The right kind of wrong, p.5
The Right Kind of Wrong, page 5
“I’ll see you two tonight. Just fill him in on everything. You have my address,” Owen says in a cold tone before driving off.
OWEN
I drive around the building, park the car, and go to the building where students hang out in between classes. I’ll be damned if I show up for this thing alone.
I grab a cup of coffee, sit down and scroll through my phone, until I notice two women looking back at me and smiling. They seem older – maybe grad students. I wave in their direction and one of them, the short blonde, gets up and comes toward me.
“Hi. Hmmm. You are in my Philosophy class, aren’t you?”
I try not to roll my eyes. Why do they always have to start conversation with a bullshit line?
“No.” I say.
She looks uncomfortable. “Oh. I—I must have confused you with someone else.”
She gives me an apologetic look and turns to leave.
“Wait. Please, sit. I wasn’t trying to be rude. I’m just having a rough day.”
She smiles, and sits down.
“I’m Owen, by the way.” I look over at her necklace, which has her name on it. “It’s nice to meet you, Ashley,” I grin. “Can I order you something?”
I notice her looking back at her friend.
“She can join us if you’d like to call her over.” I sit back against my seat as she waves her friend over.
She says her name is Natalie and she is in grad school along with Ashley. At some point during the conversation, I get distracted by a text from Justin, saying he is sorry about the whole dinner thing.
“Owen… Owen…” Ashley says and I look up from my phone.
“Sorry.” I say. “Work email.”
“Oh. What do you do anyway?”
“I own Secrets. The club a few blocks down from here.”
Their eyes widen. “So you’re not a student here?”
I shake my head. “I was just dropping someone off.”
“Girlfriend?” they ask at the same time and I chuckle.
“No.”
They both smile and I get to the point. “Look, I have a dinner to go to tonight. Why don’t you come with me?”
They look at one another, confused. Probably wondering which one I’m inviting.
“You’re both welcome to come. I can have a car sent to pick you up.”
They look at one another again and shrug.
I stand up. “Sorry, ladies. I need to get going. I’ll have the driver pick you up at six thirty, right outside of this building.”
I text Justin back saying to take care of getting the word out, then I go back home and crawl into bed until it is time to get ready.
CHAPTER TEN
EMILY
I stare at my phone and wonder if I should make the call or not. I know it’ll be terribly rude for us to show up with an extra guest, but…
I end up calling Craig and ask if he has a number for Mr. Crawford’s firm. He says they talked not long ago and gives me Mr. Crawford’s cell phone number.
“Hello,” he answers the phone.
“Hi, Mr. Crawford. It is Emily.”
“Please call me John.”
“Okay. John. I know this is terribly rude of me to even ask, but I was wondering if I could bring an extra guest to dinner tonight.”
The line goes silent for a second.
“Would this have anything to do with this project of yours?” he finally asks.
“Yes.” I say.
“Please do,” he says. “I must say, I’m curious.”
He doesn’t ask for any information about it and I don’t volunteer it either. I just thank him and hang up the phone. Then I call her.
“Hello,” Shayne answers.
“Hi Shayne. It’s Emily.” I pause. “I was invited to a dinner at Owen’s house tonight and I would like you to come along.”
She laughs. “You were really serious about your offer.”
“Yes,” I say and the line goes silent for a while.
“I can’t do that,” she finally says. “He’ll be pissed and all that will do is push him away.”
“Things are never going to change if you don’t try to change them. You said you have nothing to lose, right?”
“Yes,” she says but I notice hesitation in her tone.
“It’s just dinner. I have a reason for asking. Trust me.”
“What reason is that?” she asks. I want to see how much he cares when she is in front of someone who he considers a threat, but I don’t say that.
“Just trust me. Please.” I beg and she finally gives in.
Getting dressed for this dinner is hell. Considering how his staff were dressed at the house this morning, I know that I have to dress up. I put on a black dress, because you can never go wrong with that, and heels, and I leave my hair down. After Craig picks me up, we go and get Shayne.
She gets in the backseat but keeps to herself, at least until Craig takes a wrong turn and she gives him directions the rest of the way.
When we get out of the car, she looks pale, which is very noticeable considering that she’s wearing a red dress. I walk over next to her and smile. “It’ll be fine. Trust me.” If his dad is his kryptonite and he has this thing with protecting women from him, this is the little push that will help Shayne get to him.
Craig walks to my other side and slips his hand into mine. He seems as nervous as I was earlier today. We are escorted to the living room and the look on Owen’s face when he sees her is priceless, but Shayne looks like she wants to dig a hole and hide inside of it. He says something to the two women sitting next to him and approaches Shayne, while giving me this intense look that almost makes me shy away. I look around and see his dad in the corner. He gives me a short nod and smiles.
“Can I have a word with you?” Owen asks Shayne as he glares at me.
She nods and follows him upstairs.
OWEN
“You are mad,” she says as we walk into his office.
“Damn right I’m mad. What are you doing here?”
