Page 72 of Love Me In Color

“Tell me, Button,” he uttered my nickname with disdain. “Did you sleep with him to win us the contract too?”

Rounds of objections came from Parker and Nathaniel.

“Erik!” Nathaniel called out. “That is uncalled for!”

“I’m not sleeping with him!” my voice broke, but the anger brewing within me replaced any other feelings trying to claw their way out.

“What happens between Blake and me outside of work is of no concern to you,” Parker growled.

Erik gritted his teeth. The tapping of his fingers hastened.

“This conversation doesn’t concern either of you,” Erik walked forward. He clutched my arm and yanked me toward him. “This is between Blake and me.”

“I’m not going to stand here and let you disrespect her,” Parker shoved him backward as I broke out of his grip. “Don’t fucking put your hands on her.”

I hurried between them. Erik wasn’t much of a fighter, but I didn’t want anything happening in front of the building. The familiar snapping of the rubber band filled the brief silence. Both men looked at each other with anger. Time felt like it stood still while I figured out what to do.

Something snapped within me, bringing me back from the last three months, bringing me back to reality. My perfectly crafted shell of perfect Blake was cracked but not broken. This was not what I did. I didn’t let people speak for me, and I wasn’t known for baking down when there was conflict. I needed to take control of the situation.

I had become careless. I had let my emotions get the better of me at work. I needed to take control of myself.

“Parker. Nathaniel,” I regained my composure. “Can I have a moment with Erik? Alone, please.”

“Pr – Blake, I’m not sure that – you just had a panic attack.”

“You had one?” Nathaniel looked at me concerned.

“I’m fine.”

“Blake, I kind of agree –”

I stopped Nathaniel mid-sentence. “I am a grown woman. I am fine. Now, I will not ask again. Let Erik and me have a minute. Alone.”

Parker resisted, but Nathaniel forced him to walk back into the lobby. He knew when it was useless to fight me. The wall was all windows, so I could see them as they took a seat on the couch in the waiting area. Parker shook his head; Nathaniel was trying to calm him down.

“That was absolutely uncalled for, and you know it!” I turned to Erik. “You know I would never sleep with someone to further my career!”

Erik shook his head. The shell of himself that he had developed over the last few months was splintering, and his old self was showing. The one that made wild accusations based on what he was feeling.

“Then please, please explain to me what I saw! Because from where I’m standing, it looks like you’re sleeping with the chief counsel of the company that just gave us our largest contract!”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Parker’s eyes fixed on Erik. His hand was curled into a fist, and he rhythmically snapped the rubber band. If looks could kill, Erik would have been six feet under already.

I crossed my arms. Anger consumed me, but I knew I had brought this upon myself.

I had meant what I said to Gabby about my date with Erik. There had been a feeling of comfort, a feeling of home that had yet to be replicated anywhere else. Good memories flooded my brain, trying to wash out the bad that came along with them. When it came to Erik, I had allowed those memories to fool me into considering that we could work again.

I allowed myself to review the past in a true honesty moment. In reality, Erik and I hadn’t been good for a long time before I left. I looked into his dark eyes, and I knew. I knew I could never choose him again. I could never choose to be with, to love, someone like him. Someone who accused me of anything that came to mind when he was angry and brought out the worst in me.

“Let’s get one thing clear, Erik. I am not sleeping with Parker, nor would I ever do so to get a professional advantage. I am offended, angry, and hurt that you would ever consider that. Two, Parker and I have become… friends…over the last three months, and I had a panic attack. My emotions got the best of me, and he was comforting me. Three, you and I are not together. What I do in my personal life is none of your business.”

“Come on, Button! We had such a great time the other night, and we’ve been getting along so great. I saw in your eyes the spark that was there when we were younger. I thought I was on my way to winning you back!”

“I’m so sorry, Erik. But no. No. I can’t. I won’t let myself fall for you again.”

“Why not?! We were so good together.”

“How about you have an honesty moment yourself, Erik! We hadn’t been happy together for a long time by the time I left. You wanted me to give up my career, my life. I couldn’t do that. We argued all the time and fought over everything. It’s been three years. We’re not the people we used to be. We don’t want the same things.”

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