Trust Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (5 page)

The
next day after work I walk down the hallway
toward the kitchen, and again, loud music blares from the television.

“Sarah, the neighbors are going to complain,” I yell as I put my bag and keys on the buffet then take out my cell phone.

“Still nothing,” I mutter as I look at the screen. I start to feel a slight depression wave over me. I mustn’t let this guy get me down. I try to convince myself he was probably in meetings all day or something. I walk
into the living room looking for Sarah, but she’s not there.

“Sarah,” I yell. I start to turn down the volume of the television.

“Ooh, Sarah.”

“Chris, Chris, ooh, Chris.”

I realize what I’m hearing coming from Sarah’s room. I very quickly turn the volume back up on the television and giggle to myself. I head toward the bathroom for a shower to help distract myself from what’s happening at the other end of the house. I wash my hair, lather up with body gel, and
finish my shower. This time my shower is uneventful, without any fantasies.

Once I’m dry and decent, I head out to make a start on dinner. I assume Chris is staying, although cooking for a chef is somewhat
intimidating.

* * *

I finish my meal, alone, and wander into my room. I lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling, pondering whether or not to message Aiden. Chris’ thought keeps popping into my head:
play it cool
. I pick up my
cell phone and open Facebook. I scroll through the news feed and read about my friends and see their wedding photos and photos of their children. I shake my head and put my cell phone down. I can feel tears welling in my eyes. My loneliness
overwhelms me, and a single tear flows down my cheek. I wipe it away with the back of my hand and sigh. I turn over so my face is in my pillow.
Beep.
My cell phone tells me there’s a message. I casually pick it up and see who the
message is from, assuming it’s my mother. “It’s him,” I say with a shrill of excitement, turning over so I’m lying on my back.

Hi, Jeni, hoping your day was a pleasant one. Moronic
Smart-ass Man.

I can feel a smile beaming from ear to ear as a sigh of relief engulfs me. It’s almost as if he knew I was dying to hear from him.
Those butterflies make another pesky appearance as they flutter in my stomach. I hit
Reply
.

Hey, Moronic Smart-ass Man, my day was average, just as
usual. How was yours?

I hit
Send.
I hold the cell phone to my chest. With
my eyes closed, I imagine Aiden and what he might be wearing. Maybe still in his business suit or maybe he’s lying on his bed wearing only his boxers.
Mmm.
I like the latter.

My day was full of boring business meetings. Lunch at the Intercontinental. It was average, just a usual day. Are you looking forward to Friday’s surprise? ;-)

My curiosity sparks. I hit
Reply
.

It depends on what the surprise is. Tell me, and I’ll let
you know if I’m looking forward to it or not. ;-p So, you know what I do for a job, but what do you do?

I hit
Send.
I figure he knows more about me than I do
him; it’s time to find out some of the juicy details.

Well, well, Miss Taylor, who’s the smart-ass now? lol I work
in the family business, with my father and sister. We’re in finance.

“Hmm, finance, huh, fair enough,” I say matter-of-factly. I
know nothing about finance, except that my bank account is running low after buying my new car. He must be really knowledgeable. Knowledgeable and gorgeous, you don’t get that very often. He’s so far out of my league. What am I doing? He probably feels guilty about crashing into me, and that’s why he’s being so
nice, not because he likes me. Yeah, that must be it. I hit
Reply.

Wow, finance, sounds challenging. I’m bad with numbers lol.
Family business, sounds like a small company. Do you have many people working there?

I hit
Send.

It’s quite a big firm actually. Father has about 200 people working for him. I basically deal with wealthy clients and manage their
financial assets. No, it’s not that challenging for me. I’m good with numbers, and you’re bad with them, so I guess that evens us out.

“Man, I am out of his league.” I sigh. I hit
Reply.

Guess so. Wow, that does sound like a big firm. Anyway, I
have to go and cook dinner. See you Friday.

I hit
Send.
I feel bad for lying to him, but I feel frustrated that he’s leading me on because he feels guilty. I mean what kind of
arrogant ass would lead a girl on because he wants to feel better about himself? I guess men
are
all the same. I can feel my eyes start to well up again. I started to let myself trust him. Why? I’ve only known him for three
seconds. The tears start to run freely down my cheeks. “Why do I do this to myself?”
Beep
. I hesitate to look at the message as I wipe my tears away.

