Jennifer rolls her eyes and puts her hands on her hips, making her look like a pissed off Barbie doll. She must have had a good time wherever she ran off to almost a month ago. Her skin is golden brown and her hair looks as though it’s been kissed by the tropical sun.
“And the job?”
This time, it’s Vincent who addresses me. I slowly drag my eyes over to where he’s standing behind his desk. His huge arms are crossed over his chest and he looks down his nose at me, those chocolate brown eyes nearly obsidian.
He’s livid.
On the outside, the man appears cold and calculating, but the tick in his jaw and the slight flare of his nostrils lets me know he’s on edge. Was it really just an hour ago I was curled up in his arms while he kissed my nose? Now he’s eyeing me up like he doesn’t even know me. Like we didn’t trade hearts last night. It hurts more than words can say, but I deserve his wrath.
Desperate to redeem myself, I blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. “I needed the money.” I wince, realizing how tactless that must sound.
“You were just using me for an opportunity to make money then?”
“No! No, I—”
“Of course she was!” Jennifer butts in. “My boyfriend’s cousin said she was broke and needed a phone—”
“Which I bought from you at the agreed-upon price—”
“And then she went and stole my new job right out from under my nose! I was just trying to be a good person, Mr. Sloan, and look what it got me. I can tell you were just trying to be a good person, too. We both got played.”
I snort at her melodramatic monologue but sober up quickly when Vincent nods his head once. This is not going well.
“It wasn’t like that,” I insist, though I don’t know what other explanation I could offer. “I just… well, I was working overnights as a waitress and barely making ends meet, and then I bought my phone off of Jennifer, and you called, and I swear I tried letting you know I wasn’t who you were looking for, but–”
“Not hard enough,” Vincent growls. “You didn’t want to tell me that first day? Or the second? Or perhaps the twentieth? Or maybe when I came over to your house. Or, possibly, before or after you slept with me.”
Tears sting my eyes as Jennifer lets out a cackle. “Oh my god, she really is a slut.”
My shoulders slump and shame coils in my stomach, sitting like a rock and dragging my whole frame down. I can’t believe he said that in front of her. I know I misled him, but he didn’t have the right to throw me under the bus and discuss our personal relationship withher.
“I’m not a slut,” I whisper.
At least that part is true. Vincent was my first, and as crazy as it sounds, I was already planning on him being my last.
“Just a manipulative thief then,” Jennifer scoffs.
“Enough,” Vincent growls, though I don’t know if he’s addressing me or Jennifer.
I dart my eyes over to Vincent, still holding on to some hope that he’s coming to my defense. Does he really think I’d sleep with him to keep my job or climb the corporate ladder or whatever? Couldn’t he feel what happened between us that day he came to visit after my mom went to the hospital? Or when he sank inside me for the first time? The way he held me last night, I swear it felt like he was already as in love with me as I am with him.
His features are hard as stone, giving nothing away. Is he hurt? Disappointed? Angry? I’m guessing all three, but is there even a slight chance he could understand? I have no idea. I’ve got nothing.
“Vincent, what we have is real,” I murmur, pleading with my eyes for him to believe me. “Yes, I was dishonest when you first called, and I know I should have said something sooner. I was on my way here to confess everything, but then…”
“But then I beat you to it,” Jennifer finishes for me with a wicked smile.
I hate her. “Where were you for the last month? How can you seriously come waltzing in here weeks after your job was supposed to start, and then be mad at me?”
“Jennifer here was just telling me about a family emergency that kept her away,” Vincent says, his voice totally void of any emotion.
“I thought you were taking time off to be free and go on spring break with friends,” I mutter.
“She’s obviously lying again, Mr. Sloan. Poor girl, I’m starting to think she can’t help it. Some people have that condition, you know.”
“I’m not—”
“I think you’ve caused enough trouble, Ms. Leigh,” Vincent snaps.