"The only reason why I didn't break his face in is because I know that asshole will sue me if I do," Dean politely warned Sydney, "but that will be the very last time I'll see him, Syd."
"You don't have to tell me twice," she shook her head.
"I mean it," Dean replied, with a touch of anger in his voice. It gave Sydney an uneasy feeling and she hugged her waist a bit more. "I don't want to hear about him in your life again."
After rushing home from what she believed was worst engagement announcement in all of history, Sydney and Dean had a nice little chitchat regarding Roman's surprise visit. Though Sydney profusely apologized, Dean was no longer angry with her or even with Roman for that matter.
He was angry he let the charade with Renee go on for as long as it did.
It wasn't entirely her fault. Dean should've ended everything the moment Sydney was in L.A. and made it clear to Renee they would only be acquaintances, if that much. Instead, he remembered everything she'd done for him, like a fool, and kept her around just because.
Just because…for no good reason whatsoever.
Those who started on a journey with you typically aren't those who still around at the finish line, was a favorite quote from Dean's first hockey coach. It was something he'd always remembered and thought of the many friends he'd left behind in the past.
He finally needed to be rid of Renee.
It wasn't so much he wanted to but he had to. Dean knew the real reason for Renee's departure was Roman. Had Roman not made his presence known, Renee would probably still be lurking in the background, anxiously waiting for Sydney to leave.
No, he needed to end it. As soon as he was back in L.A., he was going to talk to Renee and get rid of her. His sanity demanded it.
"Well, here's a bit of news that should enlighten the sourpuss mood in here," Sarah broke the ice. "I received two phone calls today. One from Eden, the girl who reblogged your post, Syd. The other from Renee."
Dean and Sydney looked over at Sarah with puzzled looks. "Why did Renee call you?" Dean asked. "How did she get your number?"
"When I was setting up Sydney's blog, I listed my information as contact because I didn't want baby girl to be distracted by bullshit as she got her artwork going," Sarah's eyebrows wiggled, "so I made myself her manager of sorts until she gets a handle on her work."
"I love your genius," Sydney shook her head.
"I know," Sarah continued, "so I got two phone calls today. Renee wants to set up a meeting with me so we can talk more in person about 'my work.'"
"And Eden?" Sydney asked.
"Oh, I got something special for Eden once I meet with Renee," Sarah rubbed her hands and licked her lips as she thought of her devious plan, "this is gonna be good, kids." Sarah picked up her bag. "Anyway, I have evil to plan and that's going to set me back for the rest of the afternoon. You two have some awesome make-up sex, will you? Dean, my man, I'll see you at the game in a couple of weeks. Syd, I'll see you tomorrow at work." She left.
Sydney didn't realize how much she depended on Sarah until that moment. Being alone with Dean while he was still clearly pissed at her wasn't a fun way to spend the rest of his visit and he only had a few hours left. She had to deal with Roman before he caused any more havoc in her life. She didn't know what he could've possibly want or why he even pretended to care after all this time. All she did know was his interference was going to cost her the best relationship she's ever had.
The tears had been forming in her eyes when Sarah was there but didn't fully release until after she'd left. Unable to control her emotions, Sydney climbed upstairs and softly sobbed in her bed, drowning out her crying with a pillow so Dean wouldn't hear.
"Hey," Dean purred as he climbed into bed with her. He gently rubbed her back and kissed her bare arm. "I didn't mean to make you cry, baby girl. I was just…" He searched for the right words to properly convey the inferno inside of him; there weren't any that would do him justice. "…I was just frustrated. I didn't expect to see your ex pop up in here and I certainly wasn't expecting a confrontation to go down. But it's over with. It's just you and me in here."
"That's not it," she shook her head.
"What is it?" He nudged her to face him and she wouldn't budge. He nudged her again and she willingly turned. "What, baby girl?"
"You want Roman out of my life but you don't want Renee out of yours," she pointed out, "that's the problem. You're worried about Roman being a distraction while you're not here but what am I supposed to think of Renee? You honestly think she wants to be my friend? She hates me, Dean, and it's because of you. She hates the fact I'm in your life. She's really going to hate the fact we're engaged. But what really sucks? What really blows about all of this? You're intentionally keeping her around. What does that tell me how you really feel about us?"
She'd sounded more pleasant than Renee'd expected.
Bonita Applebum. It was still a peculiar name but the woman on the receiving end of the conversation sounded more like a generic middle of America type of name like Becky, Jessica, or even Kristy. She was about as American as apple pie, hot dogs, and baseball.
She sounded incredibly naïve and for Renee, that was perfect.
They agreed on a Skype videoconference in the following week to hammer out some more details. Renee was going to pay the woman a hefty sum for her silence while in exchange, Bonita was going to let Renee take all of the credit for the drawings. As far as Dean was concerned, well, Renee had a plan in mind for him. Once he returned to L.A., it'll all be explained and he would be so overjoyed, he'll lick every crevice of her body in appreciation.
It was too early to celebrate but Renee decided she was going to treat herself to an afternoon of shopping. Things were about to blow up in a major way.