Page 54 of The Truth of Us

I cleared my throat and lowered my voice, saying, “I wanted to discuss our arrangement, I…” but she cut me off saying, “Why? It’s over.”

I could feel the sweat on the back of my neck. I adjusted my cufflinks, trying to think about what I could do or say.

This wasn’t going the way I had planned.

This wasn’t what I wanted.

What did you expect, asshole? Nobody stays. You did this…

Harper stood up, reaching for her coat, as she said in a frigid tone. “It ended at midnight? Or was it twelve o one?”

I didn’t know what to say, so I swallowed down my panic, looking around the room for someone to help, to say something. Finally, I got out, “What about we just stay here and talk for a minute.”

Harper put on her coat and reached for her bag, then replied, “No need, Mr Vale, anything that you may require can be handled by my team or scheduled with Timothy.”

Her face was blank; gone was the warmth and affection that I had been accustomed to. Harper turned and started shaking hands and saying her goodbyes, and I could see her disappearing right in front of me. She is leaving me…

“Are you fucking kidding me?” It bubbled out of me before I could tamp the fear and anger down. Harper didn’t respond, and after shaking Rowan's hand, made to walk past me, but I stepped in her path, saying, “That’s it, you have nothing to say. Nothing to ask? "You're just going to shut down and walk away?”

She stopped in front of me, too far to touch, but close enough that I could smell her and I had to resist pulling her in my arms and begging her to stay.

She cocked her head, asking quietly, “Is that what you wanted? A scene? A fight? Me to beg and plead and demand to know why? I don’t need to, Elliot, you timed everything beautifully. Good job. Your booty call of the hour passed me on my way to your place and I overheard exactly what happened. But you know that already don’t you…” She let that hang between us, gasps and murmurs filling the room and then she added, “Just a note, professionally, if you really are trying to improve your PR standing, maybe choose women who are a bit more discreet with your hook ups.”

I heard Caleb curse and felt everyone’s eyes on me. I needed to get control, I needed her to see… to understand, and then we could fix this. I shoved my hands back into my pockets to hide the shake. I could feel everyone’s disappointment, judgments, “This isn’t what… I didn’t… This isn’t what I wanted. I didn’t do anything wrong.”

Harper didn’t move or react to my rambling. Her face was neutral, voice cool when she replied, “What was the point of all this, Elliot? Is that what you need to hear, that you didn’t do anything wrong? I mean, you did tell me you couldn’t go 30 days without sex… I assumed you could at least go more than a few days, more than a minute. But you are a free man, free to do whatever and whoever you want. Just as I am. So if that is all, I am going to…”

The panic and anxious feeling were riding me hard. I stepped closer, trying to reach for her, but she moved away from me as if she couldn’t stand the thought of my hands being on her ever again. Rowan said something, but I needed to get back in control, “Harper… Fuck… listen I just needed, no wanted you to understand the truth of us… so we were both on the same page and now that we are we can talk about what comes next, I put some thought into this and came up with a one year…” Harper cut me off with what could only be described as a manic laugh, it wasn't soft or practiced, this had an edge to it that made me flinch.

“There is no truth to us, Elliot. You did what you set out to do. I know exactly what we were, thank you for that reminder. We were a PR stunt, a contractual agreement, and now that is over. You can reach out to Timothy for anything else you may need.”

I felt flustered and out of control when I tried to reach for her again, but she put her bag between us blocking my attempts, “I think if you just, come to my office and look at what I have come up with…”

She cut me off again saying, “No thank you. I have no further interest in participating in your PR makeover. I am sure Timothy can help recommend a few other options for you to help clean up your image.”

Julian said my name, but I felt cornered, my protective instinct taking over… hurt her before she hurts you. I saw her twenty thousand dollar bag, her shoes, her couture jacket, the townhouse. I heard the board member telling me women like Harper don’t need men like me. That she must have already moved on. How Theo had joked that Harper would be done with me if she knew how high maintenance I was… I grabbed at the one point of vulnerability from our first night in my apartment when this all started. I didn’t feel in control when I said, “You really have moved on already, haven’t you? Did you already have someone lined up? Is that why you were in New York? Finding a new sugar daddy? Is that why you were so determined not to be seen as a whore for hire, Harper?”

Caleb was suddenly beside her. I saw the pain flash in her beautiful eyes, just before she masked it and walked past me. My hands came up without permission, grabbing at my hair. I spun, trailing after her. I needed to stop her. She couldn’t go… she can't leave me… “No… fuck Harper… this isn’t…”

Harper stopped, but she didn’t turn. She looked over her shoulder, just enough so I could see her profile. Her voice was soft for the first time today. "You asked me to come over and talk about us."

The room froze, every muscle in my body locked. I heard Theo's voice in my head. Hell of a way to show it. I ignored it, tried to push it down, but Harper continued. "You knew I was coming." Her voice remained calm. "You knew exactly when I would arrive."

"Harper…"

But she wasn’t done. "You asked for my flight information."

I closed my eyes briefly. Fuck.

"Harper." This time it sounded almost like a plea.

She ignored that, too. "I showed up, just like you wanted."

I felt like everything was falling away, the realization of what I did… because she had. She had come to my place straight from the airport, walked into my building ready to talk to me… She believed there was an us worth discussing.

I felt sick. But instead of admitting that… Instead of doing the smart thing… I doubled down. "I didn't do anything wrong."

The second the words left my mouth, I knew they were a mistake.