“If I’m so beneath you, so not worthy of your time, why do you spend so much of it trying to make my life miserable?”
“Are you kidding? I don’t think of you at all.” Selena buffed her nails on her low-cut blouse.
“You know what I think?”
“Do I look like I care?”
“I think you’re either jealous or afraid of me. I’m prettier than you. I’m meaner and more successful. Yeah, I don’t need to fuck or marry men to get wealthy. I create things people pay to own. What’s the last thing someone paid you for, beside an orgasm?”
“You’re not prettier than me, youbitch.” Selena fumed.
“You’re just a vain, useless walking vagina. It’s flattery to call you a whore. At least those women work for their money.” Maya shouldn’t have said that, but Selena annoyed the shit out of her. And that conversation with Connie Black. That plain hurt.
Selena’s eyes narrowed, and Maya read the woman before she took her first step. Sliding out of the way, Maya dodged the dainty fist aimed clumsily at her face. Then she stuck her foot out so Selena tripped in her stupidly high heels.
“Oh my. Are you okay?” She pretended to lean down to help Selena up and “accidentally” kicked her in the ass.
Selena screeched, but Maya had called for help. “Someone, my friend fell. Can you get help for her?”
She walked away before Selena could make another scene and felt pretty darned proud of herself for being the bigger person. Until she remembered that Dex’s mom—the woman he loved like no other—used terms like “those people”.
Well, fuck.
Maya had been on the fence about Dex for a while anyway. She might love him. He might love her, though she only had Riley’s word for it because the lug had never said anything to Maya about his feelings. Probably best to end things before they really got started. They hadn’t been dating that long. She could do without the drama of a guy’s parents hating her.
A strange surge of relief overwhelmed her grief. No more waiting for it to be over. She was done.
She returned to Riley, who was giving a customer his change.
“What happened?”
And like that, Maya wanted to cry her eyes out. So she sucked it up and mentioned her altercation with Selena while keeping quiet about Connie Black. She felt embarrassed for Dex—and herself for having had to hear such toxic talk. It made her sad.
She hated sad.
“Maya? What’s wrong? Selena get under your skin?”
She blinked and coughed to clear her throat. “I’ll tell you later, okay?” Maya locked down her emotions. “Can you do me a favor?”
“Sure. Anything.” Riley put an arm around her.
“Can you take over for me here? Just for a little while? I need some space. And if you could tell Dex I’ll see him at home on Sunday, I’d appreciate it. I just need to be alone right now.”
Riley studied her. “No problem. But call me later, okay?”
“Yeah.”
Maya walked away, and Riley watched, alarmed. That dead look in Maya’s eyes hadn’t been good. What the hell had Selena done to her? What had Dex done, because Maya didn’t seem to want to see him either?
The handsome devil returned with his mother. “Hey, Riley.” He glanced around, frowning. “Where’s Maya?”
“I have no idea,” she said coolly. Dex looked confused, or maybe he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t. “Where’s Selena?”
He tensed. “She’s here? Hell. I should find Maya before she does something to get herself thrown in jail.”
“Selena Thorpe?” Connie said. “I was just talking to her. But you’re changing the subject, Dexter.”
Riley watched them. Connie seemed irked about something. She poked her son in the chest. “What is wrong with you? I’ve told you time and time again not to hang around those people. They’re criminals.”
