The Devil Behind Me (7 page)

“I'm busy,
” I offered. 

“
Okay, how about tomorrow night?” he asked again, smiling. 

“
She’s busy with me.” Daimon stepped up and nearly growled at the man. “Run along, asshole,” Daimon spat out.

“
If she’s your girl and she’s working here, you better keep a better eye out for her.  ‘Cause any man would want to have her.” The guy warned him as he walked away with his drink. 

“Come here
,” Daimon said between his teeth.

“
Daimon, I'm working,” I hissed. 

“
Come,” he demanded.

“
You know the ru—” He yanked me to the back hallway where the bathrooms were. Daimon placed his hands on either side of me, leaned down, and glared. 

“
Quit working here. I don’t want to see you here again,” he said in a serious tone.

“
You don’t seem to understand, Daimon. I'm not fucking quitting my job because it makes you look bad. I need to work.” I fought back. He leaned in that much closer; his hot breath smelled of whiskey.

“
Just do as I say,” he hissed low and close to my ear, making my body shiver. 

I instantly
pushed him back; the closeness of his body was confusing me. But he pushed me back, forcing me into the wall as he held onto my shoulders. He leaned in bringing his face close to my cheek. I felt his nose slowly feather my jaw as he took in my scent. My head fell back, his touch igniting something inside me I had never felt before. 

“Addie?
” cried out Elissa. “Your tables!”

I pushed him hard.
I looked away from him, trying to catch my breath. 

“Addie
?” he said in a low hushed voice, but I didn’t stop like I was supposed to, I ran out of there as quickly as I could. 

“
Babe, I have no problem if you want to make out with hot stuff, but you seriously need to tell me before you go,” Elissa half-scolded me.

“Yeah
, sorry,” I said meekly still shaken up from my encounter with Daimon.

The night went relatively smooth even after the small in
cident I chose to ignore. Tonight was busy and there was no way I was going to leave early. I was kind of happy about it. I hadn’t had the opportunity to close lately and tonight I did. The bar was eerily quiet as the last customers left. My body ached and my ears throbbed from the music, which had played loudly all night.

“I'm
fucking beat,” said Elissa as she stretched her body.

I half
-sat on the bar stool and leaned into the bar. “Me too,” I breathed. 

The rest of the girls had already started to leave and
so did some of the bartenders. I, however, dragged my feet. I was contemplating whether I should go to work right after. It would take me about an hour to get home, I didn’t have my car and so there really was no point since I had to open up in about an hour and a half.

“Come on
, girl. I’ll wait for you outside. We’ll go out for a drink,” Elissa smiled. “I'm too wired, plus it’s not like you’re going to go home. Knowing you, you’d go to work or something.” She shook her head at me. 

“
Okay. I’ll just get changed first.”

I walked int
o the locker room and changed. I rushed out to an empty bar. I guess Elissa was waiting for me outside. 

“
So I see you run when it’s your friends, but don’t when it’s me.” I heard from behind me. “I wonder about you, Addie. You love money, yet you do nothing I have asked you to do. Yes, everyone now knows you are mine, but you have yet to prove it to me.” I turned to face an angry Daimon. 

“I do
everything you’ve asked,” I hissed. 

“
When?” he challenged as he inched closer. “I thought you had at least some integrity, but seeing you fawning over the guy at the bar. You liked it. You liked the way he looked at you. Had I known you were that easy I could have easily played you and got more out of you,” he jeered. 

I
wanted to smack him, to hurt him, but I didn’t. I stood in the middle of the empty bar and took all the words he gave me. He grew angrier with my silence. He grasped at my arm and pulled me to the bar, nearly throwing me on it.

“So you like it when a man pays attention to you?”
he seethed. I said nothing as past feelings began rising up again. Fear began to take hold of me.

“Fine then let me,
” he snarled as he grabbed me and tried to kiss me. I fought back hard as we struggled. I felt a panic attack coming on and I began to shake uncontrollably.

