“Ah, the tease.” Chase arms reached for my waist, but I was faster. Laughing, I dashed past him down the corridor and into the eating area, faintly aware of his steps following close behind.
The magnitude of what I had done only hit me the moment I sat down and looked into Jude’s inquiring face and her widening eyes, glistening with realization. She pulled out her cell phone and began typing furiously. An instant later, Chase appeared, and my phone vibrated, signaling a text message. Ignoring his heated gaze, I read the text.
You were in there forever. What did you two do? Tell me it involved a lot of tongue.
I shook my head at Jude, and she narrowed her eyes at me. Then she began to type again. This time, Chase pulled out his phone and peered up at Jude. She didn’t believe me so naturally, being Jude, she had to seek other sources to dig up the truth. Chase threw me a sideways glance and then winked at Jude.
Oh, god.
Didn’t he know he was stoking fire with fire?
I felt like sinking into the floor and praying for the earth to swallow me whole.
Jude’s expression turned into one of triumph as she pushed her cell phone back into her handbag and waved the service personnel over, demanding another round of drinks.
“How’s the job hunting going?” Clint addressed me after the waiter had topped up my glass. I took a large gulp and let the vile, sour taste of red wine travel down my throat, barely able to hide my grimace.
Anything to get me through the evening.
“It’s doing great,” Jude said. “In fact, Laurie has a few very promising opportunities lined up. We can’t decide.” She laughed, and Shannon joined in politely, her eyes focused on me like a hawk’s.
“Is that why you haven’t cashed the last few checks I sent you?” Clint asked.
I nodded, more confident than I was feeling. “Yeah, something like that,” I mumbled, and took another gulp of my wine, downing my glass. The waiter hurried over for a refill. Even though my brain screamed out a warning, I didn’t stop him.
My credit cards were maxed out to the limit. The bank had already called to inquire about my ability to start repaying my student loan, and I had started to feel embarrassed about the fact that Jude had started paying more than half our rent a long time ago. I hadn’t cashed Clint’s checks because I didn’t want the money, not because I didn’t need it.
“Maybe you should put your pride aside when it comes to your finances,” Clint said.
“Darling. We talked about this, remember?” Shannon said warningly, but he brushed her off with a wave of his hand.
“No, she’s old enough to deal with it,” Clint said, turning to me. “We know about your troubles and the fact that you haven’t been able to find a good job since leaving college. We’ve had phone calls from various credit card companies, people asking about you.” The way he said it, he made me sound like I had borrowed money from the local mafia.
I rolled my eyes.
“You know we’re here to help, Laurie,” Clint continued. “And if you want to get back on your feet on your own, then that’s fine. But living here on your own with no support isn’t going to help you do that. Move back home. Start working for the company.”
“Just for a year,” Shannon cut in. “Until you’ve paid off your debts.”
My hand clutched at the wine glass for support like it was my safe railing as my face caught fire.
“I’m fine. Like I said before, I need my independence.”
Trust Clint to start washing my dirty laundry in public in front of the one guy I actually liked. I caught Chase’s expression from the corner of my eye and almost tumbled under the table, mortified. His eyes were cast downward, his face rigid and unreadable, his mouth framed by two hard lines.
“We want you back home,” Clint insisted, adding firmly, “where you belong.”
“Only until you sort yourself out,” Shannon cut in again, this time with a worried smile. She probably meant well, but in my rising fury I couldn’t see past the fact that she had no idea what she was talking about. She had no idea what it meant to actually want to work for your money.
“I don’t see that happening any time soon,” I said with enough determination to hush even Clint.
Uncomfortable silence ensued. Sensing a change in the atmosphere, I took another gulp of my drink. I could almost taste the tension in the air, wafting between Clint and me the way it always did when we head-butted.
I didn’t want Chase to see me like that because it wasn’t the real me, but I just couldn’t help myself around Clint. He brought out the worst in me.
“But he just wants to help you, Laurie,” Shannon said, obviously eager to resume the conversation. “You should—”