“Disaster? Hardly. I expect my stock price to jump with the announcement.”
“I need to regroup.” I’m hyperventilating. “We’ll revise the plan, do damage control for you. I can do this. We can do this, right, Jenna? Yes, we can.”
“You can’t. You might as well turn in your resignation letter now.”
“You know what?” Tone preachy, I swing the car back into traffic. “I don’t understand you.”
“Here we go.” He cracks his neck. “I knew this lecture was coming.”
“You have—”
“Let me guess,” he says. “You have so much potential.” His voice is a mocking bass. “You’re a good-looking, intelligent young man, and if you’d justapply yourselfand fix your attitude, son, you could really be someone.Save it.I’ve heard that speech a thousand times, and guess what? I am someone, and I don’t have to be nice. Nice is for little girls with fiancés that don’t like them.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“Andyoudon’t know anything aboutme.”
He turns on the radio before I can get it together enough to offer a retort that would be any more than “Nuh-uh, you don’t know anything about me.”
McCarthy’s mouth turns up into a sneer. “This is what you’re listening to?”
“Who doesn’t like Britney Spears?” I scream at him. I gave up on this day at eleven thirty this morning. I’m beyond trying to pretend to be professional with this man.
“I bet you listen to Ben Folds.” I crank up the radio and try to relax my grip on the wheel while I wonder how on earth I’m going to spin this latest catastrophe to the press.
My phone beeps then beeps again. I secretly hope it’s Nathan messaging me to tell me how sorry he is, how much he loves me, and that of course he’ll be there to support me. Also, we can grab my favorite Thai takeout and cuddle in front of the fireplace tonight after the funeral.
It’s not.
Because of course it’s not.
The phone rings, and McCarthy’s stupid, fancy, expensive car automatically connects the call.
“Off, off, turn off!” I yell at it.
Heavy breathing echoes in the car then a familiar voice: “I know you’re ignoring my calls, you stupid fucking bitch.”
McCarthy stills like a predator catching sight of a deer as my traitorous phone hijacks the car system.
“No, no,no.” I try to grab for the phone to disconnect it and almost veer into traffic.
McCarthy grabs it first as my ex’s voice blares through the car’s sound system.
“You can’t just stick me with that time-share payment, Jenna. We agreed to buy it together. You owe me. You oweme thirty thousand dollars. And I’m going to make you fucking pay.”
I can practically feel the spit flying out of Andreas’s mouth as he rants.
Beside me, McCarthy’s shoulders are tense, his lips parted to give a flash of teeth.
“No, I toldyounot to sign up for the time-share. I told you it’s a scam. Not to mention I already gave you five thousand dollars.”
“It’s every year, you cheap fucking cunt.”
“I’m not giving you any more money!” I try to keep my voice steady. “So just leave me alone! Stop calling me, and stop showing up at my mom’s house.” I try to press the touch screen on the console to end the call, but it’s not working.
The temperature in the car has dropped ten degrees.
“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want until I’m satisfied that—”
