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“Aw, poor baby,” I say, giving him my best pouty face. “Were your parents mad?”
“Hell, yeah, my dad was furious. They were out at a charity event and the sitter had to call them to come meet us at the ER.”
“And your mom?”
“She was just worried. I remember she gave me a big hug when she got to the hospital. Later on, I heard her and Dad having an argument about that. Dad was always trying to toughen me and my brother up. He felt like my mom’s hugs were the opposite of that.”
I give him an understanding nod. “It seems like being a guy is so hard when it comes to things like that. I have a cousin and when he was around eleven or twelve he was getting bullied in school every day. He was afraid to say anything to his parents or the school about it. He just figured the bullying would get worse if he squealed.”
Spencer looks at me and I see a dark memory pass through his eyes. He starts to say something and then stops.
I give him a concerned look. “What?” I say, hopeful he’ll open up.
He shifts in his seat. “I was bullied as a kid, too.” And then the words just start flowing. “I was sick a lot in middle school. My immune system just kinda went haywire and I kept picking up one virus after another. So I missed a ton of school. And I couldn’t hang out with the other kids on the weekend. No sports for me either. So I was a target.”
I squeezed his hand hard.
“I was scared shitless to tell anyone. Your cousin was right. Bullies don’t like tattletales. They will make your life even more hellish than it already is.”
He looks out his window for a minute and I’m certain he’s thinking about how horrible that time of his life was.
“So, I just took it,” he says. “I took it until I started to get bigger than them. Started to realize I didn’t need to fear them anymore. And I decided I was never going to be afraid of anyone ever again.”
I smiled at him and I could feel tears brewing in my eyes.
“I never really caught up with the sports stuff. So, I decided to focus more on learning how to be successful in other ways. Like running a kickass company that affords me most everything I want in life.”
“Well, you’ve certainly accomplished that,” I say, smiling at him.
“This is it. Make yourself comfortable.”
I walk into Spencer’s penthouse condo and I’m amazed at how clean and neat it is. I have flashbacks to Travis’s apartment which always looked like a bomb just went off in it – unwashed dishes piled up in the sink, clothes on the floor and dust bunnies under every piece of furniture.
But, Spencer’s place is magnificent and damn, what is that amazing smell? Maybe eucalyptus? Or rosemary? It’s absolutely divine.
“Nice place,” I say, trying not to sound as impressed as I actually am. “Did you decorate it yourself?”
He laughs. “Do I seem to be the kind of guy that would decorate?”
“Well, I didn’t want to assume. You’ve surprised me in other ways, Mr. Sullivan. Quite a bit actually,” I give him my best sexy grin.
He leads me into the kitchen where he takes out a couple of plates for our sushi takeout.
He grabs a bottle of white from the wine chiller. “Want a glass?”
“Absolutely,” I say, thinking to myself I should just have one because tomorrow is a workday.
We sit down at the island and dig into the sushi rolls. I didn’t realize how hungry I was until I tasted the shrimp tempura roll which is my absolute favorite.
We’re quiet for a bit while we eat. It feels comfortable being quiet with him. Light jazzy tunes come out of the built-in speakers.
When we finish up, Spencer asks if I’d like a tour.
“Of course. So, how long have you lived here?” I ask, glancing around at the exquisite artwork in the living room.
“I bought this place a year ago. I wanted something closer to work since I spend so much time there.”
He gives me the grand tour and I’m blown away by how impressive it is. The part I like best is the master bath which has the most amazing free-standing bathtub I have ever seen. I’m totally a bath girl and I can see myself soaking in this thing for hours if this were my place.
