Totally winning at this adulting thing.
Mike’s eyes narrow on me as he runs his tongue over his disgusting lips, then does a lingering sweep of me from head to toe. My stomach turns, and it feels like there’s acid in the pit of it.
“I’m sure we can certainly work something out, Quinn,” he says in a tone that makes my skin crawl.
Swallowing the disgust I feel over being ogled by this asshole, I force a smile. “Great. I did some calculations and have come up with a couple of different payment plans that I can work better with.”
I pull the folded piece of paper out of my purse, where I wrote the different figures, and hold it out to him. He studies it for longer than should be necessary for what is written, while I stand in awkward silence, waiting for him to choose one of the proposals.
I might hate him, but if he’s willing to work with me on this, I’m going to be as nice as pie to him until I have my mom’s housing paid up to date.
Minutes pass, and the unease in my stomach gets stronger with each second.
Then he looks up from the paper and gives me another once-over before he sets it down on the surface of his desk and licks his chapped, thin lips.
Never in my life have I come across a man I can trust. Not my father, obviously, since he ditched my mom as soon as she told him she was pregnant. That’s what she told me anyway. And not any of my mom’s boyfriends, who were constantly coming and going. Not Jason. Not Lonny. Not that asshole at the bar. And certainly not Mike.
I’ve learned to keep my distance from men. To give my mom’s boyfriends an extra-wide berth, so while their eyes were lingering, I never let them get within arm’s reach if I could prevent it. It became easy to spot a creep from a mile away. Somehow, Jason slipped under my radar. I’m not sure how. Maybe I chose to ignore his behavior because he was safer than the situation I was in at the time. It took years before I saw his true colors.
A scowling, chiseled face floats into my mind, and warmth spreads through me.
Xander Savage.
My pussy aches, and my nipples harden against the lace of my bra.
Ishouldn’ttrust him.
He’s dangerous.
Unhinged.
He watches me sleep.
And I haven’t said a damn word to him about it, because how do I tell a man that it turns me on when he comes into my apartment at night and watches me sleep and then sneaks back out before I wake up? How do I tell him that I’ve never slept better in my life because this is the safest I have ever felt?
I shouldn’t trust him.
“Quinn, I have to say, it’s very brave of you to come and ask me for a different arrangement,” Mike says in a tone that instantly dries my pussy up. “I think there’s a much quicker, easier option that will be beneficial for both of us.”
He steps forward, closing the gap between us, coming far too close within the already small confines of his office. Then, as if he does it all the time, he lifts his hand and runs the back of his fingers down my bare arm. I flinch and jerk away like I’ve been burned.
He reaches out and tries to push the door closed. But I’m faster, and I catch it and haul it open. I know better than to let a man like him close me into a room alone.
“Let me stop you before you do something else that you shouldn’t,” I say, glaring up at him. “If you so much as peep a word about some sort of sexual arrangement, I’m going to scream and draw the attention of every single one of your employees, and I don’t think you want that.”
This motherfucker.
I point at him, shaking my finger. “Shame on you, asshole. I already thought you were a slimeball for trying to tack on that astronomical late fee, but to suggest I would do some sort of exchange of sexual favors for you is… is…” Shaking my head, I let out a choked noise as tears start to sting the backs of my eyes again.
This asshole is not going to see me cry.
I stare up at him and take a deep breath, trying to settle my nerves, but instead, it just makes my chest burn. “I will start looking for a new facility for my mom first thing tomorrow. I’ll have her out by the end of the month. You are an evil person. I truly hope your wife is fucking another man behind your back because, God knows, you’re not pleasing her. In fact.” I jab my finger toward him again. “Maybe I’ll give her a call and make sureshe’saware of what kind of man you are.”
Without waiting for his reply, I spin on my heel and storm out of the facility, not missing the way the receptionist grins at me on my way, giving me a quick thumbs-up that makes me smile a tiny bit. That only lasts for about ten seconds until I make it outside to the parking lot. Then, huge sobs shake through my body.
I can’t believe this. Some asshole literally attacked me last night, and the very next day, another one tries to negotiate sexual favors with me to allow my mother to stay in her care facility. What the fuck is wrong with people?
It takes a good five minutes before I’ve gotten my breathing under control. My makeup is probably a disaster.
