Page 4 of Levi
Please forgive me for saying that horrible woman’s name.
“So, spanking the shit out of me isn’t enough for you!”she spits back and now I know we’ve drawn a crowd.I’m pretty sure the meter maid heard her.
“Saylor,” I growl in warning.“Watch yourself.I know that this is shocking but remember who you’re speaking to.”The lump in my throat only gets bigger and the acid in my stomach is burning my esophagus.
Just walk out, baby, then it can be over, and I don’t have to keep going.
Her tears have flooded down her face and I think that she’s about to get up and leave, but then something crosses over her face.A look of resolve, almost.Like a light bulb moment going off.She looks around the room and sees that all eyes are on our table.Saylor furiously wipes her cheeks with the backs of her hands.Her face hardens as she faces me again, and the glow she always has is missing.There is a fire that has been ignited in her that I’ve never seen before.I can handle her feisty side but this is something else completely.Maybe this wasn’t the best idea to do this in public.
“You know what?You are nothing but a coward!You hide behind your expensive cars, yachts, and position in the community but you’re a coward,” she spews.She points her delicate, perfectly manicured nail in my direction.“Now, here we are not even six months later, and you want out.”Another look of resolve flashes over her eyes.“Fine, have it your way.”
She goes to stand, and I can see her struggling to straighten up because she is shaking.My instincts say to go to her and embrace her trembling body, but my mind is telling me that this is all part of my plan.
“You truly are the heartless bastard everyone talks about, but I thought it was because they just didn’t know you.Today has shown me how blind I’ve been to that.You let those years dictate the rest of your life.Yeah, you had it rough, but there are others out there in the world who had it a lot worse than you did, and look what you did with it.Most people don’t land families like your aunt and uncle, and they end up on the streets.Not some three-story mansion with private schools and luxury vacations.Instead of fighting for a better way to overcome it, you decided to help keep those people out of prison so they can do more damage to innocent lives, just like your dead parents let their drug dealer do.”She tosses her napkin on the table then bends to grab for her purse.
There is a lump in my throat and I want to say something but the words are clogged.
“All that money in your bank account, along with a decade of therapy, and still you can’t get a clue or come to terms with it.You work in a field that you despise just to please a family that should love you no matter what career choice you make.Ask yourself, after years with that escort woman, were you able to feel loved?Have meaningful relationships with people your age?”She’s ticking a finger off on each argument and making my head spin as she puts me in my place.No one has ever spoken to me this way before, not even her.I feel heat on the back of my neck as she’s calling me out.Each sentence is like a whip slashing across my skin, ripping me to shreds.
Saylor snatches her phone off the tablecloth and jams it down into her open purse.“The answer to all those questions is a big fat NO!For a smart man you sure are a dumbass.We were together, but for only a few weeks, and everyone told me what a different man you’d become—kind, caring and even started acting your age.I’m sorry no one was there for you growing up but I’m here.I thought we were moving forward in a loving relationship.”
My chest is burning at her words, as if she’s stabbing my heart with an ice pick, and I want her to stop but I’m frozen in place.I’ve never heard her speak like this before.Especially about my dead mother and father.Shit, she just aired out all my dirty laundry that only a few people know about.
She looks around the room that has all her attention.This isn’t how I pictured my plan working.This isn’t what was supposed to happen.She turns her attention back to me and my lungs refuse to let air in.
“Just remember when the time comes, and you wantourlife back, I won’t be here.You remember this day and think about how badly you fucked up.You once said that you don’t give second chances, well neither do I.”
Oh, FUCK!I was referring to a legal case where I fired a new intern over making a slight mistake.She reaches for her purse and shrugs it onto her shoulder.I pray that she leaves quickly and the stabbing in my chest will ease.My hand automatically touches my chest to check to see if I actually have been stabbed, because the pain is brutal.
I need to stop this, to tell her that this was some stupid plan and it blew up in my face.I need to right this wrong.It was never supposed to turn out like this.
“I hope you continue to live a miserable life, Levi.That is exactly the way that you want to live, wallowing in your self-misery and ‘woe is me’ mentality.But just remember that the universe has a way of righting the wrong.What you put out is what you get back.One day, maybe not tomorrow or next week but one day, this conversation will bite you in the ass.Just remember, what goes around comes around, Mr.Thorne.”
She turns to leave on her heels and I reach out to stop her.I can’t let her leave.She is my whole world and even if this is an elaborate plan to keep her safe, the thought of her walking out of here without me is soul crushing.
Tightening my grip on her and pulling her back towards me has her off balance, so I stand to catch her.A gob of brown hair whips around and a hand crashes against my face, making me release her.Fuck, I don’t think I’ve ever been hit like this before.
“Don’t you ever put your hands on me again!You just lost the privilege to ever touch me,” she seethes and corrects her shoulder strap.
Say something, you dipshit, before there’s no going back.
Something catches her eye on her hand and she forcefully yanks off her engagement and wedding rings off her finger.
Oh god baby, please don’t!
“Here, I’m sure the next dumb brunette will love to have this.”She sinks them into my tumbler of bourbon with a splash.My voice is still mute, like it was when I first met her.“I’m sure your little side piece, Josie, will be happy to meet your needs once she’s out of the nut house with Looney Linley.But let me tell you this one little thing, Levi.I am enough, maybe it’s you that’s not enough for me.”
Saylor marches out and I’m left looking at her rings at the bottom of the glass.What the fuck just happened?It was supposed to be a light argument letting people see us, and questioning whether we’re together, to give us a little more time to find the prick who’s targeting us.Not this marriage ending fight.
The noise of people whispering brings me out of my thoughts and I see a mixture of judging eyes, along with some sympathetic ones.I don’t need them.I need my Saylor, the love of my life.A hand touches my upper arm and I feel a burning sensation.Looking at the culprit, I see it’s the little hostess.Shoving her hand away, I grab the tumbler of bourbon and pour the rest of the liquid on the table, then snatch the rings out.Placing the wet items in my pocket, I make my way to the front door where Mitch is waiting.The restaurant can bill me.
“Get the car Mitch!”I growl as we walk out onto the sidewalk.He leaves to retrieve the Mercedes and I try several times to call my wife.After six times I give up and climb in the back of the car when Mitch pulls up.
“Where is she?”I demand.
“Not sure, sir.Ryan was with her, but she took off in the car and left him at the curb.”
“FUCK!How in the hell did my four-and-a-half-month pregnant wife overpower a six-four man?Tell him to find her or find a job mopping floors!”
