Unmasking Charlotte (a Taboo Love series) (7 page)

Charlotte again…

Livid
and hungry. Not a good combination. Parker finally waltzes in just after noon. He looks relaxed and well rested; I am going to throttle him.

“W
hat the hell, Parker?” I ask in a tone, and he knows. He just knows.

He cocks his head and flashes me his movie star, you-can’t-be-mad-at-me,
panty-melting smile. “Well, hello there, yourself, beautiful.”

I stare at him for a few beats, lost in his sexy aura. Then I snap back to reality, remembering that I am fuming. And hungry. And horny.
Shit!

“Seriously, Parker. You were supposed to be here hours ago,” I try in a less bitchy manner.

“I know, honey. I’m sorry, something came up.”

“Fine, whatever,” I say
flippantly. I don’t feel like fighting with him.

“Come
on, Char. I may not be married, but I know when a woman says ‘fine,’ she most certainly doesn’t mean ‘fine,’” Parker says with a wry smile and a wink.

Dammit!
When he does shit like that, there is no way I can stay mad at him.

“No, really, it’s fine.” I
huff, raising my hand with a dismissive wave. Whatever, I am over it. I just want to go home and eat. And maybe take care of a little business, if you know what I mean.

“Okay, if you’re sure,” he says warily. “So…do you have my audition schedule?”

“Of course.” I get up and head into Eddie’s office. I reach into the file cabinet that has all of the client files in it and I pull his out. When I head back to my desk, I see that he has plopped down into the chair in front of it.

“Comfortable?” I ask, rai
sing an eyebrow.

“With you, always,” he answers flirtatiously, but I know it is harmless.

Parker and I kissed a few years ago. We were at some party and it just kind of happened. We both agreed that neither of us felt anything. It was kind of like kissing my brother, actually. Okay, ew, now I have that mental picture, which needs to be erased. Immediately. Kissing Tommy like that would be disgusting. Mmmmm. Kissing. Kissing Parker. He’s friends with Calvin. Kissing Calvin. Sigh.
Oh my god, seriously, Charlie. Get a grip.

I drag myself out of that fantastic fantasy of kissing Calvin, and focus bac
k on Parker. He didn’t realize that my head was elsewhere because he is in his own little world, still reviewing his schedule.

“Parker, while I have you here…”

“Hmmm?” is his response, not even looking up at me from behind the paper.

Ma
ybe I can sneak this past him. “I kind of did something that I want to discuss with you.”

“Okay,” he responds, now giving me his full attention.

Shit! This is not going to be easy.

“I kind of to
ld some guy that we were dating,” I say as a matter of fact, trying to make it seem like it’s no big deal.

“
Huh? Come again?”

“
Yeah. This guy kept asking me out, so I told him that I have a boyfriend,” I say, scrunching up my nose and ducking my head.

“Okay. That
was a good idea. But how did I end up in the mix?” he asks, listening attentively to my answers.

“
Well, at the time, you were in the room. I just saw you while talking to him and I kinda sorta blurted out your name.”

I slide down in my chair a little,
bracing for him to yell at me. I know he doesn’t like me throwing around his name to anyone. You never know when a reporter is around.

“
My name just blurted out?” he asks, tapping his pointer finger on his chin.

“
Yeah.”

I can tell the wheels are star
ting to turn. He is much slower to respond this time. “And this ‘guy.’ Do I know him?” he asks.

“
Sort of.” I shrug.

“
’Sort of?’” He parrots, nodding his head.

“
Yeah, you
may
know him,” I say evasively.

Parker rubs the back of his neck,
and then looks me dead in the eyes. “Charlie,” he bites out in warning.

“
Parker,” I whine.

Before he
gets in another word, my cell phone rings. That’s odd.
Saved by the bell!
The only people that call my cell are Delilah and my father. But Delilah would text me during business hours. I open my drawer where my phone is hiding and look at the screen. I was right.

I
look back to Parker and raise my finger, asking for a quick minute to answer.

“
Hey, Dad,” I chirp into the phone.

“Hi, Darling. Are you at work?” he asks, his voice sounding strained.

“What’s the matter, Dad?”

I subconsciously pick some nonexistent lint off my skirt. I glance up at Parker, but he is
back in his own world, texting on his cell. My dad is silent for a few more seconds. My heart rate starts to pick up, waiting for him to answer.

“Is it Mom? Is Tommy okay?” I ask, panic growing in the pit of my stomach.

