“Would you quit with the name-calling? Jesus, Faith, what’s crawled up your ass?”
“Why are you here, Nathan?” she asked impatiently.
He gaped at her. His blood pressure was going through the roof. He’d be lucky if he didn’t stroke out in her office. He reached for his hair but then remembered he didn’t have any.
“Why the hell do you think I’m here?” he roared.
She looked unfazed by the fact he was losing his mind.
“I’m here because that hellcat seduced me and then ran the fuck away. She’s avoiding me, and when I went in for my massage, another fucking woman showed up to give me one. And you think I’m a chickenshit?”
“No, you’re a dumbass,” she pointed out in a bored tone.
He threw up his hands and slumped down in the chair behind him. “Okay, Faith, I’m a dumbass. Now tell me why I’m such a dumbass, because obviously I’m too much of a dumbass to see!”
She sat down in her chair with a smirk. “Nice sarcasm, Nathan. And I thought that was Micah’s job.”
“I heard that,” Micah called from the hall.
“Not to mention eavesdropping,” Nathan growled. “Micah, I’m going to kick your fucking ass if you don’t get the hell away from Faith’s door.”
He got up and stalked over to look down the hall. To his supreme irritation, Micah stood there with Connor and Gray Montgomery and they all wore shit-eating grins that told him they’d overheard every word of his argument with Faith.
“Assholes,” Nathan swore. “The lot of you.”.
“You raise your voice to Faith again and I’ll kick your ass,” Gray said mildly.
“Oh, like I’d do anything to her even if I’m tempted to strangle her,” Nathan said in irritation. “She’s being a royal pain in my ass.”
“I heard that,” Faith called.
Nathan threw up his hands. “Get lost, okay guys? If I wanted the greater Houston area to know what I was talking about, I’d take out an ad.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Connor said thoughtfully. “We could rent a billboard. Tm sorry, Julie. I’m a blind, deaf and dumb moron who doesn’t know what to do with his dick,’” he mimicked.
Nathan sucked in a deep breath, walked back into Faith’s office and slammed the door as hard as he could.
“You break my door and you’re going to fix it,” Faith said.
“Faith, look at me,” Nathan said as he walked back to her desk. He leaned over until their faces were a few inches apart. “Cut the crap for a minute and help me, okay?”
Her expression softened. “I can’t help you, Nathan. You fucked this up. I’d tell you to fix it but it’s really too late. Julie … she’s hard. Girl holds a grudge forever. She’s decided to give up on you and move on. Once she’s decided on something, getting her to change her mind is like getting a pit bull to give up a prime steak.”
“So her giving me the best blow job of my life during a massage was her kissing me good-bye?” Nathan asked dryly.
Faith’s cheeks turned pink, and he felt bad for speaking so bluntly in front of her.
“Sorry,” he mumbled.
Faith sighed. “I think that was supposed to be showing you what you’re missing out on and what you’ve given up by not noticing her before.”
Nathan’s eyes narrowed. “So you knew what she was going to do?”
Faith raised one eyebrow. “I knew she was planning something. Just not what, exactly.”
“Vengeful heifer,” Nathan muttered.
Faith grinned. “That she is.”
“Well screw that,” Nathan said as he shoved away from her desk again. “She can’t just take those kinds of liberties with my body and walk away.”
Faith burst out laughing. She laughed so hard that tears rolled down her cheeks. “You sound like an outraged maiden,” she gasped.
He grinned. “Who says I’m not? I was innocent before she corrupted me. If she thinks she can use me and then discard me, she’s mistaken.”
Faith wiped at her tears and laughed harder. “Innocent, my ass. Dear Lord, I was feeling sorry for you, but now I think my sympathies have shifted to Julie. I’m not entirely sure she realizes what she’s gotten herself into.”
“No,” Nathan said silkily. “She has no clue what she’s started. But she will. Very soon.”
Chapter 3
Julie hopped out of her sporty two-seater and walked up to Damon Roche’s front door. He and Serena were both at home, according to Serena anyway, and supposedly Serena had warmed him up for Julie’s request.