Four

Life is more beautiful when you love yourself and learn to appreciate the little things that goes on around us!....

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Ellie looked at the building in front of her with distaste. The first and only time she had been at Joline's place was on her birthday, and Joline had cornered her in the kitchen to ask what her deal with Parker was. Ellie had been tempted to lie and rub it in Joline's face, but she decided Joline wasn't worth it. She had admitted they were just friends and Joline had taken a few minutes to warn Ellie to not even think about wanting Parker. Ellie had nodded and also agreed to not say anything about their discussion. She didn't agree because she wanted to, but she knew exactly how Parker would have reacted. And she didn't want to be the cause of drama when their relationship was still so new. Even if she wanted Parker, she couldn't do anything that would jeopardize his happiness.

"Come on out." Parker unfastened his seatbelt, then tugged down his sunglasses. He looked real good in a white T-shirt that strained against his biceps and faded jeans. The man could definitely pull off any look.

Ellie looked out of the window before he could catch her staring. "I'll just stay in the car, reduce the tension, you know?"

"No. You're coming with me, I'm not letting you out of my sight."

Ellie sighed. They had tried to be inconspicuous, but she had noticed the dark car that had been on their tail. Parker had finally made use of his personal security team. She knew he had them, especially since the last year after he had started receiving threats from clients who felt they were not properly represented. Parker had never really utilized their services, he had only allowed the head of the security team serve as a driver and guard. The rest were usually stationed in front of the building the firm occupied and the house. Bringing them out now only showed how seriously he was taking the situation.

Ellie got out of the car and walked towards the house behind Parker.

Parker knocked on the door twice before Joline pulled open the door. Her eyes widened when she saw Parker, but it quickly went hostile when she noticed Ellie. Parker didn't miss Joline's reaction.

"Hi." He muttered, a forced smile on his lips.

"Morning Joline." Ellie didn't bother smiling.As expected, Joline ignored her.

"What are you doing here?" Joline asked, still not granting them entry.

Parker looked around Joline, then eyed her half opened robe. She was clearly naked underneath it. "Do you usually open the door in your bathrobe? And I texted you yesterday, that we needed to talk."

Joline shrugged, her body still in front of the door. She pulled the lapels of the robe tightly around herself. "You didn't call before coming. I didn't expect to see you first thing in the morning."

Parker frowned at her. He pushed the door open, ushering Ellie in. "I don't need to call before visiting my girlfriend." He pulled Joline closer for a sweet kiss on the forehead, and Ellie felt like she was going to die from jealousy. It didn't help that Denis had dumped her the night before.

"You smell like cologne, baby." He muttered against her lips, but it was still loud enough for Ellie to hear.

Ellie went to sit on a couch, giving the couple space.

Parker pulled away from her. "I wanted to let you know that Ellie would be staying with me for now. There are some issues we need to take care of."

Joline frowned. "Why? So you'll finally have the opportunity to fuck her?"

Ellie stood up and walked into the kitchen to give them more space. She already knew what was coming, and this distance would not be enough for the screaming match that was soon to ensue.

"Where are your damn filters? She has a job situation. I'm playing bodyguard for her."

"No." Joline stated.

Ellie wished she was anywhere but here. "Please guys, I'm right here." She called from the kitchen. The was an open floor plan. She could clearly see them from the kitchen.

Joline glared at her. "No woman is spending time at your house, especially if its that woman. I can't let you cheat on me."

Parker sighed. "Come on, Joe. Its just for a while."

Just then, there was the sound of someone coming down the stairs. The couple didn't seem to hear it, but Ellie did. The stairs creaked and the person whistled.

"Hey babe, you left me in bed, again." A man appeared at the foot of the stairs, his boxer briefs hanging low on his hips.

Ellie watched Joline's eyes widen in horror and her face paled. Parker was out of the chair he had just sat in and was already walking towards the stairs, disbelief written all over his face.

"Who the hell is this?" Parker's voice hardened. Then suddenly he relaxed, digging his hands into his pocket to probably stop himself from attacking the guy. "Do I need to ask?" His voice was cold.

Ellie knew the telltale signs of a storm brewing, as far as it concerned Parker. She stood up, ready to calm him down when he eventually erupted.

"Baby, its not what it seems." Joline pleaded.

"Jo, darling. What's going on here?" The almost naked man asked, sending a glare Parker's way.

