Chapter5: CRY WITH YOU

PHOEBE'S POV

I reached for a paper towel and dampened it with water before dabbing it across my eyes. I looked in the mirror once more and brushed my light-brown hair with my fingers. Pleased with how poised I looked, I pulled the door open and stepped into the dim hall, retracing my steps.

While I was making my way back to our table, I noticed Tyler laughing by himself, with a glass of wine in his hand. As I approached him, I scowled. What was he laughing about, and why the hell was he drinking?

Amazement and dismay swelled within me as I accelerated my pace and snatched the glass out of his hand before slamming it back down on the table.

‘‘Hey, Phoebe!’’ He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist, bringing me closer to him. ‘‘What took you so long, sweetheart?’’ As I was attempting to extricate his arm from around my waist, he questioned, and I winced at his endearment.

‘‘Sir, let's get you back home… You're drunk,’’ I told him as I assisted him in getting up from the chair.

‘‘Of course not!’’ he laughed, pushing me a little to the side so he could get up by himself. ‘‘See? I can stand on my own without your help,’’ he said, demonstrating to me that he was capable of doing so, but he ended up stumbling back into his seat and he laughed again.

I rolled my eyes, sinking a little lower and took his hand in mine, wrapped it around my shoulder before assisting him to his feet once more. Oh dear, God! Why did you give me a boss like him? Why are you tormenting me this way? I groaned inwardly, every smidgeon of excitement for the evening ahead draining away from me.

‘‘You know what, I was thinking about your first day at the company and couldn't help but laugh. You were so loud!’’ While walking out of the booth, he laughed again, pressing his body closer against mine.

It was Tyler's scent—a warm earthy fragrance that permeated my nostrils, making it impossible to take a breath without inhaling the very essence of him. It brought to mind that hot steamy nights and writhing bodies on silk sheets, an unwanted thought that nonetheless caused waves of heat to travel down to parts of my body that I didn't want to think about at the time.

Same, Tyler… I was thinking the same way.

Damn!

My hold on him began to slacken, making him stumble, but a tall man dressed in a white shirt with a black bow tie suddenly caught him.

‘‘Need some help, Miss…?’’ he asked and I nodded.

‘‘Yes, please...’’ I responded with a grateful smile, but my mood instantly changed, and I frowned as I gazed at Tyler's face, which was still laughing at the time. Having sexual thoughts for my boss was not something I was meant to be thinking about. He's still married to his wife. Crap!

‘‘Okay. Someone has already called the valet, and he's waiting for the two of you outside,’’ the waiter informed me, before taking Tyler's arm and wrapping it around his neck, guiding him out of the restaurant. ‘‘Can you drive, Miss... or do you need someone to drive you home?’’

‘‘It’s okay… I can manage. Thank you...’’ Following them and arriving outside, where the valet was already waiting, I let out a long sigh of relief. Immediately after, he bowed to me and offered me the keys, which I received without taking my gaze away from Tyler, who had already been assisted by the waiter in buckling him into his seat.

I opened my purse and fished out two twenty-dollar bills, which I gave to the waiter and the valet to split. After thanking them, I walked over to the driver's side of the car and opened the door before settling into my seat. I took a glance at my boss and his eyes were closed, his head was reclined pleasantly against his seat.

I started the engine and pulled out into the street but then I heard my boss speak, making me jump in surprise. ‘‘Thank you, Phoebe…’’ he whispered in a raspy voice.

I smiled, not taking my eyes away from the road. I could feel his eyes watching me intently and I couldn’t help but blush. I cleared my throat and pulled up at a red light and turned to look at him but his eyes were shut again.

My eyes raked from his long and thick lashes, to his prominent nose, down to his naturally pink and kissable lips. What? I shook my head to brush away the thought of his lips being kissed by me.

When the light turned green, I refocused my attention on the road.