“Addie? Addie?”
he said trying to calm me down. “It’s okay. I…fuck, I'm sorry. I didn’t mean for it to go this far. I expected you to fight back, but you…Addie what the fuck happened to you?” Daimon asked his face full of concern as he slowly reached out to me. I pulled back trying to breathe. “It’s okay,” he said slowly. “Fuck, I'm so fucking sorry,” Daimon said ruefully. “God, you drive me crazy. Why the fuck do I do the stupidest shit when you’re around?” he said grimly, dragging his fingers through his hair. “Addie, I would never hurt you,” he said softly.  I began to calm down, but my heart was beating like it had that night all those years ago.

“Hey
, Addie, I’ve been waiting like forever for you?” Elissa came in and saw both of us. “Oh sorry, didn’t know I was interrupting something. Listen, Addie, let’s take a rain check then,” she said as she tried to leave.

“No
, it’s fine. I think I need to give my Addie some space. Make sure she gets home safe,” Daimon said to her as he passed by and left. 

“Doesn’t your boyfriend know you’re going to work after?”
she asked, confused.

“I try not to worry him,
” I said under my breath.

“S
ofia!” I cried out as soon as I heard her leave the washroom. 

“
Yeah?” she shouted back.

“
Come down, I have to talk to you.” I waited at the table. She came down, went straight for the fridge and took out a bottle of water.

“
What’s up, sis?” she smiled. 

“I got the job,
” I said quietly. “Daddy doesn’t know yet. So you can’t tell him.” It was easy lying to her especially when I knew I was doing this for her future. 

“
Okay, so what does that mean?” she said softly. 

“
It means you need to get ready for Yale in the fall,” I smiled. 

“Addie…” she began to sob. “
I just…I just feel like I’m abandoning you and Dad.  It doesn’t feel right,” Sofia admitted. 

“
Sofia, I know it’s hard, but you need to do this. You only have one life to live and I'm not going to watch you flush it down the toilet,” I said earnestly. 

“What about you?”
she asked with tears lining her eyes. 

“I’ll be fine.
You need to go, not only for you, but for Dad and me. Understand?” I tried hard to be strong. When at this moment all I really wanted to do was hug her and cry with her. 

“I get it,
” she said meekly.

***

Per Daimon’s text, I needed to have my hair and my makeup done for a dinner this evening. Plus, I had to meet him downtown at a boutique with a name I could hardly pronounce. As I approached the store, I saw Daimon standing outside. He wore an elegant suit with a black shirt and black satin tie. 

“You look nice,
” I said in a sarcastic tone, trying to hide the fact that he looked more than nice, he looked beautiful. He thanked me and nodded. After the night at the bar Daimon made sure he kept his distance from me. I don’t know why, but a part of me felt uneasy about it.

“
Mr. Evans,” the sales clerk smiled at him. She was an older lady but it was obvious she knew about clothes; what she wore could have paid for my rent last week. “I have the dress you wanted right here. Is this the lovely beauty you told me about?” she asked smiling at me.

“Yes
, this is my Addie,” Daimon said.

She walked up to me,
kissed me on the cheeks and took my hand. “Come my dear, I need to dress you for this evening.” She pulled back the curtain of the dressing room and then pulled it closed behind us. “Mr. Evans seems to be quite taken with you.” She sang as she prepared the dress. “He called me and asked me to get the most spectacular dress I have ready for, and I quote, a ‘beautiful creature.’”

She
reached out to help me undress, but I stopped her. “Is everything okay, dear?” she worried.

“I can do it myself,
” I murmured.

“I’ll help, there’s no need to be emba
rrassed. I’ve seen everything,” she smiled. 

She
carefully unclothed me and stopped. “Oh dear, how did that happen?” she asked looking at my scar.

“I’d rather not say,
” I said quietly. 

She nodded and
helped me into a stunning black dress. It was short and fitted around my waist with lace sleeves that reached just above my elbows. A beautiful long train made of tulle draped past my feet. The sales woman, who introduced herself as Gloria, gave me the most expensive pair of pumps I had ever worn, making the tulle skim slightly on the ground around me.