I feel rather than see Parker’s head swing up and in my direction. I know he is looking at me. I am sure he is concerned by the tone of my voice, but I don’t look in his direction.

“They are fine, sweetheart,” he answers calmly. “They are not why I called.”

“What is it, Dad? You are scaring me.” My voice quivers.

“Are you sitting down?” is all he asks and my heart completely sinks.

I finally look back up at Parker. He is literally sitting on the edge of his seat, waiting to make sure that everything is okay. He is such a good friend. And he is gorgeous, too. It sucks that there is just no chemistry between us. I listen to what my father has to say, nodding up and down like a bobble head, as if he could see me. I “Mmhmm” him a few times, then with a shaking hand, I hang up. I lean back in my chair, unable to keep myself completely upright. Parker and I sit silently for a few minutes just staring at each other, a lone tear sliding down my face. I never thought this day would come.

Some more Charlotte…

I need a drink. That’s all
that I can think about right now. When Parker sees my face after that phone call with my dad, he knows. No questions asked. He holds out his hand and just says, “Let’s get out of here.” I take his hand, grab my shit, and lockup, without a second thought.
Thank god Eddie is out of town.

So
, now we are headed “out.” I have no idea where he is taking me or what he has in store for me. I just know that it can’t and won’t be anywhere too public. The paparazzi are ruthless, and he can’t afford any scandals right now. Like being seen with a crying woman with mascara running down her face. I can just imagine the headlines now: Parker Hamilton breaks up with pregnant girlfriend. Or even better: Parker Hamilton caught with a prostitute. I laugh to myself for a second, but not enough to snap me out of this funk.

We have been driving i
n silence for almost ten minutes already. He is probably afraid of saying something that may make me start to cry again. He didn’t ask me what the phone call was about, and I am grateful to him for that. I am not ready to tell him because that would mean that I would have to tell him everything. And there are only a few people who know everything, Delilah being one of them. So I do tell him the one thing that he does deserve to know.

Looking straight ahead, I say one word. “Calvin.” Well, a name
, actually. Not a word.

“Huh?” he asks completely confused. And who can blame him really. I just threw that at him from left field. “
You women are crazy.” He chuckles. “You switch topics so quickly and expect us cavemen to follow. What about Calvin, woman?”

I lean my head back against the headrest, stare at the roof, and let out a big laugh. Not just a chortle,
chuckle, or cackle, but a full-blown belly laugh. My head still leaning on the headrest, I turn my head toward Parker and smile at him.

“Thank you. I needed that,” I tell him sincerely.

“I am glad, Char. But I am completely serious. I have no idea what you are talking about. What about Calvin? Is that what the call was about?” he asks cautiously.

“No.” I sigh. “Calvin is the one I told.”

“Told what?”

“Oh my god, P
arker! Were you listening to a thing I said to you back there?” I asked annoyed.

Parker
bites out a string of curses. “No, Charlie. Tell me you are not saying what I think you are saying.”

I shrug
my shoulder. “Sorry?”

“Charlie! Calvin is going to kick my ass
!” he shouts almost nervously.

“
No he won’t. He respects your friendship too much,” I respond, trying to appease him.

“You better hop
e so,” is all that he says and the subject is closed.

T
hat could have gone better, but I also know it could have been a fuckload worse. He is being easy on me because he knows that I am emotionally drained. Normally, that would piss the ever living shit out of me. I don’t take pity well, and I certainly don’t like to be thought of as emotionally weak. I am anything but fragile. But in this instance, it totally works in my favor. Screw my pride.

We are sitting in silence once again, and it seems that we may both be deep in thought. After our brief conversation, my mind wanders to Calvin. The last time I saw him was at our little run in at the restaurant. I wonder if he ended up leaving with zebra pants. At that thought, a shudder runs through me and my body shivers.
I am not jealous. I am not jealous.
Parker must think that I am rehashing my phone call, so he grabs my hand and pulls it to him. He rests both of our hands, fingers intertwined, on the drive shaft between us. We are still enjoying our comfortable silence, and I can’t help but wonder where he is taking me. That only lasts another five minutes.

“Why the fuck are we here?” I sneer.

“Come on, Charlie. You know I can’t be seen in public, and this is the next best thing. All you can drink. Free. Plus, he is never here this early. ”

That’s
his explanation, and I am not happy. I don’t need free drinks. I need to be as far away from him as possible. He is way too tempting, overly dangerous, and I am far too vulnerable. He better not be here.