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“You never loved me?” The question comes out all small and trembling. I hate that I’m showing this much emotion, but there’s only so much I can contain.
“I like you, Megs. You’re a fine woman, and you were fun. But Anna is rich, something you’ll never be,” Eric says, his words like a sledgehammer to my heart. “When I get married to her, I’ll become the son-in-law of the boss. When Evans eventually retires, I’ll be next in line to take over.”
Oh, wow, he really is delusional. “What? That’s never going to happen!”
“It’s logic,” he says. “I’m going to be family soon. You always leave a company to family.”
I have no idea where he’s getting his unique brand of logic from. All I can see is a gross man-child that I had the misfortune to be with intimately. Any lingering feelings I might have had for him are gone.
“You’re disgusting, Eric,” I snarl. “And pathetic.”
“What did you say?” There’s emotion in his voice for the first time.
“I said you’re pathetic! A pathetic gold-digger.” I take pleasure in repeating myself. The asshole has it coming. “As much as I hate Anna, I really hope she finds out about you and what you’re planning. Because if she loves you…”
“She’ll understand. She knows the way of things better than you do.” Eric then brightens up. “So, expect an invitation from us. We want you to be there as a family friend. A close one as well.”
I don’t respond. I just hang up and grip my phone tightly, fighting the urge to throw it across the room. I don’t think I could be more shocked at my ex if I tried.
The gold-digging bastard.
***
Joel
I can sense that something’s wrong with Megan when she comes downstairs for dinner. She’s scowling and looks like she wants to throw something. She sits down to eat as if everything’s fine. And while I want to ask what’s wrong, I can tell that she’s not ready. She looks like she’s trying to digest some news as well as her food.
What could have happened? Did someone call her and put her in a bad mood? The only people I can think of who could upset her like this are Anna and Eric, but I’m sure she’s blocked their numbers. I can’t imagine anyone else making her this upset.
I need to bide my time if I want to know. We’re going to be here for two nights, and I don’t want us to be in an awkward atmosphere all weekend. Especially if we’re going to be stuck inside the house should the storm carry on.
If we’re able to leave on Sunday evening, that will be a surprise.
After dinner, Megan collects our dishes and loads them into the dishwasher with the rest of the things I used to cook. I don’t ask her to do this; she does it out of her own. I don’t know what to say to that, so I leave her to it. It’s clear that she’s trying to keep herself busy.
Instead, I go into the wine cellar and find a bottle of red. I get a little nervous with storms, and Megan looks like she needs to unwind, so why not? I go back into the kitchen and search through a drawer for the corkscrew.
“Do you want me to get you a glass?” Megan asks, barely glancing over as she switches the dishwasher on.
“Get two glasses out,” I reply. “They’re in the cupboard behind you.”
She stops what she’s doing and looks at me, surprised. “Two?”
“You’re having one as well.” I give her a smile and pop the cork. “You look like you need it.”
Megan looks like she’s going to protest, a deep frown settling on her face. Even when she’s upset, she still looks pretty. I find myself wanting to kiss that frown away.
Finally, Megan sighs and turns away. “Okay. I’m going to need a big glass, though.”
“Fine by me,” I chuckle softly.
I wait until she brings me the glasses and I pour out the wine. Putting the bottle aside, I clink my glass against hers.
“Cheers.”
Megan grunts, taking a healthy gulp of her wine. Then she puts the glass on the counter.
“I’m sorry, sir. I don’t mean to be rude, especially when you allowed me to come out here…”
