Perfect Strangers Page 11

  I took a tentative step toward him. “The point?”

  “Yeah, what is the point if it will only hurt you in the end? What is the reason for all this?” he whispered.

  “Maybe we don’t need any reason…” I whispered.

  “What is the point?!” he groaned, frustrated that he couldn’t understand it.

  “What was the point of you taking me to your house that night from the bar?” I asked.

  “A fuck, pleasure…” he shrugged.

  “This is the same –the pleasure of the relationship, calling you mine, making new memories together. That is the point. Isn’t it worth a shot? Taking chances?”

  He looked at me, I could see the fight inside his gaze. To me, it was ridiculous, but he really didn’t know the meaning of relationships, a commitment, sharing that intimate connection. I waited for his response, hoping this conversation would change something between us…

  It did… when he chuckled and shook his head, “No… I don’t think it is worth all the drama.”

  I was staring outside, again, but this time without seeing. Why did I keep doing this to myself? Keep hoping, keep hurting? As we talked about relationships like that, for the first time, I hoped he was considering the idea. I thought he was communicating with me about his feelings. He showed me how naïve I was.

  “Melody, Mr. Turner’s crew is here, they are waiting for Mr. Turner in the lobby,” I heard Stacey’s voice through the intercom.

  After a simple “Thanks” to her I opened Kellan’s office door, catching him pacing in front of the window. He didn’t even notice me.

  “Mr. Hawke, Mr. Turner is on his way,” I said and closed his door without waiting for a response. My voice was so cold even I couldn’t recognize it as my own.

  As I walked toward the meeting room I noticed the floor was more crowded than usual, one of the conference rooms was packed with people from the finance department. Troy saw me the moment I noticed him. He waved his hand, walking toward me he left his colleagues in the room.

  “Hey Melody. It’s good to see you.”

  “Hi, thanks, you too. What are you guys doing here?”

  “There is a problem in our conference room and the second one is occupied, so we thought to use this one,” he explained, looking at me with expectation like I should have told him something to continue the conversation, but I was out of time.

  Nodding my head, “I need to go and see if everything’s ready for a meeting. I’ll see you around, okay?” I said and kept walking, not hearing his response.

  “Brian, Emily… you’re here, great! Is everything ready?”

  “Yes, Melody. We got this, don’t worry,” Emily said. She was a sweet girl, a new intern to the design team, but mostly helping us with meetings and everything else. I was so glad to have her around since I was mostly working on interior design projects, being an assistant fell from my priority. Kellan didn’t seem to mind… he didn’t seem to mind anything about me but fucking me.

  I took a deep breath, shaking my head to clear my mind.

  “Thanks, Emily,” I said, suddenly tensed by feeling Kellan’s presence behind me.

  “Intern, pack your things and move up here. You’ll be Melody’s and my assistant from now on since Melody is our new interior designer,” Kellan said.

  “Oh, really? I mean… sure, thank you, Mr. Hawke. I’ll just go to pack my things,” Emily beamed at him.

  “Not now. As an assistant you need to be here. You’ll take notes of everything,” he said, turning to me, “What do you think of this new update, Miss Crown?” he smiled, like waiting for approval from me.

  “It’s good,” I answered coldly, but before he could answer I saw the elevator door opened, “They’re here.”

  “Kellan Hawke, what a pleasure to finally meet you. Getting hold of you was harder than I thought,” Mr. Turner shook Kellan’s hand.

  “We’re a pretty busy firm, Mr. Turner. I’m glad you were patient enough to work with us,” Kellan smirked with full confidence.

  “And who is this lovely lady?” Mr. Turner turned to me, extending his hand. He was a silver fox, oozing confidence as he placed a kiss on the back of my hand.

  “Melody?” I turned my head to the familiar voice.

  “Darren?”

  Damn… the job he had gotten was this one?!

  Darren was a real estate agent in a big company, he was the one who was responsible for selling high-quality places to high-level society.