I parked the car right in front of Tyler's mansion and jumped out of it carefully. I moved around to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for him. ‘‘Mr. Hudson, we're here at your house...’’ I said as I lightly shook his shoulder, but he didn't say anything back, just hummed. ‘‘Mr. Hudson...’’

He opened his eyes with a fluttered motion and blinked them several times. ‘‘Phoebe…?’’

‘‘Yes, Sir… We're home...’’

Tyler nodded and walked out of the car while my hands were still holding him up. We walked up to the front door and stopped in the doorway.

‘‘Where’s the key to your main door?’’ I inquired, not wanting to wake the maids up by knocking aloud or by pressing the doorbell. Tyler responded by pointing to his pants pocket. ‘‘Take it out…’’

‘‘You take it out...’’ With a sneer on his face, Tyler ordered. I rolled my eyes and shoved my hand into his pocket, hoping to find the keys, but there were none to be found.

‘‘Where’s your key, Sir?’’ He’s playing with me again. I waited patiently for his response, but he simply laughed in my face. This was my boss, ladies and gentlemen, who acted childish whenever he was drunk. ‘‘Sir…’’ As I lightly shook his arm, I groaned under my breath.

His expression became serious, and he suddenly grabbed my shoulders and pinned me against the door, causing my pupils to dilate.

‘‘Sir… W-what are you doing?’’ I inquired, a gamut of emotions ran through my features as I bit my lip.

Tyler leaned into me and my eyes grew wider and shut them, waiting for what he was going to do next. But then I felt the car keys in my hand being snatched. ‘‘It’s together with my car keys…’’ he said, causing me to open my eyes.

Watching him struggle to open the door made me snort as I stepped away from him. I wasn't sure what I was feeling at the time, but I knew that I was trying my best not to get annoyed by my boss' behavior because I was aware that he was acting in this manner when he was intoxicated.

I snatched the keys back and opened the door for him. He chuckled, straightening his back and coming further into the room. He lowered himself onto the white leather couch, making himself comfortable. ‘‘Phoebe, can you get me a bottle of vodka from the bar, please…?’’

‘‘I'm sorry, Sir...’’ I said as I stood in front of him. ‘‘But you’re not drinking again.’’

In the meantime, I dropped my purse next to him on the couch and made my way to the kitchen to prepare some coffee. He didn't need another bottle of hard booze, he just needed something to make him sober.

I plucked out a cup from the pantry and threw it onto the Keurig, and I stood there watching it spew dark liquid into the cup. I carried the cup into the living room and handed it to Tyler, who was staring blankly at the ceiling.

‘‘You need to drink this, Sir…’’

‘‘I don’t want it…’’ he said, his voice trembling. ‘‘I want my wife…’’ and then he sobbed.

‘‘Sir…’’ I sat alongside him on the couch, after placing the cup on the coffee table. I pulled on his nape, and his face sank into the crook of my neck, letting him cry on my shoulder.

My heart clenched for him as I muttered soothing words and gently rubbed my palm on his back in a calming manner.

A woman he had been married to for seven years and had thought would be his lifelong companion had simply betrayed him.

‘‘I gave her everything...’’ Tyler's chest heaved up and down, and I had a distinct impression that my own chest was about to explode. ‘‘I gave her all she needed and everything she wanted, and this is all she gave back to me.’’

His sobs broke, and it made me feel like the world was falling apart.

A tear fell onto my cheek, followed by another and another. They couldn’t just stop, just like the tears that were streaming down his face.

‘‘Sir…’’ I gripped him with my trembling hand. My throat hurt, my heart ached. I could feel the pain, as though my heart was being sliced by a knife. How much more was what he felt?

Tyler was madly in love with Scarlet. He had done nothing to deserve this.

I covered my mouth in my hand, trying my best not to make any sound as I cried with him. I almost choked because I could hardly breathe.

I didn’t know how long we'd been in this position, but Tyler's sobs were still echoing in my ears, and so my heart kept bleeding for him.