Secrets of the Past

Chapter 50

"Giovanna!" Brian called. "Wait!" Chloe was still standing in the doorway and he pushed her aside to run after Giovanna. He reached her just as the elevator door was closing. His heart broke when he saw her tear soaked face.

"FUCK!" he yelled, punching the wall.

"Now she knows the truth," Chloe said from behind him. He whipped around, his face full of anger.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?!" he yelled, pushing her up against the wall.

She smiled at him. "What's wrong? We can be together now."

Brian stared at her in disbelief. He was angry, confused and speechless. He walked away from her and called for the elevator.

"Where are you going?" Chloe asked.

He ignored her, pushing the down arrow button repeatedly. She put a hand on his arm and he jerked away from her.

"Don't fucking touch me. I don't know what the fuck is going on with you. Are you on drugs? Are you drunk? What the FUCK makes you think I want to be with you?!"

"Why are you denying it? It's so obvious."

"You are delusional," Brian said, shaking his head.

"Oh come on. Touching me, taking me out to lunch, the way you look at me, being overly friendly..."

"That's because you're my girlfriend's sister! Of course I'm going to be extra nice to you! And taking you out to lunch - what? You think those were dates? That was just me being nice to you. Jesus Christ."

Chloe started to reply but just then the elevator door opened and Brian headed for it.

"Stay the fuck away from me," he said to Chloe as the elevator door closed.

**

As the elevator descended, tears flowed freely down Giovanna's cheeks as her head filled with questions. How could they do this to her again? How long had it been going on? Had they been doing this all these months?

They had promised her that what had happened was a drunken mistake and that it would never happen again. The image of them kissing floated through her mind and she felt sick.

When she got outside she sprinted down the street. She knew he would be coming after her and she didn't want to talk to him. After a few blocks she turned down a side street and stopped one block away. She leaned against the building, trying to catch her breath. The combination of the running and crying had her nearly hyperventilating.

As she stood there trying to compose herself a slew of emotions were coursed through her. Anger, sadness, betrayal, confusion. Why did they do this to her? Was it some kind of sick game?

Her phone rang, startling her. She looked at the screen and saw it was Brian. She hit the decline button which sent the call to voicemail. She put her phone back in her purse and tried to wipe the tears from her face, but they continued to flow.

She stood there, trying to think of what to do. If she went home, Brian would be there eventually, and she knew he wouldn't leave until he talked to her. She took her phone back out and called Kali.

**

By the time Brian got outside there was no sign of Giovanna. He had no idea which direction she had gone and didn't know where to start looking for her. He took out his phone and called her. After a couple of rings it went to voicemail. He hung up and ran a hand through his hair.

He paced in front of the office for a minute, trying to decide what to do. He needed to tell her what had really happened. He called her again but it went straight to voicemail, telling him she had turned her phone off.

He decided to call Sal, then remembered he had dinner plans with Rachel. Instead he called his friend Bryan, who he did the weekly podcast with. Bryan always had good advice and would be able to help.

"Hey Q. What's going on buddy?"

"Dude, you are never gonna believe what just happened."

"Are you ok?" Bryan asked.

"No. Chloe has gone batshit crazy."

"Is this Giovanna's sister, the one that works for you?"

"Yes," Brian said. "So I'm sitting in the conference room waiting for Giovanna and Chloe comes in. I thought everyone was gone. We talked for a minute then I told her I needed to get downstairs to meet Giovanna. That's when she starts saying I need to stop playing games with her."

"What the fuck does that mean?"

"She said she knows I don't really want to be with Giovanna, she knows I want to be with her. And she said I can drop the act because she feels the same way about me."

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Bryan asked.

"I wish I was. That's not even the worst of it. She kissed me. And Giovanna saw it."

"Oh shit. I'm sorry man."

"I don't know what to do. Chloe had me in a tight grip and it took me a few seconds to break away from her. But it was too late by then. Giovanna ran out before I could catch up to her."

"What brought this on?" Bryan asked.

"She claims that I flirt with her and I'm extra nice to her so she thinks that means I want her."

"It sounds like she's lost her fucking mind."

"I don't understand it," Brian said. "We were getting along so well. This came totally out of left field. And she may very well have cost me my relationship. I saw Giovanna's face as the elevator door closed. She was crying."

"Oh man. Did you try to call her?"

"Yeah, of course. Straight to voicemail. I don't know what to do. I have to get her to talk to me so I can explain."

"I think you're going to need to give her some time," Bryan said. "I'm sure she's devastated. Especially since this isn't the first time this has happened."

"Fuuuuuuck. I need to make this right. Now."

"Well you can't make her talk to you. Do you want me to come over there?"

"Nah," Brian said. "I'm just gonna go home. I need to figure out how I'm gonna clean up this mess."

"Well you know where to find me if you need me."

"Thanks bro."