  “Melody Crown, new member of my team, the interior designer of Hawke Architecture,” Kellan answered Mr. Turner, throwing daggers to Darren’s way.

  “Nice to meet you, Mr. Turner,” I smiled at him, ignoring both Kellan and Darren.

  “I didn’t know you were working here, but after that night in the club, I can see how you got the job,” Darren chuckled.

  “Mr. Miller! Be careful what you say in my presence,” Kellan growled. I was standing on my spot, not knowing what to do as Mr. Turner watched everything with amusement in his eyes.

  “Inviting you to my party was win-win for both of us, I see, Mr. Hawke,” Darren grinned at Kellan. I wanted to gag.

  “Yes, Mr. Miller. I’ve got a very talented interior designer thanks to that party,” Kellan answered through his gritted teeth.

  “Mr. Turner, please take a seat, let’s start,” Kellan said to him.

  “Talented for sure, give her four walls, she’ll turn wild,” Darren murmured behind Kellan and me. I gasped, but before I could react Kellan stopped dead in front of me, making me bump his back.

  “Kellan,” I whispered, shivering from the anger he oozed.

  “Mr. Turner, please make yourselves comfortable. I’ll be back in five minutes,” Kellan said, voice as cold as ice.

  “Melody. Office. Now,” he growled, gripping my arm as he guided me out of the meeting room. I tried to keep up with his pace on my high heels.

  I could only talk when we got into his office, “What are you doing?! Mr. Turner will think something is wrong!” I whispered-shouted at him.

  “Something is wrong! How do you know that fucker?” he hissed in my face, standing toe to toe with me as my back was against the wall.

  “That, Mr. Hawke, is none of your business,” I gave him a fake smile.

  “How do you know that fucker, Melody? Don’t push me. We need to go back to that meeting,” he insisted.

  “He is my ex,” I answered, sighing in relief when his overwhelming presence gave me the space to breathe.

  “Your ex?” he asked, like there was no possibility of something like that.

  “Another mistake,” I snorted. His face tensed again, a vein or a muscle –I wasn’t sure, was throbbing in his neck as he slowly growled, “I. Am. Not. A. Mistake.”

  “You were… my biggest mistake,” I whispered, leaving his office in a hurry to go to the meeting room. He was right on my heels, but thankfully didn’t make a scene.

  The meeting was going well, thankfully Darren didn’t keep up his unnecessary comments.

  Mr. Turner was planning on making a site with expensive apartments, expecting us to come up with eye-catching designs for exterior and interior. This was a high profit business and it was exciting experience for me.

  “Okay… I’m not an architect and this work jargon would bore me to death if this lovely lady wasn’t here,” Mr. Turner said, winking at me.

  “So… let’s sum it up. Kellan will design the buildings, the lovely lady Melody will take care of the interior design, I’m gonna pay whatever you will need to build those apartments, and my friend Darren will sell them all, make money for me. Right?” Mr. Turner continued, leaning back on his chair.

  “Yeah, pretty much,” Kellan nodded.

  “Great. I’m not an uptight man. I don’t get lost in the details, but I want to be sure everything is going the way it should. So, one of my guys need to be in here, to keep an eye on things,” Mr. Turner said, meaning business for the first time since the meeting started
.

  “Well, your employee your decision. We can provide an office as long as you pay the salary,” Kellan shrugged.

  “That’s a great idea, but I think I should keep an eye on things here, Mr. Turner,” Darren blurted.

  “Hell no, you won’t keep an eye on anything,” Kellan snapped at him, but Darren clearly ignored him as he continued to convince Mr. Turner, “Since I’m the one who will sell these apartments, I think knowing every details will be the best for us, Mr. Turner.”

  “Darren’s right, Kellan. He’ll stay. I think I have every right to decide who will keep an eye on my money’s work, right?” Mr. Turner said, daring Kellan to disagree. But I knew he wouldn’t.

  “Fine… but he’ll stay till we finish the first drafts of the project, then he leaves,” Kellan said sternly.

  “Okay. We’ll talk about that later,” Mr. Turner said, standing up to shake hands.

