I followed on his heels, appearing every bit the dramatic he claimed me to be. “Do you have any idea what happened this morning? Right under your nose?”
He pulled the bottle away from his lips and nodded. “I do.”
“And you didn’t think you should call and check in on me?”
“I didn’t want to get involved. Whatever took place has nothing to do with me.”
“Except it does… because you’re my boyfriend. My partner. My person.”
“But I’m also the son of the owners of the company you were fired from. You can see how that puts me in a weird place.”
“Can you be supportive of me for like, two seconds here? Drop the ‘I’m so important’ hat and just be there for me. I don’t care that you’re their son. All I want is my boyfriend.”
“I can’t be your boyfriend when work is involved. It’s been like that from the beginning. I don’t know what you did to get fired, but I can’t get in the middle.”
“That’s just it. I did nothing wrong!”
“That’s what anybody would say.”
“But it’s true! Mr. Trevino said it himself. I wasn’t written up during the compliance inspection, but he was. Now I’m taking the fall for it.”
“How is anyone supposed to believe that?”
“You should. Because you’re my boyfriend!”
“You keep saying that like it can change the facts. Yes, I’m your boyfriend. That doesn’t mean I can pull strings in the company.”
“I never asked you to pull strings for me.”
“Not yet.”
“I only wanted you to be there for me.”
“I’m right here, Cadence.”
“No, you’re not. Because not only did I get fired this morning for something I didn’t do, but Mr. Trevino tried to feel me up. He put his hand on my leg. Tried to get me to sleep with him.”
Elijah set down his bottle of water forcefully and looked at me with a narrowed gaze. “Are you kidding me?”
Finally, a normal response. I sighed in relief, tears forming in my eyes. “No, I’m not. It was awful.”
Elijah huffed out a breath, irritability filling his body. “What did you do after?”
“I hit him.”
“You… hit him?”
I nodded, stepping closer to feel a semblance of warmth from Elijah. Even though it happened earlier, it still made my skin scrawl. I might be furious with him, but I needed his comfort.
But to my surprise, Elijah stepped back from me and raised his hands. “What the fuck, Cadence. You assaulted someone at work? Your former boss? What is wrong with you?”
My body froze as he said those words. But the Hellfire that rose within me would not be tamed. Not anymore. My pulse pounded in my ears and my body shook.
I clenched my fists beside me as my chest heaved.
“What is wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you?He touched me, I told him to stop, and he didn’t, and you are worried abouthim?”
“God dammit, I couldn’t care less about Henry Trevino, but this is my family name. You are causing scenes at work, which reflects poorly on me and my parents.”
