“Lance, you know I would. But I’m in Italy for the next two weeks.”
“Fuck,” I mutter as the car swerves on some black ice. “All right, Danny. Thanks anyway.”
I hang up and grit my teeth. This is going to be a tough one to get out of. But I’m not worried about me right now; I’m worried about Faith. How she must feel having read that…
If I saw a message like that on her phone, I would go ballistic. Normally, I have my phone on me 24/7. I guess I was so lost in how great I felt this morning that I completely forgot it. What a stupid fucking mistake. A mistake that could cost me everything.
FAITH
“THAT’S IT. My contract with him is done!”
My dad slams a fist on the counter and drinks his freshly-poured whiskey in one gulp. I recoil, half expecting him to smash it. Thankfully, he doesn’t.
I just finished pouring my heart out to him—explaining everything. Well, almost everything. I left out the details a father wouldn’t like to hear, but I’m pretty sure he got the message.
“I—you don’t have to do that, Dad.”
“Oh, I’m going to,” he laughs angrily. “Lance Frost may be worth more than I am, but his contract with me still makes him a lot of money—money he will no longer have. Nobody does that to my daughter!”
I’m not going to cry.
I told myself that the second I saw the message on Lance’s phone, and I’ve been repeating it over and over since I left. He may have been able to convince me he was a good guy, even made me feel bad for him, but he’s not going to get me to cry. No way, Jose.
I can’t even understand why he left his phone there. Did he want me to see it? Stupid move if not, but I guess it’s better that I saw it now than later. Imagine if I had really committed to him and found out down the line that he’d been cheating on me the entire time.
I guess I’d feel even dumber than I feel now.
But Lance is smart. I have to give him that. The whole date/interview thing was a nice move. Making me prove myself to him, while the entire time he’s got some other girl (at least one) on the side. If that isn’t an experienced player, I don’t know what is.
My phone rings. Private, which probably means the office. So I ignore it.
“Lance?” my dad asks.
“Maybe.” I shrug. “I won’t be going back to that job, Dad. I’m sorry.”
“Of course you won’t,” he replies, shaking his head vehemently. “I’d never let you. Not after this shit.”
The phone rings again. This time, I answer. “Tell Lance to leave me alone! Oh, and I fucking quit!”
I slam my phone down on the counter with such force I’m surprised the screen doesn’t shatter.
“You know what the worst part of this is, Dad?” I ask, fighting back tears. “He acted like I was the one with the agenda.”
Like the awesome, sometimes over-protective father he is, my dad brings me in for a hug. It’s exactly what I need, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to cry when there’s a knock at the front door.
“Are you expecting someone?” I ask quickly.
“No,” my dad replies suspiciously. He lets go of me and walks slowly from the room. “Wait here.”
My heart is fluttering in my chest. The last time this happened, it was Lance at my apartment come to apologize to me. Could it be him again? Coming to apologize again…?
No. Don’t be stupid, Faith!
What would he have to apologize for? The only thing he’ll be doing—if that is him at the door—is trying to bullshit his way out of this situation. But I doubt it even is him. Why would he need to come and lie to me? He already fucked me. Twice! He got what he wanted.
I hear the front door open and my father’s raised voice. From where I’m standing, I can’t see down the hall, so I slowly tiptoe across the kitchen floor to a better angle. Sure enough, standing on the front steps, is Lance, arguing with my father.
“You’ve done enough, Lance,” my dad says, on the verge of shouting.