Page 4 of Dessert Flirt Repeat
“I understand, Ms. Briarwood. And I’m very sorry to hear about your breakup. But there’s nothing I can do. Mr. Holt has the right to access this account.”
I’m sputtering until my throat aches. And then a sob hits. “Okay,” I manage to mumble before I start to cry.
My screen goes blurry as tears flood my waterlines. I’m screwed. Actually, I’m beyond screwed. That was rent money for the ice cream shop for the next six months. And just like that, it’s gone.
My head aches at the thought of how cruel Ben was to do such a thing—to outright steal from me days after he confessed to cheating on me.
“I’m sorry I can’t help you, Ms. Briarwood,” the customer service rep says in a gentle voice. “Your best bet at this point would be to reach out to Mr. Holt and ask him to return the money.”
I’d laugh if I weren’t currently using all the energy in my body to keep from ugly sobbing. If Ben was bold enough to take my money without asking me, no way he’s going to give it back, even if I ask.
But as I rack my brain to figure out what my other options are, I come up empty.
“Okay, maybe I’ll do that. Thank you.” I sniffle and hang up, take a breath, then call Ben. It goes straight to voicemail.
“Ben, how dare you,” I say. “You stole my money. How could you? How could you think that was an okay thing to do? You knew that was my money in that account.” I force myself to take another breath. “You know how hard I’ve worked to build my savings. That money was for my business—to pay the rent, to pay for repairs, to pay my suppliers—and you just steal it right out from under me?”
I’m shaking as I speak.
“I can’t believe I ever loved you. I can’t believe I ever thought you were a good, decent—”
The voicemail cuts me off. I throw my head back and growl. I squeeze my phone in my hand so hard, it’s a wonder it doesn’t shatter. Anger and frustration collide in the center of my chest. I want to scream and punch a hole in the wall and chuck a rock through a window and—
My phone buzzes with a text.
Ben:You know I had just as much claim to that money as you. Remember all those hours I worked at the ice cream shop? You never paid me.
Me:I offered to pay you and you refused!
Ben:Well, I changed my mind.
Me:God, you’re the lowest of the low.
Ben:What I’ve done is perfectly legal.
Me:Legal but unethical. Gross. Immoral. Disgusting. You know it’s not right, Ben.
I wait for a response, but a minute passes and nothing.
I toss my phone onto the kitchen counter and slump on the floor. That’s it. There’s nothing I can do. Legally, I have no recourse. I just lost twenty grand of my life savings. And now my business is in jeopardy.
For the second time in three days, I end up a sobbing pile on the floor, except this time I’m clothed.
* * *
“I know a guy who can break Ben’s kneecaps,” my best friend Tori says as she hands me a takeout container of shrimp fried rice. “He owes me a favor.”
I shake my head. “Very funny.”
“I’m dead serious, Bec.” She plops down next to me on the couch. “What Ben did was goddamn unforgivable. He stole your moneyandhe cheated on you. That fucking asshole deserves to rot in hell.”
I nod along and eat a forkful of fried rice, but even my favorite food tastes bitter on my tongue. I swallow it down but hand the container back to her. I hug a fuzzy pillow to my chest and tuck my feet under my legs. “As satisfying as that would be, I can’t give Ben any more of my brain space or energy. I need to focus on figuring out what I’m going to do.”
Tori pulls me into a side hug. Her wild auburn curls tickle my cheek.
“I can dig into my other savings account, but that’ll only float me a couple of months,” I say. “And then that’s it. I won’t be able to pay the rent for my ice cream shop. I’ll get evicted. I’ll lose my business. All because of Ben.”
Tori’s jaw bulges with how hard she’s gritting her teeth. “This is so fucking unfair.”
