50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

50SOD II: Chapter Eleven

    "Everything all right?" Brian asked casually when Destiny returned to the media department offices. He leaned against the doorjamb of the door to his office with his arms crossed over his chest.

    "Everything is fine," Destiny assured him.

    His thick brows furrowed. "Can I speak to you in my office for a minute?"

    "Um...sure." Confused as to why he would need to meet with her in his office, she followed him into his office. From Aubrey's office to Brian's office, she thought, feeling very much like a high school delinquent who frequented the principal's office.

    "Close the door behind you," he said, walking around his desk and seating himself.

    She closed the door and hesitated before approaching his desk. "Yes?"

    He drummed his fingers on the top of the desk while looking up at her. "If you were in...trouble of any kind...you know you could come to me, right?"

    "Of course," she responded.

    He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not feeding you managerial bullshit here. I'm being serious."

    She stared at him for a long moment. Then she laughed nervously. "Where is this coming from?"

    "I've noticed some...things," he said. "And I want to make sure you know that if you are in any kind of trouble, or if anything goes wrong and you feel like there is no one you can talk to, you can talk to me. You can come to me."

    How come he's talking to me like he knows what happened between me and Aubrey?

    Their gazes remained locked on each other. Each was trying to figure out the other.

    "Thank you for letting me know that," she said earnestly, after a pregnant pause.

    He rose from his seat and walked around his desk. "I'm not going to go into specifics, regarding what I have noticed, but I want to make sure I'm clear on this." He stood only mere inches away from her. Normally, his eyes were an icy blue, but now they were a deep, warm ocean blue. And they were filled with concern for her. "If anyone hurts you...I don't care who it is...I would go to bat for you. You can come to me. I don't want you to worry about what would happen to me if I did go to bat for you. I can handle myself."

    "So can I," she told him, frowning. "I'm not some delicate flower that needs to be protected, Brian."

    He squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side. Then, he lowered his eyes and reached out to touch her cheek. "Aren't you?"

~~~~~~

    Later that evening, Destiny stood in the living room of her condo, peering out of the window. Her life was complicated enough without Brian inserting himself into the equation. It should have made her feel good to know that someone was on her side, offering to go to bat for her. But that person being Brian made her feel anything but good.

    She'd met him in a deli, only to find out that he was the manager of her department at Graham Enterprises. After meeting her, he'd told Aubrey about her, which had resulted in Aubrey wanting to place her in a different department. She had assured Aubrey that he had nothing to worry about. Brian was a highly-paid executive who worked at one of the most sought-after companies in North America. Surely, he wouldn't risk his job or his career for Destiny's sake. At least, that's what she'd thought, what she'd told Aubrey.

    And today he pretty much told me that he doesn't give a damn about securing his job, she thought now, raising a cup of hot chocolate to her lips. He pretty much told me that he would go head-to-head with Aubrey. Over me. She took a long sip of hot chocolate. And what was it that he noticed? How could he possibly know that Aubrey hurt me? Just because I wouldn't look at Aubrey when he came into the office? She tapped her fingers on the glass coffee mug and sighed.

    Brian was tall. Gorgeous. Not just gorgeous, actually. He was dangerously handsome. With a trademark smirk that said he knew it. He was a playboy. A jokester that came off as not taking life - or himself - too seriously. Like Aubrey, he had multiple facets to him. Because there was the joking playboy, and there was also the manager who cared a great deal about his team. She could make the assumption that the impromptu meeting he'd called with her today was his attempt at making a pass at her. But with how much he seemed to care about his entire team, helping them whenever they needed it, allowing them time off whenever they needed it... it was quite possible that the message he'd conveyed to Destiny was because he actually cared about what happened to her.

    In another world, in another time, maybe, she thought. She couldn't deny that she was attracted to Brian. Every woman, and even some of the men in the office, seemed to be attracted to Brian. But her heart? Her heart was Aubrey's. To make sure she hadn't forgotten who Aubrey was, her brain summoned up an image of him. She wondered what he was doing at this very moment. Was he thinking about her? Was he missing her?

    Her phone vibrated on the coffee table. She turned and walked over to the coffee table. She picked up her cell phone, pressed the onscreen button to answer the call, and lifted the phone to her ear. "Carlos?"

    "Hey, mamita!" Carlos greeted. There was a lot of noise in the background.

    Carlos Villegas was her flamboyant, Venezuelan former co-worker. They'd worked alongside each other at the bakery back in Washington, D.C., when Destiny attended Howard University. He had helped keep her sane, those first weeks of cat-and-mouse she'd played with Aubrey. Carlos was wild and crazy, but ultimately a great friend to have. She hadn't known him for long, but she'd liked him immediately.

    "Hey, how are you?" she asked him, slowly sitting down on the couch and wincing in pain.

    "You just bumped into me! Excuse you!" Carlos shouted to someone. He came back on the phone. "Sorry about that. I'm good, mamita, how are you?"

    "I'm...hanging in there," she muttered.

    He clucked his tongue. "That doesn't sound good. ADG problems?"

    Destiny smiled at his use of Aubrey's initials. "Something like that," she said. The contract she'd signed had included a non-disclosure agreement. She couldn't discuss details regarding her interaction with Aubrey, not unless he permitted it.

    A female voice over an intercom sounded loud in the background.

    Destiny held the phone away from her ear. "Carlos, where the hell are you?"

    He laughed. "I thought you were never going to ask. Guess, mamita."

    "I don't know, that's why I'm asking," she said, laughing along with him.

    "Well, the sign on the place says Toronto Pearson International Airport," Carlos said nonchalantly.

    Destiny's eyes widened and she sat up straight. "No. You're not."

    He laughed some more.

    "You're not, Carlos."

    "I am, mamita. And not to be spur of the moment, but can you come and pick me up? Cab prices are a lot higher than I expected."