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Her phone signaled a text. She hoped it would be someone with whom she could share her thoughts. She was suddenly lost. He’d managed to take her back to when she was much younger, when she felt isolated and hungry for a connection with him, Leo and her father—if not Lynn. But the thing that completely shocked her was that she wanted a different kind of connection now than she’d ever wanted back then, at least with Hendrix.
Onlywith Hendrix.
Her own heart seemed to be turning on her...
“Damn you,” she muttered as she tracked down her phone.
She found it in the kitchen where she’d left it while using her computer to lodge a complaint against Jordan Forbes on the dating site. She’d been eager to put an end to Friday night, hadn’t wanted to put that off any longer. Then she’d handled the billing for her business.
As she picked up her phone, she assumed Talulah was back from her mother-in-law’s and was eager to see how the rest of the evening had gone with Hendrix. She had no idea what she was going to say about it. But she didn’t have to decide. It wasn’t Talulah; it was Jordan.
Really? You reported me? You’re the one to blame for Friday night. Your fucking boyfriend broke my nose! I was going to let it go—just file the whole incident under “crazy dating stories”—but now I’m going to report YOU.
Ellen stared at his words. This was how he was going to react? He was the one in the wrong!
She knew better than to respond. He obviously didn’t see reality the way she did. But she couldn’t help herself.
Report me for what? You got what you deserved.
I think you invited me to Coyote Canyon just to make your bf jealous. You probably had him come by hoping he’d see you with me, and when I kissed you goodnight, he went ape shit.
That isn’t what happened, and you know it!
That’s exactly what happened.
In other words, he was going to twist everything to makeherlook bad.
You attempted to assault me! I could go to the police!
And tell them what? That I kissed you goodnight after taking you out to dinner? That’s what you’re calling assault? I have several texts showing that you invited me to town. Lots of people saw us having a great time at the bar. And you have no injuries to prove any kind of force. You’ll only be making yourself look worse if you attempt to lie.
“I can’t believe this!” Dumbfounded, Ellen shook her head. What an asshole! But how could she refute his version of events?
She was tempted to tell Hendrix what Jordan was doing. He’d been there. He could corroborate her story. But would the company behind the dating site really care to investigate? Would the police? She didn’t file a report the night it happened, and Jordan was right in that she had no injuries. The dating site would probably kick them both off the platform and tell them to take the incident to the authorities, and the authorities would say there was nothing they could do because there wasn’t enough evidence to even warrant their involvement.
Jordan might be able to convince them to file assault charges against Hendrix, however. He was the only one who’d sustained any injuries, and if it was true that he had a broken nose, there’d most likely be medical records to prove it.
The evidence was on his side. What was she going to do?
Jordan could follow through with his threat to report her as she’d reported him, she decided, but she wouldn’t retract her complaint. Although she wasn’t particularly thrilled to have a new enemy, especially when she’d spoken the truth, other women needed to be warned that Jordan wasn’t quite right. She had to stand by the information she’d provided.
If you feel the need to report me—even though I did nothing wrong—go for it.
She’d been planning to leave the dating site, anyway. She’d just pull her profile down right now. She hated that it might make his version of events seem like the truth, but she didn’t want to be contacted and questioned. She didn’t have the time or the mental fortitude when she knew it wouldn’t ultimately go anywhere. She had a business to run, and what was going on with Hendrix—and Ben, of course—was causing enough of a distraction. She was finished with Jordan and, for the time being, dating in general.
You won’t retract it?he wrote back.You’re going to damage my reputation for nothing?
It’s not for nothing. Your reputation should be damaged. You were way out of line.
She was tempted to say a lot more. But what good would trying to convince him do? She was afraid he might be totally disconnected, with no awareness of cause and effect, devoid of empathy and unwilling to take responsibility for his own actions. That certainly seemed to be the real Jordan. And she wanted him out of her life as soon as possible.
That’s a no?he wrote.
Although it was taking a risk, she felt empowered calling his bluff.That’s a no.
Then you’re going to regret it.
How? She was afraid to ask.Let’s just agree to go our separate ways, she wrote back. Then she blocked him, deleted her profile from the dating site and went back to working on her billing.
