“Which is why I went for you.”
“You think your wife, whose belly is swollen withyourbaby, is disgusting? For real?” My voice grows shrill with anger and humiliation for me and his poor wife. We both really deserve better.
“No!” he protests, although his tone says,Yes. Maybe he realizes that he made himself sound like an asshole when I laid it out like that. “I just wanted to be nice. It was a service to humanity—actually to you. You don’t have self-esteem, no self-worth. For you, being with someone like me is a dream come true. A boost to your self-respect. I could tell you only tried to distance yourself from me because you wanted to force me to make some commitment. Anyway, the sense of accomplishment from being with someone like me will linger and improve your future prospects, even after I quietly dump you when my wife delivers the baby and snaps back into shape.”
Thegall! I’ve run into some self-absorbed clients at work, but Chad takes the gold medal in the Narcissism Olympics. “I should murder you just for saying that,” I say between clenched teeth.
“Ah, you don’t mean that. You’re a good girl.” He says “good girl” like it means “doormat.” He extends his arms as though to place them on my shoulders, and I recoil. He frowns, but doesn’t try to touch me again. “Look, you need to give me the ring back. And apologize to my wife.”
“Me?” I point to myself. “Apologize to your wife? For what? For being deceived by her dickhead husband who lied to me that he was single?”
Chad doesn’t have the grace to blush. But then, if he knew what shame was, he wouldn’t have done what he did. “For creating unnecessary emotional distress. Just tell her you stole the ring when you saw it in my office because it looked too pretty to resist. And hey, I’ll let you stay at my downtown condo for free for a week because I like you and”—he gestures—“your place burned down. But you can’t let Autumn know.”
He stops and gives me a soulful look that’s as fake as a fifty-dollar Gucci bag on a shady website. My blood pressure shoots up so high, my vision turns red.
Sadly, he seems oblivious. He folds his arms over his chest. “I still have feelings for you, Ailee. I’m not a complete asshole.”
“Of course not.” I lay the sarcasm on thick. “Just a cheating, lying dickface.”
“It’s going to be awkward if I have to call the police for the theft.”
“I’d love to see you try because I’m not giving back anheirloomfrom my fiancé,” I say with a faux-sweet smile.
Chad scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous. There’s no way Josh proposed for real. When did he have the chance? I proposed two nights ago, and you said yes. And even if you hadn’t, you’re a C-minus lay. Why would he want to be tied to you for life?”
My hands shake with the urge to strangle this asshole to death. I’d love to come up with a killer retort, but—frustratingly—I have nothing. Chad’s right about one thing—the engagement isn’t real. Josh only said what he did yesterday because he felt sorry for me.
Chad seems to understand that instinctively. He smirks. “You know what? If you can convince that insufferable asshole to stay with you for at least three months, you can keep the ring. I’ll even throw in an apology. But otherwise, you’re going to return the ring to my wife and tell her you took it. If you grovel, I’ll even convince her to not involve the police. Help you out, because I’m sure a criminal conviction would mean no more job at the law firm.”
His sanctimonious tone goads me until I feel like I’m about to spontaneously combust. “Fine,” I snap before I can stop myself.
He starts laughing. “You’re going to lose so bad. I can’t wait to see you beg for mercy. Not even your hot tamale sister could lock Josh into a committed relationship. He’ll dumpyoubefore the sun’s down tomorrow. Then you’ll learn where you rank.”
I bite my lip. Although Katt made up her dating history with Josh, he’s dated plenty of gorgeous women without settlingdown with any of them. He could snap his fingers and have models falling at his feet.
There’s a sudden, smallthwack. Chad grabs the back of his head. “Ow!”
“Oops, I missed,” comes Josh’s voice. He tosses a small pebble in the air and catches it.
I cover my eyes with a hand, wishing for a sinkhole to appear right under my feet.Just how much of Chad’s crap did my boss hear?
Chad spins around, his fists raised aggressively, like he’s ready to pounce. “I’m going to fuck you up!”
Chapter Thirteen
Josh
“Sorry,” I say. “I was aiming for a bee.”
Chad blanches, jumps like he just stepped on a thumbtack. “Holy shit,where?”
“Right behind you.”
“Fuck!” Chad slaps the back of his skull, then hops around without checking to see if I’m telling the truth.
Klein stares at him like he’s lost his mind. I just let him make an idiot of himself. That’s what he deserves for saying all that shit to her. I didn’t hear the entire exchange, but what I did hear was enough to make me fantasize about breaking his nose again.
What gave him the nerve to come and harass Klein? Can he not smell the acrid smoke in the air? Or see the remnants of the building behind her?