“Emily called. She insisted I came with her. I tried to tell her it was a bad idea.”
“Come on, sweetheart. People don’t make you do things. I know you, and you know why I don’t want you under the same roof as him.”
She smiles. Fuck. She’s misreading this. I know she’s thinking I’m doing this because I care for her in ways other than the way I actually do, but I need to get her out of here.
“It’s for your protection, sweetheart. You know that, right?” I close the distance in between us, pick her up and put her on top of the desk.
“I’ll leave,” she says. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking.”
I grin at her. “But before you do, since you’re already here,” I say and she shakes her head. “There’s no hope for you, Crawford,” she laughs.
“Maybe you should remind Emily of that,” I say and her smile turns into a frown. “Sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” I close the distance between us even more and lean her down on his desk.
When we get back downstairs, they’re in the dining room finishing dinner. I see her off and ask the driver to drop her off at her apartment. I then go to the dining room and sit down next to Emily and Ashley.
“Where have you been?” Ashley asks, but she is interrupted by Justin, who asks where Shayne is.
“She went home,” I say and I leave it at that. He looks as pissed as dad does right now, which honestly, puts me in an extremely good mood. The rest of the meal is uneventful, and after dinner, we go back to the living room and grab drinks. That’s when Emily approaches me.
“Did you make her leave?” she whispers and I nod.
“It was for her own good.”
She looks irritated, which I find very amusing. “You look like you might be ready to ask me questions,” I chuckle and she nods.
“Let’s go outside,” I tell her. She says something to her boyfriend, who is talking to my dad and Justin. I trust that Justin will keep things under control.
Craig is too engrossed in their conversation to even really hear what she’s saying. He doesn’t even take his eyes off Justin and dad as she walks away. I grab a bottle of whiskey and lead her outside where I sit on the patio chair. She stands in front of me.
“Wasn’t one date enough for tonight?” she asks and I laugh, which irritates her even more.
“This is who I am, jailbait. Did you notice that Shayne wasn’t even surprised by that? She knows me.”
“Do you want to know what I think?” she asks.
“Amuse me,” I smile as I raise the bottle.
She grins, but she’s pissed. I can tell by her tone and the fact that she’s speaking faster than she usually does. “If what you say about your dad is true, I think somewhere down the line, you lost yourself while trying to impress him. And now, you’re turning into the person you say he is.”
Damn woman knows exactly what buttons to push.
“I read your brother’s book,” she says. “How is it that your brother turned out to be a good guy and you turned out to be such an asshole?”
I shrug. “He had a good role model, my grandpa, around for much longer than I had. All I had was that piece of shit inside the house.”
“I think you’re hiding behind that excuse. I heard you saved your sister-in-law from him. I heard you protected Shayne from him. Where is that guy?”
I cock my head to the side.
“Do you know what I think?” I ask her and I go off before she can even react. “I think you had a role model in your life who is probably as bad as Craig. Maybe daddy left when you were little? Mom had a jerk… or a few jerks as boyfriends, which leads you to be okay with being with that douchebag and having this fantasy of fixing me.”
Her eyes water. “You’re such an ass!” She turns around to leave and starts to walk away.
Fuck. I didn’t mean to be that harsh. I get up. “I was probably nine the first time I saw him cheating on my mom. Right here at the house,” I say and she stops walking, but doesn’t turn around.
“I confronted him. He beat the shit out of me for snooping around. He said that is what real men do. Everything in me felt that was wrong, but I believed him. I didn’t know any better. I didn’t have anyone telling me otherwise. He said not to tell my brother and I felt special… like he was letting me in on his secret.”
She turns around then and her tone is much softer. “But why would you do the same thing to other women now? You know it’s wrong.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, Emily. I don’t do the same thing to them. I’m upfront about who I am. I don’t do relationships. I don’t cheat. And by not having relationships, I know in some twisted way, that I’m not going to end up like him.”
I grab the bottle, turn around, and go back in the house.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Justin stops me as soon as I step foot back in the house. I’m already in a bad mood as it is. I go around him and keep walking.
“We need to talk,” he says as he follows me.
I quickly turn around. “Sure. Why not? My night can’t get any worse.” I take a look around. “Where are they?” I ask.
“Well, Craig was looking for Emily, and your dad is talking to Tucker.”
“Okay. Let’s get this over with,” I say.
He follows me into the game room where I sit on top of the pool table and take a swig from the bottle. Justin leans into the doorframe and crosses his arms.
“You should cut down on drinking, you know? After everything your brother went through to get sober again, you should know better.”
I put the bottle down on the table, next to me. “I’m not an alcoholic like he was, Justin. I’m a social drinker.”
He rolls his eyes at me. “Social drinker, huh?”
I nod. “I just happen to be very social,” I pause and grin at him, but he doesn’t see the humor. “What is it that you want to talk about?”
“Your dad seems to like Craig a lot. They seem to really hit it off.”
“Craig is out. Problem solved.”