Okay, have a great dinner. I’ll see you Friday :-)

His answer is short and sweet. I sigh and put my head back
onto my pillow. I need to talk to Sarah. She always knows how to pull me out of these moods. I look at the clock. Seven twenty, way too early to go to bed. I crawl under my blanket and turn on the television. I flick through the channels aimlessly, not even really looking at what is on. I finally settle on some
documentary about shipwrecks. It’s mind-numbing. I notice that the music in the living room isn’t playing loudly anymore. Sarah must have come out and changed the channel. I can hear them mucking around in the kitchen. I’m assuming
they’re dishing themselves some of my stir-fry. I continue watching the mindless program on TV.

“Hey, Jeni, you in there?” Sarah says as she slightly opens my door.

“You came up for air, did you?” I snap at her. She opens the
door fully, only to see me curled up in bed, holding on to Mr. Snuggles with tissues sprawled across my bed.

“Oh, what’s wrong?”

I sniff. “Nothing, I’m fine.” She looks at me like I’ve said
the stupidest thing ever. She closes the door behind her and walks to the edge of my bed then sits down.

“Okay, spill.”

I sit up in the bed. “I’m not going out Friday night.”

“Did he cancel?”

I huff. “No, but he’s taking me out only because he feels guilty for crashing into me, not because he likes me.”

“I see. Did he actually say that to you?”

I roll my eyes. “He didn’t have to. He’s drop-dead gorgeous, he’s in finance, he drives a very expensive car, and he’s supposed to be interested in me? I don’t think so.”

Sarah lets out a small laugh. I glare at her as she composes
herself.

“Have you ever thought that maybe he does want to go out with you? You’re a gorgeous, funny, intelligent woman. Maybe he sees the good things in you and that’s why he wants to take you out, not because he feels
guilty. If he feels guilty, he would’ve sent you flowers or an apology note, and that’s it. Why take you out to dinner as well? It doesn’t make sense. My suggestion is stop wallowing in self-pity. So what if he’s only doing it out of guilt anyway? It’s a free meal and time spent with a sexy man. What’s so bad
about that?”

I scrunch my face.

“You need to go out with him. If it doesn’t lead to anything, then you’ve lost nothing, but if you never try, then you could’ve
lost the love of your life. You never know. Take a chance. Jeni, be brave and boldly go where you haven’t gone before.” She puts her hand up displaying the Vulcan sign. “Live, love, and prosper,” she says, slightly changing the wording
of the popular
Star Trek
phrase.

I laugh and mimic the hand gesture back to her.

“You good?” she asks me, being slightly more serious.

I nod, and she gives me a hug as she leaves to eat her
dinner with Chris.

***

The next day I’m about to leave work for home, and I head down to the repair shop to pick up my car. I find Bob cleaning my windshield

“I can drive her home tonight?”

“Yep, paints all dry. You can take her whenever you’re ready.”

I wrap my arms around Bob, hugging him tight. He wraps his arms around me and kisses the top of my head. He makes me feel like he’s the
father I never had.

“Okay, get out of here already.” He laughs as he lets me go. He holds out my keys for me to take.

“Yay! No more taxis.” We both laugh as Bob rolls the roller door up for me to exit.

He waves at me as I pull out the driveway into traffic.

I drive home casually and cautiously. I don’t want my car to be back in the repair shop again, that’s for sure. I pull up in the driveway and see Chris’ car parked on the street. “Does he ever work?” I mutter to
myself. I park, grab my handbag, and get out of the car. I put the key in to unlock the front door and go inside.

I smile thinking about seeing Aiden today as I pull up at work next to Mel’s car as usual. I walk through the main reception door and
around to my desk. I look at my flowers, pick out the dead ones, and put some fresh water in the vase. Mel comes out of her office walking toward me.

She hands me a pink envelope. It’s an invite to her daughter, Skye’s, twenty-first birthday party.

