I paused for a moment, memories of his father’s dinner flooding my mind.
He shook his head. “Flower… nothing about last night was a mistake.”
“Beckham. I am a married woman. I can’t keep doing these kinds of things, and neither should you. I’m sorry I dumped all of my baggage on you last night, but it should have ended at that. We went too far.”
I grabbed my keys and breathed heavily as he approached me once again, towering over me as he always did. Putting my hand out, I stopped him before he could get too close and shook my head.
“You can pull out of the contract, and I’ll figure something else out… just, please. Please, Beckham,” I said desperately.
He didn’t say anything. Eventually, he stepped aside, and I took that as my chance to get the hell out of there.
As I exited the building, my breaths grew labored as I could feel my heart practically beating out of my chest. Entering my car, I began speeding my way home as panic continued to consume me.
My phone rang. I looked over to see a FaceTime call from Kira.
I answered and saw she was sitting at her desk.
“Hey, Rose, you’re usually here a little earlier, and you didn’t reply to my texts. Is everything okay?”
“Kira… I need to get this off of my chest and tell someone. I need a judgment-free response from you as well as help with where to go from here,” I said as I gave her a quick glance through the phone before going back to the road.
“I’m all ears.”
“Gavin and I got into another huge typical argument, and instead of making a rational decision, I went to Beckham’s studio, and we—” I started, my words dying on my tongue as Kira’s eyes widened.
“You guys had sex.”
I swallowed hard, gripping the wheel. “Yes, but it should have never happened, and I regret it! Now I feel so guilty about what I’ve done to my relationship with Gavin.”
There was a heavy beat of silence.“Oh wow…”She exhaled, like she’d been holding her breath.“I need time to process this.”
“I told him I can’t do these kinds of things with him anymore, and if he wants, he can pull out of the contract. Kira, I don’t know what to do. I’m ruining my marriage with this man.”
“Sorry, Rose, still processing.”
I rolled my eyes, however, I almost swerved the car another call came through—this time from the father of the man who had been consuming me.
“Kira, I gotta go,” I said.
I ended the call with her as I answered Vincent’s, putting it on speaker.
“Mr. Garcia, how are you?” I said into the phone with a forced smile.
“I’m doing well, Rosenna. Just wanted to check in on how things are going with you and Beckham.”
“Everything is going great!”Except for the fact that I cheated on my husband with him, and he doesn’t seem to understand the severity of that decision.
“Glad to hear that. That reminds me, I’d like to invite you to a small brunch I’m hosting for a few of my colleagues at my home later this week.”
I gulped softly. “Oh, um… now is probably not the best time, Mr. Garcia,” I sputtered, trying to get myself out of this predicament.
He tsked like a disappointed father.“Darling, you simply must be there. I am interested in showcasing you and your gallery to some potential investors who would be interested in funding your business.”
I bit my lip.
“Mr. Garcia—” I began.
“Rosenna… You and I both know I don’t like being told no.”
