“Mr. Wyman?” the butler said, sticking his head into the one of the spacious underground offices. “Justin is here to see you.”
Colby put down the day’s edition of the Star Tribune and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Well, bring him in! Don’t just stand there! Bring him in!” he said with a healthy smile as the butler turned right around and exited the room.
In a moment, he saw Justin walking through the door and he motioned him to sit down in the chair on the other side of his desk. “Good morning, Justin. I expect you have something for me?”
Justin handed him the disk, and then sat back down in his seat.
“Without a hitch?” Colby asked.
Justin nodded while Colby slipped the disk into his computer, scrolled through a few things and then nodded, a grin forming on his face. “Perfect, Justin… just perfect.” He spun around in his chair and opened the safe behind the desk. Carefully, he counted out the correct amount, and put it into Justin’s hand. “Paid in full,” he smiled.
When Justin didn’t smile back at him, Colby became suspicious. “Is everything going all right over there, Justin?” he asked.
“I’m concerned,” Justin finally spoke up.
“About what?”
“About my future.”
“Your future?”
“Yes… I don’t think this is where I want my life to be going.”
Colby stared at Justin for a long time, and then took a deep breath. “Are you saying that you don’t want to work for me anymore?”
Justin nodded. “There’s this girl…”
“There’s always a girl,” Colby rolled his eyes. “You shouldn’t let anyone get in your way, Justin. Didn’t I talk to you about this when you first started? Business comes first and then whatever else fits in, does.”
“That’s just what I meant, though,” Justin tried to explain, refusing to look his boss in the eyes. “I don’t think I want business to come first anymore.”
Colby sat back in his seat and frowned. Now, Justin had gone and fallen in love and he was in danger of losing his best employee. “Have you thought this all the way through?” he asked.
When Justin nodded, Colby’s face turned bright red in anger.
“Justin,” he said through clenched teeth. “There’s something we need to get straight, here. I need you, and whether you know it or not, you need me. There’s absolutely no way you can leave at this present time.”
Justin looked confused. “Why not?”
“Because, if you do, I’ll recruit myself another man, but I know he won’t be half as good as you are.”
Justin blinked at him, questioningly.
“Oh, and if you decided to leave this company,” Colby added. “I’ll make sure that the cops know exactly where you live.” He paused, and when he was sure he had Justin convinced, continued. “Now do you see the predicament we’re both in? Do you see how everything will be much better if you stay on board here?”
Angrily, Justin shoved his key into the lock and turned it. The door popped open a crack, and he threw it the rest of the way. Before it could even touch the wall, Justin was on the other side. He slammed it behind him, then quickly locked and latched it.
His fist landed on the hard wood. “Damn it!” he muttered to the door.
If there was ever a man who hated losing control, it was Justin… and Colby had pulled all his options right out from under him. Now, he was stuck.
He pulled the wad of bills out of his briefcase and stared at them with hatred pooling in his dark blue eyes. Hot tears fell, and rolled onto his cheeks as he stomped over to the fireplace attempted to start a fire.
The phone rang, but he ignored it, and reached on the mantle for his matches. He lit one and threw it on top of the woodpile. Then he lit another, and froze when he heard Adelyn’s voice coming from the kitchen on his answering machine.
“Hi, Justin, It’s me… I was just wondering what you were up to. When are you going to bring me somewhere awful to pay me back for that picnic? I’m getting impatient here! Call me soon. Love you.”
He felt the fire hot on his fingertips and he cried out as he dropped the burning match to the stone surrounding the fireplace. Quickly he stepped on it with the toe of his shoe, and then went to the kitchen to run his fingers under cold water.
When he returned, there was just enough of a fire to destroy the bills. He held the first hundred over the flame and watched as it singed.
Then he blew it out. This was crazy, and Justin knew he wasn’t crazy… at least he didn’t want to be. Burning hundred dollar bills had to fall under the psycho category; he was sure of it.
Carefully, Justin gathered the bills up and brought them to his bedroom. He pulled a little box out from underneath his bed and turned the dial. When the code entered, he opened the lid and placed the money on top of the rest. Growing up without much, he wasn’t even sure what he would do with all that cash. He closed the top and pushed it back beneath his bed.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t over.
