A/N: I only own the OC
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I was sitting in the office when Becky walked back with a weird look on her face.
"What is it?" I asked her because she looked very concerned.
"Mr. Lumis is out here asking for you." She said in an uncertain tone and I looked at her strange.
"Dexter?" I asked her as Elias walked by and stopped when he heard that name. We all felt the same way about Dexter at this point, aside from Johnny, that he was kind of a douchebag.
"He's here?" He asked Becky as I stood up.
"No, his dad." She said and I was surprised to hear that. I glanced at my reflection and walked out there. He was waiting at the bar with a drink and talking to Charlotte.
"Mr. Lumis." I said and he turned to give me a small smile. I had known this man my entire life so I wasn't sure why I was leery of seeing him now. He had been best friends with my family, and now I felt as if he was a stranger.
"Jodi, it's good to see you." He said and offered me a hug. I returned it and sat next to him at the bar.
"I was hoping you would be here today. I wanted to invite you to have lunch with me." He said and I was surprised.
"When?" I asked him.
"Right now if you are free." He said and I glanced down. I was in a purple maxi dress and sandals. I looked good enough so I looked back at him and nodded.
"Sure, where would you like to go?" I asked him.
"Let's go to the winery." He said and I nodded. I told Elias where I was going, texted Michael, and grabbed my bag. I walked out and he opened his car door to let me in. I realized he had a driver as he got into the backseat on the other side. The short ride to the winery was silent.
We walked in and he was immediately taken to a back area where it was private and quiet. We were brought a bottle of wine and glasses. He ordered some appetizers for us. I couldn't imagine what he wanted to talk about.
"To good business and old friends." He toasted and I toasted with him. The wine tasted amazing as he glanced at his phone before putting it down.
"Thank you for joining me today." He said and I nodded.
"I know that you and my son aren't in good terms, and I have absolutely no doubt it has to do with that whore he is been seen with recently. I can't imagine you giving him up so I am going to assume he's the idiot in this situation." He said and I chuckled. I guess Dexter hadn't told his family what exactly happened, but I was surprised to hear how his dad really felt about his new girlfriend.
"No sir, I didn't decide to move on willingly. The choice was made for me. I probably should have taken the opportunity to talk to him about it before deciding to move on myself, but I felt it was my only option." I diplomatically said and he smirked.
"You always were smart and diplomatic." He said and I smirked.
"Thank you." I commented as they refilled my wine glass.
"Now, tell me the truth... he cheated on you?" He asked me and my eyes got big as I went to take a sip. Did I want to tell the truth? What did I have to lose if I did... Dexter being more mad at me?
"He lied about where he was and who he was with." I finally said after thinking if I should or not. He sighed and nodded.
He got ready to say something when I heard Dexter's voice. I groaned internally because he was the last person I wanted to see... pretty much ever at this point.
"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." His father said and I chuckled as Dexter walked up to our table. I couldn't wait to see how he was going to act to me sitting there. I kept me eyes down because I hadn't seen him since that night on my porch.
"Why the fuck..." Dexter was saying when his dad stood up. I knew that Dexter's Dad could be very intimidating, so I wasn't surprised that he shut up immediately.
"You will not disrespect my guest." His dad said and Dexter shifted uncomfortably. I finally looked up at him, and he wouldn't even look at me. I wasn't surprised. I knew that we didn't end on good terms, but I don't know why he hated me so much all of a sudden.
Dexter walked away a second later and his dad shook his head. They brought our food and more wine.
"I apologize for my son." he said and I waved it off. He grabbed some of the food, and I did the same just to not seem rude.
"Don't... we didn't end on good terms and I understand there are still some emotions there." I said and he chuckled.
"I actually wanted to talk to you about him. I don't know what to do, and while I shouldn't come to you with this... I don't know who else can help." he said and I raised an eyebrow. He wanted my help?
"You and Dexter were good friends. You grew up together for the most part, and while he's done some dumb things... I don't know what's going on now. He's worse than before, and after his divorce from Christi. I guess that I am asking you as his father to talk to him if there is any part of you who is still a friend to him." he said and I was surprised. I had heard the rumors about what he and Liv had been doing, but I didn't imagine his father was taking it so hard.
"I didn't take it seriously until his mother called me about him. She refuses to talk to him anymore until he gets rid of that whore." he said and I was more surprised that his mom called his dad because I knew how much she loathed him. I guess it was more serious than I thought.
"Sir, I don't know what I can do or say... it's fairly obvious that he hates me." I admitted and I hated hearing about Dexter's free fall, but I had no idea what I could do to help.
He got ready to say something when Dexter came back into the room.
"Father, your partner is here if you are done with this whore..." he was saying when his father stood up and backhanded Dexter so hard that his lip split immediately. I gasped and watched as Dexter went down to his one knee.
"Jodi, please think about my proposal." he said and walked out of the room. I was sitting there with Dexter who was bleeding all over the carpet. I finally couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my napkin and got into my floor next to him. I went to place it on his lip, but he jerked his head away.
"Dexter, stop." I snapped and finally got the napkin over the wound. He finally looked up at me. He had bags under his eyes where he hadn't slept much and looked like he had lost some weight. I hated seeing him like this, but I had to remind myself that he walked away.
I didn't say anything as I wiped his lip off and got it to stop bleeding. He stood up and held his hand out to me. I thought about not taking it, but I finally let him help me up. I felt that familiar spark when we touched, but I knew it was just my imagination at this point.
"Get some ice on that." I said and he nodded. I grabbed my bag and started to leave. I didn't see a reason to stick around.
"I wish that we could at least be civil." I said and he scoffed.
"Please, you made your decision." he said and I looked back at him. I was over his attitude.
"You're fucking right it was. You lied... again. I wasn't going to put up with it. I wanted time to consider what my future looked like with you... but you made that fucking decision for us. You started walking around with that woman, so I figured you had made the decision for us." I snapped at him. He started to say something, but I cut him off as I closed the space between us.
"I am tired of this fucking attitude. I didn't do anything except walk away from an asshole who lied. I didn't tell anyone what happened. I didn't speak bad about you, and I honestly wanted to at least remain civil if not be friends; but I will not watch you destroy your own life because you fucked up." I said to him and went to turn away, but he grabbed my arm. He turned me back to him as he kissed me.
I shoved him off and slapped him. I wiped the blood from my face, that came from his injury, with his father's napkin and threw it at him. I had never been more upset at him than I was right now.
"I am happy, Dexter. I don't have time to deal with you and your bullshit right now... but for everyone's peace of mind please fucking get rid of your whore. You can do better than that." I said before leaving out the front door. I walked quickly back to my house and went inside. I called Candice and asked her to come over. I needed a girl's night.
