Page 433 of Now and Forever

Chapter 163

Present

Lily

We are in Santa Monica seated at a restaurant on Ocean Drive; it overlooks the beautiful Pacific. My mood and spirit lift at the sound of the waves and seagulls that permeate the air.

The restaurant is a few minutes from my home, but I don’t dare mention that to him. It isn’t a big deal, yet, I just don’t want to tell him that. I know it will only take a phone call to know my information, but still.

We just ordered and are both quiet as we look out at the view of the beach. The silence is uncomfortable, to say the least. I remember Drake and I used to be very close. We were until I threw myself at him during New Year’s. To this day, I admit that I feel stupid for ruining my friendship with him. Yeah, he’s a jackass now, but he wasn’t before. Now, after eight long years of not seeing each other, there’s so much to say, but there’s nothing we want to voice.

The tension I feel coming off him is blatant.

Sighing, I cock a quick glance at him, catching my breath when I meet his eyes that are looking serious as hell. What the hell is he thinking now? I raise my brow in question to him, but he just keeps on staring, like I’m such a weird specimen.

“Darling, here you are!” A saccharine voice speaks behind me. I tense when I see Drake’s facial expression change and become guarded.

“What are you doing here?” Drake utters through gritted teeth.

When the woman in question finally stops at our table, I see a beautiful blonde with hazel eyes that are framed with the longest lashes I have ever seen. I suppose this is Drake’s girlfriend or fiancée… whatever the hell she is? I see her measure me up and down while smiling sweetly at me. That makes me not like her on the spot.

Fake. She’s a fucking fake. I hate women like her.

I mean, what is the point in trying to be nice and all when you obviously don’t like the person? She rounds Drake’s side of the table and pulls herself a chair. Obviously, the faker wants to join us. How quaint. I simmer some more.

“Who told you I was here?” Drake eyes her with a hard stare when Shannon tries to get comfortable on her chair. Her stupid fake smile still plastered on her pretty face.

“I called the office, of course. Mindy gave me the information, albeit reluctantly.” Shannon pouts at Drake. Do her stupid fake smile and those stupid pouts always work? How cheesy is that of Drake? Triple ick.

“Did you need something? You could’ve called at least.” Drake’s tone is obviously hard and he’s not pleased, but that doesn’t seem to faze Shannon. Guess he’s not so easily won over, after all.

She looks at me then, still smiling, and speaks, “I know, Darling, but I wanted to meet your new assistant. When Mindy informed me that you took her out, I was . . . curious.”

Drake clears his throat and introduces us. I’m a little miffed that he doesn’t even mention that I’m a family friend or that we grew up together. “Do you not notice that I’m in a middle of a work day, Shannon? Couldn’t it have waited?”

Shannon places her coral lacquered nails on Drake’s shoulder and strokes it sensually. She purrs next to his ears. “Darling, Daddy wants you to call him. It’s about the wedding and the date. He was hoping you could fill the bill for everything. Now, go scoot and make that call, please?”

Drake curses and gets up to make a call to Shannon’s father. When Drake is nowhere in sight, the real woman comes out.

“If you’re thinking about bagging your boss, I will fucking mess with your life. Drake’s mine, so don’t make the same mistake the woman before you did. I can get you fired in a blink of an eye. Drake loves me and he’ll do anything to please me. I will keep an eye on you, Lily.”

Shannon is dead serious, too. I want to laugh so hard, and yet, throw the entire glass of water at this yapping woman.

How in the world did Drake manage to be with this woman? Now I get what Patricia was talking about. Shannon is simply mental and off her rocker.

“I’m not interested in Drake. You can have him for yourself for all I care, but you, Shannon, need to watch your tongue because when I fucking hit back, I fucking hit you back hard. I’m not one for cat fights, but I can take you on. You threaten me and then expect me to just clamor up? You’ve picked the wrong woman to threaten and intimidate. I don’t give a rat’s ass about you, a wannabe actress, who wants to nab a rich guy. I don’t care, got that, blondie?”

Shannon’s eyes become so dark they’re almost black. Her neck is turning red and I can see it is starting to creep up all the way to her cheeks. If she is going to have a heart attack right now, I will probably just sit back and watch her drop on the floor without a twitch of a muscle to help. Wretched bitches don’t deserve pity. I can be a cold-hearted bitch if I want to. Sadly, it was Drake who taught me to be one.

She is almost tomato red. I can see she wants to kill me, but Drake chooses that moment to rejoin our party. His eyes swing back and forth, noticing his fiancée’s beet red-colored state. My eyes never leave Shannon. What comes out of her mouth isn’t a surprise. “You’re fired, Lily. You can kiss your job goodbye and go back to wherever shady part of town you came from. No one gets to talk to me so disrespectfully and get away with it.”

I bite my lip as I look at her with amusement, trying to hold back my laughter.

Drake interjects, “What the fuck’s going on here? You can’t fire her—”

“Of course, I can. We’ll be married soon and the company’s going to be part mine.” Shannon directs her gaze at me. “What are you still doing here, looking amused? You can leave now. You’re not needed.”

That does it.

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