over an hour, even you’d had enough Inta. We all knew it
and I sure as hell wasn’t going to stand around and watch some
asshole give you a hard time. What was I meant to do, huh?”
“Let me handle
it—that’s what you should’ve done Dominic. You know how hard it is
for women to get respect in this industry and I did that. I worked
my ass of to get that respect. Now you’ve gone all alpha male on me
and undermined everything I’ve worked so hard for” she spat
out.
“Christ Inta,
give me a break. I did the right thing; I promised to look after
you, to take care of you—that’s what I did” I spoke back calmly
reaching out for her, but she was fuming and made no attempt to
move into my arms. Her face was broken, way more upset than she
should have been.
“I need time
Dominic” she said, moving over to collect her handbag.
“You can’t walk
away Inta, you can’t walk just because one thing hasn’t gone to
plan” I commanded, less sure of myself than I’d ever been.
“I need time.
Just give me some time”
“No. There’s
something more going on here Inta, what’s the real problem?” I
questioned her.
“Nothing,
Dominic” she said, dropping her eyes to the ground defying her.
“You’re keeping
something from me—what?”
“Nothing; I’m
fine. I just need some time. For me” she whispered back.
“I thought we’d
passed this stage Inta. I thought we were better than this—”.
She leaned in
and rested on my chest, “give me some time Dom, please.”
“How long,
Inta?”
“I don’t know,
I’ll call you—can you cover me here?” she asked quietly.
“Yeah I can,
but Inta I feel like you’re—like we’re—like this is final. What's
wrong, what can I do to fix this, because I will do anything” I
said, pleading with her.
She replied
with a kiss, her warm mouth covering mine before she simply walked
from the studio leaving me standing empty, confused, and alone.
CHAPTER
THIRTEEN
It’d been a week since she’d walked out.
I’d kept myself
occupied at the studio over the course of the week, but today
realised there was no way I could leave this any longer; I had to
talk to her, had to get to the bottom of what was going on. I was
worried that there was something more going on that she hadn’t told
me about; her reaction last week was just far too strong to be only
about telling that asshole off for being rude to her.
I didn’t want
to nor did I think it’d be possible to spend any more time apart
from her.
Because of the
bike situation, I’d never been to her house, something that had
never felt too unusual until now. How could I be so invested in
someone and not even know something as basic as her address?
Checking the
system files, though arguably not the most moral decision would at
least give me her address; sure she’d be pissed off but I had to do
something. Digging through the pile of paperwork on my desk I
pulled out her employee paperwork and realised she’d never filled
in her address, now I was worried.
Pulling out my
phone, I decided to text,
“ Inta. It’s
been a week. I miss you, please let me see you”.
CHAPTER
FOURTEEN
Another week had passed; if I didn’t see Inta soon
I’d have to assume it was over. She'd made no attempt to make
contact and had ignored mine.
I’d hardly
slept since Inta left and had carried my phone with me night and
day waiting desperately for her to call or text. Every time the
doors to the studio opened my heart skipped a beat wondering if it
was her. But nothing. For two weeks.
Fortunately,
the studio had been busy which had been a good distraction and for
the first time since we opened I was completely on top of the
paperwork.
It was
mid-afternoon when my phone beeped,
“ Dom, please
come and see me?”
“ Yes. I’m on
my way. Text me your address” I said, grabbing the keys to the
new ute that I’d bought. I hadn’t driven it yet; the signwriter had
dropped it off last week with all the new decals
Margaret Leroy
Rosalie Stanton
Tricia Schneider
Lee Killough
Michelle M. Pillow
Poul Anderson
Max Chase
Jeffrey Thomas
Frank Tuttle
Jeff Wheeler