It's been a while, but my fingers have been itching to write something and let's just say I've been inspired as of late. Enjoy!
Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End
"Babe."
I kept my eyes closed, pretending to still be asleep.
"Bella." His voice whispered closely in my ear. I felt the bed beside me shift as Jacob shifted his weight so his body was astride me. Jacob's warm hands caressed my back, slowly going down to cup my rear end.
So it was going to be that kind of start to the morning. I could deal with that. I allowed one of my eyes to peep open and I could see his brown eyes looking into my face, just a few inches.
"Good morning." I whispered, careful not to breathe my morning breath on him. Rather than replying, he lowered his hand even further, cupping the apex of my thighs, right where the warmth suddenly bloomed. I allowed my eyes to shut once again as he slowly coaxed me awake.
Half an hour later, I stood in the kitchen cutting up fruit for my morning smoothie, still in the afterglow of our morning lovemaking. It was far in between we were spontaneous like that. Between both of our busy schedules, it wasn't uncommon that we had to schedule sex in between work travel, meetings, family, our social lives, and sleep. It may seem sad, but it was practical for us both. Besides, wasn't the important thing that we still even made time for one another?
Jacob strolled into the kitchen with his hair still damp from his shower. He smirked, knowing what I was thinking about, and pecked me on the cheek. His tall build filled up our small apartment kitchen quite easily.
"You're looking quite dapper this morning." I mentioned before pulsing the blender. Jacob leaned against the counter and waited until I turned the blender off.
"What do you have going on today my love?" Jacob moves toward the coffee maker, pulling his travel mug from the cupboard above.
"A couple of potential clients are coming by to check out the hotel. I should be home in time for dinner though. What about you?"
"...I have a meeting with a new client today." He looked away suddenly and there was something on his face that I couldn't really place. Before I could ask him what was wrong, he sipped his coffee out of his travel mug and headed toward the front door.
"Got to make that cash money." I laughed to dispel the sudden weird vibe that I got. He turned and smiled back and shook his head.
"Well we do have a wedding to pay for soon." He winked. "I'll see you later tonight babe."
An hour and a half later, I was striding across the lobby of Europa Los Angeles. Europa was a luxury hotel chain where I worked as an event manager for corporate events. My heels tapped across the marble as I made my way toward the back offices. Smoothie in one hand, cell phone in the other, I was double checking to see if I had any missed calls from clients. I had a two large events in a couple of weeks and both clients had the strange thought that I was at their beck and call. Most people seem to think an event manager was a fancy term for personal assistant.
I scrolled through my e-mails, fortunate to not have any voicemails waiting for me, and stopped when I saw my boss's name.
Bella, come by my office today at 3 p.m.
-D
That seemed quite ominous. I had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach. I suddenly had a terrible thought, I'm going to be let go. A cold chill went through my body. Though deep down I knew I hadn't done anything wrong recently, it didn't make sense to see him.
"Chef wants to see us in 15." My best friend, Alice, walked past me as I sunk down in my ergonomic desk chair. Alice's desk was right across from me and she took her seat, turning her computer on. She glanced up at me when I didn't respond.
"Uh...earth to Bella?" Her light gray eyes searched mine.
"Yes, we'll go see the chef in 15." I responded turning on my respective computer. I stared at the screen as it lit up, still thinking about what the boss man would want to see me about.
"What's up?" Alice asked, waving her hand in front of me.
"I...have to go see Mr. Daniels today at 3." I sighed. I really couldn't afford to lose this job. Yes, I did have a wedding to pay for in the next 6 months, but I also had student loans, bills, and rent. Jacob was a financial planner and though he did make a good chunk of money, having to support both of us would be a struggle.
Alice's eyes widened, understanding instantly. She didn't say anything to me for the next 10 minutes. This is why we were such good friends. She knew when I didn't want to talk.
For the next 6 hours, we met with the executive chef of the hotel to go over final counts and menus for our respective events coming up this weekend. Alice handled all the weddings while I took on all the corporate events. I had two potential clients come in to look at the hotel for their own respective events, both of whom seemed very interested. During those 6 hours, I almost forgot about my impending meeting with Mr. Daniels.
At 2 minutes until 3 p.m., I walked towards the back offices where all the directors sat. Mr. Daniels' door was slightly ajar. I knocked tentatively. Not going to lie, my palms were starting to sweat.
"Come in."
I walked in with my back straight as a needle, trying my damnedest not to look the least bit worried. Mr. Daniel sat behind his big oak desk and was typing something up on his computer. He didn't look up until I sat in the chair across from him.
"Bella, thank you for coming to see me." He turned away from his computer and folded his hands neatly in front of him. Mr. Daniels was an unassuming man who was my height without heels on. He was always perfectly coiffed and always wore light gray suits to match the general color scheme of the hotel. All of us in middle management could never decide if this was on purpose or if he just prefered the color gray.
"Of course Mr. Daniels. What can I do for you?" I used my most earnest tone of voice. The same tone I use when trying to upsell clients on their events.
"How long have you been here Bella?" Mr. Daniels looked straight at me. His ice blue eyes bore into mine but I forced myself not to look away. It was known among all the employees at Europa, that Mr. Daniels was one hell of an intimidator.
"I've been here for 4 years now." I smiled, hoping to ease my anxiety. I started working at Europa when I was 24 years old. Previously, I worked at a small event planning company. A job that I held right out of graduating college.
"It doesn't seem like a long time. However," he paused, as if to keep me on the edge of my seat. Which, of course I was. "However, the directors have noticed the steady rise of sales and corporate events since you've been here. Out of the hundreds of events you've coordinated, there are probably less than a handful of unhappy clients."