“
Just as I thought, this dress was made for you,” she smiled. 

She pulled back t
he curtain and there stood Daimon with his hands in his suit pants. His face showed no sign of even liking the dress he had bought for me. I bit my inner lip worried that I would never live up to his expectations. Then again, why did I suddenly care? I couldn’t answer my own question. It frustrated me to no end, but there you have it. Now it appeared that Mr. Daimon Evans’ opinion mattered to me. It didn’t matter, I’d get over it, because after this little deal was done, he was going to be out of my life for good and I would no longer care about what he thought about me.

“Thank you
, Gloria. She is absolutely stunning,” he said to her as he walked up to me and held out his arm. I hesitated taking his hand, but Daimon reached out and placed my hand around his elbow. He helped me enter a black limo, which was waiting outside for us. He didn’t utter one word to me the whole limo ride. We sat far apart from each other. The atmosphere surrounding us started to weigh heavily, the distance now between us bothered me. I couldn’t help but look at him as he stared out the window, wondering if he was feeling the same thing. 

The limo finally stopped and t
he driver got out of the car opening the door, Daimon stepped out, extending his hand, waiting for me. I reached up and took it. I was feeling nervous since I hardly knew where he was taking me. Once I was out, I saw we were in front of the Ritz Carlton.

“There’s a benefit
my company is holding tonight,” he whispered in my ear. “Play your part right, Addie, and I promise you I will make it worth your while,” he said as he held my hand tightly.

Why did he alwa
ys reduce everything to money? I would have done what he had asked of me, even without this stupid incentive he placed over my head. Now no matter what I did, it would seem I did it for more money.

I held onto his hand
, nervous that I might screw something up for him. The doors opened and we headed inside to an elegant banquet. Tall glass tables dotted the area, as people placed their drinks on top of them. Soft pink lighting glowed from the bottom, lighting up the tables. Beautifully arranged bouquets of pink roses and freesia were placed all around with small candles. A live band was playing jazz with a female lead singer softly singing, “The Man I Love.”

“Ev
ans,” called out a man who was close to our age. 

“Philip
s, how are you?” Daimon extended his free hand and shook his.

“Good, good. So this is the little Addie that I hear you have now.” Philips must have said it to take a
jab at Daimon.

“Careful
, Philips, this is the girl I love,” Daimon snarled.

“Sorry man
, I just thought—”

“I don
’t give a shit what you thought,” Daimon barked.

“
Baby,” I said quietly. Daimon turned and looked at me, gauging what I was about to say.  “Do you want to dance?” I asked. I saw some guests were already dancing and I figured it would be the best way to get him away from what was about to happen. “Please,” I smiled. 

“Ok
ay, Addie, whatever you want,” he relented and took me to the dance floor. Daimon’s arm around my waist caused my body to be on high alert.

I could feel
the heat, which emanated from his touch; it slowly moved through my body, gradually igniting something inside me that had lain dormant for years. I steadied myself in his arms, trying hard to ignore the onlookers who were staring at us. My eyes darted back and forth, but Daimon’s only looked at me. I eased into his embrace and leisurely wrapped my hand around his neck. He grinned a cocky little grin, and inched me closer to his body. I smiled and acted like I relished his attention, just like he wanted me to.

“
You look beautiful, Addie,” Daimon murmured softly to me.

“
Thanks,” I said quietly. I could feel myself starting to blush. 

“
You would look beautiful since I paid so much money for the dress,” he jabbed. I glared at him and tried to move away, but he held on tight.

“
Go screw yourself, Daimon,” I said in a hushed voice. He smiled widely as he looked at me. 

“
Daimon?” Clara asked as she saw us dancing. Her hot little pink number hurt my eyes. 

“You brought her here? Why?”
she asked annoyed. 

“Hello
, Clara. How are you?” Daimon asked as we stopped dancing, but he continued to hold my hand, placing me behind him.

“Not fine
, since I saw you brought in the trash and lowered the standards of our society,” she hissed. I rolled my eyes at her sad attempt.

