THE REJECTION

Chapter 7

I open my mouth to say no, but Brent beats me to it.

He shrugs as he looks Gabriel up and down.

"Why not? My wife and I would appreciate the company."

Gabriel smirks as he takes the empty seat.

"Why, thank you."

"Oh, don't worry about it. The displeasure is all ours."

Gabriel laughs.

"Look, we don't have to be enemies. I talked to your wife last night; big deal. That's not a good enough reason to resent me."

"Isn't it?"

"Man, I-"

"Brent. The name is Brent."

"Fine, Brent. I'm sorry about last night. I shouldn't have asked your lonely and abandoned wife who was busy drinking herself silly to go to the beach with me in the middle of the night. I should have waited until morning."

Brent shakes his head.

"What do you want?"

"I'm all alone here and you two are the only familiar faces. I noticed you when I walked in and I thought it'd be nice to say hi."

"Hi. You can go now."

"Dude, I'm not trying to steal your wife. All I want is some company before I drive myself crazy with frustrations."

"I'm okay with you going crazy."

"I might drink myself to death."

"I'm okay with that too."

"Brent?" I call his name calmly, and he finally focuses his attention back to me.

"What?"

"You invited him to sit with us. Be nice, or ask him to leave. The pissing contest is a stalemate at the moment."

Gabriel's lips lift in a smirk.

"And here I thought I was winning."

"Gabriel?"

He lifts both hands.

"Sorry."

"So, is he staying or is he going?"

Brent shrugs.

"You decide. He's a pain in the ass.

"A lonely, heartbroken pain in the ass."

I look at Gabriel who is raising an eyebrow at me. The dim lighting at the bar last night didn't do any justice to his good looks. In the daylight, he is dashing, and he's dressed extravagantly.

I can bet anything that he's one of those trust fund babies. The spoiled brats who grow up acting like the world revolves around them, and who get everything they wish for at the snap of a finger.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'm usually not wrong.

"Will you behave if you stay for breakfast?"

A small smile breaks on his face.

"I swear I'll be good."

"Thank you." I turn back to Brent who is very uncomfortable. "What are you having?"

"You choose, babe."

Gabriel's lips lift in a smile but he suppresses it immediately.

"Would you please choose for me too?"

"No, i won't." I pass him the menu. "Knock yourself out."

He pulls the sleeves of his designer sweater back before he takes the menu from me. His fingers linger on mine, and I quickly pull my hand back when his eyes settle on my face. I clear my throat before I focus on the menu before me.

"Tea or coffee?" I ask Brent without looking at him.

"Coffee. I'm not a girl."

Gabriel shakes his head at him.

"That was wildly idiotic to say."

"My bad."

*

I order our breakfast, and I sit still, watching Brent who is busy typing away on his phone. There's tension at the table, and I'm not even sure why Gabriel is seated with us. All I know is that his eyes are boring into the side of my face.

He stares a lot.

"Is the beach very far?" I try to strike a conversation to ease the tension. I'm addressing Brent, but he doesn't hear me because his entire attention is on his phone.

Gabriel clears his throat before he answers on his behalf.

"It's not far, but you should probably take a car. The sun is very hot during the day, so I've heard."

"Seems like I'll have one hell of a tan."

"Your skin is fine. Don't tan it too much."

I turn half way to look at him.

"Skin expert?"

"No. Common sense expert. You know that you married the wrong guy, right?"

"Why would you say that?"

"He's texting at the breakfast table with his bride seated right next to him. He can't even hear what I'm saying right now because his mind is elsewhere. If I wasn't here, you would be bored to death."

"He's a busy man."

He smiles.

"Of course he is."

"Why are you wearing your wedding ring?"

"I'm a sentimental fool. That's why."

"That's what I thought. You think she's still coming back to you?"

"No, and I wouldn't take her back if she did."

"You love her, right?"

He starts to say something, but he pauses when our food is brought. The waiters place several platters of food on the table, and I just raise my eyebrows.

That's a lot.

I glance at Brent but he's still fixed on his phone.

"Brent?" I call quietly. He doesn't look up.

Gabriel hits him on the shoulder, and he quickly snaps back to earth.

"What?"

Gabriel narrows his eyes at him.