He gives me a puzzled look. “Already? I thought you wanted to mess with him for a while. You know… be the girl’s knight in shining armor just long enough to get her in your bed.”
I glare at him. “It’s not like that.”
He tilts his head to the side. “It never is, but somehow, that is where they end up.”
Irritated, I just shake my head. “Just get rid of him. She is smart. She doesn’t need anyone to save her. She knows what she’s doing.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Damn. Did she really get to you or what?”
“Is there anything else?” I grumble.
“Yes. I have a personal favor to ask you.”
I smirk, “Personal favors are pricey. Be careful what you ask for.”
His expression turns serious. “I want you to leave Shayne alone.”
I grin.
“Wipe that grin off your face, man. This has nothing to do with me. She’s a nice girl. I haven’t seen you spend more than one night with anyone else and she is too attached. She’s a good bartender and we can’t afford to lose her.”
I laugh. “Everyone is replaceable, Justin.”
“Just please do this,” he begs.
“And you’ll owe me one?” I grin.
“Yes.”
He leans his head down and runs his hand over his head. He can’t believe he is agreeing to this. Hell. I can’t believe he is agreeing to this. I reach into my pocket and grab the pocketknife that Jones gave me - the one that makes this agreement binding with more than just words. By the look on Justin’s face, he didn’t think I would take things this far.
“Is this really necessary, man?” he asks.
“Hand,” I order him and he slowly brings his hand up. I’m about to pierce his skin with the knife when he stops me.
“One more thing,” he says and I raise an eyebrow at him.
“Would you stay away from the club for a few days? To make things easier on her,” he implores, “maybe go see your brother. Just don’t sugar coat it with her. That will make it worse. Just rip-off the Band-Aid then stay away from her for a few days.”
My mind takes me back to my high school girlfriend, Amy, and I quickly shake it off. I nod and slice the cool metal across his skin.
CHAPTER TWELVE
I leave first thing in the morning.
Justin’s idea was actually not half bad. I haven’t seen Blake and his family in months. I get on a plane, and then when I get in town, I get one of the locals to take me to the island.
As soon as I hop off the boat, I see two excited little girls running my way.
“Uncle Owen!” the girls yell excitedly.
“Hey girls!” They jump on me, making me fall back on the sand.
“You got a lot bigger since last time I saw you!”
They giggle.
“Hello Owen.” I look behind them where I see Blake and Arianna standing over us.
Arianna smiles.
Blake is the one who looks worried. “Is everything okay?” he asks as he helps me up.
“Yep.” I say but even I know that I sound bitter as fuck.
Arianna gets closer to me and pulls me into a hug. “Whatever reason brings you here, it really is good to see you,” she whispers then she pulls away. “Come on, girls,” says Arianna. “Let your uncle talk to your dad for a bit.”
“But, mom, he just got here!” they complain and it makes me smile.
“Listen to your mom, girls. Maybe we’ll kick your parents out of the house later and we can watch the scary movies they won’t let you watch.”
Blake and Arianna both give me warning looks, but seeing the look of excitement on the girls’ faces is all worth it. I shrug and Blake rolls his eyes at me.
They end up following Arianna inside the house. Blake and I walk quietly toward the house where we sit down in the chairs on the front porch.
“Where is Molly?” I ask.
“In the city. At a friend’s house.” Blake shakes his head and laughs. “She has a boyfriend now.”
I give him the death stare. “Why in the world would you let our little sister go out with someone?”
Blake laughs. “She’s almost eighteen, you know?”
“Well, I don’t give a fuck how old she is. What if this guy is like me?”
Blake bursts into laughter. “That would be scary.” He is having way too much fun with this. “But I made sure he is not. I have met Will a couple of times actually. He is a really good guy. He is a great student too. He has a full scholarship waiting on him.”
“That doesn’t change anything. She’s too young to be dating. If he hurts her, it’s on you!”
Blake chuckles and quickly changes topic. “So, how are things?” he asks. “You don’t look that great.”
I run my hand through my hair. “Rough night,” I say.
I get a text from Shayne. “Can we talk? Emily sent me a strange message saying that she’s sorry and that last night was a mistake. Did something happen?”
“Nothing happened.” I start to type, but then I stop. Maybe it is best to let her think whatever she’s going to think.
“Woman trouble?” Blake asks.
“When is there not women trouble?” I laugh.
“But that is not just it, am I right?” he asks and I nod.
He sighs. “Owen, you don’t have to babysit dad to protect us. He can’t hurt us again. Just leave. Live your life away from him. You could even move in here if you want.”
I shake my head. “He’s not the problem, and this is not the life for me, Blake. And yes, you need me to protect you. You know how evil that man is.”
“He’s not your burden to carry.”
I shake my head. “Yes, he is. It’s because of me that he hurt Arianna. I brought her into this world.” I shake my head. I’m not going down this road with him again. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. “Everything is fine. Really. I just… I guess a lot of childhood memories have been popping up lately and it just fucked with my head.”
