Page 88 of Sins (The Sins Trilogy 1)
I put the vase on a stand near the piano and start playing again, my mind no longer in turmoil. A call about ninety minutes later interrupts my practice. It’s Marty. I don’t want to talk to him so early in the morning, but when I ignore it, he texts me.
I know you’re there. Pick up the fucking phone.
That is usually a warning that he’ll make a scene the next time we meet unless I talk to him. If I were traveling, I’d ignore him, but we’re in the same city now, and he knows where I live. Might as well gird my loins and deal with it now in private.
He calls again. I snatch the phone from the top of the piano. “You should say please if you want me to do you a favor.”
“Favor?” He sounds like he’s choking on the word. “Like how you fucked Jamie Thornton up?”
“What are you talking about? Did he say I beat him up?” I ask, incredulous. What kind of guy says he got beaten up by a girl?
“Dad and I had a brunch scheduled with him today. He canceled. Actually, his secretary did.”
“And what does that have to do with me?” It isn’t my fault he’s a creepy rapist wannabe is on the tip of my tongue, but I don’t say it yet, since I want to know what lies he told Sam and Marty first. “What did he say?”
“He disappeared right after you did last night, and now he’s stuck at a hospital for cracked ribs, smashed knees, a broken pelvis and a fractured right wrist!”
What the heck? The rib part makes sense because Tony kicked him pretty hard, but the rest? Jamie crawled away just fine.
Marty continues, “If it has nothing to do with you, I’ll eat my shoes.”
“Well, I hope you enjoy the taste of leather. Oh, by the way, it’d be better if you and your dad didn’t get involved with a creep like that. He tried to rape me last night!”
“Please. You aren’t hot enough to rape.”
I explode off the piano bench. If I were a volcano, I would be shooting fiery lava a thousand feet into the sky. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Shut up! There’s nothing wrong with me. You’re the one messed up in the head.”
What a cheap shot. Suddenly my rage quits running hot. It’s now icy cold.
“He wouldn’t need to force a girl like you,” Marty continues. “So what if he touched your shoulder or whatever?”
“You think I left last night because he felt up my shoulder?” I say between clenched teeth. “Or is that what he’s claiming?”
“He didn’t say shit, but isn’t it obvious? His girlfriend is hot.”
“He has a girlfriend?” I feel sorry for the woman. “Does she know what kind of creep he is?”
“Obviously he’s not a creep, which is why he has a girlfriend!”
If Marty were here now, I’d bash the vase over his head.
“If you had any idea what Dad has done for you, you wouldn’t have fucked the deal up! He saved your fucking life, Iris! You didn’t have to sic Anthony on one of his investors.”
I laugh. “Marty, seriously. Are you trying to show off how little talent you have for fiction? Because what you’re suggesting is so idiotic, I have no words. Tony brought me home and spent last night here to make sure I was okay because, unlike you, he’s a decent human being who actually gives a damn when a creep assaults a woman. I doubt he had the time to go beat Jamie Thornton up even if he wanted to.”
Except he didn’t stay the entire night. He could’ve left any time after I fell asleep. On the other hand, why would he go for Round Two? He did enough damage the first time. And he and I don’t know each other well enough for him to react to that extreme a degree. Right?
“Oh, so it’s Tony? And you guys spent the night together last night?”
“Stop making it sound dirty, Marty. It wasn’t like that.”
He explodes. “You are such a moron!”
“Me?” What the hell? “You’re the moron who can’t see beyond money! Listen, a guy who will sexually assault a potential business partner’s niece won’t think anything of screwing his partner over. Tony is a gentleman, a far better man than Jamie Thornton—or you—for sure.”
“Your Tony is an asshole and a sociopath. His family disowned him seven years ago after putting up with his shit for so long. His parents won’t even acknowledge his existence now. He’s dead to them. Dead. So do yourself a favor and stay the hell away from him. And stop calling him Tony. It makes you look stupid.”
