I’m just settling into the couch by Makenna when Wes appears in the doorway, looking at me and jerking his head back toward the kitchen. “I’ll be right back,” I tell Makenna.
“Yeah, right,” she snickers, obviously thinking we’re sneaking off for number five.
“Follow me,” Wes orders as soon as I exit the room. He leads the way up the glossy wood stairs and into an office, motioning to an espresso leather wingback chair facing the desk. “Sit.” Once I’m seated, he takes the one at the desk, resting his chin over his folded hands. He looks tired, as I’m sure he is. There are dark haunting shadows beneath each eye, and his mouth forms a tight line. Tall, Dark, and Moody just collided with Sexy CEO, and no matter how much I want to hate him, I have to force away the thoughts of sitting naked on the desk in front of him.
“Why do I feel like I’m getting fired?” I joke, trying and failing to lighten the heavy mood. “You know, there’s no need to have this discussion. I know what you’re going to say.”
“I shouldn’t have ever let this happen, Callie. It’s my fault.” He hangs his head and fists his hands in the top of his hair.
“I knew what I was getting into. Just like I also knew that last night was all we’d have. You won. You finally got what you wanted, and now it’s over. We really don’t have much more to say to each other.”
He jerks his head up, his gaze is sharp, boring into me. “I won? Are you freaking serious?”
“Yes. Very.” I fold my arms over my chest, resolute to stand firm. I won’t let him get to me. “Just like other women, I was a conquest. I presented a challenge to you, so you pulled out all the stops until you got exactly what you wanted from me. And I let you. I don’t know. Maybe there’s some really sadistic part of me that wanted you to win, that wanted to be used like that. I knew there was a definite risk, and I still took it. I agreed to it. So there’s no need for hard feelings here.”
He stands but keeps his hands firmly planted on top of the desk, leaning over it. “You don’t have a damn clue what you’re talking about, Callie. You’re not part of some stupid game that I have to win. I’m not some immature college kid who runs around, trying to nail every woman he meets. Maybe after you get a little older, you’ll understand—”
I jump up from my seat, interrupting him. “Don’t treat me like I’m a child! I’m a hell of a lot more mature than you are. I’ve been completely honest with you from the very beginning, even when it wasn’t easy, and that takes a lot of maturity. Unlike you, who keeps everything locked away, covering everything up so no one will ever know the real you. So no one will ever know what a real coward you are. That’s exactly what you are. A damn coward.”
His face turns bright red as the blood boils just under his skin. “Well, if that’s what you think, I guess we have nothing further to say.”
“You’re right. We don’t.”
He stares at me for a moment, his breath heaving in and out of his chest. He’s furious, but I promise, that’s nothing compared to what I’m feeling at the moment. I know the moment that I feel tears prick my eyes that I’ve reached my boiling point. Whenever I’m absolutely livid beyond all control, I cry. I’ve always hated it because it makes me look weak, when all I want to do is rip someone’s eyes out.
Luckily, before he has the chance to see the tears welling up in my eyes, he storms out without another word. Within a few seconds, I also hear the front door slam and his jeep squealing out of the driveway. As I’m sure everyone else in the house heard.
Before someone can see me crying my eyes out, I run down the hall, finally finding a bathroom to duck into until I can calm down. He’s such an asshole. I don’t know why I ever agreed to any of this. I knew he was seriously temperamental, so I should’ve known he would be difficult to deal with. Especially for me. Guys, as a general rule, hate the way I speak my mind, and they certainly don’t like it when I’m not afraid to take their enormous egos down a few notches. Wes, it seems, isn’t an exception to that rule.
I’m wiping away the mascara running down my cheek when there’s a light peck at the door. “Callie? You in there?”
“Yeah. I’ll be out in just a sec.” I try to add some cheer to my voice, but I know Makenna will see right through it.
“Why don’t you let me in and tell me what’s going on?”
I take a deep breath and blow it out slowly. I hate being a liar. I’m always the honest one, even if it has the potential to sting a little. But desperate times call for desperate measures. I can’t let Makenna know what I’ve allowed to happen. Shane will know. Their parents will know. It will likely create a shit storm for both of us, and as pissed as I am at him right now, I don’t want that for him. Or me.