I smiled tightly at him. Get to the point! my mind pleaded.
"As you know, Europa has bought out several hotels across the country in the past two years."
I nodded, of course I knew this already. Though Europa was a hotel chain, locations across the country were only limited to Los Angeles, New York City, Miami, Chicago, and D.C. Europa didn't have the breadth like a Marriott or Hilton by no means. However, quality of service and satisfaction were much higher. Most guests staying at a Europa hotel tended to be more affluent. The new locations Mr. Daniels were now referring to were located in San Francisco and Seattle. The San Francisco location had a grand opening 2 months ago to much success.
"Seattle is scheduled to open in the next two months." Mr. Daniels stopped and sighed. "I want you to head their events department."
Wait...what?
"I'm sorry?" I couldn't have heard that correctly.
"I recommended your transfer to Seattle. I think you've done great things here in Los Angeles. With four years under your belt, I think it's time that you were awarded the opportunity to grow. I think you would be a great fit for Seattle with all that corporate experience under your belt." Mr. Daniels pulled a thick folder from his desk and slid it toward me.
"Wow...this is so unexpected. A promotion and a transfer to Seattle weren't even on my list of things that I thought would come out of your mouth today." I smiled sheepishly and took the folder. I opened it and felt my eyebrows shoot up. Quite the promotion indeed.
"I know this is a big decision. I know your fiance works here in Los Angeles, but I do believe this would be the best move for your career." He stood up and I followed suit, clutching the folder to my chest now. "Why don't you take the rest of the day off to think about what I am offering you."
"Yes, thank you so much Mr. Daniels." I shook his hand, grateful and a bit shell shocked to be honest. I turned to leave and as I grabbed the doorknob to exit his office he spoke again.
"All the locations gave their recommendations. After Mr. Rossi read through all the files, he chose you personally." Mr. Rossi was the owner of the Europa chain. I had only seen him twice in my four years here and both times it was just in passing. I had only talked to him once. "Your file was the most impressive."
"Thank you for letting me know that. I have a lot to think about." I smiled once more and Mr. Daniels finally smiled back.
"You'll let me know your decision tomorrow."
With that I turned on my heel and with legs like jello made my way back to my office to tell Alice the news.
I was still a jumble of nerves as I made my way up the stairs to the apartment I shared with Jacob. Surprisingly, there wasn't the usual LA traffic heading home. Normally, traffic stresses people out, but I've always found it quite calming, just sitting in a car with good music, alone with my thoughts. So today, I didn't get to de-stress on the drive home. If anything, I was more tightly wound.
I was anxious to see how Jacob would react. On one hand, I knew he'd be happy for me, but on the other, our life was here in LA. My parents lived in nearby Pasadena, Jacob didn't grow up in LA, but rather in Orange County which was thirty minutes to an hour away depending on the day. Moving up to Seattle, Washington was a big deal. I've never been there myself and the only thing I knew about the place was that it rained...a lot. For a couple who grew up solely in Southern California all their lives, that was a big change.
Oh well, Jacob wasn't due home for another 3 hours. He normally left the office by 6 p.m. and didn't get home until almost 7 p.m. I'd at least have some time to figure out how best to bring this up.
I dumped my purse which contained the folder Mr. Daniels gave me on the side table near the front door and headed to the bedroom to change. As I made my way down the hall, I could hear noises sounding from the bedroom.
I stopped in my tracks and felt my blood suddenly run cold. I definitely heard a woman's voice. A woman's voice who I'm sure have never heard before in my life. It was one of those high pitched, baby voices that made my skin crawl; probably someone from the valley. I carefully made my way down the hallway closer and closer to the door, my body telling me not to go. Luckily, the hallway had a rug running down the length of it which masked the tapping of my heels across the wooden floor beneath it.
"Tell me you love me." The baby voice whined. My hand twitched into a fist as I leaned my ear closer to the door.
"I love you." Jacob said. I felt my blood boil, no longer scared, but angry. I could vaguely hear the sound of skin on skin pounding against one another.
"And tell me you don't love her." Baby Voice said again, followed by what was unmistakably a moan.
"I love..only...you." Jacob said, moaning in between each word. Oh fuck no.
The door was slightly ajar and I pushed it opened. There, on the bed Jacob and I had fucked in earlier this morning, was Jacob lying on his back with a pixie haired blond riding him. It took them a second to notice me standing there as their faces were currently fused together by their lips.
I stood there staring. If only my eyes were daggers.
"Sorry to interrupt." I finally said, wanting to break up the sound of their sloshing tongues.
Baby Voice sat up immediately and turned, horror in her eyes. Jacob turned to look at me, his normally perfectly sun-kissed face turned pale at the realization that I was there.
"You can at least have the fucking decency to to take your penis out of her vagina." I turned on my heel, no longer able to see their nakedness together. I grabbed my purse and was halfway out the door when Jacob ran down the hallway, one of our pillows held in front of himself. Odd, considering I've seen him nude countless times.
"Wait, Bella!" Jacob stopped at the doorway, remembering he was nude. I stood outside, 6 feet away from where he stood.
"I don't have to do anything!" I yelled. It felt good to yell.
"Let me explain." Jacob said quietly, obviously not wanting the neighbors to hear.
"What is there to explain? You were fucking someone else. In. Our. Bed." I emphasized that last bit. I was full of loathing which was a pretty strong emotion for me. I was always known to keep my cool, but this situation was out of control.
"Please don't leave." Jacob pleaded, his eyes starting to water. I shook my head, not even able to form the words I wanted to throw at him. Instead I reached down and removed the engagement ring he gave me 8 months ago.
"I don't ever want to see you again." I threw the ring at him which landed next to his feet. I knew he wasn't going to follow me.