“No, I don’t want to jeopardize her position. I’m putting an end to this,” he said.
“How?” Alisha asked and Devon shook his head.
“I’ll figure out a way,” he said and then ended the call.
Staring out at the dimming light outside, Devon knew he didn’t want to go back to his empty apartment. He wanted to spend some more time in his office, he could still feel Belle’s presence here. Besides, he knew that if he want back to his place, he would only end up fantasizing about her, and might masturbate to her and that wasn’t something he wanted to do. He wanted to try everything he could to push her out of his mind.
Devon licked his lips as he thought. Something needed to be done. Something substantial, to put some distance between themselves. Even if it meant that it might hurt them both for now, it would have to be done for their own long-term welfare.
For the first time in his life, Devon was beginning to feel like he needed companionship. Not the kind that Alisha provided, but something deeper. He knew that he had found that connection with Belle, but they had met under the wrong circumstances.
Devon shook his head and walked back to his desk and sat down. He would need to come up with a solution, and fast, before things got out of hand.
Belle
Belle was back in her apartment by half past five. She was desperate to come back home, to find some time to think. She could still feel Devon’s mouth on her, between her legs, as she walked up to the apartment. She had felt like that the whole day, fantasizing about him. The way he had made her feel. But now, as she pushed open the door, a wave of guilt hit her.
Thankfully, Jesse wasn’t at home. She went straight for the shower. She felt like maybe if she washed herself she could also wash the guilt off. She had wanted Devon Rymer so badly, so desperately in that moment that she hadn’t thought about Jesse. But Belle had always believed that she wasn’t the type of person who would ever cheat in a committed relationship. She had committed herself to Jesse, and they might be going through a rough and rocky start, but she owed it to him and to herself to give the relationship a chance.
Besides, it didn’t even seem like Devon wanted more. It appeared that it was one moment of weakness, on both their parts and he had very quickly changed his mind. Why would a powerful, successful man like Devon Rymer want her in the first place? She thought as she scrubbed herself. When he could have any woman he wanted, what made Belle so special?
She dried herself and changed into casual home clothes, and walked out of the bathroom to find Jesse home.
“How was your day?” he asked her, as he unlaced his sneakers.
Belle gulped before pasting a smile on her face. Just facing Jesse had brought back that wave of guilt in her. She could barely look him in the eye any more.
“How was yours?” she asked him and he shrugged his shoulders.
“Unsuccessful,” he said and walked over to the kitchen area to pour himself a glass of water.
“Have you eaten already?” she asked him, drying her hair with a towel.
“Yeah, you?” he asked her and Belle clenched her jaw. What was happening to them? Weren’t couples supposed to eat together?
“No, but I’m not hungry I guess,” she said and watched as he walked over to the couch and sat down with a thump.
“Jesse,” Belle said, placing a hand on her left hip. He looked up at
her, while he plugged in the controls of his playstation.
“Yeah?” he asked, and he looked away, like he wasn’t expecting her to say anything important. Now that she looked at him, she realized that she felt nothing. None of the emotions she had felt when Devon had looked at her. Even without touching her, he had managed to make her bubble with excitement. Something that Jesse had never been able to do.
“What are we going to do about next month’s rent? I won’t be able to afford the whole thing,” she said and gulped. She had so much more to say, to ask him, but his attention was drifting already.
“We’ll manage. I’ll figure something out,” he said distractedly. Belle rolled her eyes and breathed in deeply. Her cellphone on the kitchen counter beeped and she walked towards it. She was feeling mixed emotions of guilt and anger, and they were all directed at Jesse.
On her phone, she saw that she had received an email, from Devon Rymer. Quickly turning her back to Jesse, with a flush of guilt rushing to her cheeks, she opened the email.
Hello Belle,
I’m sorry about what happened in the office earlier. It was entirely my fault and I take the blame for it completely. But I don’t think we should allow for it to happen again. I’m going to ask Susan to move you to our Brooklyn office. You’ll keep your role, but just be out of my way. I wanted to warn you myself.
Devon Rymer
Belle read it again, three times over and then Jesse’s voice interrupted her thoughts. She hadn’t been able to believe what she was reading. She had expected things to get awkward between the two of them now, but this was the last thing she saw coming.
“What’s wrong? You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” he said and she jerked her head up to look at Jesse. She could feel her nostrils flaring.