“How dare you question my integrity! Have I ever done anything to make you question my work?”
“Not until now, but we have never dealt with your friends until now.”
“The only reason you sent me to Cashville was because you know I had history with the owners. If you thought I would be biased, you should have considered that before you set me up. You know what? Fuck you and your fucking report.”
“Why I never!” Barbara said, clutching her imaginary pearls.
“If you ever question my integrity again, you fucking will. You know what? I don’t need this shit. My man said I didn’t have to work anyway.”
“And there it is! I knew one of them got to you. Talking about integrity when you have zero of your own,” Barbara spat.
“No, you just realized that you couldn’t get to me. I’m not putting out a fake narrative just to get views. That’s your thing. I’m done with this conversation and you. In case it’s not apparent, I quit,” I informed her, turning on my heels and marching right out of the building.
“This is it.” I sighed as I walked from my bedroom to the living room.
I had lived in my house for years, but now it felt strange. It felt empty, although the majority of my things were still there. Every nick in the wall and scuff on the floor had a memory behind it.
My house used to feel warm and cozy. Now color-coded stickers labeled, storage, take, and donate were plastered on everything. The movers were coming in two days, but I didn’t think I could stomach watching them move my life, no matter how excited I was about the change. It was bittersweet to leave, but I actually looked forward to a future with Reed.
Jada couldn’t be more excited about moving in with her dad, and that made it all worth it. After a final walk-through, I looked down at my phone. I had about twenty minutes before I needed to pick Jada up from school. It was a six-minute drive, but the lines were horrific at pickup.
With that in mind, I was already late. Grabbing my purse from the kitchen counter, I took one final look around as I headed to the door. The second I opened the front door, I froze in place. Jasper stood there like he was just about to knock before I opened the door. He was as handsome as ever, tall with broad shoulders and his ever-present work boots on his feet.
“Hey,” I spoke first.
“Hey. You moving?” he asked, his eyes drifting past me into the house.
“Yeah, in a few days.”
His thick brows snapped together. “Why? What happened?”
“Nothing. I’m just moving.”
“Just moving? Out of the blue like that?”
“I guess so. I was actually headed out,” I said, hoping he would take the hint and leave.
He rocked back on his heels and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“Where are you moving?”
“Closer to work.”It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t exactly true since I’d quit just a few hours ago.
“You moving in withhim?” he asked, cocking his head to the side to wait for my response. There it was. I should have known that was the real question.
Shaking my head, I sighed. “Jasper, I really need to go.”
“Answer the question. Is that what you’re doing?” His voice had changed, and there was no trace of his trademark grin. “Are you OK? Is he making you move?”
My head snapped back at his question. “What?”
“Is he making you move? I could see how controlling he was the night I stopped by.”
Uninvited, might I add. I decided not to push that issue. Jasper was a nice guy. He just wasn’t the one for me.
“No, he’s not making me move. We just reconnected.”
“Oh wow, y’all reconnected, huh? I’ve been trying to connect with you for almost a year, then overnight, some punk in a fancy car shows up and has your daughter calling him daddy.”
