The Billionaire's Pixie

Big Jerk, Nick Merigold

The subtle floral scent lingering is what woke me up before my alarm. Flickering my eyes to the source of it guilt washed over me the minute my brain added things up. Her naked body was pressed against my side.

She was soft and warm but I couldn’t enjoy it.

I wasn’t allowed to anymore.

Quietly and very gently I pulled away from her, not wanting to wake her up before my brain completely comprehended the situation. She stirred when her body was no longer wrapped around mine. I sighed in relief when she napped on.

Locking myself up in the bathroom I got ready for work. I wasn’t sure about Joy, she worked shifts so she either had a shift in the afternoon or she didn’t work at all today. I knew it made me an asshole but I needed her to leave too.

She couldn’t be here when I got back from work.

We weren’t in that kind of relationship anymore. This couldn’t happen again, we’d get too attached to each other. Once I was clean and ready to get dressed I left the bathroom and flickered my eyes to Joy who sat on the edge of the bed, her body covered in my shirt.

“Morning.” She mumbled, looking shy and nervous again.

I greeted her with a smile, tightening the belt of my robe as I walked into my closet. I could hear movement behind me, she was coming closer but I refused to look at her. Grabbing my charcoal suit I paired it up with a white shirt and a red tie.

“I love that suit on you.” She whispered.

"Joy," I warned her.

More shuffling was heard in the background but I focused on getting dressed. Once in my suit, I could face the woman and make clear to her that this would not happen again. There was no denying that I enjoyed it but now I regretted it.

She needed to know so I’d make it clear to her, hopefully.

Joy stayed back but she didn’t walk away, it was like she couldn’t walk away. I sighed, realizing this was going to be more difficult than I originally assumed.

Straightening my jacket and running my hands over my tie, I turned and faced Joy, “Let’s move this to the living room.” It was a suggestion yet I knew it more or less sounded like an order the way I firmly spoke the words, “I’ll make you some coffee.”

Taking charge I strolled into the bedroom, grabbing my phone, card, and keys and without looking if Joy was following me I made my way to the kitchen. I couldn't start being soft on her, we'd be in this grey zone forever.

“Nick.” She did follow after me, taking a seat at the kitchen island, “I know things are weird between us right now.” The hopeful tone didn’t sit right with me. I had to shut it down right away.

“It shouldn’t have happened.” I interrupted her before she’d make things awkward for the both of us, “We’ve broken up, Joy. This-“ I gestured between us, “Will make things complicated. We can’t dance around each other forever, we both need to move on.”

Her face dropped, she didn’t like that. It was clear that she already hoped for something more. Sleeping with her again was a big f*****g mistake.

“We should stay away from each other for a while, out of sight out of mind, you know.” I tried not to sound too gentle, it would let her think there was still an opening when there wasn’t, “So I’m going to be a real jerk about this-“ Grabbing a travel mug from the cupboard I poured in the freshly made coffee and added a bit of milk and sugar to her liking, “I’ll be waiting here while you get ready. The car outside will take you home.”

She tore her eyes away from me and jumped off the stool, “You’re a real jerk about it.” She let me know as she walked back to the bedroom.

She didn’t have to remind me, I was aware of that. But I had to be a real jerk about it for both of our sakes. In the long run, we'd both be grateful we didn't have an on again off again relationship. Our families would be grateful too.

I made myself some coffee, waiting for Joy to join me again. I hoped she wasn’t crying in the shower, I didn’t want to imagine that. This was definitely not the same as Lucas and Nina’s break-up. At first, their break-up looked clean and simple but surely that was only because Lucas was in denial about being the good guy.

In the end, he decided he was pissed about Nina choosing Jacob Blackwood over him.

Jacob wasn’t that bad of a guy, he was a real jerk too but not to Nina. So even though I wanted to dislike the guy, I just couldn’t. The thought of that guy being the father of Nina’s baby made me shiver. It was all so real now.

If she ever wanted to escape the guy, she couldn’t. She’d be tied to him forever.

“I’m ready.” Joy announced, her voice cold and as I flickered my eyes to her I noticed how emotionless she looked. She was upset with me, “I’ll take a cab home.”

Grabbing the travel mug I approached her and handed her the coffee, “Don’t, just take the car, please.”

