Page 129 of Now and Forever

Is he really talking about marriage?

To distract him, I smile and ask cheekily, “Pink Moët and Chandon?”

“Uh-huh!” he says with a grin.

He nibbles at my lips, and, when we’re both satisfied, we get in the car. It’s cold. Suddenly, Eric’s phone dings. He’s received a message.

“Dear, I have to go by the office for a moment. Do you mind?”

Head over heels in love with this man, I shake my head no and smile. Twenty minutes later, we’re at the building. It’s ten o’clock at night, and few people are still in the streets. When we walk into the lobby, the security guards greet us.

When we get to the presidential floor, I see no one there. The office is completely empty. I have to go to the ladies’ room.

“Eric, where are the restrooms here?”

He points to my right, and I hurry toward them.

“I’ll wait for you in my office.”

Once I do what I need to do, I look in the mirror and fix my hair. Dressed in jeans and the red sweater my father gave me, I look younger than I am.

I think about what Eric told me minutes before. A wedding? Should we really get married?

With a radiant smile on my face, I leave the ladies’ room and head toward Eric’s office. When I open the door, my jaw drops, and my smile disappears at the sight of Amanda standing in front of Eric, all dressed up in a sexy, suggestive red dress. That whore!

They don’t see me right away, so I watch how she bends down toward Eric while she shows him some papers. Her breasts are too close to him, and I can tell she wants something more than work. Eric smiles. She touches his shoulder, and he doesn’t say a word. I could kill them both!

I keep watching them for a few minutes. They talk. They look at papers. Amanda then sits on the desk and crosses her legs flirtatiously in front of my Iceman. My jealousy is intense. Too intense. Dangerous. When I can’t take it anymore, I slam the office door, and they both look at me.

My face is no longer that of the sweet young woman in the restroom. This woman and her schemes bring out the worst in me. The look of surprise on Amanda’s face says it all. She wasn’t expecting me here. With determination and a certain cheekiness, I walk up to them both. Eric looks at me with an arched brow.

“Amanda, long time no see!”

She gets down off the desk, straightens her dress, and takes a few steps away from Eric. She touches her immaculately styled blonde hair, fixes her impersonal eyes on me, and responds with a prefabricated smile. “Judith, sweetie, how good to see you.”

Liar.

She walks up to greet me, but I stop her.

“Don’t even think about touching me, understand?”

Eric stands up, but before he can open his mouth, I say, “Shut up, you. I’m talking to Amanda.”

She smiles. She’s enjoying the look of displeasure on Eric’s face. We stare at each other with hate. It’s clear we’ll never be friends.

“You work for Eric. For my boyfriend. Stick to that, and don’t look for anything more.”

“Jude ... ,” Eric growls.

But, paying him no heed, I continue. “If I see you trying anything else with him, I swear you’ll regret it. It won’t be like the last time we saw each other. Understand?”

Eric takes a step forward. Amanda looks at us.

“I think ... I think you’ve got it all wrong, sweetie.”

Determined to mark my territory, I put a finger on her prominent cleavage and hiss, “Leave out the ‘sweetie’ and all the other bullshit. Keep away from Eric, you bitch. Understand?”

“Jude ... ,” Eric scolds me, incredulous.

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