Page 16 of Daring to Love You (Priestly Family #3)

Chapter Twelve

D orian cringed at Lynix’s tone. She knew this moment was coming, and he had every right to know why she had kissed him in a crowded restaurant. Not only that, but she had also taken over his meeting, which she still couldn’t believe she’d done.

Buying herself a little time, she shoved another bite of the braised ribs into her mouth.

They were perfectly seasoned, tasted absolutely divine, and practically melted in her mouth.

Normally, she’d be trying to determine what seasonings were used, but instead, she thought about what she could say to Lynix. Where did she even begin?

“Lynix, I know you said I don’t need to apologize for crashing your meeting, but I do.

It was unprofessional and childish if I’m being honest. I wanted to show Rodney and Shauna how I had moved on from the drama they’d created around me at the agency.

I also wanted them to see I knew people who could be their potential clients, and that I could influence whether they got a contract. ”

Dorian moved potatoes around on her plate, embarrassed she had to tell him the rest. Now she wished she hadn’t put on that little show. Then she could keep her secrets, no matter how big or small, to herself.

Lynix placed his hand on her thigh under the table and squeezed. “Tell me about you and Rodney? I thought the man’s eyes would pop out of his head when he saw you. When you said they ruined your work life at the agency, he looked as if he’d swallowed his tongue.”

“ Rodney ,” she said, the word tasting bitter on her tongue as she thought about how he’d made a fool of her. “He and I used to date. It was stupid of me to date my coworker.”

Dorian could admit to not being the most experienced woman out there, but she’d always thought she was a good judge of character.

Rodney had proven her wrong on so many levels.

While she had dated during high school and college, it had never been anything too serious because she was focused on her studies, determined to get a college scholarship.

She’d accomplished that goal but at the expense of not having much of a social life during those years.

Then came her first real job at Concept Marketing Agency where she had worked since college and enjoyed her job. She and Rodney had worked together for a few years before she started crushing on him, but she never intended to date him.

“Is he the reason you won’t give me a chance?” Lynix asked, cutting into her thoughts.

“Yes, partly. Okay, mostly,” she added and gave him a slight smile while shrugging her shoulders.

“I had a crush on him for at least a year, and then he asked me out.

I thought I had died and gone to heaven because he was considered the most eligible bachelor in our department.

Actually, probably in the whole company.

“For him to ask me out had been a big deal, but I said no at first. I knew he was out of my league, and the whole dating a coworker was risky. Still, it had been nice to get asked out. He didn’t give up, though.

He hung out at my cubicle, making me laugh, paying me compliments, and basically giving me the attention I craved from a man.

Needless to say, I finally gave in and became the envy of my co-workers. ”

Dorian stared down at her plate and moved some of the yellow rice around, giving her a reason not to look at Lynix as she contemplated her next words. She couldn’t believe she was about to tell him one of the most embarrassing situations of her dating life. Him of all people.

He might’ve been interested in her before, but after this conversation he’d realize she wasn’t worth the effort.

She wouldn’t know what to do with a man like him.

A man as worldly and well off as him could get any woman he wanted.

Heck, he already had, multiple times. He’d soon learn she wouldn’t be a good fit for him.

“Rodney and I dated for six almost seven months, and I thought we were having a good time getting to know each other. But then he wanted to take our relationship to the next level…”

Her words trailed off, and she chanced a glance at Lynix.

People like him would think that, after dating that long, all the levels would’ve been hit by then.

However, Lynix didn’t respond. His expression was patient and kind with no judgment.

As a matter of fact, she was impressed with how he was letting her talk without much interruption.

Good listener. Another point in the pro’s column for him.

“Basically, when I wasn’t willing to put out , Rodney suddenly started canceling dates and ignoring my calls.

He didn’t officially break up with me, but his attitude toward me turned chilly.

We had kept our relationship quiet at work.

So I didn’t think much of him not hanging out at my desk or us not going to lunch together.

