AllFreeNovel
Share Us
The bartender finally notices me, and I quickly order a drink, although I don’t think I have the stomach to even finish it. I am grateful for the brief reprieve in conversation; it allows me a moment to catch up with my thoughts and determine what, if anything, I want to say to Charlie. When the bartender sets the glass in front of me, I snatch it up and take a generous sip. The vodka burns its way down my throat.
“Well, if it weren’t for you, I would have never met Serena. Looks like she conned us both.” I practically gulp down the rest of the martini and then storm away, stomping my way across the ballroom toward the table.
Hadley appears deep in conversation with the wife of one of the other senior executives, Miles, but when she catches sight of me, her face falls.
“We’re leaving,” I tell her. “Get your bag.”
Thankfully, she doesn’t ask questions. She simply apologizes to Miles and his wife, stands, and follows me toward the exit. Though I want to run from this place, I make sure to even out my strides since it’s hard for her to keep up with me in the tight-fitting black dress and towering heels.
“What happened,” she finally asks when we reach the front of the museum.
My anger toward Charlie is still fresh and raw. If I open my mouth now, I’m afraid of what might come out. “I’d rather not talk about it,” I tell her as I pull my phone out to text the limousine driver.
“Professor Kirk said something to you, didn’t he? About me?” Her voice strains and when I glance at her, I’m surprised by the glassiness in her eyes. “What did he tell you? That I slept with him? That I fucked my way to an A in his class? None of it’s true, Theo. I swear! He kept putting his hands on me, touching me, and when I confronted him, he became a monster.”
“Shit,” I mutter, reaching out to pull her into my arms. So much for the silent treatment. “I’m sorry he did that to you, baby.”
While his story is vastly different from hers, Hadley’s version is true to the man I know, to the man I despise, and it doesn’t surprise me he continued to harass women after he was sent packing to the East Coast.
“What did he say,” she mumbles against my chest.
“I don’t want to upset you any more tonight.”
She latches on to the lapels of my jacket and tilts her head up. “Tell me, Theo. I need to know.”
“He said he contacted your brother and Curtis paid him to pass you.”
Her eyes widen. “Are you serious?” She digs in her purse and pulls out her cell phone, clearly ready to call her brother and set the record straight. I place a gentle hand over hers.
“Not tonight,” I tell her softly. “I don’t want to share you with anymore ugly memories from the past. I want you to myself for the rest of the evening. I want to get lost in your gorgeous body and memorize every part of it. You’re mine, remember? I feel like being a selfish bastard for a few more hours.”
