Chapter 2
Sawyer opened his eyes and looked over at the other side of the bed. Empty. He turned towards the clock on his side dresser. It read 7am. Where in the hell was Shannon? As in answer, he heard the front door slam. Sawyer sat up shirtless, the blanket falling down to his naked waist. He usually slept naked. It made him feel good. But he wasn't feeling so good now as he watched Shannon stumble in the large room. Her hair was a mess, going this way and that. Her clothes were disheveled and wrinkled. Her makeup was smudged all over her face making her look like she'd been punched in both eyes.
"Don't tell me you're just gettin' in," he said in disbelief.
"Don't fucking start with me. I had a rough night." She said as she threw her purse on the floor and groaned into her hands.
"Only people of babies can say they had a rough night. You were out dancin' and boozin'." He looked at the clock, "Till 7!"
"Yeah well we had fun!" She shouted at him. "The girls thought it'd be a good idea to have some fun at a strip club. And yeah I stripped and yeah it was fun." She crossed her arms.
Sawyer got out of the bed and stormed over to her in all his naked glory. "You stripped in front of men?"
"You're just jealous!"
"This ain't about jealousy goddammit! You could've been drugged and raped!" He pointed his finger at her.
She ignored his last comment, "No surprise there! You're never jealous!"
She was so self-centered, he thought as she walked into the massive master bathroom. He followed.
"Jesus Shannon! Don't forget that you're my woman and I don't want you putting yourself in danger!"
"Fuck off Sawyer! We never do anything fun together! I wanted to live a little."
"By the sounds of it, it was livin' a lot." He turned from her and walked over to the window, he placed his hand on it and leaned into it, looking at the breathtaking view of Central Park.
He felt her hands go around his middle and her face on his back.
"I never do anything for myself," she said softly.
"The fuck you don't." He said and then smelled her. The smell was pretty strong, "You smell like Old Spice."
She was silent.
And that's when he knew.
He pushed her away and turned to face her. His jaw clenched, "You fuck him?"
Her face exploded with guilt. "You gotta understand baby. I was partially drunk. I wasn't in my right mind..I..."
Sawyer clenched his fists and turned around. Of all the things she'd done to him over the last year. Of all the shit he put up with. This was the line she crossed.
She met his icy blue stare and looked away.
"We ended up in the mens bathroom."
"How classy." He said with attitude.
"Don't do that!" Her brows furrowed angrily. "Don't turn this situation against me! I didn't do anything wrong!"
"I guess fucking some random guy behind your boyfriends back ain't wrong."
She crossed her arms, "It was only one time! My god! It's not like I do it every night. You can forgive me and we can move on! I'm nursing a bitching hangover and I don't need this."
"Yeah? Well I don't need this either. Get out." His face was worthy of a sculpture, it was so stony.
It was her turn to be shocked. "What?"
"You heard me Shannon. Get your shit and get the fuck out of my place."
"But...But...I have the photo shoot today with Posh Magazine! The biggest magazine in the country! The interview is about my love life and you need to be there!"
"You should've thought about that before you went and fucked prince dickhead." He turned from her, went to his closet and put on a white robe from Givenchy. With his muscles protruding this way and that, he looked damn sexy.
"I'll have the rest of your shit sent to wherever you're stayin'."
"YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME!" She exploded. "THIS is the BIGGEST BREAK OF MY LIFE!" She started breathing hard. "YOU'LL RUIN EVERYTHING! HOW CAN YOU BE SO FUCKING SELFISH?" She couldn't breathe any longer and was now gasping for air.
"Jesus." He went into the bathroom and grabbed her asthma thingy and gave it to her. "Relax dammit!" She was making him sympathize for her and he hated it.
She was sobbing now and looked so pathetic. He rolled his eyes heavenward.
"Fine!" He shouted as she looked up at him through puppy eyes. "I'll do your fucking interview. But after that, we're through."
She smiled now. There was lipstick on her teeth. She looked like shit.
"The photo shoot is at one. Don't be late."
-
Sawyer couldn't believe she got to him again. He wondered if he would slave to her for the rest of his life. It was a disturbing feeling. One that made him unsettled for the rest of the day. He dressed in a sharp, dark blue, Ralph Lauren Outfit, sans tie, opening the first few buttons. Slicked his hair back and shaved just a little. Dabbed a little of that new Antonio Banderas stuff on his neck, grabbed his briefcase and went to work.
In a meeting, he was told that 'Sunset', one of the biggest cosmetic lines in the world, were going perfume. And had come up with a great smelling one that they were sure would catapult them into the biggest fragrance company in the world. And they asked Sawyers agency to come up with a slogan. The name of the perfume was 'Sunrise' and Sawyers boss wasted no time in making him in charge. The owner of Sunset, Sun Kwon, would be coming in two weeks to see what they came up with. This could make millions for Sawyers company. It was the biggest job he'd ever had so far. And Sawyer had no idea how to come up with something romantic.
He and Shannon hadn't exactly had a romantic relationship. Come to think of it. He'd never been in a romantic relationship period. Before Shannon there wasn't anyone. Just flings, one nighters.
Sawyer had done the interview with Shannon. It was the first time Shannon showed so much affection to him. She did simple things. Touch his hand, smile at him for no reason...well, in her case there was a reason...she'd hug him, give him quick kisses here and there. All throughout the interview. And when it was time for the photo shoot to end and Sawyer said he had to go, she even kissed him passionately and told him he'd see her later. Like hell, he thought. He never wanted to go back to his relationship with Shannon. That was a mistake from the door. But still, she bothered him. Later that day, she had called him several times. Asking for favors and what not. He knew he had to sever ties with her completely to finally be free.
The night came. And he found himself really looking forward to going to the little cafe and seeing miss shortcake again. He had a shitty day having to deal with Shannon and her facade of happy bliss. He was blessed by a smile from Kate as he walked in. There were only three other customers and he took his usual seat in the corner.
"Hey there." She said. "Same thing as last night?"
"Yeah, minus the cake," he said with a charming smile, dimples deepening.
"Right," she drawled out, making him laugh. It's been a while since someone did that. She smiled again and went to get his mocha. Man did she make him feel good. All thoughts of Shannon were out the window as Kate walked over to him with his drink. "There you are," she said as he pulled out his briefcase. He bought a couple of wedding magazines, hoping for some kind of inspiration. She noted and frowned a bit.
"Planning a wedding?" She had no idea why she would be upset if he was. She hardly knew the man with the dimples and long, silky hair. She sure knew him in her dreams last night. She blushed a little and pointed to the magazine to get his attention off her face.
"What? Oh no…I work for an ad agency. Tryin to come up with some ideas for a girly perfume."
"Oh, you're one of those. Never met one before. Thought you people locked yourselves in a closet somewhere and didn't come out until an idea hit you."
He deepened his dimples, "Well, some of us are like that. But I thought it was a well hidden secret.''
She laughed loudly, god how he loved her laugh.
"Well, if you need any help with that, just let me know. Maybe we can figure it out together sometime."
"I'd like that." He said.
As he went back to his studies, Kate went behind the counter and blushed just a little.
"Is that a blush I see?" Cindy asked in a low and teasing voice.
She was doing that a lot."Stop it," Kate said, still blushing.
"He's a winner," Cindy whispered, taking off with a fresh coffee pot.
Kate smacked her arm playfully, "Shut up."
Cindy laughed and went back to work. Kate stole a peek at this familiar stranger, felt flutters and went on to the next table.