Forget it, this was too funny not to laugh my ass off.
The woman getting fingerbanged looked over her partner’s shoulder, an expression of annoyance marring her pleasure. I recognized her as Nicola Bennett who had graduated two years ahead of me and now worked at the clerk’s office. I wasn’t surprised to find her half-naked with some random guy’s fingers inside her underwear. Nicola definitely got around and made no secret of it. I appreciated a person who knew what they wanted and went after it. You had to respect a woman that didn’t care what anyone else thought of her.
So, good for her. I wasn’t about to slut-shame her for enjoying herself.
I gave her a thumbs up in a show of female solidarity and began to slink back down the hallway as quietly as possible.
Then the man turned around. And I froze. He froze.
That fucking bastard, cock sucking dickface.
“Hello,” I said, loathing dripping from every syllable.
That douchey, rat-faced assmunch.
Jeremy moved away from Nicola, dropping her to the floor. She whimpered in protest, grasping at his shirt, trying to pull him back towards her. He frowned and pushed her hands away.
“Marlena,” he said, taking a step towards me.
“It’s Lena,” I growled as I imagined dismembering him very, very slowly—penis first.
The expression on Jeremy’s face was hard to read. There was an embarrassment, sure. There was perhaps irritation at being interrupted. But I thought there might be something else there. Contrition, maybe. Regret, possibly.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. My brother was right.
Jeremy was a piece of shit man whore and I was thankful I hadn’t dropped my panties as quickly as Nicola had. I hated feeling like a fool. And Jeremy had definitely made me feel like one.
“Could you give us some privacy, please?” Nicola’s voice was grating. As if she were trying to be seductive—all husky gravel and breathless words. The effort made her sound as if she had been gargling broken glass.
“Of course, don’t let me stop you.” The acid in my voice was obvious. I met Jeremy’s eyes one last time, letting all of my disgust and disdain radiate out towards him in one powerful, hostility filled thrust.
He appeared to flinch. He turned his back on Nicola, straightening his shirt and smoothed his hair.
“Hey,” Nicola whined, zipping up her skirt and wiping the smudged lipstick from her mouth. Jeremy ignored her. It was as if she wasn’t even there.
His blue eyes were trained on me. To think only an hour before I thought they were sexy and deep and beautiful.
Not anymore.
Stupid, stupid Lena.
Jeremy opened his mouth as if to speak, but I didn’t want to hear whatever it was he was about to say.
I was done with Jeremy Wyatt. I would never make the mistake of being wooed by him again.
“Have a good night,” I said icily, turning on my heel and walking with all the dignity I could muster down the hallway and out of the building.
I would never be taken in by a pretty face and smooth words again. I hated Jeremy Wyatt. More importantly, I hated that he made me think I was special.
Forget him. I was better off. I didn’t need any complications. And getting involved with a man like Jeremy was most definitely a complication.
So why was I disappointed when he didn’t follow me?
Chapter 1
Lena
“Marlena Rose Ducate.”
I walked across the stage, hoping I wouldn’t trip on my gown. One step. Two steps. Three steps. I took my diploma from the school’s president and made sure to remember to shake his outstretched hand. It wasn’t until I was back in my seat that I looked out into the audience to find my family.
There they were. Mom, Dad, Adam and his fiance, Meg Galloway. I saw my best friend Hannah Quinn, my old college roommate Jenna Phelps, and Robert Jenkins, Adam’s partner from the law firm too. I gave them a wave and a big smile. My mom was dabbing at her eyes and my dad’s smile was so wide it looked as if it would split his face in two.
Adam gave me a double thumbs up and Meg waved back at me. Each of their faces glowed with pride and that made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
I noticed, though I really wished I didn’t, who wasn’t there. The third member of the Jenkins, Ducate, and Wyatt law firm team.
Dirty, whore-faced bastard.
I turned back in my seat and focused on the rest of the commencement ceremony. I had worked my butt off to graduate from law school in two years instead of the usual three. The accelerated JD program had just about killed me. On top of the insane hours I put in to graduate early, I had worked part-time at my brother’s law firm to pick up much-needed experience. Because of my commitment and near-perfect grade point average, I had risen to the top of my class.