Part X

Monday, 8:59AM

Dominic furiously clicked the end of an ink pen as he looked at the second hand on his watch. it was just passing X. Slowly it approached XI and the moment it covered XII, he stood from his desk. His door opened abruptly, and his shock was plastered all over his face. Leticia Ortiz stepped into his office, drinking from a grande soy latte, her trusty iPad in hand, the LED light illuminating her face.

"You have two back-to-back meetings from ten to until lunch. I'll have the Chinese fusion place you like deliver your Kung-Pao chicken and wheat rice. You'll have to have the lettuce wraps instead of the extra side of rice because your trainer says you've been drinking more than usual and you missed your six a.m. session this morning. Your two o'clock is cancelling because their flight was delayed. I assured them you were looking forward to rescheduling when your schedule allowed."

She finally took a breath and looked up from her iPad and her brows furrowed. "You look exhausted. There's Emergen-C in your top desk drawer. I'll bring you some water. Will you be needing anything else right now?"

Dominic just blinked. He closed his mouth and shook his head, clearly at a loss for words. Truth be told, he was just pleased to see her. And she looked just as beautiful as the last time he'd seen her.

"I'll be back with your water, Mr. Toretto." And she took her leave.

Dominic sat back down in his office chair and picked up his pen. Well played, Ortiz, Dominic thought, well played, indeed.

Moments later, she barged in, once more, sans iPad and coffee, to bring him a bottle of artesian water and sat it on his desk. "Have you eaten?"

"At all or-?"

"This morning", she clarified, "Have you eaten this morning?"

She had zero patience for him today, that much was obvious.

"No."

Letty shook her head and sighed. "I'll be back. Drink the Emergen-C."

Stepping out of his office, Letty wondered if he really had eaten at all. The ice around her heart melted just a little with concern for his well-being. Perhaps she could be just a little nicer, if only to get the answers she needed. She cleared her throat and grabbed her bag, making her way to the breakfast truck downstairs.

"Letty! The boss man hungry?"

"Yeah, Hector. You know it. Can I get two-?"

"Turkey bacon, egg and cheese on a wheat bagel with no salt, no pepper, fried onions and a side of home fries to share." Hector finished for her.

Letty smiled. "You're the man."

"You two make it easier for me since you love the same thing." Hector started preparing her and Dominic's breakfast. "My abuelita always says that when two people love their food the same way, they're meant to be."

Letty looked up from answering a text from Mia. "How long was your abuelita married?"

"Ah," he waved a hand, "she was unmarried until the day she died."

Letty chuckled and shook her head.

"But her and my abuelo were together for fifty-one years before he died."

Letty's smile dropped. "Good to know."

"Anyway," he handed her their meals in a white paper bag, "what does she know? She couldn't cook to save her life." He threw a wink her way and refused the twenty dollar bill just as he always did. And just as she always did, Letty slipped it into his tip jar.

"There's no one like you, Hector." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "Same time tomorrow?"

He nodded, a broad smile on his face.

"What exactly does his company do?"

Dominic and Letty sat in the conference room, going over the contract for a potential client that Dominic was seemingly very eager to take on. A man named Owen Shaw who specialized in creating weapons out of cars.

"They engineer newer, more efficient car parts. Most are his own design and apparently he's been working very closely with the government on war vehicles. Tanks, motorcades, et cetera, et cetera." Dominic told her.

"I just-." Letty paused and shook her head.

"What?"

"You said when you started this company, you wanted to deal in American motors only, specializing in American muscle. This guy is English."

"Yes, I've read that much, thank you."

Letty resisted the urge to roll her eyes. "I just don't think he sounds like a nice guy is all."

"You've researched him then?"

Letty didn't get a chance to respond.

"Mr. Toretto, your eleven o'clock is here." The receptionist's voice chimed through.

"Send him in."

Moments later, the door opened and in walked two Englishmen. One taller and more muscular, while the other was leaner and had a professional air about him. Dominic smiled, politely. And Letty felt sick to her stomach.

"Dominic, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Owen Shaw and this is my brother and business partner, Deckard Shaw."

The gentlemen shook hands and Dominic turned his body towards Letty.

"This is my personal assistant, Leticia Ortiz. I hope you gentlemen don't mind if she sits in on the meeting and takes a few notes."

"Of course not." Owen replied, staring at Letty. "A woman as lovely you, we welcome your presence."

