Page 50 of Game Change

“Mmhmm,” I hear Ernestine say. “Something’s fishy in here.”

“Ernestine, can you not interrogate me? I have work to do,” he snaps. “Goodbye.”

“I’ll get you a sandwich with that tea,” Heath says. “Maybe you’re hangry.” No other words are spoken, and a few seconds later, I hear the door open and close. He pushes his chair back and walks around the office. Moments later, the door is locked.

I crawl from under his desk and stand with the boot in my hand.

“How can someone who reverse catfished me and hired an entire group of actors be such a bad liar? I’m doing the door schedule in an empty office?” I angrily yank my boot back on, but my shirt remains open because I have no more buttons, so I tie the bottom around my waist. He looks over me and licks his lips.

“Don’t even think about it,” I say as he approaches me.

He must remember our situation because his steps halt. “Excuse me for not being a professional liar. I’d like to see you do better under pressure. And for the umpteenth time, I didn’t reverse catfish you, whatever the hell that is,” he snaps.

“Keep your dick to yourself next time, and we won’t have this problem,” I snap back.

“Keep my dick to myself? Oh, right. It just fell between your open legs and inside your wet pussy. It wasn’t you moaning my name underneath me and coming apart in my arms.” He waves his hands away.

“I need you to go to my office and get my coat, purse, and phone so I can go home. I’ll text Ernestine from the car. Unlike you, I’ll think of something believable to tell her.” I walk closer to him and get in his face. “And you need to get Heath under control. He’s been here two weeks, and he acts like he runs shit around here. He’s rude, entitled, and not to mention—”

“I’ll get him under control when you get your bodyguard to back off,” he snaps again. “Will you give me a damn minute to think? Jesus!” he practically shouts. “You’re so annoying.”

“Well, at least I’m not a dummy. Heath will be back here any second, and Ernestine is not done searching. I can’t get my stuff myself because you destroyed my blouse. You’re paying me for it, by the way. You can afford it, Kincaid.”

He rolls his eyes and gives me a dismissive snort. “You make enough money. Replace your own damn shirt. I’m so tired of you,” he says. “I’ll go get your shit, and you can get the hell out of my face for the next fifteen hours.”

“You’re tired of me?” I say with a halfhearted laugh. “Yeah. Okay.” When all he does is tower over me and look down, I say, “Can you please go get my stuff so I can go home and scrub you off me? I’m tired of looking at your damn face.”

He takes a deep breath and finally leaves the office. I stand by the door with my ear pressed to it and wait. After fifteen minutes, I hear his phone buzz. Curiosity gets the better of me, and I go to his desk and look down at it.

Francesca: I can’t wait to see you tonight.

I touch the message to delete the entire thread and block this bimbo’s number, but it asks me for the code. I punch in some random numbers, but nothing works.

I whisper a few curse words and turn the phone over.

He finally returns after about twenty minutes with everything I asked for.

“What the hell took you so long?” I ask. He shoves my coat and purse in my arms. That’s when I get a whiff of him. “Why do you smell like fish? Disgusting?”

“I had to eat an entire fucking tuna fish sandwich Heath shoved in my face. He stood there and watched me do it, and I detest tuna. It took all my willpower not to throw up. You’re welcome, by the way,” he says back.

“Well, if you fired his little raggedy-ass, you wouldn’t have had to snarf down a sandwich. And you stink, by the way.” I pinch my nose to prove my point. I’m not a fan of tuna either, but I keep that to myself. I don’t want him to think we have anything in common.

I check my phone. There are three missed calls from Oliver, but that’s it.

After buttoning and tying the belt of my coat around my waist, I tiptoe to the door.

“Don’t you ever come near me or touch me again,” I say without bothering to look his way. “If you do, it will be the last thing you ever do on this earth.”

“I’m shaking in my Tom Fords,” he says. “You’re welcome for the orgasms.”

“I faked all three.”

Chapter 25

Colin

I rub my temples for the millionth time today, and it’s barely ten o’clock in the morning. There are three mugs of lukewarm tea in front of me; green, chamomile, and lemon zinger, and I hate all three of them. The smell of the green tea makes me particularly sick. Heath’s been here about half a dozen times, checking my temperature and bringing me more tea. He’s admonished me from taking any medicine because even one over-the-counter painkiller is the gateway to addiction.

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