“Yes,” he barked. “It’s impolite to leave without saying good-bye to our hosts. Everyone else be damned.”
He was behaving like a boor, but who was I to comment on his behavior in public? For a moment, I contemplated digging my heels in and refusing to leave. To demand that dance he hadn’t gifted me with earlier. I had no choice but to follow him as he marched over to the Youngs. I’d expected to feel differently than I did when I was sleeping with several guys in a night for money, but it was no different. I was still an object, something to do with as they pleased.
Just business, he’d said. I was just another transaction to him.
My throat tightened, and I tried to smile at our hosts, but I couldn’t muster the strength to curl my lips. Anyone who wasn’t blind could have seen we had argued tonight. So much for pretending we were a couple in love.
As we walked to the exit, Sully rang Liam. He’d dropped my arm, and a chill seeped into my bones that had nothing at all to do with the nip in the air.
“Meet us out at the front,” he barked into the phone. He ended the call, then dialed another number. “It’s done.”
What was done? He said nothing else but hung up and shoved his hands into his pockets. If he’d accomplished his task, why the hell was he practically vibrating with anger?
Was he going to end our agreement?
My throat clogged up. Before I could work the knot out and formulate words, the black sedan stopped at the front steps. Sully offered me his arm as if I were his boyfriend, but I put little stock in the gesture. He’d always been polite to me, even before I’d agreed to work for him.
Liam got out and opened the door for us. He took one look at Sully and me and frowned. “Everything all right?”
“Yes,” Sully replied, his hand at the small of my back, pressing a little. He might as well have pushed me into the car. I scrambled over all the way to the other end and leaned against the door, shivering.
“Will you at least tell me what I did wrong?”
“Later.”
He retrieved a laptop from the back pocket of the seat in front of him and turned it on. I took that as my cue to shut up.
“Where to now?” Liam asked.
“Kit’s house,” he muttered aloud.
“Why not your place?” Liam asked.
When I opened my mouth to retort, Sully shook his head. “Don’t.”
“Will someone tell me what the hell is going on with you two?”
Neither Sully nor I answered. What could I say when I didn’t even know myself? I hadn’t known Sully for very long, but his behavior seemed uncharacteristic of him. He was acting like…like…he was jealous. I blinked in the darkness. Could Sully be jealous because he’d found me like that with Leclerc? That would explain why he’d seemed so upset at the attention I was getting.
But Sully was straight. Although if I had a dollar for every guy who’d fucked me, then still claimed to be straight…
Half an hour later, Liam drove up to my house, parked, and turned off the ignition.
“Don’t bother,” Sully said. “I need to review tonight with Bait. You can go home.”
“How will you get home?” Liam asked.
“I’ll drive his car. He won’t be using it anytime soon anyway.”
I rolled my eyes as I got out of the car without his help. If he was going to talk to me in third person and refuse to discuss what I’d done wrong tonight—or not kiss me like I believed he’d wanted—then he could deal with my silent treatment.
“Good night, Liam.” I blew a kiss at him. “If I don’t work with you ever again, know that I adore you.”
“Wait. Why wouldn’t you work with us again?” Liam glanced from me to Sully. “All right. Keep me out of the discussion. I thought we were a team.”
I strode off, but in my heels, I didn’t cover much ground before Sully was beside me. Liam drove away, and the screeching of his tires made me wince. Good, now we were all angry.
I unlocked the front door, walked in, and bent to unbuckle the straps of my shoes.