Page 31 of Submission

“Now,” Megan starts calmly. “Gage, can you resolve a small dispute for us?”

Gage meets my eyes and I give him a small nod of approval before releasing another halo of sweet smoke in the air.

“When Diana came to place the order for Booth Four, who was in contact with the drinks, the tray,and her?”

Diana goes still and I watch with growing interest as Gage eyes her before saying calmly, “Nobody aside from me.”

“And where was I?”

“You were preparing a cocktail next to me.”

“Did I speak to Diana?”

“No.”

“Did I touch that tray or put a piece of paper on it?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Did I handleanypart of that order?” Megan’s voice is steady.

“No.”

Megan then glares at a pale Diana. “Well, there you have it.”

“Well, he’s obviously lying!” The server blurts out.

I’m itching to step in but I can see that Megan’s put the girl in a bind. What had probably started out as a malicious prank by some college kids to get Megan fired ended with the server in thecrossfire. If she admits that she lied, she might lose her job. But if she manages to convince everyone that her version of events did in fact take place, then Megan takes the heat as if I’d ever let that shit happen.

“Why would I lie?” Gage looks between her and Megan with confusion. “What is even going on here? And what the hell happened to you, Megan?” Gage asks, noticing her bandages.

“He has a point.” Megan shrugs, looking directly at the server. “Why would he lie?”

“Because maybe your manipulative ass is sleeping with him too.”

I notice a small smile vanish from Megan’s face when she addresses the server, “I beg your pardon?”

“Everybody knows that you’re-“

“Are you sleeping with someone aside from me, Megan?” I ask casually, deciding to cut in before Diana says something else insulting and this conversation turns in a whole other direction.

Megan whirls around to face me, and while I know she’s annoyed by the way I’m exposing our relationship in this situation, it’s not like everyone in this room doesn’t already know it.

I give her a flirtatious wink and watch as the anger fades away from her eyes. She presses her lips together before saying in a tight voice, “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course, I’m not.”

“Uh, and I’m offended too. I just got here,” Gage says, feigning offense. “I’m not sleeping with anyone in this town yet.”

“So, there you have it,” Megan says. “Your entire story falls apart just like this. Why would I go after somebody like Ricky when I have Hunter? But more importantly, why are you so focused on fucking with me, Diana? Do you want Hunter for yourself? Is that it?”

She looks at me nervously. “No, of course not.”

“And by the way, there’s video footage of what happened in that booth as well. I just brought in Gage to simply prove a point.”

The server is shaking now but says nothing. Her eyes dart between both me and Megan and she looks terrified. It was one thing assuming that there was a relationship out of pure spite, but to have it confirmed considering the accusations she’s just made, she knows she’s been caught.

“You’re fired,” Megan finally asserts.

“Wait, you can’t fire me.” She looks directly at me. “Can she?”

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