“Oh, wow! Thanks, Mel. What should I get her for a present?” I haven’t actually met her daughter before.

“Nothing, she doesn’t need anything, hun. Your presence is her present.”

“Wow, I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say yes that you’ll come.” She hugs me tight.

“Of course I’ll come.”

“Great,” she says as she lets go of me. “All the details are
on the invitation.”

“No worries. I’ll be there,” I say as Mel heads back to her office.

I sit at my desk, feeling elated. This is going to be a great day. I turn on my computer and download the emails and check the phone
for any messages. As my emails download, I decide to talk to Bob to see what time Aiden’s car should be ready for pickup. I wander down to Bob’s office. He is leaning back on his chair with his feet up on the desk, his reading glasses
at the end of his nose, reading something. I giggle at the sight; the sound disturbs Bob. He looks up.

“Morning, sweetness.”

“Morning, Bob. I was wondering if you have the list of customer collections ready for today, so I can advise them of times to collect
their vehicles.” I think if I make it sound like work then maybe he won’t figure out what I am searching for. He smiles at me knowingly.

“Mr. O’Connell’s car should be ready by three o’clock.”

Damn, busted.

“There you go, sweetness,” he says as he hands me the paper with the customer collection times.

“Thanks, Bob.”

I decide to call the other customers on the list first. I’ll
call Aiden last. I pick up the phone and dial the first number. I repeat the same for the next three customers.

The time has arrived to call Aiden. I can feel the butterflies in my stomach fluttering around like a whirlwind. A lump forms in
my throat, and my breathing quickens. I finally gain the courage to pick up the phone and dial his number. As it rings, I take in a few deep breaths and then someone answers the phone.

“Good morning, O’Connell Finance, Mr. O’Connell’s Office, Benjamin speaking.” I’m taken aback; of course he has an assistant. Why wouldn’t he?

“Hello?” Benjamin asks again.

“Hi, um, sorry, this is Jeni calling from ADF Automotive
Repairs. Is Mr. O’Connell there?” I somehow manage to sputter out, sounding like an immature teenager calling their high school crush for the first time.
Argh
. I shake my head and hit myself on the forehead.

“Miss Taylor, Mr. O’Connell has been expecting your call. Unfortunately he’s in a meeting at present. Would you like to leave a message?” I’m shocked at his words.

Expecting your call.
Then I remember that Bob told
him I’d call on Friday to let him know what time to pick up his car, not because he wanted me to call him.
Argh.
I’m such an idiot!

“Miss Taylor?” Benjamin asks.

“Oh sorry, I’m in my own little world today. Um, yes, a
message. Can you please let him know his vehicle will be ready at three o’clock? Thanks, Benjamin.” I huff at my stupidity.

“Sure, Miss Taylor, I’ll pass on your message. Have a great day!”

“You too, Benjamin.”

“Goodbye, Miss Taylor.” He hangs up the phone.

I put my head into my hands and shake my head. “You’re so lame,” I say to myself.

I take in a deep breath and continue on with my work. I keep
looking at the clock, and again, it seems to be going so slow. I’m actually sure it’s going backward. Eventually it’s lunchtime, and the alarm sounds at twelve thirty. I jump up and head out to the kitchen. Looking into the fridge,
I grab a baguette and a can of Sunkist. Before I know it, the ritualistic slap on the ass happens. I laugh as I jump like always.

“Ouch! You could be a little gentler when you beat me up, you know,” I say, laughing.

“Sorry, Jeni, is this better?” Tim then taps me on the ass with his pointer finger.

“Much, thank you.” All the guys laugh.

“You know I’m going to slap you again tomorrow, don’t you?” he asks with a flirtatious smile.

“Oh, no, you won’t,” I say back, smiling. Tim frowns.

I walk toward the door.

“It’s Saturday tomorrow, you moron!” Mark announces as he slaps Tim across the head.

“See, I told ya,” I say as they laugh. Tim huffs as he crosses his arms. He definitely doesn’t like being made fun of. Mark grabs his shoulders and shakes him.

“You big baby,” he says while we’re all still laughing.

I walk out as they get on with their lunch.

