“Is that supposed to hurt me? You think I don’t know I’m a misfit?”
Clive just shakes his head. “This isn’t about you. This is about Holly. I wasn’t the man she needed me to be. What makes you think you can be? You really want to be the guy she’s fucking out of pity?”
And all of a sudden I want to punch Clive all over again. Because I’m not smart about people. Not at all.
But I’m not too stupid to know he’s right.
Chapter 24
Holly
It is a truth universally acknowledged that if you linger outside an open door listening to two people talk about you, you will probably hear things you don’t want to hear.
I know this. I know better.
But when I approach Max’s lab and hear him talking, I still listen.
When I realize the two people in the room are Clive and Max, I know I should interrupt. Obviously. No good has ever come from listening to an ex and a current paramour discuss you.
So why don’t I knock loudly and enter immediately?
I have no answer for that.
Maybe it’s that my brain is still sluggish from my epically sleepless night. Maybe I’m too stunned by the idea that Clive still cares enough to even bother warning Max off. Maybe I just can’t resist the temptation of hearing what Max really thinks about me.
Yeah. It’s probably that.
After all, resisting temptation has never been my strong suit, and this weekend, my willpower seems to be at an all-time low.
What did I expect to hear?
Some passionate declaration of love?
No. Not really. Not from Max.
But I guess I was hoping for something a little more emotional than, “She’s smart enough to make her own decisions.”
Maybe if I stand in the hall outside Max’s office, I’ll get it. But I don’t think so.
And I’m sure as hell not going to stand there while Clive calls Max a misfit and implies I slept with him out of pity.
So that’s the moment I knock on the doorframe and saunter through the open door.
Both men whirl around to look at me. Their expressions move through an almost identical cycles of surprise, confusion, and then embarrassment.
I try to memorize the moment. Someday in the future I might feel like laughing again, and when I do, this moment will probably be humorous. Maybe. In the very distant future.
Until that day, I’m just thankful I know enough beauty tips that my eyes don’t look like I was crying all night.
Since both men are still staring at me in horrified silence, I merely nod at Max and then turn to my ex. “Clive, can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?”
Max looks like he wants to argue. So does Clive, for that matter.
After another old-Western-showdown moment passes between them before Clive nods and heads for the door. Before he can take my elbow and steer me out, I cross to Max, pulling an insulated lunch bag out of the tote over my shoulder. “You might want to get these back in the fridge.”
He frowns at the bag. “My samples?”
“Yep. They were kept at the correct temperature the entire time. Clarissa gave me very specific instructions as well as a few vivid threats of how she would eviscerate me if I killed your precious microbes.”