  Darren followed him with an irritating smile on his face, “We’ll see each other tomorrow,” he said, leaving Kellan angry behind him.

  “You will not work with that guy, Melody,” Kellan told me with certainty.

  “Why is that, Mr. Hawke? He’ll sell those apartments, which means he will be more interested in interior design than anything else,” I dared him. I wasn’t looking forward to working with Darren, but I didn’t want Kellan to boss me around without a good reason.

  “Fuck designs! He is interested in you! And you will not work with him,” he hissed, not caring that we weren’t alone in the room. I knew Brian and Emily could hear us.

  “Be careful, Kellan. Someone will think you’re jealous,” I snapped, heading to my office.

  Finally, Friday came to my rescue. At one corner, there was Darren with his irritating self. I didn’t know how I could bear him for a year, he was an A-class douchebag. On the other side, there was Kellan. He was unaffected by everything between us while I couldn’t even breathe easily.

  I walked out of my office, heading to the terrace. It was raining outside. I took in the beautiful smell of earth, letting that natural scent calm me, soothe the pain inside me.

  That was when I heard the distant ding of elevator door. Normally, I wouldn’t hear it, I knew I wouldn’t. But that day, I heard it. I had no explanation how, maybe I was listening too carefully, maybe it was always loud but I didn’t care any other times. I didn’t know, but with that sound I turned back to reality and decided to go to my office.

  On my desk, the report of charity project was waiting for me. I needed to take it to Kellan for his approval, he wanted to see it in the morning and all I did was prolonging it. I knew sooner or later I had to do this. I considered giving it to Emily so she could get the approval for me, but she wasn’t at her desk.

  Taking a deep breath I hugged the folder to my chest and knocked on Kellan’s door. I hated the way I knocked, it was so soft, so hesitant. Instead of repeating the action, I opened his door.

  It was like a car crash –you could see it happening, but you couldn’t understand enough to stop or change the ultimate end. I was standing there, trying to understand what I was seeing as two people looked back at me.

  The guy was sitting on the arm chair in front of his desk, the armchair I always sat on whenever I was in his office. The blonde girl was on her knees in front of him. Guy’s shirt was open, revealing his tattooed chest. Girl’s hand stopped on his crotch, her fingers wrapped around him through the layer of his boxers.

  I was watching them, as an outsider, trying to understand everything. Time slowed.

  “Melody,” he rasped.

  That moment everything fell into place. The guy was Kellan, the man I fell in love in such a short time. The man that made me feel alive, wild, smart, beautiful, and wanted. And the girl in front of him surely wasn’t me.

  A lump formed in my throat, I didn’t know if I breathed, but the pain… it suffocated me, consumed me. I tried to swallow. I reminded myself this was the same guy that told me I didn’t mean anything to him.

  I told myself, the only thing wrong in this picture was me. I shouldn’t have been there, watching them. He was a guy without a commitment and she was a woman who wanted that guy.

  Me?

  I was the stupid girl who fell in love with the wrong guy.

  I was the masochist who hurt herself the same way, with the same mistake, again and again.

  “Sorry I interrupted,” I whispered. My voice was hoarse because of the invisible hand that squeezed my throat.

  “Melody, stop,” Kellan called out behind me, but it was too late. I was already out of his office. He could still catch me if he came after me, but he didn’t.

  I grabbed my purse and coat from my office, put the folder on Emily’s desk with a note, and left the building as fast as I could in robotic movements, trying not to cry.

  Kellan

  Pacing back and forth in my office I was ready to explode. I made mistakes, I knew I did. First, I told her that she didn’t mean anything to me.

  Fuck me if she didn’t.

  She became the most important person in this world in such a short time. I didn’t even notice when and how she got under my skin, put a spell on me, but she did.

  I wanted to spend every second with her –laughing along with her, working with her, fucking her. Lately, I was the happiest I had ever been.

  Before her my life was dull. I was working, becoming the master of my own empire. I was fucking faceless women wherever I went, however I wanted. My life was fun, but it wasn’t satisfying, it didn’t make me feel alive.