I head back to my desk, sit down, and start my lunch. I pull out my cell phone to see if there are any messages, and as I suspect, there are none. I finish my lunch in peace and quiet for the second time this week. “It’s
a miracle.”
I look up at the clock. Twelve fifty p.m.

“Hmm,” I hum to myself, disappointed. Over the next couple of hours, customers pick up their cars, I process their payments, and they
leave. The last lady comments on my flowers.

“They’re exquisite, for any reason in particular?” she asks.

“They’re from a customer.” I’m not lying, just stretching the truth.

“Oh how lovely.”

I look up at the clock. Two forty nine p.m. I go to the bathroom, adjust my hair, and add a little extra mascara. I take hold of the basin and breathe deeply.

“Act normal,” I plead with myself in the mirror. I walk back
out to the reception desk. Those pesky butterflies attack again, this time with such ferocity they knock me and I feel physically ill. I take a sip of water from the bottle on my desk and try to shake it off.

This is ridiculous. Why am I getting worked up over one man? Just a man, nothing more and nothing less. Oh, whom am I kidding? He’s not just a man. He’s a supermodel with all the charm and poise, like no other man I’ve
seen before. I try to pull myself together. I look out the full-length window and see the same chauffeured vehicle pull up as the one Aiden got into when he dropped off the Aston Martin. I hold my breath. A man in a suit with a hat steps out of the driver’s side and opens the rear passenger door. I stand up
from my chair to get a better look. Another man steps out of the vehicle. He has on a pinstriped suit. He looks skinnier than I remembered. The man turns around, and I see that it’s not him. It’s someone else entirely. I huff and sit
back down, feeling a little confused. The man comes into the reception area and walks up to the desk. He’s a very good-looking young man. Well groomed with black spiked hair; he looks somewhat feminine in appearance.

“Miss Taylor?”

“Yes, may I help you?”

“I spoke to you earlier. I’m Benjamin. Mr. O’Connell’s PA. Mr. O’Connell is otherwise engaged. He asked me to come and collect his Aston Martin.”

I smile, trying not to look overly disappointed. “Nice to
meet you, Benjamin.” I put out my hand for him to shake. His hand is soft, and his nails are well manicured. Not at all like the guys who work here; their hands are rough and dirty.

“You too, Miss Taylor.”

“Oh, please call me Jeni.”

He nods. “Thanks, Jeni.”

I take the deductible payment for the repairs and lead him to the front parking lot where the Aston Martin is parked.

“He lets you drive this beauty then?”

“Not often, I take the opportunity whenever I can.”

“I’d love to drive one of these things, a V12. The biggest I’ve
driven is a V6,” I say, and we both laugh.

“She’s a beast, not a beauty, let me say that.” He has the biggest grin on his face, and I like him instantly. He opens the car door and sits in the driver’s seat.

“Oh, I nearly forgot. Mr. O’Connell would’ve killed me if I
had.” He hands me a note in an envelope.

“What’s this?” I ask with curiosity.

“A note from Mr. O’Connell.”

“Oh. What’s it say?”

He lets out a light laugh. “I’m not sure. I don’t read his personal letters.”

I bite my lip.
Personal letter sounds intriguing.

He starts up the car, and the roar of the engine ignites. I
smirk at the look on his face; I can tell he loves driving Aiden’s car.

“See ya.”

He waves his hand out the window as he reverses. “Bye, Jeni.”

He drives out of the gates and onto the road, and the
chauffeured vehicle follows.

I head back into the reception area, feeling disappointed that Aiden didn’t come but glad that I met Benjamin. I sit down at my desk with the envelope. On the front, very neatly hand-written, is the word
Jenifer.
I stare at it. “He even spelled my name correctly.” I hold the envelope up to the light to try to see through, and then I realize that I can open it. “Duh, blonde much,” I say to myself. I try very carefully not to tear the envelope as
I open it. I pull out the card that’s inside.

Jenifer,

I apologize for my absence this afternoon; unfortunately I’m
held up in important meetings. I’ve made sure that my schedule is clear this evening so we can spend some time together. I’m looking forward to it.

