Chapter 56: Chapter 21: Rage

Mason

Rage! That’s exactly what I was feeling while I stood in front of his apartment door. I had to bribe the doorman just to let me inside, but no matter the cost, I would’ve forked out anyway.

I didn’t know how I was going to approach this situation. I didn’t have a plan either. I banged on his door for a second time, waiting for him to answer.

~I’m not going away. I’ll stay here all night if I have to.~

I couldn’t believe this is what my life had come to—banging on another man’s door because he’d messed with the mother of my child. The woman that I couldn’t get over no matter how hard I tried.

My hand was braced against the frame of the door when it finally unlocked and opened. I saw his face, the face of a no-good man, and I felt furious.

~Don’t do it!~ I warned myself. ~Nothing good will come of you losing your shit right now.~

Control was hard for me. I needed to have it at all times. Not doing something about the way he treated her made me feel like I had no control, but he had it instead.

“Mason. What are you doing here?”

I hit him. I told myself to be a better man, but I couldn’t come here and not hit him for what he had done. I hit him twice, but it wasn’t even close to what he deserved.

Jack wiped the blood from his nose. “I’m guessing this is about Jamie and that USB you received in the mail.”

I grabbed him by the front of his shirt and held him against the wall in his apartment hallway. “I want the copies of that recording.”

He chuckled. “I gave you the only one I had.”

~Bullshit, he did!~

“Do you really expect me to believe that!” I placed my hand around his throat, squeezing just enough to scare him.

“I can make your life a living hell. You can give me that copy now, or I can make you pay for everything you’ve done to her, and you’re still giving me that copy afterward.”

Jack coughed, and I released my grip. “Okay, fine. I’ll give you the recording. It’s in the living room.”

He walked down the hallway toward the living room, and I followed behind him.

When I walked into the living room, I recognized it from the video, the art on the walls, the large windows that were in the background, and the leather couch…

It gave me flashbacks of the video, flashbacks of the two of them lying naked on it, kissing and touching each other. I didn’t think I’d ever be able to escape that video!

People sleep around all the time. Jamie had been with men before me. I’d been with women before her.

It was different because there were feelings involved. It was hard seeing another man touch her.

“Here it is,” Jack said, distracting me from my thoughts. He handed me the USB. “It’s the only other one I have.”

I noticed a laptop open on his desk. “That laptop. Do you have a copy on that?”

“No, I don’t. Everything that was on that is gone. Some virus wiped everything. Check it for yourself if you don’t believe me.” He moved aside, and I walked that way.

The laptop was open, and like he said, everything was gone. There wasn’t even an email set up, no files or pictures on his drive.

I plugged the USB into the laptop. “I need to be sure this is what I’m looking for.”

“It is what you’re looking for. Does Jamie know about the video?” he asked.

“She knows!” The video appeared on the screen. Once I saw what it was, I turned it off and removed the USB.

I turned around and glared at him. “If I find out you have another recording, I’ll come back for you.”

“You don’t know who the hell you’re messing with. You have no fucking clue!”

I pointed my finger at him. “You’re just a weak individual that gets off on taking videos of women without them knowing anything about it.

“I know where you work. I have the power to have your job taken away from you anytime I want.”

“Try it! I dare you. I have more power than you even realize.” He chuckled.

“Just stay the fuck out of our way. If you come near Jamie or my daughter, I won’t think twice about ending you.” I turned around to walk away.

“You watched that video. You know you can’t make her scream like I can. Every time I touched her, she quivered. It was obvious it’s been a very long time since she’s been touched that good.”

I turned around and wound up in anger. He knew exactly what he was doing, and I rose to it. The next thing I knew, I had him on the floor, and I was over him, punching him again and again.

I stood over him, my knuckles sore and bloody. ~That’s enough now! I should leave before I do any more damage.~

Jack spat blood onto the floor in front of him. “Just get the fuck out of my apartment.”

I grabbed his laptop from the desk and tucked it under my arm. “Just in case.”

He didn’t put up a fuss about it. Maybe he was too weak after the beating I had given him. I left his apartment with everything I needed.

***

Jamie

~This is so stupid!~

Dress after dress I tried on just to impress him. Jumpsuit, playsuit, shorts, and skirts. All no, no, no, and no!

In the end, I settled on a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a nice top. My hair was in a loose bun, and I had glasses on instead of my contacts.

High heels? No! Converse high tops were my go-to for casual wear. I didn’t want to look like I was trying too hard. After all, he did kind of reject me.

I knocked on the door of his hotel suite and waited and waited and waited some more. Five minutes went by, and I was still standing in the corridor alone.

