Promise and Punishment, page 4
“Client?” I asked.
“Lina is my attorney, but now, she’s also yours,” Alejandro confirmed.
“It’s my absolute pleasure to meet you, Miss Harrison.” Lina greeted, shaking my hand with a level of professionalism that made my outfit feel even more inappropriate.
“Thank you… I don’t know if I’m in trouble, but I can’t possibly expect you to pay for a lawyer…” I shook my head.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Alejandro grinned. “As if I would ever let anything happen to you. I told you I’d take care of you, and that involves securing only the best of attorneys at your disposal. Lina kept your name out of the papers, even after The Met.”
“That was no easy task, but easy is never fun.” She turned to the apparent Sergeant Fields who scowled with the Honey Bun still in his hands. “You can leave now,” she declared, shooing him away with the wave of her hand.
He listened, but not before taking a moment to look me in the eyes. “Be careful…” he warned, garnering a sincerity I could only imagine coming from a father as he walked away.
Alejandro rubbed his large thumb on the back of my hand, returning my attention. I scanned his perfectly, clean face, unblemished from the awful night we had. Was he used to this, staying up late, being unfazed by the lack of sleep? Maybe it was a side-effect of his supposed wild parties, and how they possibly lasted into the late hours of the night.
“You’re cold.” Alejandro lifted the leather jacket he held in his hand, placing it over my shoulders. Its weight was heavy, covering me in the stale prison musk that masked the summery scent of his faded cologne. I felt little within its wings, but even smaller within Alejandro’s arms. “Shall we?”
“Not so fast,” Lina chimed in. “I can’t have you leave and rest the day away. We have business to attend to.”
“It can wait.”
“No. This can’t.” She waved her phone in the air, “Business in California needs your attention. I’ll need you indefinitely.”
“Is this about the case?” I blurted out, not realizing how nosey I sounded. The natural creases of Alejandro’s face relaxed, amused by my question. Lina’s did not. She raised an eyebrow, appearing more curious about what I may know versus the question itself.
“Other business…” Alejandro corrected. “But you can stay at my penthouse. Whatever you need I’ll take care of it.”
“Actually, I should probably go back home,” I answered, pulling his jacket closer to my chest.
“Home?” He cocked his head, sounding unenthused.
“There are things I need to take care of. You’ll be busy with Lina and work… I still have to finish your suit.” I shrugged, reminding him how our relationship truly began.
“I can arrange for all of that to be sent to my place.”
“I couldn’t possibly do that. I need my space.”
“Space… home…” he repeated my words. “All with a Mr. Parker Jones?” My heart stopped, feeling as if I were entirely caught, my best friend now an unintentional secret. He said Parker’s name for the first time to my face, something I never shared with him before.
“Yes. With Parker. I’ll take care of that. He needs to hear from me.”
“I’ll come with you,” he calmly caressed my hand.
“I’d advise against that, Alex,” Lina shot a look, and I agreed.
“She’s right. This is already complicated as it is. Let me take care of this. Let me spend time working on your suit, making it perfect. I want to do a good job for you.”
He smirked to himself, unbothered by the idea. “That’s not even a worry of mine. I know you’ll do well. My good girl always does.”
My good girl. In his mind I was already his, and as much as the idea thrilled me, the questions still unanswered made me nauseous. How could I be his when he still couldn’t be mine? Our relationship was different, it hinged on all the secrets we wanted to share but couldn’t; it wasn’t the fantasy I had with Parker, who I still wasn’t ready to face.
I didn’t want to hear what others had to say about Alejandro anymore, because I knew what I felt in this moment: secure, happy, calm. But was that just an illusion? Was it a byproduct of my mother, who always trusted the wrong guys? I refused to believe it, to settle on the explosions to come, on the gradual but inevitable truth Alejandro would speak. Maybe I’d tell him about the night my father left, and maybe he would tell me about his family, the ones whose deaths he scolded me about before our night ended.
This could work, and maybe I could accept the possible truth, that just because Alex Rivers was a bad boy, didn’t mean that Alejandro Rivera-Marquez, himself, wasn’t a good man.
Chapter 3
Gemma
“Parker!” I shouted, swooping the hair out from my face, slamming his apartment door shut. The living room was bright, annoying me with the early morning sun as I threw my keys on the counter, still clutching my paper cup of tea from the precinct.
Parker was near the hall, lifting his body on a pull-up bar, grunting, shirtless, pumping out a rep that flexed the hardness of his strong back. He ignored me as music blared in the background, and instead of competing with it, I yanked the speaker chord loose from the outlet.
“Parker Ellis Jones! What the hell did you do?” I scolded so loudly, it burned my throat. He finally let go of the bar, landing on his feet with an immeasurable thud. If I weren’t so pissed, I’d probably be nervous, his astonishing height intimidating enough, but more so menacing now with the coiled veins on his large, brawny arms. He turned to me with a glare.
“What the fuck were you thinking?” he growled harshly, filling the room with a chest rattling rumble.
“You don’t get to ask me that! You weren’t the one waiting all night at some police station. How dare you?”
