Page 57 of Dirty Little Secret, Baby
Lying to me like that, the whole time. That's just shameless.
Sure, I have my secrets too, but they're nowhere near as heavy as this. She's the mother of an infant. That changes everything.
"Maybe it really is better if you go, Beth!" I say, feeling a profound sadness wash over me. Sad that it's all over, and that this time I didn't put business first, like I always do, and instead got too caught up in those black curls and that amazing body.
Chapter 25
Beth
"You're such a hypocrite, Alex," I say through my tears, the anger in my stomach making my voice far too loud as he asks me to leave. Everyone in the room is looking at us now, but I don't care. These are his people. Not mine.
But I won't be sent away that easily. Not after what I've learned. Sure, I can kind of understand him, but he’s acting as if I'm the only one with a secret and he's the poor little lamb.
"I know about the bet with Jake for the shop, and that it's the only reason you kept showing up at first. Was that your tactic? To wrap me around your finger like last year, hoping you'd get the shop?" then I tap my finger to my forehead. "How messed up is that? Did you also bet on who would sleep with me first?Is that what businessmen do in their offices? Make disgusting bets?" I ask, letting my tears flow freely.
"Beth, please, just calm down and..." Alex says, placing his hand on my upper arm.
"Leave me alone, Alex," I say, pulling my arm away.
"Sir, the lady made it clear that..." an uninvolved man in a suit, whose hand I'd shaken earlier but whose name I can't remember, chimes in.
"We've got this under control," Alex replies, stepping right in front of him while looking at me, as if to tell the guest he should stay the hell out of it.
"Beth, the bet was a mistake. He provoked me. You know him. He does that all the time and I didn't..."
"So it's actually true?" I ask, feeling my lower lip begin to tremble. I never would have believed the part about the bet was real. What was I to him? A toy?
"Beth, just listen to me, I..." Alex says, tugging on my arm.
"I don't want to listen anymore. I just want to get out of here..." I screech, pulling my arm away and running for the door as fast as I can.
"Sir, you really should let the lady..." I hear a voice behind me, and I turn to see the man stopping Alex from following me.
"Beth, wait..."
But I won't. I don't want to see him anymore. When I see a taxi on the street up ahead, raise my arm, and finally sit down in the back seat, I can't hold back my tears any longer.
******
"I get it, sweetie," Veronica says, patting my shoulder affectionately after I've told her everything. "Should I make you some tea? Or anything else?"
"That's sweet, thank you, Veronica. But you've already done enough. You can just go home if you want. I'm not exactly good company right now," I sniffle, wiping away another tear.
"You are ALWAYS good company. And if that Alex can't recognize that, then..."
A loud knocking from downstairs drifts up to us. It must be coming from the shop door. I look at the clock—it's almost ten p.m. Who could that be?
"A courier for an online order?" Veronica asks me. "Should I go see?"
"It's fine, I'll get it," I say, feeling all the anger and rage building inside me. At myself, at Alex's reaction when he found out I have a child and I realized he doesn't even know he's the father. But even without that extra piece of information, his reaction spoke volumes.
But why am I even getting worked up? It was only ever about the shop and that stupid bet anyway. I was just a piece of meat for him to charm, and I fell for it. I could just...
I stop short and look through the glass door of my shop. It's not a courier driver I can take my bad mood out on. It's Alex.
For a second, I think this must be the continuation of a never-ending nightmare. I pinch the back of my hand. Nothing. Not a dream.
"Can you open up? I want to talk to you," I hear Alex's calls, muffled by the glass, and see him point at the door handle.
