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ANGELA
The bedroom isn’t as fancy as the master, but still several notches above mine. The bathroom is ginormous with a shower that could probably fit four people comfortably, and then a separate bathtub with jets. A walk-in closet is attached to the bathroom, and has built-ins for purses, belts, clothes, shoes. You know the ones you see is all the famous people houses. I’m so jealous.
There is yelling happening downstairs, but I can’t interrupt. Hendrix can’t know I am here, and my presence would only make things worse for both of them. I don’t need whatever is going on between Stefan and myself to create a bigger rift between them. Although, I truly think this is the last straw for Stefan. After everything he has put up with over the years, he has stood by his side, even defended him, but this has been by far the stupidest thing he has ever done.
If I knew that running down there wouldn’t push things over the edge, I would call my brother out and tell him to stop being such a fucking idiot. He has no idea how good he has it with a friend like Stefan. The things he has done for him, and honestly the company wouldn’t be doing so well if it wasn’t for him. Stefan is the one that coded most of the software and has continued to improve year after year, while Hendrix just tells everyone about it. I bet he doesn’t even know much about the actual program except for what Stefan coaches him on before he goes on these talk shows and what not. He’s a fake.
The commotion downstairs stops, and the front door slams shut. I do as he asks and don’t move until the door opens and I see his face. I hope Stefan stood his ground and told Hendrix what an ass he is being, and his blatant disregard for anyone else around him. That poor family could have been killed. It could’ve been even worse, and a poor child ran out in the street after a ball. There are endless possibilities but only one problem. He shouldn’t have been speeding down a residential street, end of story.
His footsteps cause thuds with every hit, and then the bedroom door opens. His face is blotchy and there is blood on his upper lip. Damn, I didn’t know it escalated to a full-on fight. Men will be men.
“What the hell happened to your face?” I say, getting up and brushing his lip. “Did he fucking hit you?”
My brother can be an asshole, but he’s not known to hit people. Usually, he is the one shying away from a fight because he doesn’t want to mess up his face. He is thevery definition of a pretty boy, and without that, he wouldn’t know what to do with himself. I hope Stefan got him back good.
“To be fair, I decked him first. He deserved it.”
He wraps his arms around me, and his heartbeat is going ninety to nothing. I tuck my head into his chest and just listen. Thump, thump. Hendrix got him riled up, and at first, I thought maybe a tear has fallen from his eye, so I look up for a moment, but it must’ve been something else. I let him hold me, his big strong arms around my back until his breathing slows down and his heart rate comes down. All the years I have known him, I’ve never seen him this angry. I give him a couple minutes to calm down before I further inquire.
“I’m assuming it didn’t go well. Or, at least, from what I could hear.”
The stern look on his face alerts me that he might have calmed down a bit, but he is still fumed. Did things go that bad?
He starts pacing the room, hands on his hips. “I think we are finally done. This company has taken a toll on our friendship, and maybe it’s for the best. Do I really need someone who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about me in my life?”
Stefan deserves the very best. The man does everything he can for others, and this is how Hendrix repays him? Almost destroying everything they have built together. I wish I could say he hasn’t always been this way, but he has. Maybe it just took time for Stefan to notice that everything Hendrix does, is only to benefit himself. Even when we were younger, the only reason Hendrix kept him around was because the girls stuck together and having someone to tag along meant he would have a better chance at getting lucky.
I let Stefan talk to himself, working it out in his head in my presence, but don’t interrupt. Even though I knew this day was coming eventually, he needs to go through it himself, and make his own choice. Throwing away over two decades of a friendship is rough enough, but when it’s someone you share a company with, that makes it even more difficult.
“Mr. Valentino?” A voice comes from outside the door and then a knock. “Dinner is ready when you are.”
With everything that happened, I totally forgot that there was a personal chef cooking us dinner. It’s probably nothing to him. If he cooks for rich people, he’s probably seen and heard it all at this point.
“Thank you,” he replies.
I open the door, and turn around, stretching out my hand to him. “I know you have a lot to think about, but you need to eat. Let’s go.”
He takes my hand, and we walk down the stairs, and into the dining room where there is candles, and two plates sitting across from each other. Did he tell him to set up this up to a be a romantic candlelit dinner? Or did he just assume I was here for a date?
“This looks beautiful,” I say, getting a feel for Stefan’s reaction.
He doesn’t respond, just goes to grab a bottle of vodka and two glasses. “I don’t know about you, but I need more than just water with my dinner. This situation is fucked.”
We scarf down whatever fancy contraption is sitting in front of us and drink a lot of vodka. He brings up the time Hendrix was at a party, and he and I stayed at my house to binge watch all of the scary movies. Anyone that knows me, knows I hate them, but he bet me a hundred bucks that I couldn’t get through three of them without leaving the room. We started with I Know What You Did Last Summer to ease me in, or so he said, but I was not a fan. Next came The Faculty. This one really wasn’t anything I ever want to watch again. The nasty slimy things that take over the teachers bodies, no thanks. The third movie however was the worst and the reason I lost. The Return of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
“It wasn’t that bad. You acted like someone was going to cut you open from one end to the other or something. You do remember it’s fiction, right?” he says, almost sprouting vodka out his nose.
“The guy was nasty and the blood. I don’t do good with gore. I guess that’s why you saved that one for last, huh?”
He nods and picks up the plates and places them in the sink.
“What’s even worse is you checked out in the last twenty-minutes of the movie. All you had to do was go through that little bit of time and you would have won that money.”
I grab the bottle of vodka and our glasses, and retreat to the couch. The chef has gone home and we have the whole house to ourselves. I wonder what games we can play. Maybe I can show him some new positions I heard about, because I’ve been dying to try them.
He grabs the remote and turns on the TV, but then he pulls me close and puts his lips on mine. Okay, he’s just going for it. It has been a bad night, and if I were him, I’d need a quick release, too.
His hands slide onto my legs, and I spread my legs just a bit to give him a taste. Sure, I might want him to, but it’s better if he has to work just a little bit for it. Don’t make it so easy. His lips move down to my neck and I spread them just a little more to give him better access to my panties.