“Excuse me?” He stepped closer, taking the tea out of my hand, slamming it on the counter. I tried not to avert my eyes from his as every bead of sweat rolled down his body, seeping into the loose grey sweats that dipped below his pelvis. “Do you have any idea what you put me through? How worried sick I was?”
“You have no right to invade my life. Parker, you called the cops! You had Alejandro arrested! Do you realize what you’ve put him through?” I threw my hands in the air, still unable to fully wrap my head around the insanity of the situation. “I’m not some animal to be hunted or some child that needs to be rescued.”
“No, don’t even,” he warned pointing his finger right in my direction. “Don’t talk to me like some brat. I’m not your fucking daddy, but since you’re sneaking out like a little girl, I’ll treat you like one.”
Parker gaveled his fist onto the table, his pupils narrowed into black dots and swirling green pools. I scoffed, taking notice of the unbelievable light that poured through my gaping doorway. I pushed myself past his body, getting closer towards it, covering my mouth. It was completely destroyed.
“What the hell, Parker?” I screeched. “What did you do to my door?” I marched back into the living room, watching as he wiped his sweaty face with a towel, tossing it across the table. “You and Camilla were hanging out. Everything was fine. How did we go from that to this?” I pointed back to the hall, demanding an explanation.
“Do you know what happens when someone undoes the latch to a fire escape here?” He twisted the drawstring of his pants, yanking it tight. “It’s timed, Gemma, it’s not meant for coming and going as you please.”
“Timed?” I asked, suddenly less confident.
“Yes! Timed as in sensitive to how it’s used. You unhooked it, which caused the delayed alarm to sound. And why?” he asked, already angry at the answer, leaving me unsure of what to say. If I told him that Alejandro actually snuck in and took me away, he’d certainly lose his mind. I couldn’t say that, not right now.
“I wanted to go out,” I defended as if I were some victim.
“With him?” He scowled.
“Yes, with him, and why is that so wrong?”
“Cause the way you did it panicked the whole building, my-fucking-self included. And, of course, he had something to do with this. I’m not surprised.” He threw his arms up.
“It’s not his fault.”
“It is. Everything he touches gets ruined, everything he does has consequences that you’re not prepared for. Don’t debate me on this, Gemma.”
“That’s not fair. I know him better than you, just like you claim to know Camilla better than me. Where’s the boundary here?”
“You know him better?” he asked. “So I’m supposed to ignore all the case filings I’ve read about him, just because you think you know the actor who pretends for a living?”
“Real mature… So his profession is below being a lawyer, the job where sneaky men in suits free criminals who have enough money?”
“Oh, so I’m sneaky?”
“Yes!” I shouted. “You broke into my room. You called the cops.”
Parker stepped forward, backing me into a corner, pinning me against the wall before slamming his hand above my head. It scared me, but not as much as his incredulous stare, as he suddenly leaned in so close, so tempered that I thought I’d scream from surprise.
“So now I’m the bad guy?” he asked, his abs catching rays of sunlight, glistening like his chest that heaved like pliable stone. I dropped my chin, caught by the unkempt curl of lose hair that fell over his face. “I am bad: bad at hiding the fact that I’d do anything for you, that I’m one fucking straw away from breaking through any misconceptions you think you have about what I’m willing to do to keep you safe. Gemma, they evacuated the building, everyone thought there was a fire. I shouted for you. I banged on your door so many times; and each fucking second got worse, worse because the idea that something—anything—terrible could ever happen to you kills me. So yes, I kicked that fucking door down, and I’d do it again, and again. They couldn’t get me out of here without you, and I’d rather burn than not know you were safe.” He fought himself from leaning further, as if the weight of his words were too much to carry, a unique position I’d never seen or felt in the twenty some years we’d known each other.
Who was he right now? Yes, he was Parker the protector, he always had been, but this was different. There was fear in his choking voice, and I didn’t know anyone who treated a sister like this, let alone a close friend.
“But I was ok…” I whispered.
“I didn’t know that. I saw your window open and thought the worst, because if I ever lost you, Gemma, I don’t know if I could live with myself,” he dipped his nose lower, brushing against the bridge of my own. My knees began to shake, realizing his stare had become focused on my lips. I didn’t know if I wanted to cry, if I felt anger or remorse, or maybe both.
“Parker—” I calmed myself.
“Don’t… don’t say my name like that. You have no idea what it does to me… goddamn it, Gemma, I can’t even think straight.” He turned to rest his hands on the counter, his knuckles white. “All I see is you being taken, and I—” he stopped himself, reliving whatever he felt as he massaged his forehead. I was too nervous to move, to feel anything that could make me more vulnerable than I already was around him.
“What is it that you see? What are you afraid of?” I asserted, demanding an answer. “If something is happening then you need to tell me, because I’m done guessing. And yes, I’m sorry. Had I known this would happen, had I known…” How you felt, was what I wanted to say, but wasn’t sure how. I was nervous about what my assumption would do, what it would cause, if not frustration within me. Parker reached up, his large hand nearing mine but stopping short of actually touching me.
