand.

Just as Heaven was ready to pull away from him and give him a severe tongue lashing—the office door flew open.

Julian walked in to see Clive kissing Heaven’s hand.

It threw him off guard; he wasn’t expecting to see anything like that. Nor was he expecting the burst of anger that rushed through his body. The little bit of control that he had been using during the whole Clive situation was now gone. He grabbed Clive by the front of his shirt and yanked him out of his chair.

“I warned you; I told you to keep your fucking hands off of her!” he roared before slamming Clive against the wall.

“I was just thanking her,” Clive whined, and quickly glanced at Heaven as if asking for her help.

Julian could tell that Clive’s ‘Innocent Victim’ act was for Heaven’s benefit. It reminded him a bit of Gavin, which only increased Julian’s rage.

“Julian, wait!” Heaven tried to pull Julian off Clive. She realized that it might have looked bad when he walked in, but she could explain it. “It’s not what you think.”

“Then what is it?” he asked as he glared at Clive, who was trying to hold him back.

“He was just thanking me; that’s all.”

“Oh, that’s all? Go wait for me in my office.”

“But—“

“Go!” he growled harder than he meant.

Heaven refused to argue with Julian, and she refused to defend Clive. If Mr. Baker chose to act unprofessionally, then he would have to deal with the consequences. Not to mention that if she’d walked in and caught Julian in a similar situation—shit would hit the fan. She left the office; she would explain everything to Julian when he cooled down,
if
he cooled down.

The second the door shut, Julian slammed his fist into Clive’s stomach. It was a light punch, not hard enough to do damage, but hard enough to gain his attention.

“Did you think that I was playing when I told you to stay away from her? Do you think this is a game? You crossed the fucking line!” Julian hissed.

“What’s the matter, Julian, afraid that she liked my lips pressed against her skin?” Clive baited him.

“Give it up; you’ll never have her. She’s not into weak constitutions or bad lawyers.”

“I’m a better lawyer than you.” Clive shoved Julian again, but he wouldn’t budge. Instead, Julian slammed his fist back into Clive’s stomach.

Julian smiled condescendingly. “You really are delusional.ˮ

“Get the fuck off me before I make it a point to steal her.” Clive’s smooth-talking gigolo persona slipped as his anger increased. He tried to shove Julian back, but after that punch, he was having trouble keeping himself up.

“It will never happen.”

“How do you know; maybe she’s tired of you and your jealousy. Maybe she wants someone who will treat her like a queen.”

Julian slammed his fist into his midsection again as he lifted Clive by his shirt, “You stay the fuck away from her. If you ever touch her again, I will hurt you. You don’t want to go to war with me.”

He shoved Clive back against the wall before he stepped back. Julian straightened his suit as he smirked at Clive. Clive was bent over clutching his stomach. He was trying to glare at Julian, but his false bravado was defeated by his wounded stance.

Heaven was impatiently waiting for Julian outside of Clive’s office. When Julian finally walked out, he didn’t say a word, but his face spoke volumes. He was barely containing his rage. He wrapped his arm around Heaven’s shoulders and headed towards his office.

***

Lila and Juliette watched Julian and Heaven from a distance. Lila’s eyes grew wide when she saw Julian grab Heaven. He was obviously furious with her. Lila’s smile broadened as Juliette’s twitched down.

“Looks as if there’s trouble in paradise,” Lila said with hope in her voice. “Maybe now he’ll see what an evil bitch she really is. It’s just a matter of time now.”

“I think he really loves her,” Juliette admitted.

“And I really think that you’re a fool,” Lila snapped back.

“I’m just being honest; there is no need for name-calling.” Juliette looked at Lila with an odd look on her face.

“Just as there is no need for stupidity,” she said haughtily before she walked away from Juliette.

***

Julian ushered Heaven into his office and slammed the door harder than he meant.

“I can’t believe you just threatened our co-worker and slammed him against the wall,” Heaven said aghast, her eyes still wide with shock.

“I can’t believe you let him fucking touch you!” his roar increased with each word. Holding her arm in a vice-like grip, he pulled her into the bathroom.

“I didn’t
let
him touch me! He did it so fast that it took me a minute to react,” she tried to reason with him, but she could see that he was blinded by his rage.

He led her to the sink, opened the cabinet and grabbed the bottle of antibacterial soap. He turned on the faucet and pulled her hands under the water.

“What are you doing?” she tried to pull away, but he held her wrists as he poured the soap on her hands.

“I’m washing his saliva off,” he growled as he began scrubbing her hands. He paid extra attention to the spot that he’d seen Clive kiss. After vigorously washing her hands, he loosened his slack enough for her to pull away.