Letty felt bile rising slowly. Hiding her hand, she grabbed the back of his suit jacket, tugging lightly. Dominic looked at her, his face flooding with concern. "Leticia? Letty, you don't look very well."

"Bad breakfast." She managed. "Excuse me."

Hand to mouth and making a hasty exit, Letty could only hope the situation would fix itself. She found herself in the women's bathroom, hands on the sink, beads of perspiration forming on her forehead.

How was this happening? Why was this happening?

A knock sounded at the bathroom door.

"Be right out." Letty called.

She wet her face and pushed her glasses up onto her head in order to rub the bridge of her nose. Taking a deep breath, Letty righted her glasses and released the air.

If only to delay the inevitable, she stepped inside the break room and poured herself a cup of coffee. Through the glass windows, she could see directly into the conference room. Where her every fantasy was sitting directly across from her worst nightmare.

"Letty."

The brunette jumped, coffee spilling over the rim of her mug.

"Goddamn it."

"Sorry. You look like you've seen a ghost."

"It's fine. What do you need Suki?"

"Dominic said you were sick. He wanted me to come check on you."

"I'm fine."

"Well, if your stomach hurts, you should have ginger ale. Not coffee."

Letty slammed the coffee down onto the counter, splashing the caffeine everywhere. "Thanks," she replied in a tone that Suki realized meant 'get lost'.

She put her hands up in surrender and mentioned, "Sorry for caring", and made her exit.

Letty sighed. She hadn't meant to take her emotions out on Suki, but shit was clearly about to hit the fan. In a big way. And Dominic Toretto had no idea.

"You're going by your full name now? Can't say I saw that coming."

Letty's eyes shot upwards.

He looked the exact same. Vampiric bastard. Back again to suck the happiness out of her life.

"Did you need something, Mr. Shaw? Coffee? Water? I guess an Englishman such as yourself would fancy a cup of tea instead?"

He gave a small chuckle. "Tea would be lovely. Thank you." He placed a hand in his left pant pocket and the other adjusted his tie as he walked closer to Letty while she prepared his herbal tea. When she felt his presence too closely, she turned and headed to the office fridge. "Cream or milk?"

He brushed off her rejection smoothly, a smirk across his face. "Cream. A splash. Please and thanks." He leaned against the counter, careful not to ruin his draperies with her spilled coffee. "My how you've grown."

Letty slammed the fridge closed, bottles clinking loudly. She had no idea that she'd just caught the attention of her boss. In his office, he gave furtive glances in his assistant's direction, noting the strained yet polite look on her face. She was clearly uncomfortable. If that British bastard was making a move on his woman, he-.

"Mr. Toretto, forgive me for saying so, but you appear to be distracted. Is everything alright?"

"No, no. I'm listening. You were talking about the new plans you have for the military's armored cars."

Deckard nodded his head, relieved to know he was being paid attention to.

"Right, well. As I was saying, with Shaw Technology's blueprints and the military's armored cars, we could have a beautiful, demon love child on our hands. We're talking roadside IED-proof."

Dominic was certainly intrigued, but there was something about the Shaws that he couldn't quite put his finger on. And he was too protective of his business, and its employees to go into business with someone whose vibe he couldn't figure out. So, instead, he nodded his head as Deckard continued his narcissistic rambling.

In the break room, Letty poured hot water into a recyclable cup and handed it to Owen with the intent of spilling some of it on him.

He gracefully saved his hand from being scalded and smiled. "Careful. That's hot."

Letty gave a falsely contrite smile. "Not hot enough."

She turned back towards her own spilled liquid and grabbed a paper towel from the sanitary dispenser to wipe it up.

"You should be nicer to me, you know? I'm about to make your boss a very rich man."

"He's already a very rich man."

"Well, in that case, make me feel welcome because this merger will be attributing to your raise." He moved to push a strand of hair behind her ear and Letty slapped his hand away, her shoulder raising in defense of the unwanted touch.

In conference room, Dominic clenched his fist, his pristine nails leaving half moon indentations against his palm. He'd witnessed the action and he wanted nothing more than to run to Letty and protect her from everything. Even himself.

"I'm sorry." Dominic said to Letty.

She didn't respond. Instead, she continued to shuffle around paperwork, cleaning up the conference room table after the meeting.

"For Shaw."