Daimon
brought my hand to his lips and kissed it. “Lover, go and get me a drink. I have a feeling I'm going to need it now,” he offered me a smile and I agreed. 

“Should I bring you one more to spill on her?” I asked in a
bitchy tone.

“I would love to
, but not tonight. I don’t want to stoop to idiotic behavior because of her,” he said in front of her like she wasn’t even there.

“Idiotic behavior is br
inging someone like her here,” Clara spat out, pointing at me. 

I left the
m to their bickering. No wonder Daimon didn’t want to marry her, the girl was seriously troubled.

“Hey
, Addie.” I turned to see Rafe by the bar. “I see Daimon brought you here.” He looked impressed. 

“Why wouldn’t he?”
I asked with annoyance evident in my voice. If I was playing his girlfriend shouldn’t I be here?

“He never brings his girls out to society dinners
,” Rafe said, taking a sip of his drink. 

“Well
, I'm not just any girl,” I fired back, irritated by everyone’s comments.

“No
. No you’re not. You’re Addie. You’re Daimon’s girl,” Rafe confirmed. 

“Rafe
, don’t you be boring her with your crap,” Daimon said as he reached and took his drink in one hand and me in other.

“So what happened to Clara?” Rafe asked
, pointing at her.

“Probably
off licking her wounds,” Daimon murmured as he brought his whiskey to his lips.

“Why?” Rafe asked.

“Threatened her dad’s waterfront properties,” Daimon grinned.

“
Always the gentleman I see,” Rafe mocked and laughed. “At least he treats you nicely.” Rafe looked over to me and held up his glass.
If only you knew
, I thought to myself. Daimon tightened his grip on me; I guess that was my cue.

“I feel special since I'm the only one he
seems to treat so exceptionally.” I smiled and looked over at Daimon, who had given me a side look, as he drank his whiskey. 

He was such a
n asshole. There were times I would forget myself, but he always made sure I knew where I stood and who he was. 

“
There’s Jack.” Rafe nudged over Daimon’s shoulder. “You better go and rub shoulders with him,” Rafe advised.

“
Lover, do you mind if I leave you for a while?” Daimon turned to me and gave me a sexy smile.

“Of course
, I understand,” I reassured him as I gently brushed off his suit. “I’ll be here waiting for you,” I smiled happily. I was happy Daimon would leave my side for God knows how long. I was perfectly okay with that.

He and
Rafe both left me at the bar. I finally felt like I was able to breathe. I waved over the barkeep and asked him for a glass of merlot. I was quietly keeping to myself, thinking about how long I would need to stay here. Immense guilt was setting in thinking about my father and how I had left him alone at the restaurant. I knew he was lying to me about how he wasn’t having an episode, but I couldn’t out-right call him on it. 

Daimon
and Rafe were gone for a while as they expected. I had ordered my second glass of merlot when an older gentleman in a classy suit nudged over to me and smiled. I nodded back not wanting to seem rude. 

“
So how much?” he asked in a hushed voice. 

“
What?” I asked. 

“
How much?” he repeated. 

“
What my merlot? It’s free,” I said. 

“
Stop playing coy. What’s your price?” he asked dryly.

“
Excuse me?” I asked, affronted and taking a step away from him. He clasped my arm and pulled me closer. The smell of gin was all over him. I leaned backwards and tried to take my arm away, but he held on tightly.

“
You’re exactly what I need tonight. So name your price and I will happily oblige,” he nodded at me. His pudgy face and lack of hair, not to mention the way he slurred his words, made my skin crawl as I began to shake.

“
What the fuck is going on here, Anthony?” Daimon seethed. 

“
Take it easy, Daimon, everyone knows who she is,” Anthony smiled. “Listen, son, when you’re done with her, send her over to me. Just let me know how much she charges.” Anthony laughed and winked. “Know these girls.” He air quoted. “They tend to overcharge.”

I saw
Daimon’s face change several shades of red. He bared his teeth and inched so close to the older man that Anthony needed to lean back into the bar to gain some space.