  After her… everything became complicated. My feelings were all over the place, I couldn’t even name all of my emotions around her. One moment I was enjoying my time, the next I was angry at something I couldn’t put my finger on.

  Every time I was inside her, I didn’t want to let her go. I didn’t want to leave her place, or her to leave mine. As a total opposite to my previous encounters I missed her warmth in my arms, her curves molded over my hard lines, her scent was what surrounded me when I opened my eyes in the mornings. When she wasn’t there –in my arms, in my bed, I was angry, disappointed even, and there was an unsettling feeling like something huge was missing in my life.

  Each passing day, an idea rooted itself inside me, a silly idea –fantasizing a life with her, and the worst, each passing day those ideas didn’t sound so silly, anymore.

  Being in a relationship was a risk I didn’t want to take. In the end, people got hurt… just for the sake of love. But could it be love if the only thing it did was hurting people?

  I saw the damage a broken relationship could cause, I was the product of it. I saw how love could turn itself to hate, day by day… how it could kill everybody inside. Love had its expiration date and when that date came, it turned into an invisible murderer. As a small child I promised myself that I would never get attached, never love anyone else but myself. I promised myself that I wouldn’t be a killer, like my father was to my mother.

  After Melody, I forgot my promises, I let her distract me with her sweetness and sensuality. But I was Brad Hawke’s son, hurting women was in my blood. My twenty nine years of life was proof of it.

  How many women have I made cry because I couldn’t love them?

  How many women loved me even as I didn’t even remember their names?

  And how many times did I hurt Melody, even though I cared about her?

  I had to get her out of my system. I knew all of those strange feelings were only my dick controlling my mind. I was determined to fuck her out of my mind with someone else… for the benefit of both of us.

  That’s when Ruby came into my office… she was just like me –only one night stands, no commitment, no feelings. That was why I hooked up with her more than once. She was the only person who didn’t create drama.

  “Hey, Hotshot. Long time no see,” she sat on one of the armchairs in front of my desk. Her long blonde hair was falling down in waves over her shoulders. It was similar to Melody’s, but not
as bright as hers. Melody’s hair was like silk around her face, creating a shiny halo.

  Shaking my head, I focused on the beautiful woman in front of me. Her cleavage was deep, but her breasts were small, not like Melody’s soft tits.

  Damn you, Kellan. Stop thinking about her!

  “Yeah, I was busy. How are you doing?” I forced myself to smile.

  “Same, I went to England for work after we last saw each other. And England taught me one thing: Despite the accent stupid guys are everywhere,” she rolled her blue eyes at me. Her eyes weren’t as expressive as Melody’s. I could get lost in the depth of Melody’s eyes, but Ruby’s eyes were just dull with boredom. I couldn’t blame her, being a lawyer was stressful.

  Moving to the armchair opposite hers, I laughed, “Couldn’t they satisfy you?” I knew she was hard to please. It was never a problem when she was with me, though.

  Leaning toward me, she purred, “No. Not like you did.”

  “So you want me to fuck you? Is this why you came here, to my office?” I quirked an eyebrow at her. She was the only woman who knew who I really was. Some weren’t even lucky enough to get my name.

  “Yeah,” she shrugged before adding, “You’re the only guy I know who can give me a real orgasm and won’t expect me to have his kids later.”

  I let my eyes roam over her. She was beautiful, but I couldn’t stop comparing her to Melody which was why I had to do this. I had to fuck Ruby till I couldn’t think of Melody anymore. Ruby was the kind of girl I should have hanged out with in the first place… not a romantic at heart like Melody Crown.

  “If you can get me in the game,” I nodded my head toward my crotch. With a seductive smile she kneeled in front of me. As she rubbed my cock through my pants I closed my eyes, letting myself feel the sensation of her hand, but all I could think of was Melody. Her first hesitant then bold touches. My cock suddenly got rock-hard, not for Ruby, but for my blonde angel. Only for her since I met her.