But there were no text messages, no phone calls, and there were no winks or smiles when we passed in the hallway.

“I eventually got the message and called myself all types of fools for dating a coworker. Something that will never happen again. My little impromptu show earlier was me trying to show Rodney how I was able to do a whole lot better than him. I’m sorry for pulling you into my pettiness, but more than that, I’m sorry for crashing your meeting.

I hope I didn’t embarrass you too much.”

Dorian went back to eating, shoveling food into her mouth to keep from rambling. She liked Lynix. She liked him even more with how nice he’d been to her today, but maybe it was time to leave before more questions were asked.

“You didn’t embarrass me at all,” he said, rubbing the scruff on his chin as he watched her. “I’m just still wondering why you quit your job. Are you saying you quit because Rodney started ignoring you?”

Dorian’s fork stopped inches from her mouth as dread seeped in. She already felt like a loser where Rodney was concerned. She didn’t want to prove how much of one she was by answering more of Lynix’s questions.

You owe him . The words blared through her mind, and she knew she did. You couldn’t just infiltrate someone’s business meeting without a full explanation of why you’d done it.

Dorian set her fork down and released a long breath.

She wanted to curse the sudden tears that filled her eyes, but no way would she let them fall.

She blinked them away, refusing to cry over how Rodney had treated her.

She had shed too many tears for that parasite when he hadn’t even been worth it.

“While Rodney and I were dating, he…” She nibbled her lower lip and glanced away for a second. When she felt like she could say this without bursting into tears, she looked at him. “Rodney, he umm…”

“So help me God, Dee…” Lynix’s low growl and the angry mask that suddenly showed on his handsome face caught her off guard. “If you tell me that motherfucker physically hurt you, I’m leaving right now to hunt his ass down and—”

“No!” she said as shock slammed into her. When he started to stand, she grasped his wrist and held on tight. “Oh my God, Lynix. I am so sorry! I didn’t mean for it to sound like he abused me in any way.”

“Then what the hell happened?” he snapped, and as if catching himself, he released a breath, closed his eyes, and ran his hand over his mouth.

Dorian knew his anger wasn’t directed at her, but that still didn’t mean she didn’t shrink against her seat. His temper seemed to flare out of nowhere. Normally, he was fairly laid-back. So this behavior was new.

“I’m the one who’s sorry, Dee,” he said and reached for her hand and held it.

“I have a low tolerance for men who mistreat women. Especially those who think it’s okay to put their hands on a woman with the intent of hurting them.

Hell, I could tell you stories about what I’ve seen on patrol that would leave you having nightmares for weeks. And when you started to tear up…”

“I wasn’t thinking. I guess I’m still embarrassed by the situation even though it’s been over a year. I thought I had moved on, but seeing Rodney and Shauna today brought it all back. The hurt. The disappointment. The betrayal.

“Rodney didn’t officially break up with me. Instead, he left me hanging while he was screwing around with Shauna. He cheated on me.”

Lynix frowned. “He was hooking up with her while you two were dating?”

“Yes, well, according to Shauna.” Dorian fiddled with the cloth napkin in her lap as memories churned inside her mind. Now that she was saying everything aloud, it didn’t sound like a big deal. Yet, she remembered being devastated.

“I get that people cheat or get cheated on and then move on. It’s probably happened to more people than not.

For me, though, that hurt cut deep. I was totally blindsided by their…

union for lack of a better word. All I’d known was Rodney had been acting weird toward the end of our relationship, and then out of nowhere, Shauna started treating me like a leper.

Like I had done something to her, and she was seeking revenge.

“She had never been the best boss, but at least she was fair. Apparently, she found out Rodney and I had been seeing each other. Then she took her anger and frustrations out on me at work. I had no idea he’d ever been involved with her but apparently, they’d dated.

“Anyway, she made my work-life hell. She started piling projects on me, even those which should’ve been team projects. Not only that, but none of the assignments or campaigns I turned in were good enough. She’d insist I redo them. Even projects that were done as per the client’s requests.

