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I walk toward him, and he pulls the check back slightly as my eyes meet his.
“You’re a Shields,” he tells me. “It’s time you started acting like one.” He holds the check back out, and I take it with shaking fingers. Even now, it feels like dirty money. It feels like it’s tainted. My stomach churns as I hold it between my fingers.
“Oh, but I am,” I say, knowing that I’ve just done a deal with the devil. And this devil will not let me forget that, I’m sure. I can’t even utter my thanks because the words feel like poison in my throat.
I make my escape, breathing a sigh of relief when I’m out his door. Leaning against it, I take a moment.
I know he’ll hold me to it. Maybe not someday soon, but one day.
I shove the check in my purse, my emotions going haywire as I think about what I’ve just done.
It’ll only be for a year,I tell myself. Or however long it takes to pay off fifty grand working for that damn asshole I call a father.
But right now, I need to split.
As I pass by Brian’s office, I hear him laughing with a couple of clients, and I just can’t resist having the last word. He deserves to suffer, just like I have. The nights I spent crying to Payden. The way I had him on such a high pedestal because he had a good job. He had to be a good guy, right? No way Brian would ever do anything bad…
Before I know what I’m doing, I barge into his office as he turns to stare at me with wide eyes. The man and woman sitting opposite him turn to look at me in surprise.
“Brian Miller,” I stammer. “You fucking asshole! That rash you gave me that you told me was thrush, turned out to be gonorrhea, what do you have to say about that?”
His eyes go even wider as I try to hold back my smile. “Luna!” he yells, too stunned to even jump out of his chair. “What the hell?”
“The clap!” I clarify. “You don’t get that from playing poker,Brian.What were you really doing on Saturday nights ‘with the boys?’ You were fucking our maid again, weren’t you? Is she even legal?”
The woman gasps as Brian blinks at me. I’ve never seen him so horrified.
“He’s a liar and a cheat,” I tell them, fake tears forming that I dab with a tissue I pull from my purse. “On top of that, he knocked up my best friend and then told me they were moving in together. Then he bought her a house and left me and my baby alone with debts I couldn’t even pay. We were homeless. I couldn’t afford food. He even kept my cat. I had to… I had to do unspeakable things in order to survive… He wouldn’t pay child support. My baby had nothing to wear to keep him warm,” I rail off, not before adding, “And then he took away our insurance.”
They both gasp in horror.
At least some of it is true, just not the clap and a fake baby or homelessness, or the cat, but still. I shudder at the thought of a STD. I guess I dodged a bullet there.
He opens his mouth, then closes it again.
So I do the only thing that’s left to do. I grab his coffee cup—pity it isn’t hot—and I throw it over him.
“That’s for fucking with me, you asshole! Rot in hell!”
I turn to leave as cold coffee drips from his head and soaks his desk as he jumps up—not to chase me, but to grab some tissues. The man and woman are on their feet, and it looks like they’re ready to head for the hills. Good. I hope it was a big deal that he just lost, and he’ll hopefully have to explain to the board, and my dad, why.
My work here is done.
I shut the door behind me and head to the elevators, straightening my back more with every step.
At least I feel slightly better about things now. A good old dose of cold coffee revenge over an expensive suit always does the trick. I hope the stains don’t come out. I’d also love to hear what the couple have to say, but I’m not sticking around to find out. Security is probably on its way up to throw me out.
Let them try.
“Did you get everything you needed?” Carly asks as I tap the elevator button.
I turn to her. “Oh, I did, thank you, Carly,” I say, then add, “Just stay away from Brian, he has the clap.”
Her eyes go wide as I disappear into the elevator and give her a five-finger wave as I grin widely. The elevator doors close on her shocked face.
I really hope she wasn’t sleeping with him. I guess she won’t be now.
I smile at my own reflection against the doors. At least that part of my life is taken care of, even if I am still torn about cashing my father’s check. Then there’s Gary’s threats and Tag’s rejection. All men are assholes.
