Chapter Five
A couple of days later, Nash smiled as he hammered a nail into the wooden frame. The night before, he’d stayed over at Hilary’s place. The smell of her sex was burned into his memory as he remembered the taste and feel of her swollen lips under his tongue before he finger-fucked her tight hole. He loved how she screamed when she came. Hilary’s enthusiasm fed his soul.
“Nash, we need to talk.”
Nash turned to see Jeff walking toward him. “Hey Boss, what can I help you with?”
The frown on Jeff’s face had his stomach churning. Surely, he didn’t know about him and Hilary. Not that he was going to keep it a secret, but they hadn’t discussed talking about it with anyone else.
Jeff pointed a finger at him. “You should have told me you had a record.”
What the fuck? How could he not know? Nash raised his hands in defense. “I wasn’t hiding it.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Nash saw Hilary walking in their direction. What game was she playing?
“Well, you didn’t put it on your application.”
“Hilary?” Nash’s nostrils flared as he glared at her. He couldn’t believe she would betray him like that. His whole future depended on a legitimate job. Nash didn’t have time to fucking keep looking for another job. Time was ticking.
Hilary blinked back tears. “Jeff. It’s my fault.”
Jeff’s jaw clenched. “You know I don’t hire people with records until they’re off paper.”
“Well, that’s a stupid rule, and this business is part mine.”
“You don’t deserve it. Not if you lie to me. What would mom and dad say?”
“Mom knows. I told her.”
“Fuck.” Jeff ran a hand through his hair.
“Hilary, I can’t believe you lied. You know how important this is to me.” Nash shook his head. How had he even thought she was transparent? She’d tricked him.
“I’m sorry.”
“Sorry doesn’t cut it.”
A tear slid down her cheek. “I shouldn’t have omitted it, but I wanted Jeff to see how hard you worked. He wouldn’t have given you a chance otherwise.”
“Fuck that, Hilary. You knew my timetable. I don’t have time to be jerked around.”
“I know,” Hilary whispered.
Nash looked at Jeff and stuck his hand out. “I’m sorry that Hilary felt the need to lie about my past. I had no intention of her doing that.”
Jeff grabbed his hand and shook it.
“I understand your position on this and respect it. You’re a good guy.” Nash’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Hilary. “I’ll find someone else to help me with my job hunt. You’ve screwed it up twice now. I don’t give third chances.”
Damn it. How could he have fallen for someone so completely that he had been blind to everything? He’d never trusted anyone that wholeheartedly before. Never again.
That night, Nash smashed out a cigarette on the post of his front porch and answered his cellphone. “Yes?”
His mouth tasted like shit. Fucking cigarettes. Nash would have preferred to drink a beer or some whiskey to block out the image of Hilary stabbing him in the back, but he couldn’t afford to get caught drinking.
“Nash, this is Jeff.”
“Yeah?” Nash coughed as he walked into the house and tossed the nearly full package into the trashcan. Talking to Hilary’s brother was about as high up on his list of things to do as prepping for a colonoscopy.