“Lynix, she humiliated me during meetings to the point of me leaving the conference room in tears. There were days when I dreaded going to work. I eventually had to file a complaint with Human Resources.”

“What happened then?”

“They gave her a slap on the wrist, but the harassment continued. Not only that, Shauna and Rodney started flaunting their relationship in front of me. She once thanked me for being a lousy lay where Rodney was concerned. I don’t know what all he told her about our relationship, but I knew that part was a lie. Rodney and I never had sex.”

“You two dated for almost a year and never had sex?”

Dorian shook her head. There’d been a time she’d been embarrassed to admit that but not anymore. She was so happy she hadn’t fallen for his sweet talk and lies. Otherwise, after the way everything went down, she would’ve felt like a bigger fool.

“No, we didn’t,” she said to Lynix who seemed to be hanging on to her every word. “I liked Rodney. I even thought I was falling in love with him, but I just… It just never felt right, but I should’ve known if he wasn’t getting it from me, he was getting it from someone else.”

Dorian had felt like the stupidest person in the world, but that whole situation showed how inexperienced she’d been.

It didn’t matter that she had been in her early thirties, she hadn’t dated much.

It never crossed her mind that Rodney would cheat on her or with her, and that’s what she told Lynix.

“He’d come over several times a week, and I’d cook for him. We’d watch a movie or go for a ride or sometimes take long walks along the lake. I thought we were having a good time getting to know one another. I had no clue he was involved with anyone else until shit hit the fan at work with Shauna.”

“Before today, when was the last time you saw or talked to Rodney?”

“I heard from him about a week after I quit my job. He said he was sorry about how things went down. I asked him why he did it. Why he’d dated us both at the same time. He said he and Shauna had been taking a break before he asked me out, and then they patched things up.

“Rodney claimed he didn’t know how to tell me, and then when our relationship wasn’t going anywhere, he figured he’d move on.

” His words had hurt, but at that point, she hadn’t cared about anything he’d had to say.

“He also said I was really sweet, but he wanted to be with a woman who knew how to please a man.”

“Son of…” Lynix growled, and Dorian lifted her hands for him to let her finish.

“I told him that when I find a real man it won’t be a problem with me pleasing him. And that was the last time I talked to him.”

Lynix shook his head. “You should’ve sued the company or something,” he mumbled as he picked at the rest of his food.

“Oh, Cree was livid when she found out and was ready to go after them with all her legal guns. And according to her, she still might. My sisters are the only ones who know the whole story about why I quit a job that I loved. Well, them and you now. Essence had offered a shoulder to cry on, and Nyla wanted to go old school and pour sugar into their gas tanks and key their cars.”

Dorian adored her sisters who were always willing to throw down for her, but leaving the agency had been the best decision for her.

The executives were close to the pulse of the organization, and she knew she hadn’t been the only person to file a complaint about Shauna.

They let her get away with treating staff like crap because she made the company a ton of money.

She was always getting recognized for her stellar work and her timeliness on meeting campaign deadlines.

No one cared that she couldn’t accomplish those things on her own.

Dorian wondered what they’d think if she lost a potentially large contract. Though she had no intentions of telling Lynix what to do, she hoped he didn’t go with their agency.

As if reading her mind, Lynix said, “Well, Concept Marketing won’t be getting our business, and I’m not sure how I’ll do it yet, but I’m going to make Rodney and Shauna regret the day they ever mistreated you.”

Dorian’s heart softened at the fierceness behind his words. It was sweet of him to take her experience with the company and their employees into consideration. Yet, she didn’t want him to do anything he’d later regret, and that’s what she told him.

“Also, you went beyond the call of duty when you played along with my little charade today,” Dorian assured him. “Seeing their stunned expressions when I walked in was reward enough.”

She pushed her plate aside and propped her arms on the table. “Now, enough about me. Let’s talk about you. Why were you even in a business meeting in the first place? I thought you weren’t a part of the family business.”