50 Shades of Drake 5 and 6

Chapter Seventy-Two

    Destiny woke up and showered, just as she had the previous day.

    Aubrey was slow to wake. When he did, he somberly watched her as she returned to the bedroom and padded into the wardrobe closet to pick out an ensemble for the day. "So you're really going through with this?" he asked groggily.

    "Were you hoping I wasn't?" she asked, carrying a few dress suits to the bed and laying them out.

    "If we're being honest?" he grumbled, getting out of bed and going to stand behind her. He wrapped his arms around her.

    "But you do understand why I have to, right?" she asked, placing her hands over his.

    He nodded. "I do, yeah. But..."

    "I don't want to be late," she said, twisting out of his embrace and picking up a salmon-colored skirt and blazer set.

    Rubbing the back of his head, he remained near the bed.

    She arched a brow at him. "Aren't you going into work today?"

    "Yeah," he said slowly, watching her get dressed.

    There was something off about him. Last night, there had been something off about him, too. He'd been quieter than usual, and even today, he seemed a bit withdrawn. "Is something wrong?"

    "It depends on how you define wrong," he said slowly.

    That doesn't sound good, she thought, putting on a sleeveless silk top, then sliding her arms through the sleeves of her blazer. "I define wrong the same way Merriam-Webster would define wrong," she said. "As in, not right. What is it?"

    "I may have fucked up a little."

    Her movements slowed, then stopped altogether. "Fucked up how?"

    "Will you come with me?" He stuck out his hand.

    She stared down at his hand. "How did you fuck up?"

    "Come with me?"

    Setting her dread aside, she reached out and grabbed his hand. That action alone spoke volumes in terms of how much she trusted him. She wanted to continue standing there demanding that he tell her what he'd done, but at the end of the day he was still her Dominant. Until she knew what he'd done, he still deserved her respect and compliance. Even though she feared what he was going to reveal to her, she still trusted that he wouldn't deliberately do anything to hurt her. She still trusted that he had her best interests at heart. Those were beliefs that she held near and dear as she followed him out of the bedroom and down the hall, down the stairs to his home office on the main floor. "Why are we...?"

    "You'll understand in a minute," he said, gesturing for her to sit down.

    She sat down at the huge oak desk.

    "There were two things that I did yesterday," he explained, leaning down and booting up the desktop computer that looked way too high-tech for the old-fashioned desk it sat on top of. "Both of these things were overstepping my bounds. Both of them, I had no right to do without running past you. One of them is most likely something that you'll love me for. The other...is most likely something that will probably piss you off."

    Pressing a hand to her temple, she muttered, "You're scaring me."

    "Both of these things that I did, I did because I love you more than I love myself," he went on to explain, logging into the computer. "I tried to stand by and do nothing. I tried to let you forge your career your own way without stepping in. I did try. But the more I thought about what that asshole said to you...knowing full and well how talented you are...I couldn't just stand by, Destiny."

    Her eyes widened. "What did you do?" she hissed at him.

    He dropped his head down.

    "Aubrey, what did you do?"

    "I had a chat with the editor," he answered. 

    She covered her mouth with both hands.

    "And you won't be going into work today, because as far as the Times is concerned, you rejected their offer."

    "You didn't."

    "They are on some bullshit there, and they do not deserve you," he said, speaking with a conviction that couldn't be manufactured. "I saw for my own eyes what they are about, and they are no good. Do you hear me?"

    "This is my career, and even as my Dominant you aren't supposed to interfere with that," she cried out.

    "You're right." He stood up straight and raised a hand to her cheek.

    She stood up and dodged his touch. "You went in there and cussed him out even though I asked you not to?"

    "I wouldn't say that I cussed him out..." Aubrey rubbed the back of his neck. "I just told him off a little bit."

    Covering her face with both hands, she turned her back to him. In vain, she tried to remind herself that this was something he did because he loved her and was trying to look out for her. "What am I supposed to do now? Where am I supposed to work? He's probably drafting an article about your office visit as we speak."

    "I told him that if he knew what was good for him, he wouldn't do anything like that."

    "You threatened him." She threw her hands up into the air in frustration. "Of course you threatened him. Oh my God."

    "You're mad at me and you have every right to be," he said, "but can you please sit back down?"

     She gave him a crazy look.

    "Please?" His voice took on a sharp edge, half-desperate and half-authoritative.

    "Right, the second thing that you did." She didn't have the energy to rebel against his request, so she obeyed.

    He squatted down and touched her bare thigh. "Yes, I fucked up. Royally. But there is a method to my madness. Before I went in to speak to Adam, I spoke to the Graham Enterprises web design team. I did more than speak to them. I handed them your laptop, along with an assignment."

    Fear gripped her heart. She clutched her chest.