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Except that I wanted to challenge her. I wanted her to see how tough this world is and to think twice before agreeing to this job.
"Tom Masterson is the personification of all the ugliest things in business," I finally say when we walk through the corridor to the restaurant.
Her walk slows and she looks at me in surprise.
"He's a real sexist, Crystal," I say, and we both stop moving, looking at each other. "He treats women like they're his toys, and he's also…"
I stop because I can't believe I'm gonna say this to her.
"What? Ageist?" she asks, widening her vast, naïve eyes.
She trusts me. While all I’m doing is trying to make her give up.
"A racist," I finally say, and her facial expression changes from scared to terrified.
"I see…" she mumbles after a pause, "He may not like that I'm Puerto Rican, right?"
"He definitely won't like it, and he’ll make obscene, vulgar jokes about this." Blood rushes through my veins as I say this.
Tom Masterson mocked my mother her whole life only because her parents immigrated from Serbia to the US before she was even born. He's a real piece of shit, and the more I think about it, the more this idea of us having breakfast together seems unsuitable.
I can't believe I’m escorting this lamb to be torn apart by a wolf.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" she asks, and her big eyes aren’t scared anymore; they're angry. "You wanted me to quit from the very first minute you saw me."
"You’ll have to deal with people like Masterson in the future," I retort in my defense, although I really am a piece of shit, so there's no defense needed. "This world is full of them."
And it's true: if this woman wants to be successful, she has to know how to survive first.
"I can't believe it," she whispers, looking at me, and I see that her eyes are disappointed. As if she trusted me but I betrayed her.
"I’ll cancel our meeting," I retort and pull out my cell to dial Tom's number.
"I'm not gonna give up, Mr. Harden," Crystal hisses and takes a step closer, pushing my phone away. "Not until I die."
Without waiting for my response, Crystal turns around and starts walking toward the restaurant again.
For a couple of seconds, I don’t move, watching her back.
And for the first time in my entire life, I feel something I've never felt before: regret.
I feel sorry that I set her up. My chest hurts like it never has before.
What’s wrong with me? I never regret what I do.
She shouldn't have trusted me. I'm a wolf, just like Masterson, and maybe even worse. All I care about is money, not people. A woman like Crystal needs someone better to trust.
Chapter Seven
Crystal
"Well, well, well, I see you're having fun today," a tall chubby man in a checkered shirt and a hat says to Jack, and I realize it's Tom Masterson, one of the wealthiest investors in America.
"You craved sweets so much that you started eating chocolate?" Although he’s talking to Jack, he shamelessly checks me out from top to bottom, smiling like a perv and licking his lips.
He probably thinks I'm Jack Harden's escort for the day.
Jack was right about his jokes: they’re stupid, racist, and obscene.