Her hands faltered for a split second, but it was long enough for a few papers to escape her grasp. Dominic noticed. She was certain he did. And while she wasn't religious, she prayed to any deity that would listen that he wouldn't ask her-.

"How do you know him?"

"Who said I did?"

"I saw you two." He paused. "In the coffee room."

Still, Letty did not reply. She placed the paperwork into an interoffice envelope and sealed it up.

"Ex-boyfriend?"

Her brown eyes shot up to meet his. "No."

Dominic was uncertain of the expression on her face. It was almost disgust, but not fully there.

"Who is he?"

"Why is it so important to you?"

"Because you looked uncomfortable when he was around. I don't want to do business with him if you don't want to be around him."

"You can't make business decisions based on my feelings."

"Why can't I?"

Letty sighed. She couldn't handle this right now. The man in front of her wanted her, and she wanted him. But there were some things that just couldn't understand about him. She needed answers.

But so did he. And she was aware of that. Just… not right now. Letty needed time and space to gather her thoughts.

"Can we talk later?"

"When?"

"Just… later."

Dominic stared at her for what felt like eternity. His lips parted, and his eyes blazed.

"As you wish." He made a gesture with his hand that let Letty know she was dismissed. Relieved, she pressed the envelope to her chest and left Dominic with a hundred questions and no answers. Now, he knew how she'd felt when all of his darkness had been a mystery to her.

"I found everything I could on Owen Shaw. Even what I wasn't meant to find." Hobbs announced as he walked into Dominic's home office.

Dominic held out his hand for the confidential envelope that he'd demanded of Hobbs.

"Ah, cheers." He immediately opened it and began skimming its contents.

"Why don't you skip to the last page, sir?" Hobbs suggested.

Dominic glanced up at Hobbs only to see the man's face completely stilled.

"The last page." He mumbled to himself as he lifted the first twenty or so pages of the document upwards. He read slowly, his lips moving on their own accord.

"The last paragraph."

"Wha-?"

"The last paragraph, sir." Hobbs repeated.

His eyes scrolled down to the closing lines before widening. "No."

"I'm afraid so.."

"Anyway, Mia, I just froze. Made some lame excuse about breakfast and promptly ran to the bathroom to throw up. I was so embarrassed."

"I still can't believe you even went to work. You've got some serious balls."

Letty laughed. "He was shocked as hell to see me there. And I think a little pissed."

"Why pissed?"

"Because I was pretending like that night never happened. All business."

"Proves you can compartmentalize just as well as he can."

Letty shrugged. "It was hard. Being sort of… cold. But it needed to be done. If only for my sanity."

"And what about his?"

A guttural sigh came from Letty. "I don't know, Mia. I don't know what to do. I mean, you're right. He's the only one with the answers. And I want them. I just have to figure out if I still want to continue to sleep with someone who basically wants to abuse me."

Mia leaned her elbow on the back of the couch and rested her cheek against it. "I don't think he means it as abuse."

"Discipline, punishment. All the same, I suppose."

"I think it's an outlet for something."

"For what? He wasn't abused as a kid. He had a great life from what he tells me. With the exception of a few bumps along the way."

"Maybe they're bumps to you, but they could have been mountains to him."

"Are you on his side or mine?"

Mia put her hands up. "Hey, I'm Switzerland. I'm just trying to get you to see things from both perspectives."

Letty appreciated it. She did. And Mia was right. Again. And Dominic was willing to give her her space. She just needed to figure out exactly what she wanted to say to him, when she wanted to say and where she would say it.

"I'm going to talk to him." Letty decided. She grabbed the black blazer she'd strewn over the arm of Mia's couch and stood up.

"Wait. Right now?"

"Yes. Before I lose my nerve."

Mia smiled. "Good for you."

"Miss Leticia Ortiz to see you, sir."

It was late. Dominic checked the time on the grandfather clock in his room. Very late. He became concerned.

"I'll be right out." Dominic placed the book he'd been enjoying on his bedside table and hopped out of bed. He slid his feet into a pair of house slippers and crossed the enormous room to his door. Hobbs stood on the other side.

"Where?"

"Sitting room. Downstairs"

"You can go home, Luke."

"Yes, sir."

Dominic made his way, swiftly, to the first sitting room in the house. Upon arrival, he watched silently from the archway. She was running her soft hands across the top of the grand piano. Before, there had been absolutely no reason for the piano. He hadn't even been sure it belonged in the sitting room. But at that moment, with the dim sconce lighting and the vibrant full moon beaming in through the balcony window, the piano had found its spot… directly under the temporary care of Leticia Ortiz.