Moronic Smart-ass Man.

I feel like I’m floating. Floating in soft white clouds with harps playing in the background. I’m in heaven. I lean back in my chair and hold the card to my chest. I breathe in and out, feeling elated. Mel walks in.

“You okay, Jeni?” she asks with a smirk on her face. I sit up in my chair and put the letter on the desk.

“Yep, feeling a bit, um, dizzy.” That’s the best I can come
up with?

“Have some water.”

I take a sip of my water. “Thanks, Mel,” I say as she walks away with a knowing grin. I pretend to sort some papers. When she’s out of sight, I slump back into my chair and let out a sigh.

“Subtle, Jeni,” I murmur under my breath, shake my head, and let out a small chuckle. I look up at the clock. Three thirty. I have to make sure I’m out of here at exactly four thirty p.m. I get on with my work. After
some time, I look up again. Four twenty p.m. I start to pack up, turn off the computer, and put on the answering machine.

“See you Monday, Mel,” I call out.

“Uh-huh,” is all she can manage. She must be drinking a
coffee or something. I head out to my car, jump in, and turn the ignition. I reverse out of the parking lot, and as I do, Fun’s “Some Nights” plays on the radio. I love this song. Sarah and I call this our “happy song” because no matter how I feel, when I hear it, it makes me happy. I sing along as I drive home.

I park my car in the driveway, turn off the ignition, and grab my bag to head inside. I walk down the hallway to my room. I throw my bag on my bed, grab my robe, and head to the bathroom. I brush my teeth and shower.
I put on fresh lingerie, matching black with little sections of lace, not that anybody will be seeing them, but it always makes me feel sexy. I get ready by applying makeup, and I settle on soft curls for my hair. I add one more touch,
a black headband with a small bling rectangle, matching the belt on my dress.

Perfect,
I think as I look at myself in the full-length mirror. I head back to my room and grab a small black sequined
clutch and place my necessities into it.

Hmm that will do.
There’s a knock at the door, making me jump. I see Sarah is standing in the doorway.

“Hey, are you getting ready?”

I motion for her to come in. “Yup,” I say as I exhale.

“Nervous?” she asks as we both sit on the edge of the bed.

“You have no idea.” My stomach starts to churn as my breathing escalates.

Sarah can sense the shift in mood, and she puts her arm
around my shoulders. “You know I’m so proud of you!”

“What for?” I ask. I think that she means for actually going on this date tonight, the first one in three years.

“Because you put on that makeup by yourself, and it’s not half bad.”

“Hey!” I smack her leg. She laughs, and then I notice she has something in her hand. She looks at me lovingly.

“No, I’m proud of you for being you and being the most
beautiful person I know. I got you something for tonight.”

I look at her. She really shouldn’t have.

“Hold out your hand.” I do as she says. “Close your eyes.” I laugh. “No, I’m serious, close your eyes.”

I close them. Then she puts something in my hand; it’s cold and small.

“And open.”

I do as she says. It’s a diamond bracelet. Not real diamonds, but they look it. “I love it, Sarah.”

“It’s good luck for tonight. I was wearing it when I met Chris,” she says as she places it around my wrist. “I have another present for you.”

I glare at her. “Sarah!”

“Last one I promise. Now close your eyes.” I shake my head but do as she says. She puts something in my hand, and it’s rectangular in shape, as though it’s packaged.
Maybe perfume?
“Open,” she says, laughing. I open my eyes to find a packet of condoms in my hand.

“Oh, Sarah, as if,” I say, slapping her on the leg again.

“It’s better to be safe than sorry.” She laughs hysterically. I throw the packet on the bed and stand up.

“Let’s get you into that new dress.” She jumps off the bed, pulls the dress off the hanger, and hands it to me. She helps me, trying not to ruin my hair and makeup. Sarah stands there, staring at me.

“What? No good?”

“No, you look stunning.” Sarah pulls out her cell phone from her pocket and snaps a photo.

“Say Mr. Car-Crashing Flower-Giver!” I laugh, and she snaps the photo. It’s a nice one, and she sends it to Chris. A few moments later,
Chris replies. Sarah shows me the message.