She did take the travel mug, her eyes narrowing on me in an intense glare, “You can’t be a jerk to me and then expect me to take up your stupid offer with a smile on my face. I’m calling a cab and going home.” She pushed past me heading to the front door with determined steps, “Don’t come to the coffee shop or visit Lucas and Owen. I don’t want to see you for a while.”

I followed after her knowing that would be dangerous right now. She could claw off my face or throw hot coffee at me. She wouldn’t be leaving the apartment if I didn’t unlock the door though. Carefully moving I unlocked the door and stepped aside to let her go.

She was about to step out but spun around to face me with that furious look on her face, “You are a big jerk, Nick Merigold.” She whispered, her watering eyes not matching the tone of her voice or the twitch of her downturned lips.

"I know," I whispered back.

She walked away quickly, her shoulders shaking. I knew she was crying then. The ache in my heart which was dull at first became intense. It made it difficult to breathe. I needed to stop thinking. Grabbing my phone I let my driver know I was ready to head to the office. Focusing on work surely would help the ache in my heart fade a little.

***

Sitting behind my desk and skipping lunch to get as much work done as possible, I glanced at my phone which went off again for the third time. I had to face the consequences now.

I knew I’d do the same if someone treated Nina like that.

Answering my phone I was instantly greeted with, “Hey stupid big jerk.”

“Owen.” I greeted back.

He chuckled which wasn't the reaction I was expecting. I thought he'd throw a fit and threaten to punch me in the face. Instead, Owen laughed and sounded more cheerful than I expected he'd sound. Now I was curious about his call.

“Were you a big jerk to my sister?” Owen demanded to know.

It baffled me that Owen sounded more amused than anything. If it were me I’d be so pissed, wanting to shelter my little sister.

“Yes. I was.” I answered honestly.

Owen sighed, “I assume you had a reason for it.”

I didn’t want to tell him the details of our night together. It was clear what happened but he didn’t need to hear the words out loud. It would save us both the embarrassment.

“She had hope.” I knew that was enough for Owen to dismiss it. I realized he probably put one and one together already that being the reason he didn’t barge into my office to smack me, “I couldn’t let her think there was a chance for us.”

“I figured, but I had to ask, you know.” Owen still sounded calm but thankfully not as amused as a few minutes ago.

“We shouldn’t have.” I trailed off.

Owen agreed, “Yeah, you shouldn’t have but you can’t turn back time. I assume if people could your sister never would have given Lucas so much hope.”

That stung, but I am sure he said it to hurt me. He didn't come over to hit me so he hit me with his words. It hurt just as much though. On some level, I agreed that Nina had been a b***h about it. She could have dealt with that a lot better, but like Owen said we couldn't turn back time.

She would have done things differently if she could, I just know it. Nina was a good person.

“You done?” I asked him.

"Not quite." I leaned back in my chair, awaiting another snarky comment or maybe another accusation about my behavior. Yet it never came, "We're going out this Friday night. You owe me."

“I owe you?” I asked, “The one I hurt was Joy and we both know it had to be done.”

Owen sighed, he was moving around. I could hear a lot of voices in the background. I assumed he was either walking around town or helping one of his clients. He drove around people working in the entertainment industry. Owen never talked about his clients but I knew he enjoyed his work. He met a lot of interesting people.

“Let’s not get into that.” Owen brushed it off as if it was nothing, “I’m sending you the address later.”

I rolled my eyes, “You need a wingman.”

“Oh, so you’re not that dense.” Owen mocked me.

I wasn't dense, I just didn't like being the social butterfly. Hurting Joy's feelings this morning was necessary, but in a way, I did kind of owe him. He knew it had to be done but that didn’t mean he could look past his sister getting hurt.

“I’ll meet you there then, but I can assure you I won’t be a good wingman. Lucas would be the better option.”

Owen brushed that off too, “Lucas needs to work, you’re my only option. So we’ll make it work.”

“Fine.”

Owen knew I was sulking about it already. The thought of going out on a Friday night made me uneasy.

“Fine.” Owen parroted, “See you Friday.”

Ending the call I put my phone down on my desk, feeling overwhelmed by this demand of Owen. I’d join him and not because he demanded of me to be present. A good friend would join and make the most out of it. I didn’t have to be social. I could have a few drinks and be done with it.