"Do you play?" She asked, pulling him away from his thoughts.

"No. You?"

"No." She grinned. "You're a hoarder of all things elegant."

"I'm a collector of all things vintage." He countered.

"Hmm." She rounded the piano and sat along the bench. Finally she looked at him. Really looked at him and saw his bare chest and exposed biceps and slight bulge in his satin pajama pants. Her mouth went dry.

"What's wrong?"

She must have looked confused because he continued, "It's nearly midnight."

"Oh." She replied. "I'm sorry. I can go. I just-."

"I don't want you to go." The words fell from his lips so quickly that he wanted to kick himself.

Letty cleared her throat. "I just need to know why."

"Why what?"

"Why you want… or need to cause pain? It can't just be about control."

Dominic uncrossed his arms and walked several paces towards her before she stopped him.

"No, don't." She said. "With the," she gestured to him, "nakedness and stuff."

Dominic looked down at his own naked chest and chuckled. It was cocky sound, reassured. Like he always was. Or how he used to be before everything that had transpired between them.

In order to respect her wishes, Dominic sat, casually, on arm of the recliner chair and crossed his arms back over her broad chest.

"Okay." Letty said as if she'd just a great thought. "How about this? I ask a question, you answer it honestly, and then you can ask me a question that I'll answer honestly."

"You are aware that is the definition of a conversation?"

Letty rolled her eyes. "Dominic."

"Okay, okay." Dominic placated, clearly amused at her exasperation. "Ask away."

"Why are you like this?"

"I assume it has something to do with the fact that my first sexual partner introduced me to sexual sadomasochism. My therapist says it has something to do with opponent-progress something or other."

"Opponent-process theory." Letty corrected. "But that would make it a disorder, not a preference or a choice."

Dominic looked surprised.

"I told you: I read."

"Because the subject interests you?"

"Is that your question?"

"Is that yours?"

"No. The subject never interested me before."

"Before what?"

"Before you."

"Hm."

"Ask your question."

"Was Owen Shaw married to your mother?"

Letty hesitated. How the fuck did he know that? "Yes."

"Did he-?"

"It's my turn."

"Fine."

"Do you need to cause pain to like… you know?"

"To ejaculate?" He finished for her, smiling at her shyness. "No. And you of all people should know that. It's simply... what I like. Did Shaw sexually assault you?"

"What?" Lettuce felt like all of the air in her lungs turned into poison. She couldn't breathe. The conversation escalated far quicker than she had anticipated.

"The man paid off a judge in order to get out of prison for sexually assaulting a minor. I want to know if you were that minor."

Letty got quiet. Too quiet. It was unsettling. She just stared in a near-catatonic state. And after two full minutes, Dominic stood from the chair and went to her.

"Letty?" He took her hand in his own and when she looked down at him, it caused a single tear to fall down her left cheek.

Dominic's blood boiled. There was no way this man was going to get away with what he'd done.

"You told me-. You said he never did anything-."

"He didn't rape me. He tried something but-."

"I'll kill him."

Letty pulled one hand from his grasp and placed it on his face. "I told you. I don't need a savior."

"He can't get away with this."

"He already did."

"Why didn't you say anything this morning? You knew. You saw his name. And you've been helping me with this account since day one."

"It was my job."

"But-."

"You had no interest in my life before we fucked. What's changed?"

"You have a piece of me. And I, you. That's what's changed." Dominic confessed. "Am I wrong?"

She shook her head, not as an answer to his question, but to clear the fog in her mind. "I came here to talk about you. This." She gestured at the space between them.

"What about it?"

"You want things. Things that I don't want. Things that I can't give you."

"Letty, I-."

"We should just forget about this. About the contract. About everything that we've done." She stood abruptly pulling her other hand from his. He stood to his full height; much taller and much more intimidating than she anticipated.

"I'm sorry, Dominic."

"Let-."

"Sorry." She made a hasty exit, not wanting to give him the chance to convince her to stay.

Dominic stood in his sitting room attempting to comprehend what had just happened to him. He'd never been rejected.

First time for everything, he thought to himself. Clearly Leticia Ortiz still had not realized the magnitude of his powerful reach. Oh, but she was about to learn.