“Don’t apologize for him.” He peeked up, stiffening his shoulders. “This isn’t your fault. This is just who he is; a burden… a problem that has been in my way for too long now. I won’t rest or stop until you’re safe, till you’re protected, Gemma, I… I don’t know how else to say it. This is what I’m supposed to do. And that’s it.” Parker shook his head as he pushed himself away, seemingly annoyed at me or the situation as a whole. “I have no choice. No options or regards other than one. I need to meet him.”
“Parker—”
“No,” he warned me. “You’ll arrange this, or I’ll go find him myself, and it won’t be good. Either way, I’ll meet him face to face, and we’ll see if he’s half the man you think he his.” Parker lifted the tea I brought, placing it back in my direction. “Gemma… I warned you if he did anything like this again, that I’d ruin him. And just like any other case, I’ll win.” Parker combed back his hair, then reached for my phone to swipe it open. “I’m expecting us to meet and have this settled. I won’t accept no for an answer.”
I scoffed, “Like another third wheel date?” The idea was priceless, almost inconceivable. I couldn’t imagine the three of us in the same room, let alone at dinner or a bar. Why did he insist on this, if not to assert himself in my life? I felt embarrassed. I felt like a child.
“This isn’t a date,” he emphasized. “It’s a meeting to set expectations and to draw the line between where he begins and where I say he ends.”
“Then settle that in court, Park. That’s where your relationship begins and ends with him. What I do, what I have, is mine and mine alone, and it doesn’t concern you.”
“You have no idea what this guy has even done… He’ll never do right by you, he’ll never sacrifice what I’ve sacrificed to keep you safe.”
“Don’t talk to me about sacrifice. I’ve been vulnerable, Park, I’ve taken chances when no one else would. Have you? Alejandro has, or at least he’s trying.”
“I’ve given everything!” he shouted. “You think he’s someone great? Fine. Make this meeting happen, and we’ll see if you can change my mind.” He slid my phone across the table, “Tell him we’re meeting.”
“He’s a busy man. He’s finishing his movie, when do you expect this to happen?”
“He’s got till the end of this month. That’s his fucking deadline,” he waved his hand, short and quick. No exception. I hesitated for a moment, lifting my phone from the table.
If there was anything I learned from Alejandro thus far, it was that the character of a person could be molded by the actions they took, or possibly the ones they didn’t. I had to know, in my own way, the limits of this new Parker and as much as he wanted to push, I could push back too.
“We’ll be there.” I stood my ground, “And believe me, Parker, I do agree with you about expectations being made. Not just for Alejandro, but for you.” This sparked his attention.
“In what capacity?”
“You breaking down my door, your interest in me and my life. On Alejandro. How does that make Camilla feel? What does she think of you and me?” Parker ignored me, his focus shifting away, passing me and out the window.
“If she doesn’t know by now, then I’ll remind her,” he argued.
“Remind her about what? About how you feel for her? Or how you feel for me?” My words broke his stare from the buildings outside. He flinched, immediately reaching for his towel, tucking it behind his neck.
“Just make the call,” he commanded, exiting the room. The tension was suffocating, returning like a wave as I felt him edging closer to who I knew he was all along, someone and something more. He slammed his door, leaving me alone, rattled, and shaking.
Mindlessly, I lifted my cup of tea, chucking it into the trash as some pathetic attempt to relinquish my rage. I hated that Parker wanted this, but I also hated that he was right. This meeting was a chance, as he said, to set an expectation. I could only live in the fantasy that Parker and I were meant to be together for so long, realizing its effect had been stemming much longer than I cared to admit. He needed to know that my decisions were my own, and that they concerned only the people I included them with.
I walked through my room, kicking a splintered piece of wood across the floor, while Alejandro’s suit sat in the corner, perfectly untouched. I pulled out my phone and fell into bed. There were twenty missed calls from Parker’s number, shaming me on the screen with its notifications. I swiped them away, pulling up a new message to make the most uncomfortable request ever.
Parker could ask us to meet, but he couldn’t make me choose who I wanted to be with. He of all people should know that choices come with consequences, a lesson I myself learned from both my college confession and from Claire. Trust a man with your heart, and trust him with your disappointment.
I punched the final words on my phone, my thumb hovering over the send button, until I had the courage to send it through. I texted Alejandro and hoped for the best, knowing already the worst was still to come.
Gemma: Hey rebel, do you have plans in a few weeks?
Chapter 4
Parker
“If you ever do that again, you’re fired. I fucking mean it,” I warned, unbuttoning the top notch of my tailored navy suit. I was already on edge, completely annoyed with myself, with this whole fucking situation. I couldn’t believe the way I spoke to Gemma, the total loss of control I had. It was too much, too obvious to how I felt and how desperate I’d become. But how could I contain myself, when the thought of losing the only person I ever cared for was happening in real time? I didn’t want to be here, I didn’t want to be scolding my own subordinate, taking my anger out on him.
“I barely said anything.” Tommy, my fraternity brother from Columbia, quickly responded. He was good at defending others in court but had little effect in defending himself. The moment his smile wasn’t returned with my own, he pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing he was in trouble.
“You said enough, and I swear to god, Tommy, if anything from the Brower-Rivers case leaks out, I’ll make you leave New York.”