"And here you are giving me hell for trying to help out Ellie. God! You really are a worthless whore." Parker shook his head then laughed. "To think I actually came to break up with you, but I didn't want you to assume it was because of Ellie. So I changed my mind and decided to talk about our relationship after sorting things out." He shook his head again, then turned to Ellie. "Come on, let's go."

Ellie was finding it hard to cover her shocked look. It was the first time Parker was being cool about issues like this. Her look of surprise suddenly cleared when the other man lunged at Parker.

"How dare you call my Jo a whore?" He asked, his fist catching Parker's jaw.

Parker didn't waste time returning the favor. His punches were harder and more accurate, hitting the man in his nose and underneath his eye. "Don't you ever fucking try to hit a pissed off boyfriend, especially if you've been screwing his girlfriend." Parker punctuated his statement with punches. So far, the other man had only been able to land a few punches, the rest Parker had easily dodged. Years of getting into fights had certainly honed him.

Joline stood to one side, screaming at Parker to stop, even threatening to get the cops.

Ellie finally decided it was time to try and stop Parker, especially since the man had stopped punching back. "That's enough Parks, she's not worth it." Ellie pulled on his arm.

Parker paused for a moment, then stood up from the man, kicking the man in the process. Joline ran to him, it was evident who she really preferred between both men. She cradled his face in her hands, turning it left and then right to inspect the damages.

"Oh Johnny! I'm so sorry," she muttered. She knelt beside him, gently placing his head in her lap.

Ellie felt sorry for Johnny, he obviously didn't know Joline was seeing someone else. He was sporting a black eye already, his nose was bleeding and she was sure Parker broke something in the guy's face.

"Let's go." Ellie tugged on Parker's hand again.

Joline stood up, gently removing Johnny's head. He groaned and curled into a ball. "You have to believe me, baby. I didn't mean any of these." She was pleading with Parker. The woman clearly wanted the best of both worlds.

Parker grunted. "Seriously?" He shook his head and began walking towards the door. Ellie hurried after him in a haste to get out of the current situation.

"This isn't over, you bitch. We both know you've got the hots for Parker." Joline's frustration chose another direction. She pulled Ellie by the arm, making her to lose her balance.

Parker steadied her and turned to Joline. Before Parker could reply, Ellie slapped Joline. "Don't you dare call me names. You're the one cheating on your boyfriend, bitch." Ellie spat, then walked out of the house, Parker on her trail.

He pulled the car door open for her. "You facing off Joline was hot," he smiled at her. Ellie glared at him and he laughed in reply.

"Your knuckles are all bloody. Let's go get you cleaned up," she muttered.

Parker rounded the car and placed a loud kiss on her forehead, "Did I ever tell you that you're my favorite girl?"

"More like only friend. No one else would tolerate you and your crazy exes."

"Let's not bring up the past, Ellie. You also have a large collection of questionable exes." Parker laughed.

Ellie felt relieved that he could laugh about the whole situation. She expected him to still be mad, nobody liked being cheated on. "Did you really mean what you said? About wanting to break up with her?"

"I do. I kind of like someone, and I wanted to end it before things got complicated."

Ellie's heart skipped a beat. She had been low-key celebrating Parker being single in the hopes that they could spend some time together. And that maybe, he would finally notice her. But here she was, listening to him talk about liking someone else.

"So, you'd like to date her?" Ellie asked while looking out the window. It was turning out to be a terrible morning, she thought.

"If she'd have me, then hell yes."

"Great. That's awesome news."

She had never heard him so excited about anyone. This new girl was probably different. She panicked at the thought of losing her best friend, who turned out to be the man she was obsessed with. But there was nothing she could do. She had tried everything. The skimpy clothes, trying to get him jealous, and she even tried kissing him after having a few drinks. Parker had laughed and kissed her forehead, and she had lied that she was drunk.

Ellie wrapped her arms around herself. The car felt cold and she shivered a little. It had been hot outside, and the air-conditioning was turned on low.

"Els, you good?" Parker looked at her in concern.

She was probably making him worry, but she couldn't help it. She had never given conscious thoughts to Parker finding someone, falling in love and settling down. Now, she was hit with the reality that Parker was capable of loving someone else. "Yeah, I'm good. I feel a little sleepy. Can you wake me up when we get to my place?"

"We're about ten minutes out? You sure you are just feeling sleepy? Does your head hurt? Your stomach?" His brows scrunched in concern. He was focusing on the road, but still turned every few seconds to check on her.

She nodded and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long ten minutes.