"Using your phone when you have company is rude, but texting when your new bride is seated right next to you is stupid."

Brent turns to look at me, his expression apologetic, but I shake him off when he touches my hand under the table. Instead, I focus on the ripened strawberries in the breakfast buffet.

"I, uh, have a client who won't leave me alone."

"Client?" Gabriel inquires before he bites into a sandwich like he doesn't have care in the world. "I have clients too but they are not texting because clients don't text. They call your office and leave a message with your assistant. Wait, do you have an assistant? Do you even have an office?"

I pause the fork halfway to my mouth as I wait for Brent to answer.

"I do."

"Do you really? Aren't you Brent Miller?"

"You know me?"

"Everyone knows you. The prodigal son who chose being a party animal and his parents forced him to get married in an attempt to make him settle down. I recognized you the moment I saw you last night."

"How do you know me?"

"My parents and yours.."

"Lemme guess, business partners."

Gabriel laughs.

"Not quite. They hate the hell out of each other. They're both in the telecommunications industry and competition is stiff. You parents tried to invite my parents for your wedding out of protocol, but I coincidentally had my own wedding so they had the perfect excuse not to show up."

"And your wedding obviously ended smoothly."

If Gabriel is offended, he doesn't show it. He just nods.

"Literally. And if you don't stop texting when you're having breakfast with your wife, yours will end next."

"Tell me, Gabriel. How do you know so much about me when I know nothing about you?"

"My parents talk a lot about you. You are a disappointment, and that makes you kinda famous in the business world considering who your parents are. Your Mom is not one to keep a secret, so when word spread around that you were getting married, they knew what was next."

"And what's that?"

"You'll take over a big chunk of your parents company. I'm taking over a big chunk of my parents company too. That means we'll be going up against each other."

"That sounds like fun."

"I know, right? I'll run you over and make that company non existent."

"How will you do that? You're still nursing a heartbreak, so maybe you should seek therapy before you are entrusted with your parents legacy."

Gabriel smiles.

"Thanks, Brent. I can't wait to see how your happy marriage works out. Your parents bought you the finest bride they could find, but did she really get the finest husband she could find? I don't think so."

Brent scoffs.

"If you are so good at choosing life partners, maybe your wife wouldn't have cheated on you with a girl. You weren't man enough, so she literally chose a fellow girl over you. Doesn't that sting, Gabriel?"

I expect Gabriel to get really worked up but he just shakes his head.

"I'll get over it."

Brent glances at me before he slips his phone back in his pocket and digs into his meal. I can't wait to be done with this honeymoon. Maybe things will get better once we're home.

"Has Cassie contacted you?" I ask Gabriel when the silence stretches.

"Yeah. She called earlier today." He grins at me. "She was crying."

"Why? Is she okay?"

"Yeah, she's great. She was feeling sorry about the wedding. She just wanted to apologize and ask me to find a girl who will love me right."

"So she's officially with Cecilia now?"

"Yeah. I'm happy for them."

I watch him in disbelief.

"You are?"

"Cami, all of us in this world deserve to be loved. If one person doesn't love you enough, another one will. If someone makes a joke out of your feelings, someone else will take you seriously." His eyes drift to Brent before he turns back to me. "I deserve better. I deserve a woman who won't leave me at the altar. They only way to find her is by setting Cassie free to be with the person she loves. Now I'm single so I can flirt with every beautiful girl that I meet."

"Except one." Brent says sternly, and Gabriel nods.

"Of course. I promised to stay away from your wife and I always keep my promises. She's all yours."

"Good. We are going to the beach. I'm assuming you have plans?" I ask Gabriel.

"Actually, I don't have plans. I can come with you guys to the beach if you don't mind."

"We mind." Brent hisses.

"That's okay then. I'll just go to my room and watch a movie."

We both watch him as he pushes his seat back and stands up.

He reaches into his pockets and gets a card out, and he proceeds to place it on the table before Brent.

"We don't have to inherit our parents distaste for each other. That's my phone and room number. If you need me, you know where to find me." He winks at me. "Have fun at the beach, Cami."

Then he turns on his heel and walks to the elevator.

"I don't trust him." I comment as the double doors open and he steps in.

Brent nods.

"Me too. He is up to something."