Page 99 of Fake it For Good
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” she warned.
“I’d like a chance to try and fix this,” I said. “That money is hers. She deserves every penny of it. I want her to have it.”
“Why don’t I hold on to the check until after the first of the year?” she said. “That will give you time to get things figured out.”
“Thank you,” I said. “I’m sorry to be a pain in the ass.”
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” I said, hoping I could answer it without getting myself into too much trouble.
“Did she take advantage of you?” she asked.
I sucked in a breath. “No,” I murmured.
“Good. Then I’ll let you figure out the rest.”
“Thank you.”
I ended the call and leaned back in the chair. What the hell had I done? Had I completely screwed things up? “Fuck.” I rubbed my face and thought about what I needed to do next.
That was not the outcome I expected. She didn’t deserve to put in all that time and not get paid. I wasn’t going to take shit without paying my dues. I was not going to take advantage of someone that already had so little. But I had hurt her feelings. She was not the type to take without earning either.
“What are you doing here?” Denton asked. The sound of another human in the office startled me. I actually jumped. I hoped he didn’t notice.
“What areyoudoing here?” I answered with my own question.
“I have a call with London,” he said. “You know they don’t give a shit about pre-Christmas. But why are you here? I thought you’d be in bed or lounging around your mansion.”
I shrugged. “I thought I’d come in and check email.”
“You know that little box in front of you is transportable,” he said dryly. “Why are you really here?”
“Because I didn’t want to be alone in the house,” I confessed. “And honestly, what am I going to do? I don’t want to sit around staring at the walls.”
“Ah, the man has realized his folly and is having some second thoughts,” he said with a nod.
“I don’t know what I’m thinking,” I said. “I just got off the phone with Della.”
“Uh oh, are you in trouble, Mr. Grinch?” he teased.
“Honestly, I’m not sure,” I said. “I think I screwed up.”
“You’ll need to be more specific, but I’m guessing you did. You usually do.”
“This isn’t funny,” I said. “This is serious. I don’t like to think I’m an asshole, but I think I am. I think I made a mistake.”
“With Noelle?” he asked and took a seat.
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Ready to explain why you had such a visceral reaction to her busting her ass to help you out?” he asked.
“Kelly,” I said, sighing.
“Kelly?”
“I let her get in my head,” I said. “She is worse than a snake. She dropped just enough hints to make me start second-guessing everything. She planted the seed and my own self-doubt watered it. By the time I picked her up for the party, it was in full bloom. Everything she said and did, I used to water that damn seed of doubt. I’ve just spent the last five minutes replaying all of it. She didn’t do anything she hasn’t been doing all along. The things I wanted her to do. The things I encouraged her to do.”