I wondered if he was inside. Maybe he looked in the little peephole on the door, saw that it was me, and decided to ignore me.

~God! That would be what I deserve, I guess.~

I pulled out my phone and dialed his number. Maybe he was at the office working late, or maybe he was out with some girl he thought was better than me. His phone didn’t even ring.

~What’s going on?~

I leaned against the hotel room door with a sigh. I don’t even know what I really want from him, but I’m here now, and I’m willing to try, finally.

Maybe this was just the way this was supposed to be. Instead of raising Penelope together, maybe this was the end of our story.

“Jamie.”

I heard his gruff voice, and I looked up from the floor. My heart started to beat a little faster, and for some reason, seeing him, I just wanted to cry.

“What are you doing here?”

I stood up straighter. “Um, I just wanted to talk. We didn’t really leave things on good terms.”

He’d dropped by that morning and picked up Penelope, but he hadn’t really said much. He gave me the recording of Jack and me, but I couldn’t bring myself to look at it yet.

“Come on in then, I guess!” He opened the door of his room with his key card and walked inside.

I followed after him.

“I’m having a drink. Do you want one?”

“Um, sure, okay. Whatever you have.” The bar was in the living room. I stood awkwardly watching him pour us drinks. “So, how was Penelope when you dropped her at your dad’s?”

“She was fine, just like she usually is when I bring her there. I just came back to grab my things, then I’m going back.”

He turned around with two drinks in hand and walked toward me. Mason handed me a glass. “It’s rum.”

I noticed his knuckles when he handed me the glass. They were cut and swollen. Now that I looked at him up close, I noticed the blood on his shirt too.

“What happened to your hand?”

“That? It’s nothing.” He drank from his glass until it was empty and then looked at me. “Do you want me to refill that?”

Refill? I hadn’t touched the one he’d just given me thirty seconds before.

I downed the rum, and it felt like it was burning me to the core. Rum is not my drink. I’m going to be swaying in a matter of minutes.

I handed him my glass. “Okay, why not?”

I sat down on the three-seater couch and remained quiet while I watched him pour our drinks and come back. Being here with him, I was nervous, and I didn’t know why.

Mason handed me my drink and sat down beside me. “So, what is it that you want, Jamie? You don’t usually swing by just to spend time with me. We both know that.”

~Blunt bastard!~

“I wanted to apologize. I feel really bad that you had to see that video. You didn’t deserve that.” I leaned forward and took his hand. “So, are you going to tell me what happened to you?”

“I paid your doctor friend a little visit.” He rested back on the couch, proud as punch.

“Please tell me you didn’t!” It was clear that he did. “I don’t want you getting involved in this.”

“I was already involved, Jamie.” He pulled a USB from his pocket and threw it on my lap. “I went over there for this and to rough him up a little. You can thank me later.”

I held it in my hands and looked at it. This little thing could cause so much damage and an extreme amount of trouble for me.

~If this came out, I could lose my job. My family would be ashamed.~ I looked at him and smiled lightly. “I’ll get you some ice for that hand.”

I held the towel of ice against his hand, and we sat in silence. To me, it didn’t seem like he was willing to talk, or perhaps he didn’t know what to say. “Does it hurt?”

He shook his head. “It’s worth it. That guy is a piece of shit!”

“Thank you for doing that, but you didn’t have to. I would’ve found a way—”

“I didn’t have a choice, Jamie. I couldn’t just let someone else see that. How do you think that makes you look as Penelope’s mother? I did it for her.”

~Hate! He hates me!~ Mason did this for our daughter and not for any other reason. This was a mistake. Maybe I shouldn’t have come here tonight.

“I was with a man that I was seeing, doing things that couples do. I didn’t know that I was being recorded and that he was going to use it against me.

“You can’t tell me that you haven’t been with a woman in all this time.”

“I don’t want to talk about this.” He stood from the couch and left his ice pack on the table. He walked in the direction of his bedroom.

I stood up and followed him. “Wait! Have you been with any other woman since us?”

“No! Are you happy now! I’m going to take a shower.” He turned around and walked into his room, leaving the door open behind him.

However, going by the fact that he hated me, I didn’t see that as some kind of invitation.

He took me by surprise, telling me that he hadn’t been with anyone since me. I expected that he’d screwed around with half the planet on his adventures, not remain celibate just like I have.

I waited while he had his shower, even though he probably wanted me gone. When I heard him turn the water off, I walked toward the bedroom door. “Mason, I’m just going to get going.”

“Come in!” he ordered, and I found myself following his commands. I opened the door wider and walked into his master suite. I wasn’t at all prepared for what I was about to see…

And what was about to happen!