If Colby wouldn't let him quit, then there was only one thing left to do; he'd just have to get rid of Adelyn.
It was easier said than done.
Justin stood silently in front of Adelyn's door, three o'clock in the afternoon that same day, his fist raised to the wood. He couldn't make himself knock. Maybe if he knocked really softly then she wouldn't hear, and he could do this another time.
Adelyn grabbed her keys and opened the door. She gasped when she saw Justin standing there as if he were about to knock. She smiled at him briefly, but couldn't anymore after she saw the look on his face.
"I was... I only..." he stuttered, struggling with his sentence.
"Is everything okay?" she asked before he had a chance to start over. "Do you need to talk?" She took hold of his shirt and pulled him in for a quick kiss. "You know you can tell me anything," she told him, searching his eyes for something.
It was a moment before he spoke.
"Everything's fine," he said, lowering his forehead so it rested against hers. "I just came to see you."
Adelyn pulled him inside the apartment, pushed the door shut and then pressed him up against it. She kissed him again. "I wish you'd tell me what was on your mind."
"Who says anything's on my mind?" he wondered as he went in for another kiss.
"I can see it your eyes," she told him when they parted. "There's something you're not telling me."
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close. "So, where were you heading off to?"
"I'm out of ink for my printer," she answered, then frowned, pushing him away. "Ugh! You're doing that thing again!"
"What?" he pouted, grabbing her by the waist and trying to get her back in his arms. "What thing?"
"The one where you change subjects, Justin," she said as she pushed his arms away. "You promised you wouldn't."
He finally got his arms around her. "I know, it's just that there was nothing to say, really. I had to change the subject, Adelyn."
"Don't lie to me," she said in a serious tone. "You're keeping something from me. I'm not stupid."
"Of course you're not." He looked hard into her eyes. "I never meant that. I know you're not stupid. You're the smartest girl I've ever met... and that's one of the reasons why I can't do this to you anymore."
She blinked. "What are you talking about?"
"Adelyn, you were right about me. There's something I'm not telling you... and I can't ever tell you. That's why this can't work out."
Adelyn felt tears pooling in her eyes, and an ache in her heart as she looked up at him. "Justin... you can tell me. Whatever it is, it can't be as awful as you say. I'll love you no matter what it is-"
"No, you don't understand," he interrupted. "This isn't something that you could ever forgive me for. I'm involved in something horrible and you don't even want to hear about it... trust me."
She touched his face with her fingertips, trying to decide if this was real. "This is why you didn't want to go out with me before. Isn't it?"
Justin nodded sadly. "I don't want you to get hurt, Adelyn. You've got to stay away from me."
"Tell me!" she demanded, her tears finally falling to her cheeks. "I promise I won't be mad, Justin... I'll love you no matter what!"
Justin gently pushed her away. "You say that now... but once you know, you won't feel the same way."
Adelyn's look of sadness suddenly turned to anger. "Don't you dare question my love for you. Don't you claim that you love me more than I love you!" she yelled at him. "You don't have a clue about how I feel."
When he turned back to her, she could see the tears in his blue eyes. "This isn't about how either of us feel. It's about you not getting hurt."
She grabbed his hand and placed it over her heart. "Do you feel that, Justin? That's my heart breaking. Nothing will hurt more than that... I promise you." Her face quickly softened. "If you would just tell me, I promise I won't be mad. We can get through whatever it is. I know we can."
"You can't promise that," he told her. "You can't."
She pushed up back against the edge of the kitchen counter and held him there. "Stop," she said.
He raised his eyebrows. "Stop what?"
"Trying to break up with me. It's not working."
Justin sucked in his breath before she leaned forward, roughly pressing her lips to his. Her fingers flew to his shirt, quickly unbuttoning each one.
Suddenly, he grabbed her wrists. "This can't happen," he said in the most convincing voice he could muster up.
Chapter 14
Paying the Consequences
Justin {Fiction}
My Fiction
I'll Never Stop {Fiction}
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