Chapter 69 We're Ready
I clean the apartment while Sel sleeps to distract myself from the fact that my text to David has a red exclamation mark next to it that reads ‘Undelivered’.
I am not too sure what I expected. While I have not exactly fleshed out the terms and conditions of David staying with me last night, a part of me had hoped that he would be willing to talk to me. Or that he would stay until I woke up. Or he would at least be willing to accept my text this morning that says ‘Please can we talk?’.
The fact that it cannot even be delivered to his phone tells me that David has blocked my number. And that somehow hurts more than finding he had already left when I woke up.
Like it is the final nail in the coffin of telling me that he is done.
I message Marcus as well. My text to him goes through, and it even shows that it has been read, but he has yet to reply.
Guess I brought this all on myself.
I am not aware of the fact that while I am wallowing and obsessively cleaning everything I can find to occupy my hands, Marcus and David are arguing about me a few blocks away.
~
“I’m just saying it’s worth hearing her out!” Marcus argues.
“And I fucking told you, I’m done.” David seethes, flicking angrily through the sheets of the file he is trying to read in his study while Marcus unhelpfully sits opposite him.
At least when Nora was there, she helped with these kinds of work things. But now he cannot even focus on what Marcus is trying to get his signature on to keep Whitaker Enterprises afloat while he is dealing with everything else.
“David, come on–”
“What is this?” He interrupts, jabbing his finger at the file in front of him, and making Marcus sigh.
“You need to sign off on the board’s directed new contract.”
“Who are they?”
“They’re fine, we’ve done backgrounds on them. A new interface for computer coding. You’ll get 3 cents on the dollar every time someone Googles something.”
“Have you checked whether they–”
“They’re not involved with Malcolm Voss.” Marcus answers, already anticipating that question. David nods, then signs at the bottom and passes the file back to Marcus. “I really think you should–”
“You need to get back to the office, don’t you?” David asks, already pulling his laptop in front of him and typing away. Nothing in particular, just to get Marcus off his back.
“Right. Yeah.” Marcus mutters, standing up with the file in hand and heading to the door. “At least unblock her number.” He adds, trying not to leave without one final attempt.
David does not do anything to show he has heard Marcus, but the pause in his typing tells Marcus that he has listened. So he smiles a little at the victory, and leaves.
Harlan soon replaces him, barrelling through the door with Theo in tow.
“What?” David sighs, not having enough energy today to deal with any of this.
“We’re ready.” Harlan says, smiling.
“For what?”
“For the attack. Taking back our docks. Whatever you need, Boss.”
“I’m not taking the docks back. They’re Malcolm Voss’s now.”
“I told you.” Theo hisses to Harlan. But Harlan just leans on the desk.
“We don’t give away territory without a plan to get it back.” Harlan tries again. “We never have, not until…” He trails off, standing back up and looking at Theo for help, who just shakes his head.
“Not until what? Until I got screwed over by his daughter, you mean?” David answers, making Harlan look very, very sheepish. David stands behind his desk, the anger emanating from him. “The docks are no longer ours. Deal with it. Now go and make sure all our other businesses are still fucking standing before you are no longer my problem either.”
Theo has enough smarts to grab Harlan’s arm and drag him out of the study, closing the door gently behind them, and allowing David the much-needed time to calm down. The two of them join Marcus by the front door, sharing silent expressions that range from ‘fucking hell’ to ‘can you believe him?’
David does not care what the guys think of him. Not at the moment anyway. As he slumps back down into his chair, running his hands over his face to try and wake himself up, he realizes he has not stopped thinking about Nora since he left this morning.
It is like he can still feel her skin under his hands, still feel her body writhing under his, still hear the way his name sounded on her lips as they spent the entire night getting each other to their climaxes over and over. He feels like a junkie, addicted to her, unable to focus on anything other than when he can possibly have her again.
He has not stepped foot in Nora's room since he kicked her out. He has not wanted to, because he knows it will send him straight back to her. The door remains shut, and he is not sure if he will ever be ready to open it.
He thinks back to what Marcus said, to unblock her number. As much as he wants to, he needs to have a clean break, which he thought he had achieved by leaving while she slept this morning.
That is why he is lashing out.
Because he knows in reality that he can never have Nora again.
He does not know how to get past this, how to even start a conversation with her that could even begin to fix how betrayed he feels. He does not know how to get back to the way they were. So he is trying to move on without her.
But all he wants is Nora. He cannot seem to let me go.
Suddenly, he realizes that if Marcus knew to say that to him, it means that Marcus has spoken to her. That she has tried to contact David, and not been able to.
So much for a clean break.
Picking up his phone, David goes into his Contacts and finds her blocked number, hovering his finger over it, debating whether to take that first step.
After a few seconds, he throws his phone back to his desk, untouched, and returns to his work.
~
By the time Sel wakes up in the afternoon, I have riled myself up to the point where she finds me getting ready and mumbling to myself in the bathroom.
“The fuck are you doing?” She yawns as she leans against the doorframe, watching me in the mirror as I tie my hair back into a ponytail.
“I’m uh… he won’t talk to me. So I’m going to get it back. Then he’ll talk to me. Just need Malcolm to say yes.”
Sel blinks at my incoherent rambling, before shaking her head.
“You’re making less sense than normal, and I haven’t had my coffee yet.” She mutters, making me laugh. “Do I need to come with? Wherever you’re going?”
“No,” I reassure her, finally turning round to face her. “No, I’ll be okay. Should be back in a few hours. I’ll text it to you so you can read it when you’re more awake.”
I give her a half hug before rushing out the door, already drafting the text to her about my ingenious plan.
I have realized that Malcolm runs the docks now, going by what David said when he rescued me, which then means that my father took them from David. Or David agreed to it for some reason, but I cannot see that happening after everything I know about him. And David obviously does not want to talk to the daughter of the guy who took his territory. So my plan is simple...
Ask my father to give the docks back to David. Whatever it takes.
Once I have sent the explanation to Sel, I grab a taxi back to the docks. Now that those thugs know who I am, thanks to David, they will at least tell me where my father is. On my way there, my phone rings with an unrecognised number.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Hey Biscuit.” They say, and I half-relax when I realize it is Uncle Rhys. “He’s here, at the house. I know you’ve been looking for him.”
At first I think he is talking about David, but then I catch on to the fact that he is probably talking about Malcolm instead.
“Oh, great. Thanks.” I reply, and it somehow causes Uncle Rhys to laugh.
“You sound thrilled. I do the leg work and you’re out here being sarcastic? To me?!”
“Hardly leg work Rhys, I bet my father just turned up didn’t he?”
“Well… it was leg work calling you. Can I assume you’re heading over?”
“Yes. I’m already on my way so I won’t be long.”
“Fabulous. I’ll see you soon Biscuit.”
Uncle Rhys hangs up, and I find myself smiling a little at the interaction, before telling the taxi driver the new address.