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Great. Can I come by and get the key? Or can Cleo drop it off?
Come and get it. If I sent Matt, it might raise questions I didn’t want to answer.
Be there in thirty minutes.
When I arrived at the building, I headed straight to the elevator, never looking at the office in the rear because I didn’t want to see Cleo at all. It didn’t matter how hard she’d cried in my condo. I was still so fucking pissed off that I couldn’t see straight. She lied to me, and she made me look like a fucking idiot.
I stepped inside my condo and barely had time to change before Tucker’s knock sounded.
“It’s open.” I went to the fridge and grabbed a beer.
“What’s up?” He shut the door behind him and spotted the key on the table right away. He brought it to his lips and kissed it. “Pria and I had such a good time last time. I’d tell you why it was so good, but you’d probably tell me to shut up.”
I walked into the living room with my beer in hand, wearing my sweatpants and a t-shirt. “Have a good time.”
“Why don’t the two of you come with us? It’ll be fun.”
I wasn’t going anywhere with Cleo. “Maybe another time.” I moved to the couch and took a seat with the bottle held in my grasp.
Tucker slipped the key into his pocket. “You want to watch the game or something?”
“I’ve got a lot of work to do.” It was a paradox. I was lonely, but I didn’t want to be around anyone, not even family. I didn’t even miss Derek as much as I usually did. He was hardly on my mind at all, actually.
Tucker studied me, like he spotted something out of place. “Everything alright, man?”
“Yeah. Just got a lot going on at work.” I really didn’t want to talk about the real reason I was upset, so I lied.
Tucker didn’t leave. “You want to talk about it?”
“No.” My response came out harsher than I meant for it to.
Tucker crossed his arms over his chest, his playful attitude gone, and now he was deadly serious. “Okay, you’re worrying me.”
“Why?” I asked. “I’m just sitting here.”
“Yeah, but…” He shook his head. “You look different. You look…terrible.”
“Thanks, asshole.” I took another drink.
Tucker sat in the armchair.
I groaned in annoyance. “Tucker, I really don’t want to talk about it.”
“Why?”
“Because I don’t want to,” I snapped. “Isn’t that enough reason?” I lifted my chin and gave him a cold stare.
Tucker’s eyes shifted back and forth slightly as he looked into my gaze, like he was truly uneasy with the situation. “Something happen with Cleo?”
“No.”
“Derek?”
“No.”
“Valerie—”
“Just get the fuck out, Tucker.” I got off the couch and walked away, moving to the dining table where I’d left my stuff.
Tucker didn’t make a move to leave. He didn’t say anything either.
I hoped he would just walk out and leave me in peace. I pulled out my laptop and paperwork and set it up next to my beer.
Tucker’s footsteps started, coming behind me.
Goddammit.
He pulled out the chair at the other head of the table and sat down. “I’m not leaving until you talk to me.”
I sighed.
“I’m serious. I’m worried.”
I fell into the chair and opened my laptop and ignored him.
He just sat there, like he had all the time in the world.
After twenty minutes, my gaze flicked to him.
“You think I’m bluffing?”
I shut my laptop. “Cleo really pissed me off.”
“I’m sure whatever she did, she had good intentions—”
“She fucked some douchebag in the building, lied to me about it, made me look like a fucking imbecile, got jealous over a colleague of mine when she’s the one with skeletons in her closet. She had an affair with a married man, after making a big fucking deal about our relationship needing to be a secret. She has this whole other identity she didn’t tell me about.”
Tucker was so shocked that he didn’t say anything. His eyes were wide, and they stayed that way for a long time.
“So yeah, I look like shit because I feel like shit. She asked me to trust her, asked me to leave the past where it belonged and be in a relationship with her. Well, I did my part. She didn’t.” I took another drink of my beer and set it down harder than I meant to, making it thud loudly and almost shatter.
“Jesus…that’s a lot of information to get in a couple of seconds.” He leaned forward, rubbing his fingers across his jawline. “When did all of this happen?”
“About two weeks ago.”
“And you’re still pissed off…”
“Of course, I’m still fucking pissed off.”
Tucker was never quiet for more than a few seconds, but he was quiet for a long time, like he couldn’t believe everything I’d just said. “So, she cheated on you? I…I just can’t see her doing that.”
